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The Lucid State
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Expected 27 Aug 26245 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 27, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 11, 2026
**this is a e arc reveiw**
The Lucid State by Madison Estrada ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lucid State was such a strange and unsettling read! This was my first liminal horror book, and I really loved how it played with the idea of not being able to trust your own mind.
Carter was a character I really felt for. Between her past trauma, losing someone she loved, and everything she experiences with lucid dreaming and sleepwalking, you can really feel how much she’s struggling. I especially loved the relationship between her and her daughter.
The more the story went on, the more I found myself questioning what was real and what was happening inside Carter’s dreams. There were some seriously creepy moments that had me feeling uneasy.
I also loved the isolated Maine setting. It gave the story such a cold, dark atmosphere that fit the psychological horror perfectly.
If you like psychological horror, cosmic, liminal spaces, unreliable narrators, and stories that make you question reality, definitely add this one to your tbr!!
The Lucid State by Madison Estrada ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lucid State was such a strange and unsettling read! This was my first liminal horror book, and I really loved how it played with the idea of not being able to trust your own mind.
Carter was a character I really felt for. Between her past trauma, losing someone she loved, and everything she experiences with lucid dreaming and sleepwalking, you can really feel how much she’s struggling. I especially loved the relationship between her and her daughter.
The more the story went on, the more I found myself questioning what was real and what was happening inside Carter’s dreams. There were some seriously creepy moments that had me feeling uneasy.
I also loved the isolated Maine setting. It gave the story such a cold, dark atmosphere that fit the psychological horror perfectly.
If you like psychological horror, cosmic, liminal spaces, unreliable narrators, and stories that make you question reality, definitely add this one to your tbr!!
August 9, 2026
"I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review"
Creepy, unsettling, claustrophobic and that ending? Absolutely devastating!
Creepy, unsettling, claustrophobic and that ending? Absolutely devastating!
Review of advance copy received from Author
It's actually 3.5 ⭐ but I cannot do it on Goodreads (I did on Storygraph though).
First of all, I want to thank Maddie for sharing her book with me. I had fun reading your story 😁.
So, this story is intriguing and it kicks right from the first chapter on the creepy and tense atmosphere. Maddie definitely knows how to build tension.
I love the main character, and all the correlation between fear, dreams and past dramatic experiences.
I've been hooked right from the first page, and it's not an easy thing to do.
I really love this story and the lore coming with it. It's well studied and you can literally feel Carter's fear.
The only reason I didn't put the last 1.5 stars, is that the end kind of felt short on me 😅. There is some kind of apotheosis and you can almost touch the last seconds of development and the climax but then I turned the page and I saw 'epilogue'. A really fast and vague one with that. I thought at first I might have missed some pages, but no. I spotted 1 or 2 light plot holes in the middle that I simply for ot about because it didn't has real impact on the story, but seeing the end, maybe it has, a little bit 😅. So yeah it felt a bit short on the resolution for my taste. But the story is great and it's super easy to root for Carter (and to want to kill her ex).
First of all, I want to thank Maddie for sharing her book with me. I had fun reading your story 😁.
So, this story is intriguing and it kicks right from the first chapter on the creepy and tense atmosphere. Maddie definitely knows how to build tension.
I love the main character, and all the correlation between fear, dreams and past dramatic experiences.
I've been hooked right from the first page, and it's not an easy thing to do.
I really love this story and the lore coming with it. It's well studied and you can literally feel Carter's fear.
The only reason I didn't put the last 1.5 stars, is that the end kind of felt short on me 😅. There is some kind of apotheosis and you can almost touch the last seconds of development and the climax but then I turned the page and I saw 'epilogue'. A really fast and vague one with that. I thought at first I might have missed some pages, but no. I spotted 1 or 2 light plot holes in the middle that I simply for ot about because it didn't has real impact on the story, but seeing the end, maybe it has, a little bit 😅. So yeah it felt a bit short on the resolution for my taste. But the story is great and it's super easy to root for Carter (and to want to kill her ex).
Review of advance copy received from Author
THE LUCID STATE FMC Carter comes across a YouTube video that will teach her how to lucid dream, curious- SHE CLICKS! When things start becoming unexplainable, she realizes that maybe she is becoming too good at dreaming that it will be hard to come back from.
WOW! Talk about cosmic horror! I was so intrigued about lucid dreaming that I finished it in one sitting. This book absolutely made me pause to make sure I was reading what I was reading 🫣 How terrifying is it, to not be in control of your body when you fall asleep & when I say control, I mean being able to just sleep without sleep walking or sleep talking to a level of harming yourself or others. I did feel a sense of sadness while reading & having a lot of sympathy for Carter after the unsettling events she has to go through, it’s really scary not knowing how to handle paranoia at the level she has to. The setting was a perfect back drop for a psychological horror- cold, isolated trailer in Maine. If you are a fan of lucid dreaming or are interested- this book is for you!!
