Okay, Reverie was frankly my most anticipated novel of this year except for maybe Darkdawn by the King of Stab himself, Jay Kristoff. But that’s neither here nor there. Reverie starts off with Kane, a gay teenager, and his sister Sophia attending a crime scene because Kane lost his memory after stealing and crashing his father’s car into a building and then a creek. Sibling sarcasm ensues and everyone annunciates with jazz hands, while not so subtly throwing shade at everything. Also, decoupage. After a while of being there, a dark ‘thing’ appears in the nearby mill, they go to investigate and eventually get arrested.
This is where Kane meets Dr Poesy, a lovely and poised psychiatrist who just happens to be a man in mascara. She will sass you into submission if you think there is anything wrong with that. She is coiffed and eloquent, inserting herself into Kane’s life so as to attempt to uncover what he has forgotten, while also kind of providing a role model for him in his currently confused state. After this chance encounter however, everything goes to shit. But not the type that is sad and morose. This one is flamboyant, and sparkle covered with a touch of sarcasm and endless shade.
So, the synopsis describes it as Inception mixed with The Magicians which I sort of agree. But it’s also like if Miss Peregrine had a baby with an episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race (both the presence of queens and the infinite supply of shady entertainment it provides). Throw in some teenage angst, a little bit of a Carry On feel, and a buttload of glitter and you kind of have Reverie. Honestly it is comparable to none that I have previously read.
Now I spoke before about the various characters initially. The main character is a teenager named Kane who was, in his own words, outed at a young age. He has his issues and definitely cops flak from so many people about his sexuality. I feel like, however, he endures it all to save those around him who haven’t yet told their loved ones about their orientation. He is strong and sassy with a kind of tough outer shell, but also caring and a little squishy in the middle. Basically, he will do anything for anyone so long as they treat him with respect. If you don’t, he will shoot fantastic rainbows out of his hands to put you in your rightful place.
The secondary cast involves a group of friends who have proclaimed themselves ‘The Others’ because of their various differences from the rest of society. The have their own role to play within the world of Reverie directly relating to the reveries themselves. Although I was initially suspicious of their motives, most turned out to be good eggs (or did they?). Of these I think my favourite was probably Adeline in all her know-it-all glory, but the others don’t fall far behind. Just a word of advice, look out for Helena, she’ll mess you up.
Here is where I feel like I need to make special mention of a person we shall call Mr Seafoam for the purposes of this review (spoilers). This guy made my heart melt by the end. The subject of cruel circumstance, he ends up thrust into the path of another character and the resulting relationship just gave me butterflies. He is soft and marshmallowy while with the person he loves, while being hard and prickly around everyone else. He is charismatic and funny and honestly, I am so glad he was in this novel because I just wanted to squeeze him by the end.
So, what are reveries you ask (the thing in the book, not the book itself)? Basically, they are a kind of interdimensional portal into someone’s dreams and when let to play out can either lead to bliss or ruinous damnation. They come directly from certain people and engulf everyone and everything around them. Also, they have varying circumstances and settings which really draw the reader in. And, as a side note, they are sources of power for reasons that I shall not divulge.
Which brings me to the villain of the piece. As you would know if you have read the synopsis, she is an evil drag queen sorceress who is intent on stealing all the power for herself. I mean what girl doesn’t love having all the power of the universe at her fingertips, amirite? I absolutely positively LOVED any time this evil witch queen came onto the scene. She is a trinket licking, wig wearing, fabulously sarcastic manipulative old (kind of) wench of a character. Downside was there wasn’t enough banter, but the upside was the lack of presence made her appearances all the more riveting.
When I previously mentioned reveries and their origins, I also commented that their contents were vast and varied. All this worldbuilding (that’s what it is even though it’s not a permanent state) is expertly pieced together with Reality scenes flawlessly blending into those of the reverie. When worlds collide, they seamlessly connect to bring the reader all the fantastical joy of even the most highly touted fantasy. One could easily escape through these portals into the souls of their owners, simply to be forced back into the real world scenarios of Connecticut, USA.
On the surface, it is a shiny, glitter, and sarcasm filled romp that is all about taking names and saving the world while looking fabulous doing it. Underneath however, it contains an eye-opening commentary into how the world views those of an orientation other than heterosexual. Kane is ostracised for being gay by literally every single boy on the football team. A cute little lesbian is assumed to want to run away with the prince because well, all women love men, right? All through Reverie references are made about characters being less than others because they are gay, with a certain character even remarking he would be dead in his homeland. While this could have been confronting and really bring down the entire vibe of the novel, La Sala inserts these political statements with such genius and timing that the narrative as a whole remains upbeat but also makes the reader assess their own views on these critical issues.
So, it comes down to this. Reverie was fantastical and flamboyant, drawing in the reader with its wit and sarcasm along with its expertly built mish mash of the real and the imagined. The characters are fully developed, making the reader involuntarily fall in love with all their facets and flaws. With its rich scenery and undertones of current commentary, La Sala brings the whole thing together into one shining opus (or glittery Fabergé egg if that’s your thing) of a novel that is guaranteed to warm even the coldest of hearts.
Reverie is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of December 3rd 2019.
