Review: The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

Title: The Nightmare Dilemma (The Arkwell Academy #2)
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publication:March 4th 2014 by Tor Teen
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Owned
Goodreads

The second in a thrilling new fantastical mystery series

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies. 

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really Liked It

-- My Thoughts --

     The thing is, I read the first book in this series a long while ago. So, many of the details were not very clear in my mind. And I had forgotten some of the characters' names, but luckily, from the first page,  I got back into the world like I had never left.
     Dusty, one of the rare Nightmares, defeated the most evil of enemies. And she thought her problems are over. But there's much more to come. Someone has almost killed one of Dusty's friends. And the rumors are spreading. And Dusty can't really see anything from the dreams of her crush, Eli. On top of that, Paul has come back to the academy and he's reminding her why she fell for him in the first place. Evil lurking around every corner, and two boys grabbing her attention, it seems that Dusty is in for much more than she expected.
    First things first, what I absolutely love about this book is the idea of Nightmares. It's just something so unique, I've never heard of it before I stumbled upon this series. And the author really takes it up to the next level in this sequel. There's much more action and suspense, and many lives at stake. You can feel the tension building up and there's wasn't one moment when I felt bored.
     Then, the characters. As I said in the first book's review, I adore Dusty. She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. She cares for her friends, supports them, but she's also naive and too-trusting at times. She is a flawed person. A real person. And I appreciated the author not making her a PERFECT character. And the other characters in this book are also delightful, they really add a lot to the story and it's fun reading Dusty's interactions with her friends.
     The love interests. We had Paul and Eli in the first book. But in this one, there's much more Eli than Paul, for a good reason (you'll know when you read the books!). But, still these two boys are swoon-worthy and altogether amazing. Although Eli really got on my nerves a lot of times, his care and love are evident. Their relationships felt real and that's what I want from romances in YA.

     The ending was thrilling, but I feel like there's much more potential in this series. I'm waiting patiently to read this author's magnificent works to come! And I'm sure they'll be as amazing as these!