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Talented #1
A Drop of Dream
Fancy a cup of magical tea? Come in, sit down, relax. Don't mind the killer in the corner...
All Emma wants is to sell her enchanted teas in peace; instead, she's caught up in the chase for a killer who's stalking the streets of London. He's targeting half-bloods, people with limited magical ability. People just like Emma.
The police are baffled by the long string of deaths, but they're not willing to put in the legwork to make an arrest. After all, magic users can take care of themselves, right? Except, those with real power don't give a damn about half-bloods. So, when Emma wakes from a strange dream that nearly gets her killed in the waking world, she knows she has to deal with it herself.
She's not alone. Gibble, her Boggart shop assistant has her back. But can she trust the two strange men that turn up on her doorstep, claiming they want to help?
The sun is going down and the killer is just around the corner... and Emma had better find a way to stop him.
(This book was previously published as Dream Stalker. )
All Emma wants is to sell her enchanted teas in peace; instead, she's caught up in the chase for a killer who's stalking the streets of London. He's targeting half-bloods, people with limited magical ability. People just like Emma.
The police are baffled by the long string of deaths, but they're not willing to put in the legwork to make an arrest. After all, magic users can take care of themselves, right? Except, those with real power don't give a damn about half-bloods. So, when Emma wakes from a strange dream that nearly gets her killed in the waking world, she knows she has to deal with it herself.
She's not alone. Gibble, her Boggart shop assistant has her back. But can she trust the two strange men that turn up on her doorstep, claiming they want to help?
The sun is going down and the killer is just around the corner... and Emma had better find a way to stop him.
(This book was previously published as Dream Stalker. )
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2016
344 people are currently reading
1296 people want to read
About the author
Amy Hopkins
40 books91 followersAmy Hopkins lives in Australia with her husband, two kids, one dog and four chickens. She’s most often seen (or, more to the point, not seen) hiding in the hammock on her back deck, listening to the local wildlife as she reads a very large book.
Her heroes are Lessa of Benden Weyr, Lady Kettricken and Elspeth of Obernewton.
Her heroes are Lessa of Benden Weyr, Lady Kettricken and Elspeth of Obernewton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
February 25, 2016
I downloaded the book this morning and didn't stop reading until I finished. This hooked me from the first page and didn't let go. It had all the elements I really like in a fantasy - great characters, magic, Otherworld beings, mystery, a little romance ( nothing to distract from the story ) and above all, an excellent storyteller.
Emma is a half Talent able to do small magic. She is the owner of a tea shop where she charms and sells teas to other half bloods, some humans and the occasional full blooded Talent.. She is assisted by the boggart Gibble, loyal helper to her family for centuries. Both of them carry secrets.
There is enormous discrimination between the 3 divisions of people with the half bloods disdained by the Talents and distrusted by most humans. Harrod, a full Talent and his brother Martin, full human are trying to change that..
Against this backdrop a series of murders occurs - all half bloods. Then the killer targets Emma.
This was a really fun, fast read. LOL at hobgoblin, Barg, caring for Lenny. Yes, signing up for the next.
This was an ARC provided by the author and LibraryThing. Thank you..
Emma is a half Talent able to do small magic. She is the owner of a tea shop where she charms and sells teas to other half bloods, some humans and the occasional full blooded Talent.. She is assisted by the boggart Gibble, loyal helper to her family for centuries. Both of them carry secrets.
There is enormous discrimination between the 3 divisions of people with the half bloods disdained by the Talents and distrusted by most humans. Harrod, a full Talent and his brother Martin, full human are trying to change that..
Against this backdrop a series of murders occurs - all half bloods. Then the killer targets Emma.
This was a really fun, fast read. LOL at hobgoblin, Barg, caring for Lenny. Yes, signing up for the next.
This was an ARC provided by the author and LibraryThing. Thank you..
September 20, 2017
Five half-blood Talents are dead in five months, the latest a young witch who sold curse stones. Emma is concerned about the situation but concentrates on keeping her shop stock of healing teas up to date, with help from boggart assistant Gibble, and her beloved dog Lenny. But one night she wakes up from a dream to find herself holding a bloodsucking knife and trying to kill herself. Emma is lucky to survive and suspects that this is what happened to the other victims. But why was she able to survive the attack and who would want to kill her? Gibble has the answer of an evil Talent who needs the knife to steal the life force and Talent from victims, making him very powerful and very dangerous...
I like Emma. She is just a normal woman trying to make a living from her tea, someone who wants to be left alone. She is a half-blood, meaning half human and half Talent, a talent she uses to help people. When she is mentally attacked in her sleep, she becomes afraid for her safety but curious about why she did not die. Gibble believes that Emma has some kind of Talent that can block the powers of others, enabling her to fight back and save herself. With the help of Gibble, a few spells and two men offering to help, she now has a chance to fight back. Gibble is a great sidekick character, loyal to Emma but grumpy and rude to others! He also has a wicked streak and an interesting friend...
Behind the nearby city walls the full-blood Talents all live in peace and security, not caring for the half-bloods and humans who live outside their protection and who are viewed as inferior. When half-bloods start to die, nobody really cares except full-blood Talent Harrod and his human brother Martin. Leaving the city, they are investigating the murders when they meet Emma and offer to help. I liked the brothers. Harrod has the family power and prestige but he was unwilling to turn his back on his brother who was born without magical genes, sort of like a squib in the world of Harry Potter. The brothers are very close friends and loyal to each other, and both care about those ignored by the city people. I have to point out here that there is NOT a love triangle between Emma and the brothers, thankfully.
The plot has a bit of a Victorian feel to it with London being a walled city with the protected upper class living in a nice secure environment and not caring about the lower classes outside the wall. Emma's quaint little tea shop fits into it along with the other magical shops around her. I liked the sense of community amongst the half-bloods and humans, which is the only protection they have with the police showing little interest in the murders. I liked the magic elements to the story, with the witch Deirdre as a good supporting character. It mixes magic, mystery and paranormal nicely with just enough of each one.
This was a well written story with good characters that you care about. It is nicely paced with no waffle, and while it isn't action packed, you do want to read to find out what happens. There is a hint of romance but it fits in well to the plot rather than dominate it, and it isn't a dreadful insta-luv creation so I was happy with it. I'm likely to look at the next book in the series at some point.
I like Emma. She is just a normal woman trying to make a living from her tea, someone who wants to be left alone. She is a half-blood, meaning half human and half Talent, a talent she uses to help people. When she is mentally attacked in her sleep, she becomes afraid for her safety but curious about why she did not die. Gibble believes that Emma has some kind of Talent that can block the powers of others, enabling her to fight back and save herself. With the help of Gibble, a few spells and two men offering to help, she now has a chance to fight back. Gibble is a great sidekick character, loyal to Emma but grumpy and rude to others! He also has a wicked streak and an interesting friend...
Behind the nearby city walls the full-blood Talents all live in peace and security, not caring for the half-bloods and humans who live outside their protection and who are viewed as inferior. When half-bloods start to die, nobody really cares except full-blood Talent Harrod and his human brother Martin. Leaving the city, they are investigating the murders when they meet Emma and offer to help. I liked the brothers. Harrod has the family power and prestige but he was unwilling to turn his back on his brother who was born without magical genes, sort of like a squib in the world of Harry Potter. The brothers are very close friends and loyal to each other, and both care about those ignored by the city people. I have to point out here that there is NOT a love triangle between Emma and the brothers, thankfully.
The plot has a bit of a Victorian feel to it with London being a walled city with the protected upper class living in a nice secure environment and not caring about the lower classes outside the wall. Emma's quaint little tea shop fits into it along with the other magical shops around her. I liked the sense of community amongst the half-bloods and humans, which is the only protection they have with the police showing little interest in the murders. I liked the magic elements to the story, with the witch Deirdre as a good supporting character. It mixes magic, mystery and paranormal nicely with just enough of each one.
This was a well written story with good characters that you care about. It is nicely paced with no waffle, and while it isn't action packed, you do want to read to find out what happens. There is a hint of romance but it fits in well to the plot rather than dominate it, and it isn't a dreadful insta-luv creation so I was happy with it. I'm likely to look at the next book in the series at some point.
July 18, 2016
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
Dream Stalker is Amy Hopkins' first book, and is also the first in a series focusing on witches and wizards, collectively known as the Talented, who live in London. The main character is half-blood Emma, who has minor Talent due to her mixed ancestry and runs a tea shop where she sells teas both normal and enchanted along with the help of her inherited boggart, Gibble, and her dog, Lenny. But Emma's peaceful, tea-filled existence is jeopardized when a dream stalker begins targeting half-bloods with the goal of stealing their Talent and gifts for himself. When Emma becomes his next target, she finds herself teamed up with full-blood Talent Harrod and his fully mortal brother Martin in order to figure out who's doing the killing and stop him.
I think this was a great world and a story that had really good bones, but it needs a lot more polish to be a good book overall. Emma's tea shop is charming, Harrod and Martin were enjoyable characters, and Gibble turned out to be one of the most interesting "people" in the book once more information about him came out. The world itself is interesting; it's Earth as we kind-of know it, but witches, wizards, and supernatural creatures collectively known as Otherworlders (like boggards, fae, giants, and so on) live some-what integrated lives. Everyone is aware of everyone else's existence, even if they don't necessarily like them. Half-bloods like Emma get the short end of the stick in it all, because they're kind of caught between the mortals and the Talented, which is a neat way to approach prejudice and discrimination (for example, if half-bloods want to visit the walled-in area of London where full-blooded Talents live, they need to show paperwork and their movements are tracked) but didn't really seem to make sense because, while people were campaigning for mortal inclusion, it didn't seem like any half-bloods had really bothered to speak up for themselves. The Otherworld and the dream worlds were very well-done, with laws and happenings of their own that the story obeyed rather consistently.
But overall, consistency is something that's lacking in this book. At one point, it's five half-bloods who have been targeted before Emma; at another it's six. Harrod's last name changes from Passar in the early chapters to Umbers in a later one. Emma says that two of the victims were her close friends, and yet there's not really any evidence of her having real friends other than possibly Harrod and Martin, once they meet; she seems to have many acquaintances, but no one she regularly talks to or involves in her life other than Gibble and her dog. There's also a desperate need for an editor with an eye to the use of grammar, particularly in regards to dialogue. Problems with punctuation in regards to dialogue abound in this book--and I'm not talking about general comma usage, which people are horribly divided on in general. I'm talking about improper use of periods and commas at the end of people speaking, before the dialogue tag, like "Blah blah blah." Harrod said, which should be "Blah blah blah," Harrod said. This is extremely standard and I have to think that, to some degree, Hopkins knows it, because in some places it's correct. In others, not so much. Some dialogue is missing ending punctuation entirely. Hyphens are used where em- and en-dashes should be; there's not a real "dash" used properly anywhere in this book. Things like Talent, various races, and the Otherworld are capitalized at some points and not at others, as if Hopkins couldn't decide if she wanted them to be proper nouns or just regular nouns. After I finished reading, I did a quick re-run through of the book's first five chapters, just scanning to see what jumped out at me, and highlighted twenty-five instances of these errors. There were probably more I missed. They were all so obvious that really just one more quick line edit would have fixed them and made the book appear much more polished as a whole. Sure, professionally-published books put out by the Big Four houses sometimes contain mistakes, but not on a scale even similar to this.
I also think that, lovely as the plot was, parts of it could have used fleshing out. There are two parts where I really would have liked to see more of this: in regards to the "big reveal" about who the villain was, and in regards to what happened in the dream world. First, though the villain does appear at one point earlier in the book, he is not really woven into the story as a whole until it's revealed what he's up to. It seems like Hopkins wanted us to be feel betrayed by this person, but Emma didn't really have enough of a relationship with him for that to happen. Seeing him worked a little more fully into the plot would have gone a long way toward maximizing the "twist" factor when the time for the reveal came. Second, though I think the dream world at the end was overall very well done, possessing that sort of weird and disjointed logic that so often occurs in dreams, the part with the rat didn't feel fleshed out to me. Was it a real rat or not? That was never made clear, and it seemed like something more was going to be made of him, but it never was. It just kind of fell off, and Emma let it go as if nothing had ever really happened. Like the villain, I would have liked to see this worked in a bit more; a little more fleshing out on those two things would have made the story as a whole feel a bit more consistent and cohesive.
Overall, this was a good story but not a good book. The world and characters have so much potential but sloppy formatting and editing and a poor eye to detail left me wanting more and wondering if I should bother with the second book, Barrow Fiend. I'll probably try the sample to see if these problems have been resolved, because it should be apparent within that sample range. There's so much potential here, it was somewhat disappointing to see it so roughly finished.
3 stars out of 5, but if it gets an update to resolve some of its finishing issues I would revise that upward.
Dream Stalker is Amy Hopkins' first book, and is also the first in a series focusing on witches and wizards, collectively known as the Talented, who live in London. The main character is half-blood Emma, who has minor Talent due to her mixed ancestry and runs a tea shop where she sells teas both normal and enchanted along with the help of her inherited boggart, Gibble, and her dog, Lenny. But Emma's peaceful, tea-filled existence is jeopardized when a dream stalker begins targeting half-bloods with the goal of stealing their Talent and gifts for himself. When Emma becomes his next target, she finds herself teamed up with full-blood Talent Harrod and his fully mortal brother Martin in order to figure out who's doing the killing and stop him.
I think this was a great world and a story that had really good bones, but it needs a lot more polish to be a good book overall. Emma's tea shop is charming, Harrod and Martin were enjoyable characters, and Gibble turned out to be one of the most interesting "people" in the book once more information about him came out. The world itself is interesting; it's Earth as we kind-of know it, but witches, wizards, and supernatural creatures collectively known as Otherworlders (like boggards, fae, giants, and so on) live some-what integrated lives. Everyone is aware of everyone else's existence, even if they don't necessarily like them. Half-bloods like Emma get the short end of the stick in it all, because they're kind of caught between the mortals and the Talented, which is a neat way to approach prejudice and discrimination (for example, if half-bloods want to visit the walled-in area of London where full-blooded Talents live, they need to show paperwork and their movements are tracked) but didn't really seem to make sense because, while people were campaigning for mortal inclusion, it didn't seem like any half-bloods had really bothered to speak up for themselves. The Otherworld and the dream worlds were very well-done, with laws and happenings of their own that the story obeyed rather consistently.
But overall, consistency is something that's lacking in this book. At one point, it's five half-bloods who have been targeted before Emma; at another it's six. Harrod's last name changes from Passar in the early chapters to Umbers in a later one. Emma says that two of the victims were her close friends, and yet there's not really any evidence of her having real friends other than possibly Harrod and Martin, once they meet; she seems to have many acquaintances, but no one she regularly talks to or involves in her life other than Gibble and her dog. There's also a desperate need for an editor with an eye to the use of grammar, particularly in regards to dialogue. Problems with punctuation in regards to dialogue abound in this book--and I'm not talking about general comma usage, which people are horribly divided on in general. I'm talking about improper use of periods and commas at the end of people speaking, before the dialogue tag, like "Blah blah blah." Harrod said, which should be "Blah blah blah," Harrod said. This is extremely standard and I have to think that, to some degree, Hopkins knows it, because in some places it's correct. In others, not so much. Some dialogue is missing ending punctuation entirely. Hyphens are used where em- and en-dashes should be; there's not a real "dash" used properly anywhere in this book. Things like Talent, various races, and the Otherworld are capitalized at some points and not at others, as if Hopkins couldn't decide if she wanted them to be proper nouns or just regular nouns. After I finished reading, I did a quick re-run through of the book's first five chapters, just scanning to see what jumped out at me, and highlighted twenty-five instances of these errors. There were probably more I missed. They were all so obvious that really just one more quick line edit would have fixed them and made the book appear much more polished as a whole. Sure, professionally-published books put out by the Big Four houses sometimes contain mistakes, but not on a scale even similar to this.
I also think that, lovely as the plot was, parts of it could have used fleshing out. There are two parts where I really would have liked to see more of this: in regards to the "big reveal" about who the villain was, and in regards to what happened in the dream world. First, though the villain does appear at one point earlier in the book, he is not really woven into the story as a whole until it's revealed what he's up to. It seems like Hopkins wanted us to be feel betrayed by this person, but Emma didn't really have enough of a relationship with him for that to happen. Seeing him worked a little more fully into the plot would have gone a long way toward maximizing the "twist" factor when the time for the reveal came. Second, though I think the dream world at the end was overall very well done, possessing that sort of weird and disjointed logic that so often occurs in dreams, the part with the rat didn't feel fleshed out to me. Was it a real rat or not? That was never made clear, and it seemed like something more was going to be made of him, but it never was. It just kind of fell off, and Emma let it go as if nothing had ever really happened. Like the villain, I would have liked to see this worked in a bit more; a little more fleshing out on those two things would have made the story as a whole feel a bit more consistent and cohesive.
Overall, this was a good story but not a good book. The world and characters have so much potential but sloppy formatting and editing and a poor eye to detail left me wanting more and wondering if I should bother with the second book, Barrow Fiend. I'll probably try the sample to see if these problems have been resolved, because it should be apparent within that sample range. There's so much potential here, it was somewhat disappointing to see it so roughly finished.
3 stars out of 5, but if it gets an update to resolve some of its finishing issues I would revise that upward.
February 14, 2016
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I accidentally stumbled across Dream Stalker on Facebook and decided to give it a go thinking that it sounded like my kind of book, and after reading the first chapter I immediately requested an ARC to review and pre-ordered a copy for my kindle! Whilst reading the first chapter I got that feeling, you know the one where you start a new book by an author you have not read before and get the feeling that it is going to be a fantastic story as it has already started drawing you in! By the end of the first chapter I was intrigued and wanted more.....
Luckily the ARC arrived and I got reading immediately and I am so glad as I was not disappointed and my initial feeling panned out into one hell of a story!
Dream Stalker is about Emma a half-blood (a person with limited magic ability) who runs a tea shop selling enchanted teas in London. Half-bloods are being killed in London, the police can't deal with it because of the magic element and the "Talented" (a person with real power) aren't really concerned, so it is down to Emma, 2 Brothers (one Talented one not) and Emma's family Boggart Gibble (who I loved) to try and find out what is happening and catch the killer before it is too late.
What I loved about this story is the way that Ms Hopkins not only draws you into the story but also the setting and world that the story is set in, with all its politics and hierarchy, the world and characters/creatures are described so well and in so much detail but without too much unnecessary information. There were some lighthearted parts to the book too which I really liked, Emma's interaction with Barg the hobgoblin had me in stitches (and also made me want to read the book lying in fluffy water in my inside pond!!!!). I found Emma to be a likeable character and cared what happened to her, she really seemed to grow as the story unraveled and by the end of it she is definitely a stronger person because of the events that unfold, the book doesn't end on a cliff hanger but does pave the way for the next instalment in the series and makes you feel that there is far more to come in the future!
Personally I cannot wait for the next book to find out what happens next, and I would say to definitely give the book a go you will not be disappointed. Plus did I mention how beautiful the cover is....
I accidentally stumbled across Dream Stalker on Facebook and decided to give it a go thinking that it sounded like my kind of book, and after reading the first chapter I immediately requested an ARC to review and pre-ordered a copy for my kindle! Whilst reading the first chapter I got that feeling, you know the one where you start a new book by an author you have not read before and get the feeling that it is going to be a fantastic story as it has already started drawing you in! By the end of the first chapter I was intrigued and wanted more.....
Luckily the ARC arrived and I got reading immediately and I am so glad as I was not disappointed and my initial feeling panned out into one hell of a story!
Dream Stalker is about Emma a half-blood (a person with limited magic ability) who runs a tea shop selling enchanted teas in London. Half-bloods are being killed in London, the police can't deal with it because of the magic element and the "Talented" (a person with real power) aren't really concerned, so it is down to Emma, 2 Brothers (one Talented one not) and Emma's family Boggart Gibble (who I loved) to try and find out what is happening and catch the killer before it is too late.
What I loved about this story is the way that Ms Hopkins not only draws you into the story but also the setting and world that the story is set in, with all its politics and hierarchy, the world and characters/creatures are described so well and in so much detail but without too much unnecessary information. There were some lighthearted parts to the book too which I really liked, Emma's interaction with Barg the hobgoblin had me in stitches (and also made me want to read the book lying in fluffy water in my inside pond!!!!). I found Emma to be a likeable character and cared what happened to her, she really seemed to grow as the story unraveled and by the end of it she is definitely a stronger person because of the events that unfold, the book doesn't end on a cliff hanger but does pave the way for the next instalment in the series and makes you feel that there is far more to come in the future!