Paranoia, hallucinations, sleep walking, unreliability!
(This will mess with me for a while) 🤯
This was a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review!
WOW! Talk about cosmic horror! I was so intrigued about lucid dreaming that I finished it in one sitting. This book absolutely made me pause to make sure I was reading what I was reading 🫣 How terrifying is it, to not be in control of your body when you fall asleep & when I say control, I mean being able to just sleep without sleep walking or sleep talking to a level of harming yourself or others. I did feel a sense of sadness while reading & having a lot of sympathy for Carter after the unsettling events she has to go through, it’s really scary not knowing how to handle paranoia at the level she has to. The setting was a perfect back drop for a psychological horror- cold, isolated trailer in Maine. If you are a fan of lucid dreaming or are interested- this book is for you!!
Paranoia, hallucinations, sleep walking, unreliability!
(This will mess with me for a while) 🤯
This was a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I don’t think I have words to describe what I thought about this book. 📖 It was a lot to take in, that’s for sure. I’ve never read a liminal horror, and this being my first can have them becoming my favorites sooner than I think.
Carter is such a strong FMC, the love that she has for her daughter is amazing and being a mother myself, I can feel her emotions through the pages. At first, I thought that this may be an underlying story into what post partem can feel like, but add to that the trauma of the things she went through with Eric, the devastation of losing her true love to sickness, and having to raise Chloe so far from her family and being alone just adds to how messed up Carter’s mental stability really is.
Without trying to find some underlying cause for these lucid dreams and sleepwalking, reading it for the horror it truly is… it was awesome! I hope to see more from this author in the future 💜💀💜
Carter is such a strong FMC, the love that she has for her daughter is amazing and being a mother myself, I can feel her emotions through the pages. At first, I thought that this may be an underlying story into what post partem can feel like, but add to that the trauma of the things she went through with Eric, the devastation of losing her true love to sickness, and having to raise Chloe so far from her family and being alone just adds to how messed up Carter’s mental stability really is.
Without trying to find some underlying cause for these lucid dreams and sleepwalking, reading it for the horror it truly is… it was awesome! I hope to see more from this author in the future 💜💀💜
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to author Madison Estrada for providing me with a complimentary review copy of her book. Okay, as someone who grew up reading Creepypastas and posts on places like r/NoSleep, this story gives those vibes in the best kind of way. I can't outright call it that, since it's on Amazon, a place where readers pay to access books, but I got that feeling for most of my reading. As for the kind of horror present in this tale, try the kind of liminal horror that makes you question what is real. On top of that, there's some real-life terror with domestic abuse.
The central character in all of this is a single mother trying to do right by her baby daughter. Unfortunately, fate loves dealing people bad hands. Couple that with some of the most vividly described body horror I have ever heard, and you've got yourself a solid story. This is definitely worth reading.
The central character in all of this is a single mother trying to do right by her baby daughter. Unfortunately, fate loves dealing people bad hands. Couple that with some of the most vividly described body horror I have ever heard, and you've got yourself a solid story. This is definitely worth reading.
Review of advance copy received from Author
ARC Review:
I love a good liminal horror story and let me tell you, The Lucid State absolutely delivers.
While reading I felt like I was reading something that could take place in the Insidious universe.
It’s an extremely well written story with characters you can love and ones you can HATE. And oooohhhh I HATED this one character and wanted nothing but the worst to happen to them. (As everyone should feel about this a’hole) 🤣
One particular chapter of this book actually gave me the f’n creeps and will stick with me for a VERY long time.
If you enjoy a book that will have you questioning reality, looking over your shoulder, and turning on all the lights when you’re alone, add this to your TBR immediately!
I love a good liminal horror story and let me tell you, The Lucid State absolutely delivers.
While reading I felt like I was reading something that could take place in the Insidious universe.
It’s an extremely well written story with characters you can love and ones you can HATE. And oooohhhh I HATED this one character and wanted nothing but the worst to happen to them. (As everyone should feel about this a’hole) 🤣
One particular chapter of this book actually gave me the f’n creeps and will stick with me for a VERY long time.
If you enjoy a book that will have you questioning reality, looking over your shoulder, and turning on all the lights when you’re alone, add this to your TBR immediately!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Lucid dreaming mixed with horror interested me enough to ask for an ARC. I was not disappointed. A lot of good horror will leave me scared but not many leaves me saying "Damn..." I really enjoyed this book and hope to see more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews