Official Review: Dreaming of Daniel by J M Admore

[Aubrey Lewis]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dreaming of Daniel" by J M Admore.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Dreaming of Daniel is a story about Ava McCoy, a teenage girl who lived on the island of Tamuto. Ava had always been drawn to the ocean and loved to go fishing there with her father and uncle. However, when an old, distant memory was suddenly triggered due to a certain event, she remembered about her discovery of Daniel and his father nine years ago as well as the shocking existence of the Mer. Deciding to see for herself if he was actually real, Ava searched for Daniel and everything changed after that.

My first impression was in regards to the cover of the book as well as the title. I found them simple yet enchanting at the same time, leading to my interest as to what could possibly be in the contents. Thus, when I finished the premise, I had a lot of curious questions in my mind such as why Ava's mother seemed to be so afraid of the water unlike Ava and her father and even why the knowledge of the Mer world was forbidden to the humans. I was very engaged in the book until the time-skip came along.

Ava and Daniel's chemistry was, unfortunately, not very appealing in my opinion. Back when they first met as children, I liked their scene together and felt like it was fate. I also loved Daniel as a kid since he was so innocent and charming, something which drew me to him immediately. However, when they met again after nine years, it suddenly moved too fast for my taste. They kept seeing each other secretly despite the danger of risking the existence of the Mer world, constantly saying that it was because they had an undeniable connection. There was no room for a development of friendship between them. Basically, there was never even any thrill. I practically predicted their relationship and mostly every single thing that happened to them.

All in all, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Because of the promising premise, I gave this a chance until the end, but the plot was clearly lacking. Not only was Ava's character very frustrating at times, but I also didn't feel like Daniel had any real personality other than showing how his world revolved around Ava despite barely knowing her. The author's writing style had potential, but there were too many typos, grammatical errors, and excessive or inappropriate use of commas.

If you’re looking for a light read about romance with fantasy elements, then maybe this book is for you, but I honestly don’t want to recommend this to anyone unless the book becomes properly edited, proofread, and revised.

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Dreaming of Daniel
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Like Aubrey Cana Laine's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Sahani Nimandra]

Sounds like puppy love to me, the chemistry between Ava and Daniel as you put it is far lacking. This is truly disappointing! A book like this should have been MORE promising if the author had provided a more realistic plot. The characters should have been a lot fulfilling. Daniel reminded me of a character that I read in a book. So unrealistic that you don't no or haven't seen this person for a very long time and yet you claim that my world is revolved around you. Why don't you let them get to know each other and see what happens. When the suspense of the book is clearly taken way, it takes way the purpose out of the book. Thank you for sharing this book through your review, it would have been much fulfilling if the author was more careful with his direct.

[elizab8]

I think I would like reading this book. The cover tells me there is something inside that would enhance me or disappoint me. But I will use brevity to conquer my curiosity reading this book "Dreaming of Daniel" The characters as you mentioned seems to be interesting and imbued in their own world living out their own lethargy. The author J.M. Admore might finally get her full ratings.

[revna01]

I like that you mention the reunion of the pair progressed too quickly, without developing a real friendship first. With the some care, the author could have made this a better book. Thanks for your review!

[Corhan2]

Thanks for your review. I will give this book a miss because I hate it when the plot is lacking and also because of the editorial mistakes.

[Kendra M Parker]

I'm disappointed that the book doesn't live up to the cover. Like you, I liked that cover and thought it would be a fun book. I agree that the lack of friendship in a romance is disappointing, too. I wish we would see more books that encourage young people to develop relationships based on friendship instead of looking for that "magical" relationship where the boy changes everything to make his entire obsessive world revolve around the girl (I'm looking at you, Twilight).

[kandscreeley]

I love the premise of this story. The Mer people sound enchanting, and I'm wondering what's going on with the family. It's too bad it wasn't fully developed. I think I'll avoid this until after some edits are made. Thanks for the information, though.

[Jackie Holycross]

How disappointing. The cover looks appealing and it's the first mermaid book I've seen here. Too bad it was poorly executed.

[420waystoreachthesun]

The cover actually did look appealing. Thak you for your helpful review.

[gen_g]

Thank you for the insightful review; it seems like I would have to give this a miss.

[Jamasenu]

The book cover gave the story more appeal. A story that loses a reader from the beginning has never been able to draw the reader's attention again. Those are the most hardest books to read. Very nice review.