Personally I cannot wait for the next book to find out what happens next, and I would say to definitely give the book a go you will not be disappointed. Plus did I mention how beautiful the cover is....
February 18, 2017
Slow read but interesting.
I kept stopping and starting my reading as new and more gripping tales arrived. Yet it was compelling enough to return and finish. I expect to buy the next in the series.
Grammar alert: if you prefer possessive nouns to come with an apostrophe, get someone to read you this tale because you won't see them in the text.
I kept stopping and starting my reading as new and more gripping tales arrived. Yet it was compelling enough to return and finish. I expect to buy the next in the series.
Grammar alert: if you prefer possessive nouns to come with an apostrophe, get someone to read you this tale because you won't see them in the text.
October 15, 2016
This story needs heavy editing on its content. While shorter novels are fine, this seems to be stretched to its already small size. The descriptions and prose are lacking. Often simply telling what something is, and there is no further clarification. This is a goblin, and that's that.
What does said goblin look like? Is it a traditional one? Is it different? Are we supposed to know or care? The author has a habit of simply dumping nouns/characters and expecting the reader to know without description. That's fine in most cases, not in a novel where you are using made up creatures, terminology, and magic.
The narration is weak and the plot feels dragged out to meet a certain goal. What that goal is, I have no idea. This feels like a mash up of a ideas and tropes that the author wanted to combine effortlessly, yet, they read more as a clunky assembly of them. There's far too much filler and some chapters should have been combined to tell a better section of the story.
This feels like the beginning of a jumbled book, not the whole thing. I'm not saying there is not potential there. There most certainly is, I think the author rushed into publishing this.
This book is redeemable. I will be holding off on giving the second book a chance however.
The positives: The cover artist did a wonderful job on this and it grabbed my attention. Although upon coming to goodreads, it took me a moment to find the novel because there is a different cover here. They are both wonderfully done, although, a tad confusing.
The author has a unique job profession for a character in one of these magical worlds that is different from the usual action oriented detective/spellslinger roles I've seen. However, it needs further development.
What does said goblin look like? Is it a traditional one? Is it different? Are we supposed to know or care? The author has a habit of simply dumping nouns/characters and expecting the reader to know without description. That's fine in most cases, not in a novel where you are using made up creatures, terminology, and magic.
The narration is weak and the plot feels dragged out to meet a certain goal. What that goal is, I have no idea. This feels like a mash up of a ideas and tropes that the author wanted to combine effortlessly, yet, they read more as a clunky assembly of them. There's far too much filler and some chapters should have been combined to tell a better section of the story.
This feels like the beginning of a jumbled book, not the whole thing. I'm not saying there is not potential there. There most certainly is, I think the author rushed into publishing this.
This book is redeemable. I will be holding off on giving the second book a chance however.
The positives: The cover artist did a wonderful job on this and it grabbed my attention. Although upon coming to goodreads, it took me a moment to find the novel because there is a different cover here. They are both wonderfully done, although, a tad confusing.
The author has a unique job profession for a character in one of these magical worlds that is different from the usual action oriented detective/spellslinger roles I've seen. However, it needs further development.
July 4, 2023
I enjoyed this story, but it felt like it had potential - just not quite there yet.
Characters, world and storyline were fine - very typical for the genre, nothing new.
The pacing of the story didn't feel right. The major issue was introduced really abruptly, just told to the main character before there was any kind of scene-setting. Then the supporting characters were introduced and the main character instantly trusted them despite their background and the recent murders. It just felt a bit off.
Then there were jumps in the story where time passed, a quick way to get to the next major plot point, but it just made no sense that nothing happened in the interim.
And at times the dialogue felt unnatural. It wasn't objectionable in any way, just... again, it didn't feel right.
The story, like so many others, is set in London. Nothing wrong with that, except I was kind of hoping that given it's by an Australian author, it might be set in... you know... Australia. And it didn't feel like London - there was nothing remotely Londonish about the setting, and could really have been anywhere - it felt far more like a country town than a big city, frankly.
I always want to find a fun new Australian author, so I'll read on, hoping she improves with experience and later books are better.
Characters, world and storyline were fine - very typical for the genre, nothing new.
The pacing of the story didn't feel right. The major issue was introduced really abruptly, just told to the main character before there was any kind of scene-setting. Then the supporting characters were introduced and the main character instantly trusted them despite their background and the recent murders. It just felt a bit off.
Then there were jumps in the story where time passed, a quick way to get to the next major plot point, but it just made no sense that nothing happened in the interim.
And at times the dialogue felt unnatural. It wasn't objectionable in any way, just... again, it didn't feel right.
The story, like so many others, is set in London. Nothing wrong with that, except I was kind of hoping that given it's by an Australian author, it might be set in... you know... Australia. And it didn't feel like London - there was nothing remotely Londonish about the setting, and could really have been anywhere - it felt far more like a country town than a big city, frankly.
I always want to find a fun new Australian author, so I'll read on, hoping she improves with experience and later books are better.
June 3, 2016
While not my typical fare, this book was a blast. I've always been a sucker for alternative-history style books, and the London that Ms. Hopkins has created is nothing short of fascinating.
With a wide cast of characters ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary, and just a hint of romance, this perfectly placed book drew me in and refused to let go.
The first-person point of view was an excellent choice, making it easy to slip into this intriguing world of magical aristocracy, commoners without access to magic, and half-bloods stuck somewhere in between. I adored the idea of a magical aristocracy on the verge of becoming obsolete due to scientific discoveries made by those without magic finally catching up with some of the things that previously were only available to an elite few.
More specifically, I fell hard for our heroine and her tea shop, her dog, her somewhat unruly boggart companion, and her (unbeknownst to her) talent for blocking other's magic.
The entire premise of a serial killer who controls your dreams and causes you real harm via the dreamscape is delightfully creepy, and seeing it in action kept me glued to the pages.
Overall, I loved it, and will be picking up the sequel as soon as I get another day off of work.
A very solid 4/5
With a wide cast of characters ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary, and just a hint of romance, this perfectly placed book drew me in and refused to let go.
The first-person point of view was an excellent choice, making it easy to slip into this intriguing world of magical aristocracy, commoners without access to magic, and half-bloods stuck somewhere in between. I adored the idea of a magical aristocracy on the verge of becoming obsolete due to scientific discoveries made by those without magic finally catching up with some of the things that previously were only available to an elite few.
More specifically, I fell hard for our heroine and her tea shop, her dog, her somewhat unruly boggart companion, and her (unbeknownst to her) talent for blocking other's magic.
The entire premise of a serial killer who controls your dreams and causes you real harm via the dreamscape is delightfully creepy, and seeing it in action kept me glued to the pages.
Overall, I loved it, and will be picking up the sequel as soon as I get another day off of work.
A very solid 4/5
August 17, 2016
What a fun and fantastic book!
