Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Can true love be forgotten?
As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.
As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

 Can I just say that I am in love with Orion? Why does Angelini make so many hot characters? It just makes my expectations of men ridiculously high. I didn't think that anything could beat Starcrossed, considering that most sequels don't live up to the original novel. But oh my demigod, Dreamless was amazing! I was hooked from the start. I think this is possibly one of the best releases this year.

For starts, the beginning of this novel is so smooth it may as well be just another part of the Starcrossed book - but it still gently reminds the reader of what happened previously, in case they have forgotten, which was nice but not annoyingly repetative. I already thought the plot was strong, but after finishing this, I never realised how huge it was going to be. I never saw most of it coming, which I thought  was great because it's always a surpise - but when I did guess, the suspense was so thick that I couldn't put it down, since I wanted to know whether my guess was right or not. And usually it wasn't - but the real plot was so much better!

I also loved the new characters Angelini created. As I pointed out earlier, Orion is amazing; he's the kind of character you wish was real, so that he could be your best friend or your boyfriend. He is kind and sensative, and pretty much the opposite of the Delos boys, which was quite nice. All the pre-existing characters lived up to their already-created personality, which again made the novel a smooth continuation. I found that the bad guys were definitely frightening and believable, and the gods were just like I'd imagine any god to be like. The only thing that disappointed me, character-wise, was Hector. I really liked him in Starcrossed, and after what happened to him I was in tears. And I know that his seperation from his family was hard for him, and it would change a man, but he was just too...nice? Throughout Starcossed, him and Helen was constantly at each others throats, and from what I recall he wasn't close to any of the girls, not really. But suddenly in Dreamless, as soon as Helen, Claire and Kate saw him, they leapt into his arms - literally. For one thing, I didn't realize he even knew Kate, and I just feel like I was missing something. I know him and Helen are cousins, but that doesn't instantly make you best of friends - Hector and Creon weren't for sure. It just felt like he was completely different - but he was the only one. (oh, and I nearly forgot: The Furies! Angelini's characterisation of them was so good! I loved the twist; you think they're these horrible witches, but really they're just frightened children. I've never seen that done before, so I thought that was brilliant.)

Overall, I loved this book, and I want to know when the next installment is coming out! Whenever it is, I don't think I can wait that long. The cliffhanger on the end of this thing is torturous, so watch out for an emotional ride. I didn't think the Starcrossed series was going to get better, but Angelini blew me away. If you're interested in Greek mythology and you're a boy, go and find the Percy Jackson series. But if you're a girl? Starcrossed is the way to go!
Rating: 5/5