Nightmare City

I received a free copy of NIGHTMARE CITY (Book 1 of the Nightmare City Series) by P.S. Newman in exchange for an honest review. Dreams really do come true-at least they have for the last twenty years. The problem is that people’s nightmares come true as well. Following the initial devastation caused by the sudden appearance of rampaging monsters and horrifying landscapes, the destruction of all dream creatures, called shades, became mandatory. Eden Maybrey is one of the few who hunt and destroy the shades. Some nightmare shades are more dangerous than others, and Eden is soon contracted to hunt one of the most dangerous types. In pursuing the monster, Eden will risk her life, her family, her family’s darkest secret, the love of her life, and her future. Sometimes the monsters aren’t so monstrous, and sometimes the humans are the real monsters.

I liked it. This book was a good start to a new series. It’s a fresh take on urban fantasy.

#NightmareCity #NetGalley

Eden was a great character, she was strong and willing to sacrifice in order to do what's right and protect her loved ones. I really enjoyed this. I don't think I've read anything quite like this before, it's a great addition to the urban fantasy genre. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series to see how Eden grows as a character.

#NightmareCity #NetGalley

I wish some of my dreams came true!

But in the world of Eden Maybrey nightmares come true too. She is a shade hunter. Shades are dreams come true. The stuff of nightmares in most cases.
We are in Los Angeles, twenty years after The Surge. Eden has a new case. She has to track down the doppelganger of a close friend. To find the evil shade she has to partner with an official shade hunter, Vaugh Taylor. They have a serious dislike for each other from the start but they work together to get the job done. Eden’s problems multiply when one night her dream also comes true. And to top that, she knows Taylor will kill her if he finds out her most carefully kept secret.

Nightmare City is a unique story. The world-building is detailed, the characters are likable and interesting. This whole world where dreams come true is just amazing.
The story flows nicely, P.S. Newman sure knows how to spin an interesting and exciting tale,
I hope The Surge will be explained on more detail in later books. Like what is is, how it happened.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Novel:
Eden Maybbrey is a shade hunter whose secrets and very existence are threatened by an evil shade. She, her family and friends work to rid the world of this evil and deal with fallout of her deepest desires manifesting into the real world.

The Characters:
Newman’s characterisation is very good overall. Eden is a strong, likeable character who is willing to protect her loved ones at great personal cost. There is a great cast of interesting secondary characters who are somewhat underdeveloped, and whom I would be interested in getting to know further- perhaps this will take place in future novels. The only secondary characters whose motivations are delved into are Bella and the main antagonist, however these are somewhat ineffectively written.

Bella’s behaviours and motivations age her as far younger than her years- perhaps a self-centred pre-teen rather than the young adult 17 she is. While it is possible that Newman’s depiction of her as such is a result of childhood trauma and her sheltered upbringing, there are flashes in the novel of a fiery young adult straining against the restrictions placed upon her. It is the latter Bella of whom I would like to see more.

The identity of the main antagonist becomes clear before it is revealed, however the revelation, and associated explanation of motivations are weakened by the choppy ending- I would have preferred the revelation to come earlier, therefore allowing a more thorough exploration of the consequences and fallout.

Despite these negatives, I was and am genuinely invested in the characters’ fates. Newman is effective in creating flawed, imperfect characters who evoke genuine emotions.

The Story:
The novel has a unique an interesting premise which is well developed. The story features gripping plot twists, and while some events are predictable, there was enough to keep me hooked till the end. There are some negatives, the greatest of which is the fact that the Surge is explained in insufficient detail- I still don’t know how this ‘nightmare city’ came about; this should have been part of the initial world-building in my opinion. It must however, be acknowledged that the consequences of the Surge are depicted with excellent realism- hatred and fear of the ‘other,’ questions of right and wrong, and an exploration of grey areas are universal and topical and these are beautifully translated by Newman.

The Writing:
Newman’s writing style is wonderfully rich. While some characters are underdeveloped, they each have distinct and believable voices, and Newman manages to evoke empathy and affection from the reader. The world building has gaps, but is excellent overall. There are a very small number of typos, however I have no doubt these will be corrected for the final version. My only complaint is the pacing which varies in its effectiveness, with the final few chapters being particularly poor- there is just too much jammed into too short a space, and Newman’s skill at evoking emotions makes these chapters unpleasantly rollercoaster-like. Relief, joy, sadness, anger, hope and despair are all evoked within minutes of one another. These events would be better served spaced out across a few more chapters.

Rating:
4/5. Overall a wonderful read. I will look for more books by this author, and look forward to the next instalment in this series.

Declaration:
Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Nightmare City is the first book in a new series by P.S. Newman. Released 26th Nov 2019, it's 359 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is an interesting urban fantasy series with a little post-apocalypse dystopian flavor world building. 20 years after a fundamental reality shift allowed some people to summon beings from their subconscious dreaming minds (wreaking havoc and destruction quite often), there are shade hunters equipped to hunt down and destroy the summoned shades.

The world building is the standout feature here. The different situations and types of shades which are summoned and how they're dealt with is creatively and very well written. The characters are distinct from one another; I had no trouble keeping them straight. They obey internal motivations and I didn't find myself yanked out of the story at all by badly written dialogue or characters acting completely out of character to advance the plot. The plotting is well controlled and the denouement was satisfyingly twisty, leaving the story open ended for 'what comes next'.

The ebook version includes an interactive table of contents Possibly worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. It's always fun to find a new to me author and series to read. I would recommend this one to fans of urban fantasies. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Four stars.

"In post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, dreams come true. So do nightmares.

Ever since a shift in reality twenty years ago, people's dreams and nightmares come alive, spreading chaos and destruction. Monsters ravage cities, bottomless chasms split roads, and gold rains from the sky - the possibilities are limitless, unpredictable and often deadly.

Eden Maybrey is a hunter of these "shades". When a friend tasks her with tracking down and eliminating an evil shade, the hunt threatens to expose Eden's deepest, darkest secret. To find her prey, she is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor, a hunter who hates shades with a passion - and who won't hesitate to put a bullet in Eden's head should he figure out the truth.

Book 1 in a new urban fantasy series with a twist: no vamps or weres - instead, dreams and nightmares coming alive.

Would you really want your dreams to come true?"

Because just when you need a new urban fantasy hit a new one hits the shelves!

In post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, people dream and sometimes their dreams become real. When whatever becomes real is, it is called a shade. Many shades are dangerous so an agency has been born to destroy these shades. Eden is a shade who has been helped to get legal so she won’t be killed ( is human supposedly). She hunts the dangerous shades as a private hunter. She has been offered to work for the shade hunter agency but refuses for fear of discovery of what she is. She gets hired by a former boyfriend to kill his shade that he dreamed. Will Eden be successful? She has to work this time with a hunter from the agency whom she dislikes. Will he discover her secret? If so, what will Eden do?

An urban horror fantasy that kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. It’s action-paced with unexpected twists and turns. The horror in this book are the monsters that Eden must kill. It’s an excellent first volume of a series. I can’t wait to read the next one!

I received a copy of Nightmare City by P.S. Newman from #NetGalley for an honest review.

An event happens in Los Angeles that changes reality drastically. Everyone that dreams or has nightmares, has them come true. Eden Maybrey is a hunter of the "shades" that people dream of. She has the ability to find and capture the creatures that become real from people's nightmares. This is Maybrey's story of how she started hunting shades and the inner turmoil from hunting these creatures. Her actions and her past come to a head in Nightmare City.

This is a nice change in the regular sci-fi genre that I usually read. For one, the lead character already knows her past. Second, there are no specific creatures that are evil. The evil is from peoples dreams and nightmares.

From the very start of the book, I was hooked. The writing is well paced, I cared for the characters, and I did read nonstop for hours. Newman has a vivid imagination and it shows with the details in Nightmare City.