Hopkins has really managed to create a universe which feels real and plausible while at the same time capturing that little sense of wonder that made Harry Potter so much fun to read as a kid (and even now). A world in which Magic and Mortals walk side by side, but maybe not always with such enthusiasm. A world in which people born into both belong in none.
This is a strong start to what I feel is going to be a fantastic series. A lot of questions are answered but many are not, relationships are formed and may grow stronger, secrets are revealed that makes you wonder what's going to happen next.
All in all, this book is fun, clever, and addictive. A must read!
Hopkins has really managed to create a universe which feels real and plausible while at the same time capturing that little sense of wonder that made Harry Potter so much fun to read as a kid (and even now). A world in which Magic and Mortals walk side by side, but maybe not always with such enthusiasm. A world in which people born into both belong in none.
This is a strong start to what I feel is going to be a fantastic series. A lot of questions are answered but many are not, relationships are formed and may grow stronger, secrets are revealed that makes you wonder what's going to happen next.
All in all, this book is fun, clever, and addictive. A must read!
August 28, 2019
A good and entertaining story
I would have given this book a four-year rating, but There were too many spelling, grammatical, and other sentence errors. I was distracted from the quality of the story and the enjoyment I would otherwise have experienced if there had been a good proofreading done prior to publication.
That said, I liked the characters, settings, and resolution of the story enough to possibly give the next book a look. It's truly a shame that such a promising series got off to a poor start due to lack of another set of eyes to catch errors.
I would have given this book a four-year rating, but There were too many spelling, grammatical, and other sentence errors. I was distracted from the quality of the story and the enjoyment I would otherwise have experienced if there had been a good proofreading done prior to publication.
That said, I liked the characters, settings, and resolution of the story enough to possibly give the next book a look. It's truly a shame that such a promising series got off to a poor start due to lack of another set of eyes to catch errors.
May 28, 2025
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
2.25 -- I could see potential in the book & world, but IMHO it didn't live up to it.
Pros
[] MC's not the usual PI or agent or such, she runs a magical tea shop, the kind that sells tea to brew at home, not a cafe.
[] MC's boggart 'guardian'.
-----
Cons
[] MC seemed a bit IMHO, thick. (see as read info below for main annoyance)
[] Too trusting of new people, when there's a killer on the lose.
[] Not enough world-building.
[] There was for me, no mystery! (see below)
See also the below.
--------------------------------
Reviewing as I read, this is not usually a good sign.
Page 14 -- I've been thrown out of the story, by a police officer tacking "ma'am" onto a reply. The setting is London, UK. The woman he's replying to is not a superior a few rungs above him (these normally get the Sir / Ma'am in the UK, when in police / military) or royalty, who will also get ma'am tacked on. -- So I had to stop to see if the author was from the USA and was shocked to see they're actually Australian. I'm not sure if this is normal usage for Aussies, or if the author defaulted to writing for those from the USA. If it's the latter, I wish she'd just set the book in the USA, not London, UK.
Page 15 -- Okay, read a little bit more and definitely not written for the USA, at least not with US beta readers. -- Aussie / UK term for an idiot, is a vulgar term to those in the USA. -- (Which I found out after in on online forum RPG in character post, my character used it for theirs meaning idiot and the other player's in character reaction had me search the term online to discover its US meaning. I quickly posted explaining the UK meaning, and that my character had been saying idiot. -- Also learnt the vulgar meaning can be meant in the UK to, but I'd only ever heard it as meaning an idiot. I just say prat now, not the rhyming word.)
Page 71 -- I'm hoping that the author is using this bit of plot as a red herring or this is not much of a mystery. -- I like to figure out 'who done it', so dislike stuff like Columbo, where you know who did it and have to see the hero figure it out. -- Also in an 'ending reveal' type mystery, if its too obvious who done it, then it makes the MC look like an idiot for not realising much sooner who the baddie is!
Finished -- Nope, the bad guy, is the one that her assistant (guardian) doesn't like and called nasty, a couple of different times in the story. -- Boggarts have a bad rep in this world, so if one who has been working for your family for generations, calls someone nasty only an idiot doesn't pause and think that they might have more clue than you do!
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Maybe -- I own the next book, so I might see if that's better sometime.
Would you recommend?: Doubtful.
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
2.25 -- I could see potential in the book & world, but IMHO it didn't live up to it.
Pros
[] MC's not the usual PI or agent or such, she runs a magical tea shop, the kind that sells tea to brew at home, not a cafe.
[] MC's boggart 'guardian'.
-----
Cons
[] MC seemed a bit IMHO, thick. (see as read info below for main annoyance)
[] Too trusting of new people, when there's a killer on the lose.
[] Not enough world-building.
[] There was for me, no mystery! (see below)
See also the below.
--------------------------------
Reviewing as I read, this is not usually a good sign.
Page 14 -- I've been thrown out of the story, by a police officer tacking "ma'am" onto a reply. The setting is London, UK. The woman he's replying to is not a superior a few rungs above him (these normally get the Sir / Ma'am in the UK, when in police / military) or royalty, who will also get ma'am tacked on. -- So I had to stop to see if the author was from the USA and was shocked to see they're actually Australian. I'm not sure if this is normal usage for Aussies, or if the author defaulted to writing for those from the USA. If it's the latter, I wish she'd just set the book in the USA, not London, UK.
Page 15 -- Okay, read a little bit more and definitely not written for the USA, at least not with US beta readers. -- Aussie / UK term for an idiot, is a vulgar term to those in the USA. -- (Which I found out after in on online forum RPG in character post, my character used it for theirs meaning idiot and the other player's in character reaction had me search the term online to discover its US meaning. I quickly posted explaining the UK meaning, and that my character had been saying idiot. -- Also learnt the vulgar meaning can be meant in the UK to, but I'd only ever heard it as meaning an idiot. I just say prat now, not the rhyming word.)
Page 71 -- I'm hoping that the author is using this bit of plot as a red herring or this is not much of a mystery. -- I like to figure out 'who done it', so dislike stuff like Columbo, where you know who did it and have to see the hero figure it out. -- Also in an 'ending reveal' type mystery, if its too obvious who done it, then it makes the MC look like an idiot for not realising much sooner who the baddie is!
Finished -- Nope, the bad guy, is the one that her assistant (guardian) doesn't like and called nasty, a couple of different times in the story. -- Boggarts have a bad rep in this world, so if one who has been working for your family for generations, calls someone nasty only an idiot doesn't pause and think that they might have more clue than you do!
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Maybe -- I own the next book, so I might see if that's better sometime.
Would you recommend?: Doubtful.
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
November 2, 2019
This series is labeled as a "cozy urban fantasy" which really appealed to me. I like the general warm feeling of a good cozy mystery - you can do violence and even death without dwelling on the gruesome and I do think this book delivered in that way. There's a lot of potential in the world the author has created.
We have Talented (capital T) Lords and Ladies - humans who are sort of an elite group of magically talented humans. Generations ago they created a walled enclave in central London which was only for the magically Talented. Sort of like an aristocracy created or delineated by magical ability. We also have the fae and a whole variety of Otherworldly creatures (piskes, trolls, boggarts, brownies, goblins, hobgoblins, and the like).
