If you die in your dreams, do you die in real life?
I’m done hiding. It’s time to enjoy life again.
My life has been a disaster and all I want is to recover and start dating again.
One night, I went out and explored a creepy abandoned house with my best friends and suddenly everything changed. I took one sip of a forgotten wine bottle, on a dare, and it's the last thing I should’ve done.
Visions and dreams of beautiful and terrifying men start to plague me—only the dreams feel real as I visit a mysterious dreamscape night after night.
In my dreams, one man wants my love and the other wants me dead.
Both men will do anything to have me for their purposes.
When my dreams start spilling over into real life, I need answers. I run into one of the two men while I'm out with my friends- only he gives me a different name than who I know him as in my dreams. It's clear he knows me when he takes me home to his penthouse and talks about our relationship. He warns me and I know he knows more than he cares to divulge despite his apparent feelings for me. His warnings and claims that he'll protect me aren't enough while the other man relentlessly pursues me for revenge, nor are they enough when he delivers me straight into the enemy's hands. There’s no one to turn to and no one’s coming to help. I’m running out of time.
The men know me, but I don’t know them. They are both dangerous men with unlimited resources and more money than God. I don’t remember either of them.
But they remember me.
Dear this book is intended for a mature audience. There are scenes containing violence, adult situations, stalking, language, peril, alcohol use, kidnapping, forced proximity, threats and references to domestic violence, and mental health issues. This is a dark book with intense subject matter and morally grey (or morally deranged) characters.
These subject matters intensify as the series progresses before ending in an HEA
First book read for the month and July! And, I must say that it's a GREAT way to start off the month!
I love the exploration of lucid dreaming in this first installment of The Empty Wishing House Trilogy. Kiara has had her fair share of ups and down in life so when mysterious men start showing up claiming they all know each other, Kiara must find a way to balance the life that she believes to be true versus the one she thinks is fantasy.
But the two men she's been dreaming of will do ANYTHING to claim what is theirs'. Kiara.
I first read Diary of Thorns by Larissa and fell in love with her writing style and the characters she has created. I can't wait to delve right into The Watcher and the Witch, the second installment of The Empty Wishing House Trilogy.
The Empty Wishing House by Larissa Vincente offers a tantalizing glimpse into the world of lucid dreaming, but somewhat falls short of fully realizing its potential in this first installment of a promising series. Despite its brevity, the book presents a captivating premise that immediately draws the reader in. The mystery surrounding characters like Kiara, Ilya, and Ramone is beautifully woven throughout the narrative, leaving readers eagerly anticipating answers. However, the minimal worldbuilding in The Empty Wishing House leave readers feeling unsatisfied, particularly those who value rich and immersive settings in their reading experience. Without sufficient detail and depth in the world building, the story feels lacking in texture and believability.
Vincente’s exploration of lucid dreaming is undoubtedly intriguing, with Kiara’s confusion and attempts to navigate the enigmatic dreamscapes serving as highlights of the story. However, the book’s short length limits the development of both the plot and the characters, resulting in a narrative that feels somewhat rushed and lacking in depth.
While the author’s writing style may not resonate with every reader, the execution of the constant mystery surrounding the characters is commendable. Despite this, the characters themselves ultimately feel two dimensional and could benefit from further exploration and development.
Kiara’s characterization leaves something to be desired, particularly in her interactions outside of the dream world. While the dream scenes offer glimpses into her psyche and struggles, the portrayal of her real life persona falls short of capturing the complexity expected of a twenty eight year old woman. Despite a few scenes where she interacts with her best friend, Kiara’s character remains largely underdeveloped, lacking depth and maturity. This portrayal come across as naïve and childish, which potentially detract from readers’ ability to fully connect with her as a protagonist.