Great world building and character development is very good and works well within the storyline they feel believable and have great dynamics with each other. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author this is an excellent first book in a new series and it is very well developed with a very distinct timeline of events that pull you into the story. The world is post-apocalyptic and very vividly described its difficult to be original in this genre and the author does a great job. You just get thrown right into the plot and storyline so that feels a bit abrupt but I quickly adjusted and enjoyed the book. I was fascinated by the aspect of nightmares coming to life and the only way to control the nightmares was to dream into existence an organization to monitor and police the shades (name for the nightmares). The horror aspect really keeps you on your toes the book ends with a cliffhanger leading into future books so it does have a variety of unanswered questions and possibilities for further character development. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Twenty years ago, the Surge brought aspects of dreams to life. These aspects are called Shades and have the potential to run amok and destroy people, property, even cities. Eden Maybrey is a freelance shade hunter, and her latest case is a request that threatens to expose her deepest secret, as well as the lives of those she loves.

In this world, Shades are considered deadly, so harboring them is a federal crime and would lead to punishments for treason. Eden’s dark secret is revealed to the reader fairly early: she is a shade conjured from a comic book about dream hunters and had been given an identity as a human. This exposure would mean her death, as well as the imprisonment of the family she has: Bella Perez, the dreamer that had created her, as well as Bella’s older sister Cecilia Perez, who works with the LA police. They’re her cousins legally, but this is her family by choice as well. Unbeknownst to the outside world, Cecilia’s boyfriend David was a member of an organization that hoped to win rights for benevolent Shades and had helped Eden get a legal identity. His freedom would be at risk as well. Add to this tension is a hunter that hates Shades beyond all reason that Eden has to work with, Shades she dreamed up herself, and the organization that is tasked with eliminating all Shades that wants her to join.

The case was brought forth by Sean Baptiste, David’s brother. He has a doppelganger that shoots fire, and there is a lot of reluctance in revealing the truth of the dream that built the Shade. This adds more complications to tracking down the Shade, who proceeds to wreak havoc in LA and plans to harm David. Eden’s own Shades adds further complications because the Order agent working with Eden wants nothing more than to eliminate him and every other Shade he comes across. He won’t accept that some Shades could be helpful, or that they can serve a purpose for the dreamer. The reader is also aware that Bella is trying hard to control her ability as a dreamer creating Shades, and this adds a little more for Eden to deal with.

This urban fantasy novel has a tag line on its summary that it doesn’t have vampires or werewolves. What it has are random dreams coming to life, which aren’t necessarily benevolent at all. It’s an interesting take on urban fantasy as well as dystopia, given the gritty and grim atmosphere that is beneath the surface of the novel. It definitely makes you think about the phrase “be careful what you wish for,” and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.

It's rare to have urban fantasy with any original ideas. After all, the genre has been around for decades now. Vampires, shifters, fae...they've all taken their stroll through the pages of many an urban fantasy. Nightmares may be a more unique take. I can only think of one other, Night Terrors by Tim Waggoner. In Night Terrors, the nightmares are allowed to exist as long as they behave, though they are enforced by a paranormal agency made up of dream creatures and their dreamer creators. Nightmare City, however, has a very different take.


After an event called The Surge, suddenly dreamers were finding that their dreams and nightmares manifested in the real world. Chaos and destruction reigned until civilization learned to deal with the shades they created. They founded the Somni Order, an organization established to find ways to police and cope with the constant threat of their nightmares made real. The Somni Order works separately from the police to capture and exterminate these beings. There is no tolerance and those that create often are watched closely. Enter Bella. She's 17 and traumatized after the death of her mother at the hands of a monster shade. Bella is a prime, manifesting shades at least four nights a week. It turns out Bella also a huge fan of the graphic novel, Dreamscapes, so much so that two years ago, she dreamed Elysia and her sentient sword, Violet aka Vy, into being. Created to hunt shades and hiding under a secret identity, Elysia — now Eden — hides in plain sight from those who would exterminate her if they were to find out her secret. Eden is then called into action after a friend imagines a doppelganger of himself with an evil agenda. To add to the turmoil, Eden herself dreams of her days as Elysia, dreaming into existence a pack of hellhounds with fiery tricks along with the only man she ever loved.