We also have a whole population of half-bloods, the children of the Talented Lords and Ladies with regular humans - often born with either little magical ability or none at all. The half-bloods are pretty much outcasts from both populations. When someone starts killing the half-bloods, noone is really working to solve the crime. The Talents don't care. The police unit assigned to magical crimes is a dumping ground for the misfits of the force and ineffectual.
Enter Emma, our heroine. Emma herself is a half-blood who owns a tea shop that caters to both humans and the half-blood/Otherworld community. She uses her magical talent to enchant her teas spells to help you sleep better, or for mental acuity, or to cure hangovers, for example. Her shop turns out to be a bit of a crossroads of the magical community outside of the Talented Inner City. As the half-blood body count starts rising, Emma realizes she may be more at risk than she thought and she may have to try to investigate simply because she knows everyone, even if she's not a detective herself!
So - I really liked the setup and world building of this book. I kept expecting there to be more of a twist or turn with some of the characters that showed up entirely too conveniently. I also thought the mystery was somewhat obvious to unravel. I had a bit of a pet peeve that there were a LOT of dream sequences that impacted reality or where you couldn't tell dream from reality. This is a plot device I really don't enjoy. I had the same problem with Patricia McKillip's beloved Riddle-Master trilogy.
I also really wanted there to be a bit more of a reveal of Emma's family boggart, Gibble. He was an engaging character, but pretty shrouded with mystery even at the end of the book.
Minor issue, there are some typos early on in the book. This tends to be a bit more prevalent in self-published works (which this is), but don't be scared off. The rest of the copy of the book is pretty clean after a few errors at the start (unfortunate they're right near the beginning).
Overall I liked this book but didn't love it. The series continues from here so I may try the next one and see if the author builds on the fun world building premises she started with book 1.
We have Talented (capital T) Lords and Ladies - humans who are sort of an elite group of magically talented humans. Generations ago they created a walled enclave in central London which was only for the magically Talented. Sort of like an aristocracy created or delineated by magical ability. We also have the fae and a whole variety of Otherworldly creatures (piskes, trolls, boggarts, brownies, goblins, hobgoblins, and the like).
We also have a whole population of half-bloods, the children of the Talented Lords and Ladies with regular humans - often born with either little magical ability or none at all. The half-bloods are pretty much outcasts from both populations. When someone starts killing the half-bloods, noone is really working to solve the crime. The Talents don't care. The police unit assigned to magical crimes is a dumping ground for the misfits of the force and ineffectual.
Enter Emma, our heroine. Emma herself is a half-blood who owns a tea shop that caters to both humans and the half-blood/Otherworld community. She uses her magical talent to enchant her teas spells to help you sleep better, or for mental acuity, or to cure hangovers, for example. Her shop turns out to be a bit of a crossroads of the magical community outside of the Talented Inner City. As the half-blood body count starts rising, Emma realizes she may be more at risk than she thought and she may have to try to investigate simply because she knows everyone, even if she's not a detective herself!
So - I really liked the setup and world building of this book. I kept expecting there to be more of a twist or turn with some of the characters that showed up entirely too conveniently. I also thought the mystery was somewhat obvious to unravel. I had a bit of a pet peeve that there were a LOT of dream sequences that impacted reality or where you couldn't tell dream from reality. This is a plot device I really don't enjoy. I had the same problem with Patricia McKillip's beloved Riddle-Master trilogy.
I also really wanted there to be a bit more of a reveal of Emma's family boggart, Gibble. He was an engaging character, but pretty shrouded with mystery even at the end of the book.
Minor issue, there are some typos early on in the book. This tends to be a bit more prevalent in self-published works (which this is), but don't be scared off. The rest of the copy of the book is pretty clean after a few errors at the start (unfortunate they're right near the beginning).
Overall I liked this book but didn't love it. The series continues from here so I may try the next one and see if the author builds on the fun world building premises she started with book 1.
January 12, 2020
I was pleasantly surprised by "A Drop of Dream." It's been described at times as a "cozy" fantasy, and my experience with "cozy" mysteries has generally been...disappointment. I have found them boring, slow, and in some cases, unreadable. "A Drop of Dream" was fascinating, the characters were nicely developed, the plot sucked me in, and I could hardly put it down. Emma is a young woman who sells tea from her shop in greater London. Her world is vaguely familiar, with cars, phones, and such, but dramatically different, because it's inhabited by half-bloods, Talented, regular humans, and a host of Otherworld species. She is a half-blood, half human, half Talented, and she uses her limited skills to enchant her teas for various purposes for her customers. Someone is murdering half-bloods and it seems to be one of the Talented who live within the walled city center of London. Because the establishment (both human and Talented) doesn't hold half-bloods in much regard, there doesn't seem to be anyone seriously investigating the murders. Since Emma has become sort of a liaison between the human and Talented populations, she decides she must be the investigator to prevent more of her friends from becoming victims. In the process, she discovers she has more powers than she ever suspected and she must learn how to control her gifts. As things become more and more dangerous, Emma discovers that dreams are critical to solving the mystery and she must enter the dreams of the potential murderer to stop him. I hesitate to be overly enthusiastic, but I have high hopes that subsequent volumes in the series may make Emma's world comparable to Harry Potter's.
June 12, 2017
"Dream Stalker" is a creative and clever read but lacking in depth characterizations. The author has developed a unique world filled with goloms, fae, as well as other mystical creatures but failed to give them a real face. While she describes one or two characters we are for the most part left to our own imaginings for the most important ones.
At the age of nine, half blood, Emmaline watched her father die and her sisters ship her off to Australia. When she became an adult she came back to England where she lives in the mixed blood section of town selling magic infused teas and tonics. When a serial killer targets half bloods, Emma decides that she needs to get involved especially since she now seems to be a target herself.
Her investigation aligns her with two socially awkward brothers, a police detective, goloms, and a fae dress designer. This is a creative and quirky world chocked full of action, snarky humor and twists and turns. I enjoyed the read immensely but wished the author out more work on characterizations and transitioning from scene to scene. This read is only 226 pages so making these enhancements would not have posed a problem. This book could have been exceptional rather than good. Holder book two won't have these issues.
At the age of nine, half blood, Emmaline watched her father die and her sisters ship her off to Australia. When she became an adult she came back to England where she lives in the mixed blood section of town selling magic infused teas and tonics. When a serial killer targets half bloods, Emma decides that she needs to get involved especially since she now seems to be a target herself.
Her investigation aligns her with two socially awkward brothers, a police detective, goloms, and a fae dress designer. This is a creative and quirky world chocked full of action, snarky humor and twists and turns. I enjoyed the read immensely but wished the author out more work on characterizations and transitioning from scene to scene. This read is only 226 pages so making these enhancements would not have posed a problem. This book could have been exceptional rather than good. Holder book two won't have these issues.
