When I started the book, Dream and Cupid interested me a lot, but it was quite disappointing to learn that them and their interactions weren’t the highlight, but the couple Zoya and Chris. While these characters were enticing, it was quite basic, the girl ignoring the boy who was quite infatuated with her. Zoya annoyed me, and made me feel deeper for Chris. As to why I rated this low, I was way more interested in Dream, his life and character than Cupid with the two soulmates. I pushed through the story, hoping for more interactions with Dream and Nightmare but understood that this was not his story. Interesting concept, but the romance couldn’t keep me invested. 2 stars for interesting concepts and character designs.

Short sweet novella with a little cozy. Dream is fighting Nightmare, who lives inside him and is constantly battling for control. Cupid is bored and feels like his job of bringing together soul mates is redundant. To distract themselves from their ennui, the two make a bet about a young couple who are destined to be soul mates but hate one another. Chris and Zoya have been best friends their entire lives but something soured that and they cannot stand to be in the same room. Will immortal Gods betting on their fate make things better or worse?
Not a standard romance story, but it isn't really long enough to be one. Left me wanting more for all four characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise was intriguing but ultimately it fell a little short. I don’t mind a short story but I feel like this one definitely needed to be a full length novel. A lot of the plot lines were rushed and questions about Cupid and Dream were never answered. All in all, 3 stars for the amazing idea. It has potential to be a phenomenal book if ever properly fleshed out.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

This was a very cute quick read and I loved the premise.

The friendship between Cupid and Dream was interesting however, I do not feel it was developed enough to get me invested in them. I expected Dream/Nightmare to have more of a role in the story than they did. I think I expected a Jekyll & Hyde-type identity.

I was more intrigued by Chris' and Zoya's love story which was sad and hopeful at the same time.
Although the plot was intriguing, the writing style was a bit simple and at times repetitive in quick succession.

I believe there is some potential to explore more with Dream, Nightmare, and Cupid in another novella.

I loved the concept of this novella, it’s a beautiful story about what happens when you dare to hope even when there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The story sucks you in, you want to know what happened between Chris and Zoya and you find yourself rooting for Cupid to win the bet.

I did struggle to get through the story at times because of the POV shifts in the writing without any warning. I found myself having to re-read paragraphs to try and figure out which character’s perspective I was reading from. I found that jarring and it would take me out of the story. The novella did a good job getting the reader invested in Zoya and Chris’ story but I found that the story between Dream and Cupid wasn’t as developed. I knew from the synopsis that the bet was to show Dream he could overcome his lack of hope, but there wasn’t enough development there for me to feel like they were the reason the story was being told.

I would love to see this story developed into a full-length novel, I believe this writer and this story have the potential to be a 5-star read but it definitely needs some work to get there.

Thank you so much to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me the chance to write an honest review of the ARC for Dream a Little Dream of Me!


Rating:
⭐️⭐️/ 5

My review was posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram on 5/11/24.

Amazon review has been submitted but is pending their review process and will be up on my profile within 48 hours.

This was a quick little novella that had some great aspects to it, and some other… not so great aspects. I really need to stop reading novellas just for the sake of my ratings ratio, because I am just not one for short stories, and I always find myself holding it against the books when they aren’t long, simply because I am the type to always want more.

I think the interplay between Dream and Cupid was wholesome and fun, and I liked seeing the relationship between the soulmates, Chris and Zoya, play out. My issue with the novella is that it felt like so much was left dangling that could’ve been spun out into further storytelling, such as the existence and relevance of Nightmare in its shared vessel with Dream. It was mentioned and then never addressed again, which felt like a waste.

I also struggled from a structural standpoint to feel stable in who the story was following. The novella never sets up a strict POV, meaning that it goes from feeling omniscient to limited perspectives, and also oscillates between Dream and Cupid without any clear delineation. Paragraph to paragraph, the reader is thrust into different characters’ viewpoints, and that made the reading experience really jarring because it wasn’t clear who, if anyone, was the actual protagonist we were meant to be primarily invested in. For all the above reasons, I give this 2⭐, but I believe if this author published a full-length novel, I would indeed give it a peek!

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This book, while short, was beautiful. It was a story that I believe many people will relate to. It brings in aspects that are evident in everyday life of most people. It shows the ups and downs of human relationships that I think everyone has gone through. It had me gripped from the first word. It was well written and a fun book when you need a cute story as a pick me up or to bring you a little extra hope in the day. It's a heartwarming book which I adored. Definitely got me out my reading slump.

This was a really cute book. I have not read a book like this in a while and I really enjoyed it. The romance was so cute!

