Dreaming Darkly

Ivy Bloodgood’s mother is dead, and she should probably be sad about it. But she isn’t. Myra Bloodgood was confusing mix of protective and abusive, a manipulative personality who never told the truth—about where she came from, who Ivy’s father was, or why they were living their lives on the run.  Now that Ivy has been sent to Darkhaven, an island off the New England coast, to live with a rich uncle she didn’t know existed, she is forced to reckon with her mother’s past. Ivy can tell right away there are long-held family secrets buried within these walls, but when she wakes up from one of her nightmares covered in someone else’s blood, Ivy fears that whatever demons her mother battled while she was alive have come to roost in her own mind. Scared that she can no longer trust what she sees, Ivy seeks the help of a boy who thinks her episodes are connected to the sordid history of Darkhaven—but what they don’t know might kill them both.

Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge - release date April 9, 2019

Goodreads said the original title of this was “Season of the Witch” and I’m glad they changed it to Dreaming Darkly.  I also really liked the cover of this, especially the tiny little manor at the bottom.

One thing that was really interesting about this was how the narrator, Ivy, was sort of an unreliable narrator.  Not because she wants to trick the readers per say, or that she is lying to herself either, but she has hallucinations and dreams that she doesn’t know whether or not they’re real.  So some of the events that happen actually don’t happen (but do happen?) It all makes sense by the end though; it ties together. There is romance in this book and I forget if this one had the sort of “love triangle” that Emma didn’t like, but I thought it wasn’t really that much of a love triangle nor that annoying.  Maybe it’s just because I like romance in YA books. (Slight unpopular opinion-but oh well!!)

I liked how there were not one but multiple mysteries woven into the Darkhaven storyline (Darkhaven is the town/island where Ivy moves to.)  There are numerous mysteries and we get closure for all of them so I really liked trying to piece together everything. I also liked how it was kind of funny.  Ivy has got some sarcastic inner-monologue!! I didn’t really like Doyle being named Doyle, but that’s it.

3.5 stars.  It was pretty good!  This is the perfect slightly creepy book you’d reach for on a dreary, rainy, almost-but-not-quite spring day like today.  Took me 6 days to read.

-Taylor

Reviewed on March 31, 2019