March 9, 2017
Emma is a half-blood, the daughter of a Talented and a mortal. She is caught between both worlds, as are most half-bloods in this alternate London. Half-bloods are rejected by the full Talented as not equal to them, and the full mortals don't really trust them because of their magic ability. Emma has managed to find her place in the half-blood world between the inner city of London where the Talented live, and the mortal part of the city. She sells teas that she enchants with simple spells for calming, sleep, and the like. Her assistant in the shop is a boggart, Gibble, who has been a family servant of sorts for many years. Her dog, Lenny, is her constant companion. When half-bloods start being killed by supernatural means, the regular police don't make the case a high priority. Then, Emma becomes the killer's next target, and along with full Talent Harrod and his unTalented brother, Martin, Emma sets out to solve the mystery.
This is another book that had a lot of potential. The idea is good. The setting in a modern day alternative London is nicely done for the most part. Many characters are interesting. The idea of a killer who invades dreams and drains his victim of their magic to survive, while not new, is woven into the story well enough that it works. The Otherworld, where the true fae exist, is as different from our world as you would expect. The dream sequences are just off-kilter enough to make them seem believable.
However, there are some flaws here. The main adversary appears once or twice early in the story, then disappears until the "twist" reveal. Emma seems to feel betrayed somehow by this turn, but she interacts so infrequently with the character, it's hard to accept her feeling. There is a mortal police officer who, at first, seems as if he is going to be a part of Emma's investigation, yet turns out to simply be the conduit for getting all of the police departments information about the crimes to her. And then, he, too, is gone. There are parts of Emma's background that could have been explored more completely (she turns out to be the "princess-in-disguise" character, but the reasons are only explained on the surface.)
There are contradictions in the story as well. Characters last names change part way through. Emma says her sisters are in America, and yet later we find one of them living in the Talented society in London. And there are mechanical errors, as well. Punctuation, word choice, and grammar could have been edited a bit better.
All in all, this was a good story in a not so good book. It is a nice concept and the plot idea held my interest enough that I pushed through the problems to the end. There is a second book in the series, and I will probably at least check out the sample. It's just too bad this one was left a bit rough. If it got an edited update to fix some of the problems, it would be a truly good read.
This is another book that had a lot of potential. The idea is good. The setting in a modern day alternative London is nicely done for the most part. Many characters are interesting. The idea of a killer who invades dreams and drains his victim of their magic to survive, while not new, is woven into the story well enough that it works. The Otherworld, where the true fae exist, is as different from our world as you would expect. The dream sequences are just off-kilter enough to make them seem believable.
However, there are some flaws here. The main adversary appears once or twice early in the story, then disappears until the "twist" reveal. Emma seems to feel betrayed somehow by this turn, but she interacts so infrequently with the character, it's hard to accept her feeling. There is a mortal police officer who, at first, seems as if he is going to be a part of Emma's investigation, yet turns out to simply be the conduit for getting all of the police departments information about the crimes to her. And then, he, too, is gone. There are parts of Emma's background that could have been explored more completely (she turns out to be the "princess-in-disguise" character, but the reasons are only explained on the surface.)
There are contradictions in the story as well. Characters last names change part way through. Emma says her sisters are in America, and yet later we find one of them living in the Talented society in London. And there are mechanical errors, as well. Punctuation, word choice, and grammar could have been edited a bit better.
All in all, this was a good story in a not so good book. It is a nice concept and the plot idea held my interest enough that I pushed through the problems to the end. There is a second book in the series, and I will probably at least check out the sample. It's just too bad this one was left a bit rough. If it got an edited update to fix some of the problems, it would be a truly good read.
November 19, 2016
Dream Stalker reminded me a bit of Clean Sweep, although Emma is a shopkeeper not an innkeeper. In has that same sense of 'a parallel universe next store' - in this case London not the US Midwest is both familiar and very different. That said, it is the differences that make this book such a fun read. Emma is determined, and practical, with a big-heart that she guards tightly. With only the slightest of magical talent she takes on a serial killer and faces down some truly scary fae.
The handsome Talent Lord is a bit awkward around her, and unlike most heroes, not a well-muscled warrior - although he is morally and physically courageous. Throw in a series of fat including a guardian bogart and hobgoblin with a taste for bubble bath and there is enough humor leavening the action to keep the story moving and engaging.
Book 2 is on my TBR.
The handsome Talent Lord is a bit awkward around her, and unlike most heroes, not a well-muscled warrior - although he is morally and physically courageous. Throw in a series of fat including a guardian bogart and hobgoblin with a taste for bubble bath and there is enough humor leavening the action to keep the story moving and engaging.
Book 2 is on my TBR.
January 29, 2021
Magic, Politics, Discrimination, and Murder
Emma, our protagonist and the narrator of the story, is a half blood with limited magical talent. However, she cares deeply about her community and those in the Other as they live in the human world. This is a great story of the struggle of those who want to give everyone an equal opportunity in society with those who try to maintain the old order. Mixed in is a dying full Talent on a murder spree to prolong his life.
Most of the dialogue is a good adjunct to the narrative. As Emma finds that she has an unusual Talent and tries to learn how to control it, she also finds an extended family, strong relationships, and a possibility of romance.
Great world view development. You can’t help but root for Emma and her team. The society is very British with the full blooded Talents being the upper class.
The story has good closure while hinting at future adventures.
Emma, our protagonist and the narrator of the story, is a half blood with limited magical talent. However, she cares deeply about her community and those in the Other as they live in the human world. This is a great story of the struggle of those who want to give everyone an equal opportunity in society with those who try to maintain the old order. Mixed in is a dying full Talent on a murder spree to prolong his life.
Most of the dialogue is a good adjunct to the narrative. As Emma finds that she has an unusual Talent and tries to learn how to control it, she also finds an extended family, strong relationships, and a possibility of romance.
Great world view development. You can’t help but root for Emma and her team. The society is very British with the full blooded Talents being the upper class.
The story has good closure while hinting at future adventures.
June 25, 2017
I probably would not have chosen to buy this book given the title. It came free in a promotion so I gave it a try.
The good:
The book features a female protagonist that isn't super powered, the spawn of a demon/angel/dragon, and wasn't born on a hill. She's got more than her share of problems so I could relate to her and feel empathy at her plight. There's an interesting mystery, good characters, and a believable resolution.
The bad:
In one spot I didn't understand what happened. Events happened and the main character did not react to them when I believed she should have. A few interactions were more rushed than they should be. There weren't any surprises in the plot.
A great light summer read and perhaps the beginning of a fun series.
Keep going Amy!
P.S.
I want a tea sampler!
The good:
The book features a female protagonist that isn't super powered, the spawn of a demon/angel/dragon, and wasn't born on a hill. She's got more than her share of problems so I could relate to her and feel empathy at her plight. There's an interesting mystery, good characters, and a believable resolution.
The bad:
In one spot I didn't understand what happened. Events happened and the main character did not react to them when I believed she should have. A few interactions were more rushed than they should be. There weren't any surprises in the plot.
A great light summer read and perhaps the beginning of a fun series.
Keep going Amy!
