I was quite excited to read this book because the cover intrigued me and it was a story inspired by west african folk tales. The writing is so amazing in this book so simple yet so engaging and fast to get through.
The rest of the story was disappointing to say the least.
The main character Ona had no agency and every decision she had to make she asked everyone if she was doing the right thing and I found it hard to sympathize with her. She was had no friends and was very isolated which is soething I dislike in Young Adult.
Majority of the siituations were contrived and the author handled sensitive issues with a heavy hand, I expected more subtility and nuance but threre was none. There was no character development for any of the main characters and her choice of antagonist was painfully predictable.
My mistake was going into this ook thinking it as heavily fantatstical but it was not, it was a contemporary to story
All in all the message being put across is very valuable I wont deny that but the manner it was tod was offputting to say the least.

I was drawn in by the uniqueness of this book - the setting, the storyline, the characters. If you like fantasy with a touch of romance, and are looking for something unique, you’re going to want to pick up this book. The beginning started a little slow for me, but I quickly found myself lost in the pages as the pacing hit its stride. Ona’s journey is a powerful one filled with loss, love, and self discovery. A great read for adults young and old.

I really wanted to like this book, I truly did. I really enjoyed Oby Aligwekwe's earlier book Hazel House, and I hoped I would feel the same magic from this title. The beginning was a bit slow going for me and I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. I also had a difficult time with how dense Ona was most of the time. The world building had a lot of potential and it was almost there. Oby Aligwekwe's writing is so beautiful but this wasn't the right book for me right now. Maybe after the stress from current events starts to pass I may pick it up again.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book due some personal reasons, but I read about half of it and I have to say it is a great book. I will definitely purchase it to reread the parts that I have read and I am curious of the story's ending. This book contains several characters that I loved, some amazing magic and I could go on and on.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book.
Tw: Domestic Violence

This was whimsical. That was about all it had going for it. Its more of a folklore or a fairytale like story than a fantasy story.

I didn't click with the writing at all and felt that the characters were a bit lacking.
2/5 stars

I DNF. I found the romances to be distracting. I cannot tell if it’s because I’m not the target audience or that the plot didn’t move quickly enough.

“We’re most courageous at our weakest; when we believe we have faced what we fear the most and have nothing more to lose.”

This book is evidently well planned, woven intricately for both the reader's and author's pleasure. I am amazed at the world-building, at the introduction of new concepts and development of the hows of Luenah. I still haven't figured out how to pronounce that...or the numerous new names in the book. Which is always a fun part of fantasies! I love the feeling of wonder such books give me, including The Place Beyon Her Dreams.

The writing style is immaculate! Oby Aligwekwe satisfied me with wonderful #wordporn. Really amazing descriptions that help one visualize the better...I honestly woundn't stop raving about this if I could.

On that note, it is also rife with lessons. Step-by-step morals which we can inculcate in our daily lives and in achieving various long-term goals. Ona's Papa gives solid advice which break even with those of counsellors.

We, humans, are flawed and most of the people I've met I'd rather not have done so. That along with myself. Real personas are all prone to being insufferable. And yet the author managed to create REAL AND LIKEABLE characters. A huge rarity.

I am excited for The Place Beyond Her Dreams, I anticipate the moment when its beauty is unveiled for the reading community (and beyond) to witness! A definite masterpiece!

“We are most courageous at our weakest; when we believe we have faced what we fear the most and have nothing more to lose.”

I absolutely wanted to like this book but I couldn't connect with the characters. I wished the author gave me more information and insight into the thoughts of our characters.

I really wish I could say great things about this book but sadly, it just wasn't for me. I tried two times to pick it up and it just never clicked with me.
I wish the author all the best going forward and I hope to see them succeed but this one just wasn't for me. Sorry.

Thank you Netgalley and Eclat Books for giving me an advance reader copy of this book. The cover is beautiful and after reading what the book was about, I thought I would love it.

“The Place Beyond Her Dreams” is a story of Ona, a young girl who is finding her way in life. She is forced with a difficult situation – pick the love of her life or the love that would bring her more power and standing. When Ona was a young girl she lived with her grandparents and when her grandfather died, she was in such a distraught state that she soon found herself passing out. This wasn’t a normal black out, instead she traveled in her mind to a place called “Luenah” where she is greeted by her dead grandfather. Ona travels to Luenah in her sleep sometimes and is always looking for her grandfather’s help during her trying life as an adult.
I wish I could say I loved this book. The description of it made me bump this book to the top of my TBR, but I soon realized this book is not what I was hoping for. I did finish it since it was given to me as an ARC so I could give my full review of it. I was truly hoping the story would get better by the end and even though there was a small plot twist, the writing didn’t grab me the way that it should have.