*Thank you to NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

I was so disappointed when I realized that this book wasn't actually a novel but a novella. It's a short cute story about love, hope and acceptance. I really liked the impersonation of Dream and Cupid which worked together to united two people. It was an amazing idea which I'd really love to see explored more.

This cute novella was totally charming. I love the concepts of gods, immortals and fates, so reading about Cupid and Dream as they navigate mortals was great fun. I enjoyed reading the journey of the fated romance of our two mortals. I would love to read more by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review.

This was a cute, quick, easy to read novella. I enjoyed it because I have neve read a book that focused on Cupid.

I am extremely thankful to be able to read the book 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by Akria Varma. I would rate this a 4-star review. I found I was slow reading this novella, though I believe that is a reflection of me as a reader not the book. As a romance reader the concept of the book and the way that is has been written is different to my usual reads which I believed have reflected on my reading. I did really enjoyed the concept of this novella, watching as a couple learns to heal and come together from a third-party view, though I was feeling like a third wheel throughout the entire novel, which I believed hindered my ability to become emotionally attached to the characters. But the perspective was a unique and interesting take that I haven't experienced before in a book.

The inclusion of characters like Dream, Cupid, and the others added an element of intrigue. Seeing how the immortals view mortals and their cautious lack of involvement made the emotional connections in the story all the more touching. Being a Novella there are questions that are left unanswered in relations to the characters and I am left wondering if this is a standalone novella and if I will have those questions answered.

While I don't see myself reading this book again, the concept has definitely left me intrigued. I would recommend this book to a select group of friends who I believe would appreciate its unique perspective on love. If you enjoy exploring different viewpoints and meanings of love, then this book is a good read for you.

Thank-you to NetGallery for allowing me the opportunity to read this eARC.

Dream a Little Dream of Me was a short, sweet novella of love and friendship featuring meddling gods. The author's passion for the storyline was very clear, and the afterword proved the sentimental place Dream a Little Dream of Me came from. It was a poetic and romantic exploration of the bonds that keep us together.

Despite this, I found the pacing of the book jilted at times, and often repetitive. Varma often makes the same statement or observation and restates it in the following sentences, a very jarring form of writing that resulted in my attention escaping the book. This, combined with both chunks of exposition and a lack of scene exploration with flat characters resulted in a lack of immersion. Thus, I rate Dream a Little Dream of Me 3/5 stars.

2.5 ✯

“Oh my dear brother, you fear me without realizing that it is your fear that gives me the power I need.”

⚜

I really liked the concept of this Novella, this story is through the eyes of the immortal entities, Cupid and Dream, while they struggle to bring two soulmates together without using Cupid’s magic.

Chris and Zoya’s relationship dynamic was complicated, with misunderstandings separating them for three years. I enjoyed watching their past unfold and understanding what went wrong between them, although I felt we didn’t have much explanation for what Chris had hurtfully said to his friends about her. He also never said sorry to Zoya for this.

I enjoyed watching Cupid and Dream get attached to this love story for their own reasons and trying everything they could to make it work. Throughout the story, their own relationship improved and they started working together on their goal of reuniting Chris and Zoya.

I really wish we had found out whether Melissa and Mark were also soulmates, their relationship was adorable.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you to the author and the publisher, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for sharing an ARC of this little novella with me on NetGalley!!!

So so good!!! Such an interesting novella! Easy to read and engaging. Cupid and Dream enter a competition over two soulmates to fall for one another but this time without Cupid intervening with his powers. It was such a good story. Heartwarming and light and without any trace of desperation and torment. This time the leading force of the story is love and hope. Wonderful!!!

This is totally a 5 star read for me. Such a good book. So so so good! I recommend everyone to read this amazing story.

Okay, first of all…I loved this so much but would have loved it even more if it was a full-length novel and not a novella.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of Cupid, and I enjoyed the add in of Dream and how they mixed together with the humans.

This was a really quick, easy and enjoyable read.

*Thank you to Net Galley, for this ARC. I am leaving an honest and voluntary review*

This book, all be it a novella was actually too cute.

I had no idea that story that what was told was going in the direction it went in and I really enjoyed all of it.

Could this book be longer and give more back story and completed on other characters stories? Yes 100% but is it refreshing enough to just get away with being a novella focusing on two characters that made me happy? Yes 10000%

This is a cute fantasy novella and I would recommend to anyone who just wanted to read a quick romance with angst and a slight tinge of magic 🥰

overall just a really sweet and cute novella! i loved the premise but definitely look forward to more world building in the next book(s). the theme was something we all need these days and presented in such a captivating way, i was engaged and couldnt help but binge it!