I struggled a bit getting into this new world. You really just get thrown in the deep end and things are explained to you in bits and pieces along the way. I don't know that a direct introduction to Eden/Elysia would have really made the difference, but I just didn't feel like a had a good grasp on the things until about the 25-30% mark. The world created here is very interesting in a dystopian way. There are electrified fences around houses to keep the shades out, a 911 like system to report possible impending shades, and of course, the Somni Order. It's been long enough adjusting to this new world that SHAID (the Society for a Higher Acceptance and Integration of Dreams) has been established to promote awareness and acceptance of shades.


I liked the characters a lot. None of them are perfect. As with most of urban fantasy's MCs Eden is inherently flawed. She struggles with who she is as well as where she came from. She wants to do the right thing but isn't against bending the rules to get there. Bella is kind of a brat. I know she has trauma from her past, but I would put her age a lot younger with some of the things she does. Hopefully, book 2 will see her growing up under the careful watch of her sister, Eden and Aunt Vy. I actually liked Taylor a lot. He's gruff and obviously very bigoted, but I want to know more about his back story and why he hates shades with such a passion. There were some cracks in his facade this time around and I think we'll see a lot more of this. As for Elysia's dream man, he seems like Mr. Perfect. I'm not thrilled so far with their interaction, but I'm not sure I'm shipping a Taylor/Eden connection even though it is the not-so-obvious choice that usually ends up happening in UF. One thing that is spoken by Vy frequently is that humans "grow and evolve" and I think in the next book, we'll see a lot more of that with these characters.


Once I got into Nightmare City, I really enjoyed it and the last half of the book flew by! The action and fight scenes are plentiful and once the book started rolling, it didn't stop. The ending leaves us with a lot more questions and nowhere to go but up. I'm definitely looking forward to book 2 to see where it takes us.

I absolutely adored Eden Maybrey.

Frankly, the world that P.S. Newman has dreamt up for us (see what I did there?) is wildly engaging, with likable characters we can relate to. The world is well-built, and the relationships between characters is well-defined, with snappy dialogue and humor throughout.

I picked this up and then couldn't put it down. I read a third of the book in one sitting. It 100% captured my imagination and demanded that I keep reading.

It took me a while to get into this book, but when I did it was glorious! The characters are not likeable per se, and that makes them great. There are some plot twists to keep things interesting, and the plot keeps a fast pace, but never so fast it gets confusing. There were some things that were obvious and a bit cliché, but those were minor points. Also, I love the nudges towards comics :-)

this was super fast and exciting loved every second of this. The ideas are fresh and exciting. Could not put it down absolutely had to know what was going to happen next. Brilliant will be looking for more!

Have you ever had a dream so real that you wanted it to be true or be reality when you woke up? This book takes this idea to a whole new level! I think the idea and story line is very exciting and Eden Maybrey is a badass. I can see this book/series be a great movie or TV show. I think it would be great. I can't wait to read book 2. Thank you for the great book while this world is crazy I can escape into such a rich full adventure as this book and be excited to start reading more like it. This book does have strong language in parts for some of you that don't like those words in a book, you shouldn't read it. I think the book is great and I am hooked already on the series. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

I could not resist this one! The concept is so cool! It fell on the back-burner for a while, but I am so glad I was able to finallllyyyyy get into this one.


The story is set in LA after a terrible event happened years previously. Dreams AND nightmares can come true LITERALLY. It's unpredictable and can be deadly. They call these manifestations "shades". We follow Eden who is a hunter of these shades and is tasked to get rid of them. There are many other hunters out there, but there is something different about our Eden and she cannot let the world know what it is. When a friend manifests a shade, he hires Eden to take care of it, because it is dangerous. So dangerous it puts Eden and everyone she loves at risk. She is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor is who is anti-shade that even fellow hunters worry about him.