Ilya and Ramone serve as intriguing enigmas within the narrative, their presence adding layers of mystery and tension to the story. However, their lack of development prevents readers from fully understanding their roles and significance in Kiara’s journey. The limited exploration of their characters leaves readers yearning for more depth and complexity. With minimal insight into their backgrounds, motivations, and personalities, it’s challenging for readers to fully invest in these characters or form strong emotional connections with them.
The series undeniably has the potential to evolve into something truly excellent, with its exploration of lucid dreaming and mysterious characters holding significant promise. However, to reach this potential, the execution of the narrative and the fleshing out of characters must be prioritized moving forward.
The Empty Wishing House was either going to end badly rushed and therefore terribly or there was going to be a second book. There could be nothing else as far as I was concerned. Thank goodness there will be another book! Kiara is a young woman who has been through severe trauma in her short life to include an abusive relationship and the loss of her parents. She has retreated inside herself quite literally. She works from home and barely goes out anymore.
The book drew me in from the beginning. Kiara decides to venture out with her friends one night and they go to an old abandoned house in the middle of the woods and have some wine together just for kicks. The scene is set. She states, “I was immediately uncomfortable. I had never seen the house before, but it felt familiar, as if I had been here and had no recollection of the event. An urge to leave swept through me, to run away and never look back.” While there, Kiara finds a dusty old bottle of wine and drinks some on a dare from her friends. Afterwards, she begins having strange dreams of haunting and beautiful men who claim to know her. One man desires her, the other may want her dead. Soon she begins seeing one of the men in her waking life as well. Both men are telling her different things. She doesn’t know who to turn to or who to believe.
Overall, there could've been stronger character development but that didn’t deter me from wanting to learn more about the characters or their stories. Kiara is still relatable. Some readers may consider her childish, but I think that if you view her speech and/or actions from the lens of having been through recent trauma, you can see why she acts and/or speaks the way she does. I did grow a bit weary of the men seeming to know what was going on and Kiara constantly asking what was going on. Hopefully more questions will be answered. The book ends on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to read the next book!
I would recommend this book for a mature adult audience due to the content. There are mature themes of abuse, violence, adult situations, and mental health issues.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
“I had wasted years of my life running away from ‘what ifs’. Running was safe and secure and nothing bad happened and no one could hurt me. But nothing good happened either, and I was trying so hard to live again and be less afraid.”
“The Empty Wishing House” by Larissa Vincente
Kiara is finished with hiding away. She wants to break through her fears and live a normal life, with normal relationships, and be normal. When she and her friends explored an abandoned house and drank from an old wine bottle her life changed. She keeps waking up inside a dream with two men she is attracted to that she may or may not be able to trust. But when these two men appear in the waking world as well Kiara isn’t sure what to believe.
I really like this book. I wish it was a lot longer so I would get more content of the two mysterious men. The mystery has drawn me in, and I cannot wait until book 2 to see what happens. The whole book in general gave me this hazy feeling like I don’t know what’s happening which is nice because that is what Kiara is feeling. The unsureness of what is reality and what is a dream and her own memory loss fighting with her instincts. I loved that aspect of the book. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars, really good.
-Magic -Forced Proximity -Domestic Violence -Mental Health -Alcohol
I really loved the concept of this book! I started the book late at night and decided I wasnt going to stop until it was finished. It was a very intriguing and unique story line. The main female character, Kiara, goes back and forth between the real world and another word which is comparable to lucid dreaming. As a lucid dreamer, I knew this was a story I wanted to read. Especially if pertained to her going back to this "dream world" where she meets two men she doesn't know or remember BUT they know her. I love the mystery and darkness of Ramone and already had my mind set on how I felt about Ilya pretty early on. The story kept you interested in it all the way through. Anxious, because you cant wait to see the relationship unfold between the two men and Kiara. Guessing, because you are finding out how she managed to get to these dream planes and know these men at the same time the character is piecing it together.
