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Yume
A modern-day fantasy novel about demons, dreams, and a young woman teaching English in Japan.
Cybelle teaches English in a small city in Japan. Her contract is up for renewal, her mother is begging her to come back to Canada, and she is not sure where she belongs anymore. She faces ostracism and fear daily, but she loves her job, despite its increasing difficulties. She vows to do her best — even when her sleep, appetite, and life in general start to get weird, and conforming to the rules that once helped her becomes a struggle.
Meanwhile, yokai feast and cavort around Osaka and Kyoto as the barrier between their world and the human world thins. Zaniel spends his nights walking the dream world and serving his demon “bodyguard,” Akki. But there is a new yokai on the scene, and it has gotten on Akki’s bad side. When Cybelle gets caught up in the supernatural clash, she has to figure out what is real and, more importantly, what she really wants … before her life spirals out of control altogether.
Cybelle teaches English in a small city in Japan. Her contract is up for renewal, her mother is begging her to come back to Canada, and she is not sure where she belongs anymore. She faces ostracism and fear daily, but she loves her job, despite its increasing difficulties. She vows to do her best — even when her sleep, appetite, and life in general start to get weird, and conforming to the rules that once helped her becomes a struggle.
Meanwhile, yokai feast and cavort around Osaka and Kyoto as the barrier between their world and the human world thins. Zaniel spends his nights walking the dream world and serving his demon “bodyguard,” Akki. But there is a new yokai on the scene, and it has gotten on Akki’s bad side. When Cybelle gets caught up in the supernatural clash, she has to figure out what is real and, more importantly, what she really wants … before her life spirals out of control altogether.
536 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
September 20, 2021
Much longer than I expected, this story has dual narratives that gradually get closer until the author brings the together, with a conflict between yokai (Japanese supernatural beings).
Story thread 1: Zaniel, a young man, brings attractive young women to the yokai Akki for Akki to have sex with, as part of Zaniel’s agreement with the boar spirit. Akki became Zaniel’s bodyguard years earlier when Zaniel was being mercilessly bullied by his Japanese classmates because f his half-Japanese, half-American parentage.
Story thread 2: Cybelle, a black Canadian, has been employed in Japan, for over six years, teaching kids to speak English, and while she loves what she’s seen and done in the country, has also experienced almost non-stop racism, including from some of her coworkers.
Cybelle begins experiencing huge, constant hunger and vivid dreams and nightmares, none of which make sense to her.
When a mysterious yokai comes to Akki’s notice, the boar spirit takes great exception to the unknown yokai, assuming she is trying to steal Zaniel from him.
As the two story threads come together, Cybelle begins, unknowingly, to see yokai in her daily life. At the same time, her work and life become increasingly chaotic, and violent, with things in the human and spirit worlds becoming clear eventually. I say eventually, as this story takes a while to get going. The author spends a good amount of time on setting up both worlds, so that you gradually understand what is likely happening about halfway into the book.
Even with its slow start, and chaotic events, I liked it. Cybelle works hard at throwing off her frustrations with her work and the xenophobia surrounding her, and unfortunately, spends much of the book not understanding what is happening to her, though it is clear to the reader. Also, this book was more heavy on plot than character development, but I liked this book, and its outsider view and experience of Japan.
The ending was shocking, and left enough questions open for more story, and I want to know what happens next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Story thread 1: Zaniel, a young man, brings attractive young women to the yokai Akki for Akki to have sex with, as part of Zaniel’s agreement with the boar spirit. Akki became Zaniel’s bodyguard years earlier when Zaniel was being mercilessly bullied by his Japanese classmates because f his half-Japanese, half-American parentage.
Story thread 2: Cybelle, a black Canadian, has been employed in Japan, for over six years, teaching kids to speak English, and while she loves what she’s seen and done in the country, has also experienced almost non-stop racism, including from some of her coworkers.
Cybelle begins experiencing huge, constant hunger and vivid dreams and nightmares, none of which make sense to her.
When a mysterious yokai comes to Akki’s notice, the boar spirit takes great exception to the unknown yokai, assuming she is trying to steal Zaniel from him.
As the two story threads come together, Cybelle begins, unknowingly, to see yokai in her daily life. At the same time, her work and life become increasingly chaotic, and violent, with things in the human and spirit worlds becoming clear eventually. I say eventually, as this story takes a while to get going. The author spends a good amount of time on setting up both worlds, so that you gradually understand what is likely happening about halfway into the book.
Even with its slow start, and chaotic events, I liked it. Cybelle works hard at throwing off her frustrations with her work and the xenophobia surrounding her, and unfortunately, spends much of the book not understanding what is happening to her, though it is clear to the reader. Also, this book was more heavy on plot than character development, but I liked this book, and its outsider view and experience of Japan.
The ending was shocking, and left enough questions open for more story, and I want to know what happens next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
September 28, 2021
3.5/5
This book was certainly something I've never read before, it was very much a blend of slice of life and fantasy.... except the lines get blurred between the two and we get the mess that Cybelle ends up in
I think something the author does really well is make each character's voice so unique that even if we switch perspectives halfway through a paragraph we're not that disoriented. Cybelle's POV got you feeling exhausted and hungry, Zaniel's has you nervous, and Akki's gives you an insight into what a fuckboy demon (who hates people that aren't Japanese) would sound like
I cut off some stars because a lot of the English school chapters were just something for us to slog through, they really only start having sort of impact near the last third of the book... I understand it was probably a reflection of the author's own time spent teaching in Japan but overall I was like some of this is repetitive and takes away from the chapters spent in the dream world
The dream world chapters on the other hand were really fun, and hate to say it but Akki's chapters always had me intrigued because something about his brainworms was so funny to me... and Cybelle's Yokai adventure was always funny and had me feeling just as hungry as her
Another thing I thought was interesting was how Zaniel, who comes off so anxious in his own chapters comes off so laid back when he eventually meets Cybelle... call that that conviction of wanting to get tf away from Akki I suppose
Overall, I loved the writing! Could've cut out some scenes, but it was still fun and the integration of Yokai and how they interact with the world was cool
This book was certainly something I've never read before, it was very much a blend of slice of life and fantasy.... except the lines get blurred between the two and we get the mess that Cybelle ends up in
I think something the author does really well is make each character's voice so unique that even if we switch perspectives halfway through a paragraph we're not that disoriented. Cybelle's POV got you feeling exhausted and hungry, Zaniel's has you nervous, and Akki's gives you an insight into what a fuckboy demon (who hates people that aren't Japanese) would sound like
I cut off some stars because a lot of the English school chapters were just something for us to slog through, they really only start having sort of impact near the last third of the book... I understand it was probably a reflection of the author's own time spent teaching in Japan but overall I was like some of this is repetitive and takes away from the chapters spent in the dream world
The dream world chapters on the other hand were really fun, and hate to say it but Akki's chapters always had me intrigued because something about his brainworms was so funny to me... and Cybelle's Yokai adventure was always funny and had me feeling just as hungry as her
Another thing I thought was interesting was how Zaniel, who comes off so anxious in his own chapters comes off so laid back when he eventually meets Cybelle... call that that conviction of wanting to get tf away from Akki I suppose
Overall, I loved the writing! Could've cut out some scenes, but it was still fun and the integration of Yokai and how they interact with the world was cool
October 18, 2021
📚 Hello Book Friends! I just finished YUME by Sifton Tracey Anipare and I am conflicted about writing this review.
What I liked:
1. Interesting and well-defined characters
2. The gorgeous cover
3. Getting to know more about yokai (supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore)
4. The Canadian link through Cybelle, a black Canadian English teacher
What I did not like:
1. The pace – It was lagging a lot at the beginning
2. The size of the book – it could have been shorter
3. The infusion of Japanese words and sentences without translation.
4. The writing was unengaging.
If I had known more about Japanese folklore or if I was an anime fan, I think I would have enjoyed this one more.
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February 25, 2024
FOUR STARS
this was so whimsical and beautiful, and I loved the dream realm scenes. I love anything that has to do with mythical creatures, and yokai just happen to be an interest of mine so this was right up my ally. I do think Anipare couldve cut out some scenes from the real world, they were too oddly specific and dragged on. But other than that, this was such a beautiful story.
this was so whimsical and beautiful, and I loved the dream realm scenes. I love anything that has to do with mythical creatures, and yokai just happen to be an interest of mine so this was right up my ally. I do think Anipare couldve cut out some scenes from the real world, they were too oddly specific and dragged on. But other than that, this was such a beautiful story.
June 12, 2021
Yume has two voices in this book - Cybelle, a Canadian teacher in Japan teaching English and Zaniel, a dream walker, who is in the world of supernatural enslaved to the king of nightmares. Zaniel at first meets Yokai, who has a vociferous appetite for, well, everything. The Yokai causes problems for nightmare king and Zaniel sees this as a opportunity to be free.
Cybelle is seemingly unhappy - she faces lots of obstacles at her job and no one seem to like her and she doesn't seem to like anyone either. But why she still sticks to this job, is never made clear. The mundane and boring life of Cybelle is shook up when she meets Zaniel, when they meet in the real world. With Zaniel decision to help Yokai, Cybelle gets onboard.
Only from this point on Yume becomes truly enjoyable as a fantasy adventure. But the shifting narrative can be confusing (and the untranslated Japanese phrases might have made me miss some context as well) and its a little too long for the story its trying to tell. But to get to this point that is almost the last third of the book, there is a lot of exposition that could be done with out. Its a fairly long book that tells a pretty good story but not a very complex one. The conflict is simple and the solution is straight forward. Yume introduces a lot of Japanese folklore elements to readers and if one is new to this, the book is a great starting point.
Thank you University of Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Cybelle is seemingly unhappy - she faces lots of obstacles at her job and no one seem to like her and she doesn't seem to like anyone either. But why she still sticks to this job, is never made clear. The mundane and boring life of Cybelle is shook up when she meets Zaniel, when they meet in the real world. With Zaniel decision to help Yokai, Cybelle gets onboard.
