A Dream Within A Dream: The Sponsored Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

The Sponsored

Author: Caroline T. Patti

Publication Date: September 12, 2018

Publisher: Month9Books

Description:

Don’t break the rules…

Max Winter is a janitor at a ritzy boarding school. He’s supposed to keep to himself, mind his business, stay quiet about the things he sees, sweep the floors, and under no circumstances is he to have any contact with the residents. Now, Max will break every last one of those rules when he meets Ace Valentine.

Don’t follow your heart…

Ace Sloane finds out she’s on the wrong side of a war she no longer believes in fighting. Now, she’ll risk everything to get her life back from the people who stole it, including getting too close to exactly the wrong boy.

Don’t get caught…

Grey Winter lost both parents in a fire that should've killed her as well. A “miracle baby,” Grey is sent to live with her Nana who should have told her the truth about who and what she really is. Now she’s at the forefront of a cover-up, all-out manhunt, and the object of one boy’s interest she doesn’t want or need. It’s up to Grey to connect the dots and bring an end to the secrets and lies that have caused so much pain and suffering for so long.

The Sponsored is an intriguing and action-packed novel that will have readers on the edge of their seats until the end. The book is separated into two distinct time frames - the Before and the After - both set in the future. In each of these, there are different narrators. In the After (the present day) we have Grey who can self-heal and isn't supposed to be alive considering the fire that killed both her parents and should've killed her too. In the Before, we have Max and Ace, star-crossed lovers from different sides of town who shouldn't fall for each other but do anyways. It's your basic doomed romance.

The book is full of action and romance - running from one thing or another and trying not to get caught in the process. I personally didn't exactly like that the author kept bouncing the narrative back and forth between the past and present, but I loved that she chose to write the novel in the first person point of view. Even though that means multiple main characters, we're able to form deeper connections with them because this style of writing allows us to glimpse into their hearts and minds. I really liked all three main characters - Grey, Max, and Ace. They each had their strengths and flaws, but were realistic and accessible as well. The plot was okay for me, it didn't hold my attention the way I would've liked, but that's probably my fault for getting distracted. Please remember that these are my personal opinions and have nothing to do with the novel itself. I'm sure tons of other readers are going to feel very differently than I did. I'm just pointing out that the plot didn't hold my full attention the entire time and I felt my mind wandering. I'm not going to say much else about the plot because I don't want to slip up and include any spoilers. This was a solid and enjoyable read and I recommend it for fans of science fiction, dystopia, contemporary, and even romance.

Caroline T Patti is the author of The World Spins Madly On and Too Late To Apologize. When she’s not writing, she’s a school librarian, mother of two, wife, avid reader and Green Bay Packer fan.