My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Dream by the Shadows (The Shadow Weavers Duology, #1)

Author: Logan Karlie

Narrator(s):
Jared Zeus (Narrator), Mia Hutchinson-Shaw (Narrator)

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 8/26/25

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Gothic, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Christy Ottaviano Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

No one told me that damnation could be beautiful.

For the last 500 years, the Kingdom of Noctis has been plagued by Corruption, a curse that spreads through dreams. Only an elixir, taken each night before sleep, can ward off the curse. But for some, the allure of the Dream Realm proves too strong.

Esmer Havenfall desperately wants to escape her curse-struck village. But as her family starts to succumb to Corruption, Esmer’s life swiftly unravels into a nightmare – especially when she
begins to dream herself.

In Esmer’s dreams, she meets her greatest fear, the Shadow Bringer, who rules from his castle in the Dream Realm, stealing souls one dreamer at a time. As Esmer follows the Shadow Bringer deeper into his kingdom she starts to feel a strange kinship to his sinister magic. But the prince of darkness has a haunted past, one that might change the fate of Esmer’s kingdom – and her
heart – forever.

Lush and vividly imagined, Logan Karlie creates an immersive nightmare in this seductive gothic fantasy, infused with shadow-haunted romance and an exhilarating thread of horror.

Content Warning: violence

+ I thought the premise for this story was very interesting – drinking an elixir to keep dreams away, because dreams were bad? I wanted to learn more and I found this world-building very dark and gothic. I also caught the Labyrinth vibes (one of my favorite childhood movies), so I liked that!

+ The narrators did a great job with bringing the main characters to life. All the demon voices were different and well done also.

+ There is a strong theme of family in this story because Esmer loses most of her family she is protective of her youngest brother.

+~ The romance is enemies to lovers and a slow burn but it’s not the main focus of the story. I didn’t feel invested in their romance though, but it might be because I wasn’t connecting to the characters.

~ I don’t know if it’s because it’s an audiobook and that’s already a challenge in holding my attention but the middle of this book was a bit slow. There’s always a demon in every corner asking to be let free and that stood out but it also became repetitive, at least in my listening experience.

~ Would like more world-building.

Final Thoughts:

This one wasn’t for me although I thought the narrators did such a great job with trying to bring this book to life. I liked the dark, gothic fantasy vibes but I had a hard time connecting to the characters.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble