SHATTERED DREAMS by Ellie James

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.

Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.

But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.

Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

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I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

There is so much to love about SHATTERED DREAMS. First, the setting: New Orleans is so vivid in this story, you can practically smell it. And I was fascinated by the post-Katrina images the author gave us. I also loved the concept of a girl who sees visions of people's deaths before they die. Others have complained that this idea is not original.

Most ideas are not original. Find me a completely original plot ANYWHERE, and I'll buy you a Coke.

I enjoyed the author's take on this concept of foresight. It occurs in a teen girl, Trinity, who has always been told that her gift is a curse--and that's on the rare occasion she's told anything at all. Her grandmother, who has recently died, never told her anything about her parents. Not even how they died. She refused to discuss Trinity's visions and treated her ability as something dangerous rather than something to be explored.

Now, there were a few things I didn't completely adore. The dialogue didn't always seem "teen" to me; Chase, the love interest, was not attractive to me; a few scenes were a bit too unbelievable and I just didn't buy them. Also I would prefer a bit more punch at the end--it fell a little flat for me.

BUT. Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I looked forward to reading it every night and was excited to see how it would end. I do think a lot of people would enjoy this book; I know I did. It's a fascinating story and a quick, fun, mysterious read.

This book releases in December!