Only from this point on Yume becomes truly enjoyable as a fantasy adventure. But the shifting narrative can be confusing (and the untranslated Japanese phrases might have made me miss some context as well) and its a little too long for the story its trying to tell. But to get to this point that is almost the last third of the book, there is a lot of exposition that could be done with out. Its a fairly long book that tells a pretty good story but not a very complex one. The conflict is simple and the solution is straight forward. Yume introduces a lot of Japanese folklore elements to readers and if one is new to this, the book is a great starting point.
Thank you University of Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 12, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book feels like a grown-up version of Spirited Away, the Miyazaki animated film. The spirit world of Yokai, or Japanese gods/demons, is more gory and violent in this book, but still colorful, whimsical, and grounded in folklore and mythology. Some humans can visit and interact with the other world through dreams. The story has surreal dream logic which sometimes is similar to fairytale logic. Things just are and they happen. Not much explanation. Cybelle is one of the humans who can walk in dreams, but she does not know it and does not remember much of what happens there. Still, things in the spirit world are creeping into her modern Japanese life as an expat English teacher. She loves teaching and cares about the children, but it is not easy. As a Black Canadian living in Japan, she experiences racism, misogyny and xenophobia every day. She has her own insecurities feeling like an outsider even before she left Canada. Cybelle was always interested in Japanese culture and hoped to find her place there. In Japan, that outside identity is compounded by her language and foreign citizenship. The judgements about her skin color are much stronger and openly expressed.
There is another human dream-walker, Zaniel. To protect himself from bullying and the dangerous Yokai in the dream world, he made a deal as a teenager with Akki, a powerful boar demon, to be his bodyguard. Zaniel has to bring women to Akki in the spirit world for romantic liaisons. That's the exchange. Over the years, it has become more and more unacceptable to Zaniel.
A conflict grows after Cybelle inadvertently trespasses and upsets Akki. It will become a pitched battle between the two and things get complicated in the waking world.
The descriptions are vivid. As I read the passages in the spirit world I can imagine it like watching an anime. There were clear parallels and connections between the physical world and the dreams. The transitions between the spirit world and reality were good. Sometimes they were purposely disorienting in that way of waking up from a detailed dream. Cybelle is the most fully developed character and I was rooting for her. I understood her conflicts. I feel this book did not need to be as long as it is. For me it was a little repetitive. I never lost interest, though. The tension builds and then releases and builds again and releases. Growing to a feverish crescendo in a couple of major showdowns. The final pages feel a bit rushed and the end is abrupt. In the second and third acts we get some explanation and Cybelle learns and remembers some things. There are plenty of side questions and details that are just left open. It was enough explanation for me, especially for this kind of storytelling.
This book feels like a grown-up version of Spirited Away, the Miyazaki animated film. The spirit world of Yokai, or Japanese gods/demons, is more gory and violent in this book, but still colorful, whimsical, and grounded in folklore and mythology. Some humans can visit and interact with the other world through dreams. The story has surreal dream logic which sometimes is similar to fairytale logic. Things just are and they happen. Not much explanation. Cybelle is one of the humans who can walk in dreams, but she does not know it and does not remember much of what happens there. Still, things in the spirit world are creeping into her modern Japanese life as an expat English teacher. She loves teaching and cares about the children, but it is not easy. As a Black Canadian living in Japan, she experiences racism, misogyny and xenophobia every day. She has her own insecurities feeling like an outsider even before she left Canada. Cybelle was always interested in Japanese culture and hoped to find her place there. In Japan, that outside identity is compounded by her language and foreign citizenship. The judgements about her skin color are much stronger and openly expressed.
There is another human dream-walker, Zaniel. To protect himself from bullying and the dangerous Yokai in the dream world, he made a deal as a teenager with Akki, a powerful boar demon, to be his bodyguard. Zaniel has to bring women to Akki in the spirit world for romantic liaisons. That's the exchange. Over the years, it has become more and more unacceptable to Zaniel.
A conflict grows after Cybelle inadvertently trespasses and upsets Akki. It will become a pitched battle between the two and things get complicated in the waking world.
The descriptions are vivid. As I read the passages in the spirit world I can imagine it like watching an anime. There were clear parallels and connections between the physical world and the dreams. The transitions between the spirit world and reality were good. Sometimes they were purposely disorienting in that way of waking up from a detailed dream. Cybelle is the most fully developed character and I was rooting for her. I understood her conflicts. I feel this book did not need to be as long as it is. For me it was a little repetitive. I never lost interest, though. The tension builds and then releases and builds again and releases. Growing to a feverish crescendo in a couple of major showdowns. The final pages feel a bit rushed and the end is abrupt. In the second and third acts we get some explanation and Cybelle learns and remembers some things. There are plenty of side questions and details that are just left open. It was enough explanation for me, especially for this kind of storytelling.
August 5, 2021
Frankly, I started reading this book with no high hopes, but I like my anime & Japanese culture, so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately no hopes were exceeded. Which is quite surprising, with author´s big team of helpers.
Yume (jap. Dream) is a fantasy novel based on real life of author (you can see parallels there) with second dream-life. In the real one, Cybelle, main protagonist, is an English teacher in Japan for few years now. She goes very detailed about her day-on-day life, what´s happening in English school, what food she buys, etc. I can see Sifton Tracey really experienced these things.
But at night, there´s whole new world in dreams, full of yokais. Here we meet another (supposedly) human – Zaniel with strange eyes and his “protector” demon Akki. Confusing thing was, that word “yokai” was used for all yokais AND the protagonist yokai, and for the ¾ of book I wasn´t sure about who are we talking about in this or that sentence. Yokai world was quite gruesome, not recommending it to children. I liked shifting of dreams and some of the dream world. I give a thumb up for yokai´s research.
But back to confusing things, spoken language was one of them. Sometimes they spoke English, sometimes “yumego” (which I found out after middle of the story what is it), sometimes Japanese. I have to warn readers right now – there is a lot of Japanese – sometimes unnecessary, sometimes easy phrases – without any translation. I´m not sure why, and okay, most of it was easy, but not everything and I don´t understand why it was even there? Toward the end of story there were some small explanations of Japanese phrases, but in first half of a book almost none. Did author wanted to flex about her Japanese abilities? I like this language too, but sometimes I cringed. Also the story was not properly explained, who was protagonist yokai??? It was Japanese folklore? Or Canadian? Or Ghanaian? And Lieko??? Zaniel & Cybelle´s story had flaws too.
What was also quite annoying, was that 99% of Japanese people Cybelle met, was afraid of her (like “mite, gaijin, kowai”) because of her dark skin, and a lot of people gave her “nihongo jouzo desu ne”. I´m not sure if the author really experienced this with 99% people she met or it was exaggerated, but I didn´t need to read about it on every few pages, sorry for your bad experiences.There was also one small problem with vegan choices of food, but unrelated to story.
Maybe I would enjoy this book in my teens, when I started to learn Japanese and watched a lot of anime. Or maybe not, who knows. I can´t write a lot compliments about this book, I mostly remember its annoying things and was confused half of the time, sorry.
But thanks to NetGalley for eARC. I promise I will choose wiser next time.
Yume (jap. Dream) is a fantasy novel based on real life of author (you can see parallels there) with second dream-life. In the real one, Cybelle, main protagonist, is an English teacher in Japan for few years now. She goes very detailed about her day-on-day life, what´s happening in English school, what food she buys, etc. I can see Sifton Tracey really experienced these things.
But at night, there´s whole new world in dreams, full of yokais. Here we meet another (supposedly) human – Zaniel with strange eyes and his “protector” demon Akki. Confusing thing was, that word “yokai” was used for all yokais AND the protagonist yokai, and for the ¾ of book I wasn´t sure about who are we talking about in this or that sentence. Yokai world was quite gruesome, not recommending it to children. I liked shifting of dreams and some of the dream world. I give a thumb up for yokai´s research.
But back to confusing things, spoken language was one of them. Sometimes they spoke English, sometimes “yumego” (which I found out after middle of the story what is it), sometimes Japanese. I have to warn readers right now – there is a lot of Japanese – sometimes unnecessary, sometimes easy phrases – without any translation. I´m not sure why, and okay, most of it was easy, but not everything and I don´t understand why it was even there? Toward the end of story there were some small explanations of Japanese phrases, but in first half of a book almost none. Did author wanted to flex about her Japanese abilities? I like this language too, but sometimes I cringed. Also the story was not properly explained, who was protagonist yokai??? It was Japanese folklore? Or Canadian? Or Ghanaian? And Lieko??? Zaniel & Cybelle´s story had flaws too.
What was also quite annoying, was that 99% of Japanese people Cybelle met, was afraid of her (like “mite, gaijin, kowai”) because of her dark skin, and a lot of people gave her “nihongo jouzo desu ne”. I´m not sure if the author really experienced this with 99% people she met or it was exaggerated, but I didn´t need to read about it on every few pages, sorry for your bad experiences.
Maybe I would enjoy this book in my teens, when I started to learn Japanese and watched a lot of anime. Or maybe not, who knows. I can´t write a lot compliments about this book, I mostly remember its annoying things and was confused half of the time, sorry.
But thanks to NetGalley for eARC. I promise I will choose wiser next time.
October 20, 2021
I received an eARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
3.5 stars - I am settling on this rating because I had some conflicting thoughts on this book. The atmosphere was really good - when we were in Cybelle's perspective I felt like a foreigner in Japan and when we were in Zaniel's perspective (yokai world), I felt the unsettling nature of the forest. It was perfectly spooky! Although I cannot speak for this representation, I really appreciated Cybelle's perspective as a foreigner in Japan; I think it really added to point the story and tie her two worlds together. The more Cybelle starts to spiral, the more these two worlds combine and I really enjoyed the parallel plot that Anipare created between the two. While it was a little more obvious that needed, I still think it was beautifully done to understand Cybelle's struggles. The book's main issue was it's pacing. The writing is very easy to follow and fun to read, but the pacing makes the book feel more difficult to read. There were many points towards the end of the novel where I really felt the book could have ended but didn't (although, I do have to say that that the last chapter was *chef's kiss* perfect - LOVE how it ended). Zaniel as a love interest/secondary character left much to be desired. I think their relationship could have been a tad more developed and I would have probably enjoyed him more. Overall, this book made me VERY excited to see what Anipare puts out next!