To put in simplest terms, this book was not for me. I felt no connection to any of these characters and not because I would not relate to them, but because the author gave me so little. I felt that there was little to no depth within the characters. None of the relationships had depth and I felt like the author skimmed the surface of them. Not only was there no depth to the characters but to the dream world of Luenah. I was so disappointed there was not more description of this world and how it operated. If the authors intent were to make you fee like you were in a weird dream world where you did not remember anything and everything is very foggy, they achieved it. There was a small plot twist but because you could not connect with any of the characters, it did not hit as hard as it should have.

I really wanted to love this one, because the premise was fantastic and there were moments when that potential really shone through. I loved the moments where Luenah were involved, but unfortunately beyond that the book just didn't click with me.

<i>The Place Beyond Her Dreams</i> had significant potential. Female protagonist charged with doing something "significant" on earth? Check. Conflict based on cultural differences that teeters on violence? Check. A dash of friends to lovers romance? Check. A magical dream land where our main character finds herself able to reconnect with loved ones? Double check.

The trouble is... that's where the good things stop. Even looking too closely at the details of the items on this list will make you scratch your head, thinking about all of the missed opportunities they represent.

Ona, our main character, is raised by her grandparents and is particularly close to her grandfather. When he unexpectedly passes away, she is drawn into a magical dream land where she can see him again. He tells her she is destined for great things and challenges her to think through her path, saying it will either lead to great happiness or great despair, and the choice is hers.

In an effort to make this tale into a fable-esque story, Aligwekwe has lost all depth to her characters. Even though the book is written in first person, I felt disconnected from Ona the entire time. She made choices based almost exclusively based on the men around her, doing very little thinking for herself. Her life revolves around meeting the needs of men, so much so that even her "great achievement" on Earth is related to her relationship with a man.

The motivations of all characters remained opaque as each person introduced remained a caricature. We have lots and lots of tropes afoot here, to the point that it was distracting. It felt like a stringing together of all the elements other YA authors have used in an attempt to Frankenstein its way to success with very little true plot or conflict.

Unlike other reviewers, I was not bothered by Ms. Aligwekwe's writing beyond one point - her dialogue could have used some serious editing. Characters spoke in stilted, short sentences, with numerous insertions making it difficult to follow who was speaking. I was surprised by the insertion of another point of view at 75% of the way through the book, and then for only a few pages - it felt like an odd, unnecessary choice.

I wish we had explored Luenah and its implications significantly more. So much time was spent in Ona's hometown longing after a boy that it became very easy to forget this was a fantasy at all.

Ultimately, this might be nice for a very young reader, with one exception - there is some significant domestic abuse, complete with justification and self-blame by the victim. I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to given the complication of that factor but the simplicity of the plot.

I appreciate what was attempted here, but there were many, many opportunities to make it stronger that were missed.

**My thanks to NetGalley and Eclat Books for the opportunity to review this in exchange for eARC access.**

"We're most courageous at our weakest; when we believe we have faced what we fear the most and have nothing more to lose."
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange with an honest review.
A short thought provoking novel with a fable esque feel and a thought provoking narrative on the importance on following your own life purpose and continuing on despite the challenges.
An enjoyable if slightly different read for me, and one I think I would of perhaps gained more from if I had some sort of faith.
Rated: 3 Stars

I loved this book! The story was a lovely and I enjoyed the love story. The characters were amazing and I loved how they were written. Aligwekwe did an amazing job with the book and I look forward to reading more in the future.

I was so excited for this book. A YA Fantasy set in Africa with another world. Unfortunately, the fantasy aspect was very underdeveloped with no world building. It was interesting to learn about a social structure not my own but I could not get invested in the characters and there is abuse and self blame in this novel. I understand that this is a dynamic for many in domestic violence situations but it seems like this should be marketed more for adults.

I received a copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What if you could travel and see a completely new place just dreaming? Well, this is what the main character of The Place beyond her Dreams is capable of. This is a novel in between romance and fantasy, written by Oby Aligwekwe, and the story is focused on Ona, girl with the peculiar ability of travelling with her own dreams to Luenah, a dreamland city. Ona is only ten when she firstly meets a boy in her home, called Okem, who is there to become a sort of servant for Ona’s grandparents. Ona lives with her grandparents, left there by her parents, who are constantly busy with their jobs, and she has a beautiful relationship with the two old relatives. Soon, also Okem develops a good relationship with his new guardians, particularly with Ona’s grandfather, who sees the boy like another grandchild, and he also become a lot closer with Ona, starting a strong friendship. This friendship become even more strong when Ona’s grandfather dies, if possible, and, after this event, Ona understands that she can keep on seeing her beloved grandpa in Luenah, in her dreams, and that she can reveal her ability to Okem only, the only person on who she can trust without looking crazy. While years are passing by, the two children grow up and their feelings stars to shift into something else, but there are also more and more obstacles between them, first of all the difference in their social class, that makes Ona’s family divide them and forces Ona to soften her relationship with Okem. Ona is destined to a well-off life, to attend the best school of the country and she is betrothed to Albert, the Crown Prince of Ide, the place near the one in which Ona lives, while Okem, in the eyes of everyone, is not the right man for Ona, he can’t give her the life she is designed to. The distance between Ona and Okem becomes heavy, and they take different paths in their lives. Ona can still trust in Luenah, where she can find her wise grandpa, and she has not forgotten her feelings for Okem. Moreover, in all of this, the destiny has its own plan for Ona and Okem and soon, dangerous plots come knocking at their door. The line between dream and reality fades and it’s up to Ona to figure out what to do in order to follow her path.
Note for whoever wants to read this book: there are scenes of domestic violence.