Here is why I did not rate this higher or even lower. If it weren't for the main story line, I would have rated it lower. I'm not usually picky on writer errors, but right off the rip it was a struggle. The sentences ran on with "and" too frequently or jumped around topcs at times. After a couple pages in, I checked how may pages the book consisted of. The book was just over 200 pages. I decided I could ignore it because I was that interested in the plot based off the synopsis that I read. Kiara was childish (as well as some of the dialect with her friends. I thought they were teens at first) and her thoughts were repetitive and chaotic. I felt like I was in my own brain, where its moving so fast you can't keep up with how to put it into words. By that point it sometimes does make any sense. I would have given it four stars if the writing was better. FYI, this is a big cliffhanger. The cliffhanger seemed more of an oddly abrupt end to the boo, not the 'ouo whats going to happen next' type of cliffhanger. All in all, I really loved the story! I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series but am crossing my fingers for a stronger female character development and the writing to be fixed up.
I received an advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This fantasy novel from a debut author is an epic journey of not knowing which way is up or down. There is heavy layers of world building, both reality and what Kiara believe are a dreamscape. Within her worlds, there are complex characters we don't fully understand, including Kiara herself.
There are 2 love interests, both are magnetic and alluring. Both are convinced they share history with Kiara but she doesn't recall. They both know more about what is going on than she does and are vague with providing answers. This leads us to ask, which one is the real villain and which one are we made to believe is the villain?
I really enjoyed this book, as a series there is so much potential to get lost and immerse yourself like Kiara does. I think there are more villains in play that haven't been uncovered yet and I think it will leave me speechless when the time comes. At this point in time, I'm team Ramone. I've just got this feeling that either way this story may go, he will be an extraordinary MMC that has you in a chokehold.
The book starts out with 28 year old Kiara and her 2 friends walking in the woods at night to visit an old abandoned house in the woods. After drinking from an old bottle of wine she found in the house she immediately started having visions/dreams. One minute she would be in the here and now and the next she was transported to a time and place that just didn’t seem modern. She meets 2 love interests who seem familiar even though she can’t remember ever meeting them previously. They seem to know exactly who she is. Then the fantasy world starts to bleed into her reality. After a tragic experience she endured some time ago she’s not sure what is real and what is not. This book will have you intrigued and guessing what is going to happen next. Which of the two men truly love her and which is the villain who wants her dead? This book is well written and the building of the characters and world is amazing. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. This book ends on a cliffhanger having you wanting more and ready for the second book. 4/5 ⭐️
I found this book to be intriguing, yet it took me a bit of time to get fully immersed in the story. At the outset, I noticed that the world-building was lacking and we weren't introduced to the complete setting of the story. However, some elements strongly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, such as the fmc drinking mysterious liquids and the blending of dreams with reality.
While the writing flow was okay, I couldn't help but feel that the story needed more detail and depth, especially when it came to the characters and the dream world. I definitely want a more comprehensive understanding of the author's intentions and the subtle nuances that make a great novel.
Despite these issues, I believe that the series has an incredible concept and has the potential to be truly captivating. I hope that the world-building and character development will be fleshed out more and that the author's vision will be fully realized.
Holy cliffhanger! I’m in SO much agony right now. THIS book hasn’t even been released and I NEED the next one!
In her debut novel, Larissa Vincente captivated me with her modern day fairytale, storytelling mastery. I found myself confused, my head muddled and trying to clear the fog as I stumbled through this epic adventure in the shoes of the FMC in her effort to distinguish dreams from reality. There’s a catch, though. She may truly be living both lives with troublesome little ability to recall vital players.
Struggling to discern who she can trust at each turn, Kiara is fighting for control whilst attempting to detangle complicated feelings for two men who both imply that they know her much more intimately than she can recall.
The Empty Wishing House is a must-read for fantasy lovers.
The story about a FMC who starts dreaming about two men after drinking from an old bottle in an abandoned house is really interesting. And the fact that one man wants to protect her and the other wants revenge from something she doesn't know/remember is also exciting.
She comes from past trauma so this dreams don't help her heal, and when she meets one of her "dream men" in real life she keep adding unanswered questions to her life.
Lately, thanks to the dual pov, i get to know what is the MMC thinking or his motives but in this story we are as clueless as the FMC so I hope we'll get some answers in the next book.
A twisted game of lies and deceipt. Who to believe, and who not to believe?
This book followed the journey of Kiara, and males playing on her lost memories. What happens when she is thrown to a vivid world, where she cannot remember everything, whilst being able to switch between realities?
İ have no words for this book, it was so interesting and I cannot wait for the next book, which would hopefully clear up some of the confusions in this book. Definitely a read for fantasy lovers!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The story follows Kiara, who struggles to understand why her dreams are so realistic. She meets two men who seem to know who she is but she has no clue who they are. It gets crazier when she meets one of the men in real life, leading her to question what is real and what isn't.
It is a well-written story that will keep you hooked the entire time. I enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait for more!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I’m all for mystery and suspense but normally half way through the book or by the end of book 1 you have some ideas. I guess I have a few ideas. But I’m still sitting here wondering wth. Like I want this to be good but it is a little jumpy on times and things. Confused about so many things. Have more questions than answers. I never DNF books and rarely on series. I already have the other two books, and really hope this first one is just a doozy and things start to make sense. 🤔😵💫🫣
The cover of this book made me think mystery and adventure ! There was certainly adventure! The whole book made me question myself and what I was reading. I enjoyed the storyline and at first thought it's just a dream and the mfc is going to wake up. I loved it all and the story has left me craving more. I want to know everything and find out what happened to her. This was very cleverly written and gripped me from start to end. Such an amazing masterpiece !
I got a peek of this book before publish and I actually enjoyed it a lot ! It was a bit confusing (not sure if that’s the right word ) most of the time , which will keep us in our toes and wanting to know more and more and see where it goes ! As soon as I got into the story I was definitely hooked! Oh and I knew that guy was trouble , if you read it you know who I am taking about ! And I do need the second book please and thank you
Unfortunately, I could only rate this a 3 star. I wanted to rate it so much higher since the premise of the story seems so original! The errors in the book had me holding back, and the entire story felt rushed. I wish I could have had more from the world and the characters. This book definitely has potential, and I have hope for the rest of the series, but the series debut fell a little flat for me. Still worth the read if you can side-step those problems!
Got some Alice in Wonderland vibes from this one with the whole other world, but it was decent. Not gonna lie Kiara annoyed me, but I'm intrigued to see what she finally remembers about what happened to her. Ilya I am very on the fence about, and I have a suspicion about Ramone, but looks like I am going to have to read more to find out if I'm correct.
I enjoyed the world building and the overall story. Looking forward to reading more to see what happens.
Gave up at 56%. I hate not finishing a book, I usually persevere, but my god its slow and drags.... There are characters within the book that know something of what's happening, but for some baffling reason they chose to keep that information to themselves... Why? Your friend has suffered memory loss following trauma, you know things from her childhood that could ease her suffering but you don't tell her!!! Nah.. Not for me
This book was amazing! I was able to relate to the main character and her struggles in life, and the plot was divine! I read on my kindle and was so invested I didn’t even keep track of where I was in the book! Then it was over and I am desperate for the next book!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I stopped at 42 percent. This story dragged on for me. I hate it when characters who could explain important things to the main character don't. I do not care what happens to the MFC , and I dislike the MMC.
Wonderful first book to what will be a great unique adventure series!! Looking forward to the continuation with more travels and through realms with lots of secrets and awesome characters!!
I liked this book. It held my attention, however I did find myself having to reread parts to understand the back and forth between the here and the dream.
Wow….starts a little confusing. It’s teeters on frustrating. But as it unfolds it is crazy. The entire series held me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know which way it would end. Well done!