LOOK, if I could separate out the last 20% of this book and give it 4 stars (maybe even 5stars!), I would. But, I'm not gonna lie, the middle 50-70% was really dragging for me.

A Theory of Dreaming continues Effy and Preston's story, picking up a little after ASID ends. We're now seeing them return to school and contend with the public's reaction to the story they broke about Myrrdin. They have new challenges to face at school, with their peers, with their mentors, and quite possibly with their world as a whole.

Now, onto why this book didn't really work for me: I love Effy and Preston - but they were so disconnected throughout most of this book that it was hard to understand how they would end up

engaged at the end. I mean, they never really talked about what the other was feeling? And that took me out of their love story a bit.

Again, the middle of this book felt like it dragged on, repeating things until it felt like getting hit over the head with foreshadowing. Despite the focus being on Preston's story, I never felt that his world, the dreaming, or the magic was explained in a way that made sense. What's worse is that I didn't feel any real connection to what he was doing or searching for. It seemed way too convenient that

he (and Gosse) would be able to fall into the dream sleep almost IMMEDIATELY. The supposed ritual Master Gosse does was just, what, closing your eyes and thinking about magic? I really tried to suspend my disbelief but please give me something to work with!!!

The journey he went on was not enough for me to believe that it was that simple for all to end well.

All that being said, I really loved the discovery part of this book where Effy, Preston, and Rhia all are unlocking certain pieces of the fairytale puzzle - I think Reid does that kind of writing well. But unfortunately it just didn't hit the same as ASID did for me.
 
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.