I have to say that, when I first start to read this novel, I was a little skeptical about it. I was thinking “Yeah, it’s the typical story between two kids who meet under certain circumstances, they start to feel something for each other and then there is their tormented story”. Everything accompanied with a little bit of fantasy, in this case. Well, I had to change my mind. The base of the story is this, for sure, but it’s just the base. The author was able to create a wonderful world, both real and fantastic, on which take place intriguing events and vibrant characters.
Starting with the setting and the wold-building of the novel, they are wonderfully done and unusual for me, at least, that I’ve never found such things in a book. The events take place in Africa, mainly between the cities of Ntebe and Ide, as for the facts that are real, and another part of the story, that is that about Ona’s dreamland, is set in Luenah. This scenario and its description are the perfect background for the creation of the sociopolitical context of the story, that blends together with the events of the book. Since the beginning of the novel, it’s said that Ntebe and Ide are fighting with each other and the atmosphere is tensed. This spirit of conflict isn’t limited only to the public issues, but it interferes also with the private lives of the characters, first of all with Ona’s. The setting is, indeed, strongly related with the portrays of the characters given in the story.
As far as the characters go, the protagonists are clearly Ona and Okem. We can follow them from their childhood, we can see their development, both in terms of their relationship and of their personalities. Ona is a strong young woman, kind and selfless, strongly determined in bringing some good into the world, helping the people who mostly need aid. She wants to remove the differences in the society and this feature of hers can be seen both in her private life, when she openly says she’s not interested in Okem’s social state and she just wants him for who he is, and in a more general sphere of her character, when she is betrothed to Albert, the Crown Prince of Ide, and she can be the future queen and try to change the society with her influence. This is also the point on which the sociopolitical facts blend with the private events of the characters and where the line amid reality and dream become thin. Ona is willing to give up Okem and her happiness in order to achieve an important role in the society and do great things. And this is the moment in which Ona goes to Luenah, where she finds her grandfather who guides her towards her path, to let Ona realize her destiny. The events in Luenah are connected to and influenced by everything that happens in the real world e vice versa. Ona slowly learns how to use her ability in her favour, how to use the wisdom of Luenah to make some good in the world out of the dreams. Okem, on this aspect, is similar to Ona, but he has some characteristics that the young girl doesn’t have and that are complementary to hers. Where Ona is contemplative and calm, Okem is impulsive, he lets himself get carried away by his emotions and his passions. Okem is against the restrictions of the society, like Ona, and he doesn’t let them define him; when someone makes fun of him for his social state, he doesn’t think twice on showing his teeth and defend himself. His relationship with Ona is pure, grown through time, starting with a friendship and evolving into love. Both of them know each other better that themselves, probably, and they keep on finding themselves, like they are coming back home when they are together.
Talking about the other character and the antagonists of the story, I think they are well designed and some of them hide some unexpected sides. I loved the grandparents, who are the typical wise figures, always ready to give some good advice and to solve difficult situations. Ona’s helper, Ifedi, on the other hand, got on my nerves; too meddler and fatalistic, for some aspects. Albert is a well done character, ambivalent and not so easy to understand. I found these to be characteristics present in other characters of the story, actually, that make them difficult to frame in the story and keep the suspense of the book.
Moving, in the end, with the plot and the style of the novel, I can say that the events are fluid and fascinating. There are unexpected plot twists, not ordinary, that make the plot interesting and engaging. I didn’t know where the plot was going to till the end, but not in a bad way. Every time it is revealed the right amount of information in order to keep the attention of the reader, without telling too much. The combination between sociopolitical context and personal events of the characters is done properly and I loved the atmosphere of the book, that is perfect for the plot, and it’s full of details and gives a good description of the traditions and the society of the places in which the characters move: it felt real as a world-building. The story is told in first-person narration, with Ona’s point of view or Okem’s (but there is only one chapter about him), it takes place amid reality and dreams in Luenah and it covers the events of the characters’ lives from their childhood to their adulthood, that represent the major part of the book.

So, what do I think about The Place beyond her Dreams? Well, it was a surprise. I really liked it, and I found it quite interesting and unusual, at least for me. I enjoyed the characters a lot and I think that the world-building is amazing. I would definitely recommend this book, it’s a good union of romance, fantasy and the right amount of action and suspense. If you like this genre, you should give this novel a try, you won’t regret it!

This book was published today and oh my goshhhhh SOOOO GOOD.
I forgot how much I love books like this because I've been so caught up in high fantasy and YA contemporary romance novels.
This was such an amazing refresher.
highly recommend.
Characters : 5 stars
Plot : 5 stars
Setting : 4.9 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

The Place Beyond Her Dreams is Oby Aligwekwe’s third book and her debut in the Young Adult genre. Previously the books Hazel House and NFUDU – Skirts, Ties & Taboos were released. This is the first book I have read by Oby Aligwekwe.

At the age of seven, Ona already knows that she is different, but when her grandfather suddenly dies and she ends up in Lueneh during an unconsciousness, she discovers what it is that makes her different. She is an Eri, destined to perform a special task on Earth. In order to do this, she must exchange her greatest desire for a box that will preserve her most important memories of self-development. Ona agrees, but as she gets older Ona learns that everything has a price. As the chief’s daughter, she is the one who must marry the prince of a rival village. But is this where her heart feels at home? What price should she pay in exchange for the box? How will this affect her dreams?

The story has a slow start in which the reader is introduced to Ona and Luenah. Although Oby Aligwekwe maintains a relatively slow pace throughout the story, the twists and turns in the story ensure that the tension remains present in the story. What I really liked is that A Place Beyond Her Dreams is set in Africa, a continent not yet really known in Young Adult fantasy books.

Trigger warnings that Oby Aligwekwe warns about are physical and emotional abuse, violence and religious undertones in the story. Although religion is not mainly present in the story, violence and abuse are clearly present in the story. In addition to these trigger warnings, there is also a love triangle that emerges throughout the story and although Ona’s final choice will not come as a surprise, in this book the love triangle was a real addition.

"Choosing for you would tip the balance in the universe" - Oby Aligwekwe

Partly due to the synopsis of A Place Beyond Her Dreams, I expected that the story would mainly focus in Luenah, but the story has a completely different unexpected turn that will surprise many readers. However, this twist makes the story less fantasy than you might expect.

"Nothing is ever as it seems" - Oby Aligwekwe

Ona is growing rapidly in the story, and with the help of her grandfather and Luenah, she gets the tools she needs to grow further. This book really shows what a person must go through to achieve their greatest dream. A Place Beyond Her Dreams is a book full of self-development, dreams and the misfortune you may come across. Oby Aligwekwe certainly knows how to write a story. The story feels realistic while reading, and I am very curious what else this author will have in store.

I didn't expect to fall in love with this as much as I did.
The writing was absolutely incredible and I found myself entranced with each word. The world of Luenah was so beautifully written and described that I had no issues with seeing and feeling as though I was there.
The story of Ona was heartbreaking, I thought this would be an easy read but it definitely had a deeper message of choices made, love, betrayal, and loyalty to one's self. I felt everything that Ona felt and cried when she cried, hurt when she hurt. It was an emotional rollercoaster. I am glad she found her purpose. I loved Ona and Okem and at first, liked Albert too. Oby Aligwekwe made her characters come to life with her writing.

The story was so complex, moved beautifully, and was tied up so well. The ending left me feeling hopeful to overcoming personal fears, barriers, and life in general. Definitely a positive ending with amazing themes and emotions.

This was such a disappointment.

Right from the first chapter I didn't click with the writing style, which feels very... fanfic-y? There was just a lot of telling instead of showing, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I just expect more from published books - and it did become a problem when the things that were shown contradicted the telling? Besides which the plot was just full of inconsistencies - even from sentence to sentence sometimes!

I also think this book is mis-marketed as fantasy. Luenah and Ona's quest were barely relevant to the plot - I'm pretty sure she only goes there four or five times, and absolutely nothing would have changed if those elements hadn't been there. There were some interesting nuggets about finding your purpose in life, but they were really confusingly written so I couldn't quite grasp what the point was supposed to be? The worldbuilding was also really confusing: something about the the combination of modern society with kings just didn't make sense to me at all.

The primary focus of the story (which you'd never guess from the branding!) is actually the romance... which was another problem because I hated both love interests in the triangle. They were both incredibly controlling and never gave Ona space to make her own choices. One was a literal abuser so the other was obviously better, but that's a low bar... I wasn't too keen on Ona either, since she has no agency at all and is constantly just waiting for someone to fix her problems or give her all the answers.

CW: domestic abuse; bereavement