3.5 stars - I am settling on this rating because I had some conflicting thoughts on this book. The atmosphere was really good - when we were in Cybelle's perspective I felt like a foreigner in Japan and when we were in Zaniel's perspective (yokai world), I felt the unsettling nature of the forest. It was perfectly spooky! Although I cannot speak for this representation, I really appreciated Cybelle's perspective as a foreigner in Japan; I think it really added to point the story and tie her two worlds together. The more Cybelle starts to spiral, the more these two worlds combine and I really enjoyed the parallel plot that Anipare created between the two. While it was a little more obvious that needed, I still think it was beautifully done to understand Cybelle's struggles. The book's main issue was it's pacing. The writing is very easy to follow and fun to read, but the pacing makes the book feel more difficult to read. There were many points towards the end of the novel where I really felt the book could have ended but didn't (although, I do have to say that that the last chapter was *chef's kiss* perfect - LOVE how it ended). Zaniel as a love interest/secondary character left much to be desired. I think their relationship could have been a tad more developed and I would have probably enjoyed him more. Overall, this book made me VERY excited to see what Anipare puts out next!
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November 24, 2021Ok I LOVED this book!
I was worried it'd be too slow-paced but I had so much fun reading it. I loved the two stories and how they came together so beautifully. Loved the writing style, LOVED the characters.
Definitely not a book for everyone, but definitely a book for me!
I was worried it'd be too slow-paced but I had so much fun reading it. I loved the two stories and how they came together so beautifully. Loved the writing style, LOVED the characters.
Definitely not a book for everyone, but definitely a book for me!
April 9, 2021
Yume is a book that took me a little while to get into. In the early stages, I found both story lines interesting in their own way, and I could see the themes mirrored in each; however, they felt too separated. I am glad I stuck with it, though, as all that changed once we passed the midpoint. The two threads slowly came together to form a single narrative and the book finally felt like a cohesive whole. Anipare's prose was engaging and flowed well. I see in her biography that she has experience teaching English in Japan, but I hope she has exaggerated things for her representation of Cybelle's world, as if I were in Cybelle's shoes, I don't think I would last a week being treated that way! As someone currently studying Japanese, I enjoyed the Japanese text and phrases found in the pages. Meanwhile, as a fan of folklore, I enjoyed learning more about the various yokai through Anipare's story. Based on my appreciation of this book, I would definitely pick up future works by this author. For me, this was a 4.5-star read.
I recommend this book to fans of folklore-inspired fantasy and magical realism. However, if you are someone who struggles with (and is likely to DNF) slow-start books, I would urge you to persevere, as the second half of this tale does pick up the pace and bring everything together for a more action-packed finale. It's worth the wait.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I recommend this book to fans of folklore-inspired fantasy and magical realism. However, if you are someone who struggles with (and is likely to DNF) slow-start books, I would urge you to persevere, as the second half of this tale does pick up the pace and bring everything together for a more action-packed finale. It's worth the wait.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 30, 2021
2.5★
this gorgeous cover and the intriguing premise of this book instantly appealed to me. i'm always up for japanese culture and folklore but unfortunately this didn't live up to my expectations as much as i'd hoped, nor was it a very enjoyable experience.
for one, i couldn't connect with any of the characters, though i appreciated the perspectives introduced in the story. the premise behind the book is really interesting and had so much potential, but the execution didn't quite hit the mark for me. on top of all that, the story dragged quite a bit and could've been way shorter than it is! the writing style was not for me either; it felt clunky and awkward and confused the storyline for me even more.
overall, i just think this needed to be better edited and the story itself less vague and more concise and to-the-point. disappointed i didn't like this one :(
— digital arc provided via netgalley + edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
this gorgeous cover and the intriguing premise of this book instantly appealed to me. i'm always up for japanese culture and folklore but unfortunately this didn't live up to my expectations as much as i'd hoped, nor was it a very enjoyable experience.
for one, i couldn't connect with any of the characters, though i appreciated the perspectives introduced in the story. the premise behind the book is really interesting and had so much potential, but the execution didn't quite hit the mark for me. on top of all that, the story dragged quite a bit and could've been way shorter than it is! the writing style was not for me either; it felt clunky and awkward and confused the storyline for me even more.
overall, i just think this needed to be better edited and the story itself less vague and more concise and to-the-point. disappointed i didn't like this one :(
— digital arc provided via netgalley + edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
January 12, 2022
2.5 stars
This book was very average to me. I wanted to like it, the concept was interesting and for the majority of the story I wanted to know what would happen next, but it was slow and lacking.
Cybelle’s chapters were “I did this and then this” or “I was here and now I’m going there” providing too many details about her day to day life that I couldn’t bring myself to care. The reason Yume held my interest at all was because of the dream realm and the spark of interest it created for me to look into Japanese folklore.
Overall, I understand what the author was trying to do but I think it could have been done in less pages. And definitely should have tried a little less hard to be mysterious, there didn’t need to be 6 chapters of world/character introductions.
This book was very average to me. I wanted to like it, the concept was interesting and for the majority of the story I wanted to know what would happen next, but it was slow and lacking.
Cybelle’s chapters were “I did this and then this” or “I was here and now I’m going there” providing too many details about her day to day life that I couldn’t bring myself to care. The reason Yume held my interest at all was because of the dream realm and the spark of interest it created for me to look into Japanese folklore.
Overall, I understand what the author was trying to do but I think it could have been done in less pages. And definitely should have tried a little less hard to be mysterious, there didn’t need to be 6 chapters of world/character introductions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2025
Truly unlike anything I have read before, but in the best possible way. I loved that this book could be many things—simultaneously a love letter to Japanese culture and removing the rose-tinted glasses by showing the daily grind of having a permanent "outsider" status. Simultaneously having that detailed, slice-of-life storytelling style while transitioning to fantastical, disturbing, action-packed adventures. Most of all, I like that the story takes its time to get to the destination. It knows where its going and its in no rush to get you there. I like that. Ultimately, its a story of triumph over the old guard, and that's going to get me every time (even if it involves something like-but-not-quite cannibalism).
I hope this author puts another book out there...pwease?
I hope this author puts another book out there...pwease?
February 16, 2022
This is a book that I would spent time re-reading or re visiting however I did find that it could of been condensed a bit and aparts dragged on.
April 18, 2022
While I was really into the idea of the parallel narration and merge of reality and the dream world, I was not a big fan of the writing itself. There were a lot of word choices and elements that didn't work for me. I also thought there were a lot of unneccessary themes that didn't really go anywhere.
As a different type of urban fantasy I highly enjoyed this, sadly the writing didn't work for me.
As a different type of urban fantasy I highly enjoyed this, sadly the writing didn't work for me.
December 23, 2021
Idk. It was just eh. I wanted to love it and I kept wanting to love it but I just couldn’t. The ending wasn’t satisfactory for me but that’s okay, it might be for someone else. I feel like I didn’t enjoy this book too much. It climbed to a climax every chapter and then it shot it down right before it got there everytime it felt like. I’m just not sure. Cool cover but eh story. I did really love cybelle though and it was a little fun to follow her story but it was frustrating to me how she was naive to her strengths even to almost past the very end. Like inexplicable naivety. For me, the book never felt like it climaxed at all. I didn’t feel very wrapped up in the experience. However, I am very happy that I’ve read this book and I will remember its events for a long time, hopefully forever. It was just an okay book, but also a very important one for me. Nevertheless an adventure.
May 20, 2022
Unrealistic dialogue, slow start, writing wasn’t for me. DNF @ 10%
April 8, 2024
Set in present day Japan, YUME follows dual perspectives. We are introduced to Cybelle, a young black woman from Canada who is finishing her sixth year teaching conversational English in Japan. Navigating through racism and xenophobia she attempts to find connections in a disconnected world. We are also introduced to Zaniel-dream-walker and half-Japanese young man- contracted to a Yokai named Akki. He yearns to escape his contractor and find confidence in himself and his abilities.
I wanted to love this book so much:
Japanese myth ✅
Japanese culture ✅
Cool and relatable MC ✅
Demons and Dreams ✅
There is something really special about this book but I felt the execution wasn’t there.
I had a hard time getting through this read. While the world was incredibly interesting, I often felt either confused on who was speaking, where we were, and what was happening OR the scene dragged on for no obvious purpose. Also Japanese was kind of just thrown in there?
I really liked Cybell. She was relatable and grounded. Girl had some humour and was going through it.
As well, through her the author explored the narratives of xenophobia and racial biases that racially-othered peoples, especially black peoples face on a day to day.
I thought this was written quite well.
As an avid anime fan with a love for Japanese culture and myth, I was super excited to dive into the world of Yokai. While the author was attempting to create a dreamy, surreal space, I felt that the scenes were a bit too much. Too much in the regard I had no idea what was happening or what the characters looked like. I felt bad for Zaniel but I couldn’t really connect with him.
Overall there were some really captivating elements in this book. The ideas and plot were refreshing, but unfortunately for me the execution fell short.
⭐️/5: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️/5: ❌
Would read again: Probably not.
I wanted to love this book so much:
Japanese myth ✅
Japanese culture ✅
Cool and relatable MC ✅
Demons and Dreams ✅
There is something really special about this book but I felt the execution wasn’t there.
I had a hard time getting through this read. While the world was incredibly interesting, I often felt either confused on who was speaking, where we were, and what was happening OR the scene dragged on for no obvious purpose. Also Japanese was kind of just thrown in there?
I really liked Cybell. She was relatable and grounded. Girl had some humour and was going through it.
As well, through her the author explored the narratives of xenophobia and racial biases that racially-othered peoples, especially black peoples face on a day to day.
I thought this was written quite well.
As an avid anime fan with a love for Japanese culture and myth, I was super excited to dive into the world of Yokai. While the author was attempting to create a dreamy, surreal space, I felt that the scenes were a bit too much. Too much in the regard I had no idea what was happening or what the characters looked like. I felt bad for Zaniel but I couldn’t really connect with him.
Overall there were some really captivating elements in this book. The ideas and plot were refreshing, but unfortunately for me the execution fell short.
⭐️/5: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️/5: ❌
Would read again: Probably not.
June 4, 2021
For a somewhat longer than I expected book, this was pretty easy to read.
I have received this book in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the opportunity.
I have my own blog now, so please do give it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)
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Yume is a bit tough to categorize easily in a genre or a sub-genre as it felt like an interesting mishmash of different ones that don't necessarily work that well together. The author in this one however, does make it work in a sense by involving the different point of views in the narrative. For anyone who knows anything about Japan or let's say anime as a closer comparison, the "idea" of an unseen world is incredibly common and you will see applications of series that incorporate that unseen world in their stories while also seemingly carrying on different more contemporary plot-lines at certain times like Noragami, Natsume Yuujinchou and Nurarihyon no Mago to name a few examples.
So seeing it in Yume was once again something interesting to me, as I really enjoy that aspect of their culture. It does however, make the point of views feel like separate books before the convergence of the plot at the halfway point or so. Until then, I got to see a closer to look at what a foreigner and more specifically a person of colour, potentially faces in that country, on what I'm assuming is based on the author's own experiences as she has spent 4 years teaching in Japan. There is a huge focus on the racism towards PoC, culture differences and workplace dynamics which I thought was an interesting take on the situation, but it also got me thinking a bit as well.
The world painted here is very racist and following Cybelle, it made me question why she stayed that long in that country and in that job specifically. I would've understood it a bit more if she seemed to enjoy at least one aspect in her life to a much bigger degree than momentary enjoyments, but she and to be fair, almost everyone in the cast were really unhappy about a lot of things. Which in turn, caused me to question their motives with if you're free to go, then why don't you? I eventually took it as a devotion to the job itself and a bit of a twisted idea of perseverance. This part of the book takes a good chunk of it where Cybelle experiences different types of the Japanese culture while facing the social issues that comes with it which was once again interesting.
On the Youkai side of things however, things were as bloody and twisted as expected with different demons being showcased and how it connects to the normal world. There is also a twist here that I picked up about 30% or so in the book, which I thought was interesting. I wouldn't comment a lot on this part of the book because it's easy to spoil, but if you're a fan of youkai and demons, then you'll most likely enjoy this part of it.
Given the length of the book, I spent a considerable amount of time in both worlds following two different plot-lines that it gave it a more mellow feel than what I kind of expected coming into the book. When the parts finally do come together, it doesn't really feel very dangerous and the resolution felt somewhat easy in the end. That being said for a big book, this reads quite easily which is always a plus and as someone who is studying Japanese at the moment, the huge amount of sentences and Japanese terms written in romaji everywhere was actually pretty fun.
The characters to me were just okay, I felt neutral to the majority of them more so than full on like or dislike by the end. Although, I will still say there is an ehhh side to both protagonists. Concerning Cybelle, while I won't say much about the human side, there is a big question mark surrounding her ties with the demon side and how that came to be which I didn't find an answer to in the book and to be honest, it sort of bummed me out as it felt way too interesting to be left out. Zaniel on the other hand has this weird shifting personality where he's a terrified of his shadow in some instances and then he's very confident which left me feeling jarred.
I can ignore all of the above nitpicks, the only big big criticism that I have here that weighed in on my enjoyment was the language used in the book. Despite the setting being in Japan, where 99% of the cast were Japanese, I never felt that I was reading about Japanese people. Yes, there is an abundance of romaji and terminology, but there was a constant feeling of the west here which I didn't think fit at all. I'm not western myself nor live in a western society, but I could not think of anything other than the societies or communities I watched on TV when reading this book and I didn't like that.
All in all, I do think it's got an interesting premise and an interesting progression, but there are still a few things that eventually weighed on my enjoyment.
I have received this book in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the opportunity.
I have my own blog now, so please do give it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)
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Yume is a bit tough to categorize easily in a genre or a sub-genre as it felt like an interesting mishmash of different ones that don't necessarily work that well together. The author in this one however, does make it work in a sense by involving the different point of views in the narrative. For anyone who knows anything about Japan or let's say anime as a closer comparison, the "idea" of an unseen world is incredibly common and you will see applications of series that incorporate that unseen world in their stories while also seemingly carrying on different more contemporary plot-lines at certain times like Noragami, Natsume Yuujinchou and Nurarihyon no Mago to name a few examples.
So seeing it in Yume was once again something interesting to me, as I really enjoy that aspect of their culture. It does however, make the point of views feel like separate books before the convergence of the plot at the halfway point or so. Until then, I got to see a closer to look at what a foreigner and more specifically a person of colour, potentially faces in that country, on what I'm assuming is based on the author's own experiences as she has spent 4 years teaching in Japan. There is a huge focus on the racism towards PoC, culture differences and workplace dynamics which I thought was an interesting take on the situation, but it also got me thinking a bit as well.