P.S.
I want a tea sampler!
January 23, 2025
A Dream Murderer?
This is the first book in the Talented Book series. We are introduced to Emma, a half talent, who lives outside the wall in London in her tea shop. Inside the wall live all the pure bloods, who have and want very little to do with the half or non talented.
Emma's tea shop sells magically enhanced tea for everyone and her clientelle of non talented humans is growing. She uses her magic to enhance to tea with properties to help, such as Alertness. There has been a spate of murders 4 half talents and Emma finds the 5th as she goes to make a delivery.
She decides she has to find out who is doing this as her life is also in danger. She is aided by 2 brothers, one a full talent and one a non talent and her trusty friend.
A good opening book to what I think is going to be a great series, I'm off to get the next book now.
This is the first book in the Talented Book series. We are introduced to Emma, a half talent, who lives outside the wall in London in her tea shop. Inside the wall live all the pure bloods, who have and want very little to do with the half or non talented.
Emma's tea shop sells magically enhanced tea for everyone and her clientelle of non talented humans is growing. She uses her magic to enhance to tea with properties to help, such as Alertness. There has been a spate of murders 4 half talents and Emma finds the 5th as she goes to make a delivery.
She decides she has to find out who is doing this as her life is also in danger. She is aided by 2 brothers, one a full talent and one a non talent and her trusty friend.
A good opening book to what I think is going to be a great series, I'm off to get the next book now.
January 21, 2021
DROP Of DREAM is book 1 in the Talented series by Amy Hopkins. This is a Cozy Fantasy with basically a political and racist feel.
Those living in London Talent (magical), Non-Talents, Half-Bloods and Mortals, live in a complicated, blended world, but still never accepted by each other, even to being separated by a wall. Now, someone is killing Half-Bloods and no one seems to care or to be doing anything about it.
This is definitely a different look at bias attitudes and a small group trying to change the world.
I expect the next book to be just as action packed, and am looking forward to reading it.
Those living in London Talent (magical), Non-Talents, Half-Bloods and Mortals, live in a complicated, blended world, but still never accepted by each other, even to being separated by a wall. Now, someone is killing Half-Bloods and no one seems to care or to be doing anything about it.
This is definitely a different look at bias attitudes and a small group trying to change the world.
I expect the next book to be just as action packed, and am looking forward to reading it.
February 13, 2022
A Drop Of Dream (Talented Book 1)
Emma is a half-blood, the daughter of a Talented and a mortal.
Emma's character is so realistic! She's not an overpowered and she's not the damsel in distress needing to be saved. She has her own gifts, though slight they may be and she uses them to create a living for herself. The tea shop sounded lovely. I wish that I had one here to help keep me awake and focused!
She's funny and resourceful.
Only a few issues. There were some minor typos, so the novel probably needs another once over to fix the errors. That’s why the 4 rating.
Definitely recommend this book….
Emma is a half-blood, the daughter of a Talented and a mortal.
Emma's character is so realistic! She's not an overpowered and she's not the damsel in distress needing to be saved. She has her own gifts, though slight they may be and she uses them to create a living for herself. The tea shop sounded lovely. I wish that I had one here to help keep me awake and focused!
She's funny and resourceful.
Only a few issues. There were some minor typos, so the novel probably needs another once over to fix the errors. That’s why the 4 rating.
Definitely recommend this book….
July 14, 2017
Most of it was pretty good, but an issue bothered me. Melanie talked about having the knife after Carmel died... That's why she believed she did it. So how did it get from her to Emma and why didn't Emma wonder when they determined power transfer was by knife that wasn't created by the villain?? The lack of interest or speculation bothered me. Also how did power transfer work? They speculated Emma might have absorbed power by wielding it but then Mel would have Carmel's and many were suicides.... Just couldn't let go of this. Low 3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2017
Quite intriguing. Not your run of the mill magic users, with divisions between those who consider themselves superior because of their powers, those with lesser powers, and those with none at all. Enter someone killing off half-bloods for no apparent reason. In the end, it's up to Emma to help sort things out, although she knows she is risking her own life to save a new friend. I think there are still interesting times ahead.
August 6, 2017
Disclaimer - I received this book for free with a Goodreads Giveaway.
If you enjoy urban fantasies, this book would be a good choice for you. As a first in a series, I appreciate that the book ends and you can stop reading the series and feel like you got a complete story. There was no romance or smut. It was a quick and easy read. The world hints that there is more backstory that will be uncovered in future books. If you like magic and tea, maybe give it a read.
If you enjoy urban fantasies, this book would be a good choice for you. As a first in a series, I appreciate that the book ends and you can stop reading the series and feel like you got a complete story. There was no romance or smut. It was a quick and easy read. The world hints that there is more backstory that will be uncovered in future books. If you like magic and tea, maybe give it a read.
February 23, 2023
Delightful Magical Fantasy!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! Magic (Talent), Crime, Action, Thrills, Murder, Humor, Friendship and a touch of Romance thrown in... I've never read a story quite like this and I LOVED it! Would recommend to anyone who loves magic, fantasy, etc. Does have a few swear words but not bad... I wanted the story to keep on not end... 5 Stars from me!!! 😄
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! Magic (Talent), Crime, Action, Thrills, Murder, Humor, Friendship and a touch of Romance thrown in... I've never read a story quite like this and I LOVED it! Would recommend to anyone who loves magic, fantasy, etc. Does have a few swear words but not bad... I wanted the story to keep on not end... 5 Stars from me!!! 😄
December 5, 2019
This book is definitely a cozy mystery with a fantasy base. The characters are charming and quite fun to read (especially Gibble) and I like the worldbuilding quite a lot. There are a fair number of familiar elements, if you are keen on fantasy, but they have been taken and made into something new, which was really nice to see.
December 10, 2019
I really enjoyed this
This book really drew me in. I enjoyed it very much. This is an interesting twist for the genre. It doesn't follow a predictable patter so I had to think more to figure out the culprit. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Very well done.
This book really drew me in. I enjoyed it very much. This is an interesting twist for the genre. It doesn't follow a predictable patter so I had to think more to figure out the culprit. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Very well done.
December 6, 2020
Very enjoyable read, and the author kept me intrigued by what might happen next. Lots of Other World creatures appear, many of which I have never heard, but the author just dealt them out as if they were everyday occurrences. This story is self contained but I look forward to the next Talented book. Well done and I can heartily recommend this.
December 26, 2020
A wonderful introduction to Amy Hopkins world where magic (talent) is a thing. We follow Emma who imbibes her read with a little bit of magic as she tries to find out who has been killing half talents ( those who are not pure talent).
This is a great story with interesting plot twists and characters. Looking forward to the next in the series.
This is a great story with interesting plot twists and characters. Looking forward to the next in the series.
March 21, 2021
It wasn't a bad book at all... there was just something about the rhythm that by the end didn't call me back for the next book... but the storyline and characters were all good... if you read the description and it looks interesting, by all means, pick it up and read it through.. perhaps you will enjoy it more.
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