Loved Eden. She was kickass!


Loved Cece too. She was kickass.


Aunt Vy the sword was a hoot and she was certainly a fun "character".


Sean was fishy to me.


Loved David. He was so sweet to Cece and her baby sister.


Bella.....hate you. Hate you, hate you, hate you. I get you are a teenager who really went through some stuff. But you are manipulative and terrible. Someone needs to kick her ass. Maybe Eden will one day. But seriously Bella...get your head out of your arse.


Besides for my loathing for that snot-nose kid, I really enjoyed this. I could NOT read this fast enough especially near the end. THAT TWIST! I guessed it, but I thought I was just being a negative nancy and cynical, but OMG. Danggg I need book 2 now!!!!!!



Okay - okay. Overall...this was awesome and fun. I highly recommend it. 5 stars.

Author# P.S. Newman has a exciting series out with book #1 Nightmare City.Takes place in L.A. after the “Surge”.Eden is our main character in this series and has sword she can communicate with.This is a new world where your nightmares can become reality.The bonus is it’s a series.
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#P.S. Newman And #BooksGoSocial

What if your dreams really did come true? What if the same thing happened to your nightmares? When you wake up, you discover that the monster that was chasing you in your nightmare has now been turned loose on the city and is wreaking havoc on it. This urban fantasy takes a different twist. Instead of werewolves and vampires and such, dreams and nightmares become reality. However, this is not a good thing, and these ‘creations’ are known as shades.
Eden’s job, along with a group called The Order, is to eliminate these shades from existence. Eden, along with Aunt V, will definitely hold your attention as she goes about performing her duties. The characters are well written, and you will find yourself invested in what happens to them. I loved this book, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Around 300 BCE Master Zhuang wrote: "Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man". Such is the nature of reality, and such is the nature of dreams.

The digital nomad, Pia Newman, writing as P.S. Newman, tells of an alternate world. Here the apocalypse has happened. A shift/tear in the cosmos occurred giving humans the ability to transform dreams into reality. In an ideal world, lucid dreamers could create paradises. This is not the case in Los Angeles, where monsters roam and lava pools engulf the freeways. A new branch of law enforcement was created to destroy the 'shades'. In addition to the LEO's, independent operatives aka freelancers collaborate to help end the chaos.

Eden is a freelancer. She lives to protect her loved ones. Bella, Cecelia and even David are all important to her. She has been tasked with taking down a doppelganger, an evil version of David's brother. Unfortunately for her, the city has assigned one of their hunters as her unwilling partner.
Sargent Vaughn Taylor, one of the best around truly hates the shades. Will this be an end game problem for Eden? And if so, why?

Great humor along with cinematic action scenes with a cliff hanging ending leaves the reader clamoring for more. The well thought out universe can go in many directions, I look forward to seeing what is in store for Eden.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC copy from netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book brings a unique premise to urban fantasy that is fresh and welcomed. There are some parts that could have been better developed and the ending felt rushed but overall a really good book.

I define a good book as one that captures your attention and allows you to forget and escape into a good story. Nightmare City did that for me and I can't wait until the next book.

this was a great start to a series, the main character was great and I liked the idea that dreams and nightmares come true. That is both a fascinating and scary concept.

Love at second glance!
I started reading this book in 2019 already but it didn’t catch me at first. I guess the shade hunter with the speaking sword was something I did not get used to easily.
When I restarted reading it lately, it did catch me. Once I got to the point where you get to know Edens background it gets quite exciting. I also got to like Aunt Vy after a while and the general topic of dreams and the subconscious is really fascinating. Plus, it really kept speed up and was full of unexpected plot twists.
I hated the end though!

I need book 2 now !!! Oh wow what an amazing start to what I know will be a great series. I’m a huge apocalypse book lover and this did not disappoint. Loved everything about it