The world painted here is very racist and following Cybelle, it made me question why she stayed that long in that country and in that job specifically. I would've understood it a bit more if she seemed to enjoy at least one aspect in her life to a much bigger degree than momentary enjoyments, but she and to be fair, almost everyone in the cast were really unhappy about a lot of things. Which in turn, caused me to question their motives with if you're free to go, then why don't you? I eventually took it as a devotion to the job itself and a bit of a twisted idea of perseverance. This part of the book takes a good chunk of it where Cybelle experiences different types of the Japanese culture while facing the social issues that comes with it which was once again interesting.
On the Youkai side of things however, things were as bloody and twisted as expected with different demons being showcased and how it connects to the normal world. There is also a twist here that I picked up about 30% or so in the book, which I thought was interesting. I wouldn't comment a lot on this part of the book because it's easy to spoil, but if you're a fan of youkai and demons, then you'll most likely enjoy this part of it.
Given the length of the book, I spent a considerable amount of time in both worlds following two different plot-lines that it gave it a more mellow feel than what I kind of expected coming into the book. When the parts finally do come together, it doesn't really feel very dangerous and the resolution felt somewhat easy in the end. That being said for a big book, this reads quite easily which is always a plus and as someone who is studying Japanese at the moment, the huge amount of sentences and Japanese terms written in romaji everywhere was actually pretty fun.
The characters to me were just okay, I felt neutral to the majority of them more so than full on like or dislike by the end. Although, I will still say there is an ehhh side to both protagonists. Concerning Cybelle, while I won't say much about the human side, there is a big question mark surrounding her ties with the demon side and how that came to be which I didn't find an answer to in the book and to be honest, it sort of bummed me out as it felt way too interesting to be left out. Zaniel on the other hand has this weird shifting personality where he's a terrified of his shadow in some instances and then he's very confident which left me feeling jarred.
I can ignore all of the above nitpicks, the only big big criticism that I have here that weighed in on my enjoyment was the language used in the book. Despite the setting being in Japan, where 99% of the cast were Japanese, I never felt that I was reading about Japanese people. Yes, there is an abundance of romaji and terminology, but there was a constant feeling of the west here which I didn't think fit at all. I'm not western myself nor live in a western society, but I could not think of anything other than the societies or communities I watched on TV when reading this book and I didn't like that.
All in all, I do think it's got an interesting premise and an interesting progression, but there are still a few things that eventually weighed on my enjoyment.
January 24, 2022
3.5 stars, shifting closer to 4. This really took me back to my own days of teaching in Japan, and the experiences of some of the Black teachers I was friends with. Japan was a marvel and a trial, and both are captured in this book. The world of the yokai and dreams was vivid, and Cybelle was such a real person of a character. Zaniel was a little tougher to know, but not necessarily in a bad way. The real drag of this book was the pacing, the redundancy of some sections that made me wonder if I'd actually already read them and had lost my place. The shifting voice was also a little oddly done in places, leaving me confused for a few paragraphs until I figured out we had somehow shifted viewpoints at a random spot. But an enjoyable read, lush and real and fantastical and scary at once.
January 30, 2023
Awesome, deeply enjoyed it. Could have used a glossary for monsters. And food.
February 16, 2023
this was such a slow start, but i am SO glad i stuck it out
February 15, 2024
DNF 5%
Writing is very stilted and awkward, and scenes jump from place to place without transition or signposting. Doesn’t feel worth investing in another 400 pages
Writing is very stilted and awkward, and scenes jump from place to place without transition or signposting. Doesn’t feel worth investing in another 400 pages
February 26, 2024
down the rabbit hole into Japan's spirit world. exactly what i hoped it would be- an adult Spirited Away (movie). it took ages to lean into the fantasy storyline but what a kaleidoscopic ending
March 29, 2021
The cover and summary of this story really drew me in! But ultimately I found myself getting distracted while reading, which generally happens for me when I'm not properly invested in a story. I think there's something really special here, but I just couldn't get into the execution.
This book was offered to me through NetGalley, the resulting review is my own.
This book was offered to me through NetGalley, the resulting review is my own.
April 5, 2021
Hello, and welcome back to That Introvert Reader (unless this is your first time on my blog, in which case, welcome)! Today is an important day, because I am finally going to finish my metaphorical pile of ARC reviews.
Full review at my blog
https://thatintrovertreader.blogspot....
Full review at my blog
https://thatintrovertreader.blogspot....
dnf
January 13, 2023I set this one aside as it wasn't gripping me, the first chapter was a bit confusing and the writing style didn't work for for me.
December 5, 2025
3.5 stars rounded down.
First thing, this book could easily have been half the length. It was rambly and the writing was kind of unclear sometimes. However, I’d describe the story like a ghibli movie in writing, lots of Japanese fantasy, funky lil guys, descriptive settings. A lot of interesting things happened in this book and some of the more boring parts also felt kind of true to an atmospheric ghibli scene, but overall I feel it could have used some extra editing.
First thing, this book could easily have been half the length. It was rambly and the writing was kind of unclear sometimes. However, I’d describe the story like a ghibli movie in writing, lots of Japanese fantasy, funky lil guys, descriptive settings. A lot of interesting things happened in this book and some of the more boring parts also felt kind of true to an atmospheric ghibli scene, but overall I feel it could have used some extra editing.
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