Reviewed by True

TITLE: Daybreak

SERIES: Immortals Descending #3

AUTHORS: Iris Foxglove

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 362 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023

BLURB:

Cillian Aislinn is elated when he receives an invitation to dance for a renowned patron of the arts, Lady Thora, in a beautiful lakeside manor in the hills of Kallistos. But all is not as it seems at Cladach Manor. By the time Cillian discovers the horrifying truth hiding behind a glamour of luxury, it will be too late. Cursed to suffer an immortal existence without the comfort of restful sleep, Cillian becomes the leader of a nomadic troupe of dancers, seeking what joy he can in the art that he once loved. When a series of prophetic dreams lead Cillian to a forest in search of a way to banish his curse, he encounters Astra, the god of dreams, who reveals who Lady Thora really is: the corrupted former god of art, now a spirit of decay whose influence is beginning to spread into Astra’s realm.

A child when he was summoned to the Dreamer’s Throne, Astra has spent centuries asleep, weaving dreams in the safety of a realm he can control. But when Pallas’s ire threatens his dreamers, Astra is forced to brave the waking world. With Cillian as his guide, he must find a way to defeat Pallas before her malevolence snuffs out all inspiration and art.

As they travel across Iperios, Cillian and Astra also navigate the growing attraction between them. Despite his centuries as a god, Astra knows little about mortal life, and Cillian’s curse has kept him in a state of numb exhaustion. As they awaken to their mutual desire, they learn the truth of who Cillian is and why Pallas is so determined to destroy him.

Featuring a very tired immortal without a natural alignment, a brat of a dream god who has forgotten how to be human, an evil spirit with a grudge, and a wild dash across Iperios to restore the balance between art, inspiration, and dreams.

REVIEW:

Well, that started bloody creepy. Cillian was thrilled to dance for Lady Thora. Staying at her manor he fast discovers something dark is going on. There’s no escape to become some kind of immortal with insomnia.

Astra’s head is full of dreams and magical stories. One day he meets the god of dreams who hands everything over to Astra, with the warning to avoid Pallas the former god of art.
The forest and his world of dreams is Astra’s safe space, for hundreds of years.
When Pallas threatens the dreams, Astra has to leave his forest, enter the waking world and bring Pallas to Death.

After hundreds of years, Cillian still suffers from insomnia, he only sleeps on whiskey or herbs. Lately, he dreams of a forest and someone sleeping on a throne. The guy summoned him to hurry and come.

Astra’s guide in the waking world is Cillian, he’s the leader of a troupe of dancers. Cillian has bad experiences with gods, so this one he doesn’t trust either, and he’s quite a brat too.
Astra is mesmerized by the waking world, the sun, the flowers, the bees, and the food, shame Cillian is such a grumpy person.

“Being human is tiresome,”

“It’s not my fault your human brain isn’t as clever as my godly one,”

Astra isn’t good at being a human in the waking world, everything is new, all those tantalizing feelings, it’s funny AF.
First Cillian and Astra irritated the other terribly. But watch them on their journey. Without spoiling, I can tell there are events on their path, full of intense excitement. A lot of characters pass by, there’s no time to dream away, or you’ll miss something.
They go from arguing, to friendship, to more, much more. Even their lovemaking was dreamlike.

Lord Sleepyhead and Lord Dancy-Shoes, a perfect combination!

It’s a slow burn, with a wonderful buildup. The events are incredibly exciting and captivating, it’s such a great story.
The world of dreams is amazing, how these authors created these realms was really extraordinary.
This story is rich with all kinds of amazing magic, the whole story is absolutely stunningly written.

RATING:

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