Lullaby: New Adult Epic Fantasy Paranormal Romance with Young Adult Appeal

The Sand Maiden #1

by L.R.W. Lee, Charlie Bowater (Illustrator)

She’s immortal and wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her human dream charge, but they share wounded pasts and he’s the first to understand her pain. For his part, the prince has experienced his share of loss and betrayal and has erected barriers to protect his wounded heart--while these barriers guard, they also prevent him from experiencing love.

No one says, no, to the king. So when Morpheus, god of dreams as well as Ali’s father and sovereign, starts pressuring her to help him conquer mortal dreams making humans mindless slaves, she flees Dream Realm for Wake Realm to save the prince she loves, as well as all humans.

What Ali can’t anticipate is that political opponents in the prince’s kingdom will use her as a pawn in their quest to usurp power from the monarchy. Sensing the prince has more than a passing interest in the new arrival, they force her into a brutal competition that only the winner will walk away from.

If you love to hate supernatural bullies, empathize with wounded souls finding love, and cheer for the underdog you’ll devour this tale of Morpheus, Greek god of dreams, by USA Today Bestselling author L. R. W. Lee. It's a slow-burn, fated mates, fantasy romance with potent sorcery and mythical intrigue.

Binge read Lullaby and the rest of this completed series today!

**This book will empower those who say #MeToo but contains mature content. Recommended for 18+.**

★★★★★ "L.R.W. Lee brings an amazing new realm (literally!) to new adult fantasy. It's sure to please fans of sorcerers, princes, kickass fight scenes, epic magic, and dazzling romance. Did I mention this is all in one book?" - Rachel E. Carter, USA Today bestselling author

★★★★★ "This engaging and poignant novel delivers powerful and passionate romance for its readership." - K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite

★★★★★ "I'm enthralled. The book has held me captive since I received it...You have me in the spot I love/hate. It's so good, and I want the next right now. I thoroughly enjoyed the humor woven in this story. A lovely conclusion to this--a nice tease. I want more!!!" - Peggy Frese, Senior Editor

★★★★★ "I lied to myself so many times when I said 'just one more chapter'." - Jamie Hejduk, Vine Voice Reviewer

★★★★★ "An emotional story that had me on a rollercoaster with Ali. Be warned, the ending leaves you wanting for the next book immediately! - Casie, Amazon Reviewer

★★★★★ "Lullaby is addictive, captivating, dynamic, and well.. ENCHANTING! A complete page turner! Lullaby took that whole Sandman idea to the next level! - Brittany, Amazon Reviewer

Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Romance, Magic, Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Romantasy

495 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2018

About the author

📚 USA Today Bestselling Author 📚 Genre bending, swoony, NO SPICE fantasy romance 📚 Appeals to YA and adults

Website: http://www.lrwlee.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lrwlee/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/lrwlee/

Reviews

[Joana]

I see Charlie Bowater's work on a cover, I click want to read.

[Laura Thalassa]

The great thing about being an author is that you're friends with other authors ... who then give you early copies of their books! Got this bad boy on my Kindle! <3

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you L.R.W. Lee for an advanced copy of this to read!!!

I received this book for an honest review. And I am happy to say that an honest review wont be hard to come by!!! Just having finished this I am still on a happy high, buzzing with all the excitement of that ending!!! WAHHH!!! I need book two like IMMEDIATELY!!

This book really throws you into a new world with new magic and a cray cray evil father/king/sandman and his daughter Alissandra. I thoroughly enjoyed the new spin on the sandman and the sand maiden idea. That each Maiden/Man has her own Dreambeam that they provide dreams to is just genius!! Although it took me about the first 5 chapters before I could even begin to comprehend how things worked, I really did love the world once I got the hang of it.

After the inital slow start the rest of the story flew by, and then the next thing I knew, I was on the final page wondering what happened to the rest of my book?!! But alas, that is never a bad thing to enjoy a book enough to not realize how much you have read :)

I will keep this short and sweet since its still in the workings but definitely add this to your TBR immediately, you wont regret it!

Happy Reading!

[Darcey]

free copy provided in exchange for an honest review. this is no way affects my rating or review.

dnf @ 49%

i just couldn't get into this, and i honestly found it mildly sexual-assualt-like with the way that the MC kept kissing the guy who had mental scarring and didn't want to be kissed🤷‍♀️.

thank you to the author and BookSirens for the free copy!

[Tracey-J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review. 

Ali Escapes from Dream Realm and her cruel father after she finds out he is going after her human charge in the hope to take over Wake Relm. Ali is thrust into in Wake Realm meets Kovis her starbeam, with his help she is hoping to stop her father's plan. 

I have put off writing this review for so long. I started this book initially back in the beginning of December. I got about 3 quarters of the way through and then stopped. I read a couple of other books before going back to it. I found it very difficult to get through.

There are a number of reasons why but the mains issues are, I felt zero connection to the main character, Ali is underdeveloped in such a way that it was difficult to even like her. She comes across as having the emotional maturity of a 6-year-old. Her lack of self-confidence was frustrating because she stayed that way through the entire book, she barely grew as a person despite everything she accomplished. 

The story touched on sexual assault but again this was not fully explored so it ended up giving the story a real ick factor in the way some of the characters behaved towards one another. Kovis is the main love interest and he is just so bland and dull, the term of endearment he uses for Ali felt condescending and made me cringe every time I read it. 

Overall I was really disappointed by this book. I thought the concept was really good the execution was poor. I won't be continuing with this series. 

[Doreen]

DNF!

I'm sorry to say this....but this book was horrible. I liked the idea/concept of the story BUT everything happened so "fast"...or "too quick" and it kinda ruined it for me...

Also, alot of the "magic" in the story seemed like it was just borrowed from other fantasy novels...i didnt see any creativity with it. idk, this is actually my first bad review:(

I REALLY WANTED TO LOVE THIS THOUGH:(

3

[Vignesh Kumar]

Charlie Bowater's the cover artist?? I am in!

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, I have a lot to say about this book...

Review to come!

[Rachel E. Carter]

L.R.W. Lee brings an amazing new realm (literally!) to new adult fantasy. It's sure to please fans of sorcerers, princes, kickass fight scenes, epic magic, and dazzling romance. Did I mention this is all in one book?

I had the utmost pleasure of receiving an early review copy of this lovely book >> it's definitely new adult (think A Court of Thorns and Roses level, which I know will make a lot of romance readers happy!) and definitely brings back all my favorite epic medieval fantasy feels with a fresh & exciting concept that totally sets it apart. This book has all my favorite tropes -hot princes, dueling and competitions, plenty of magic, gods & mortals, family drama (in the most epic of ways), and steamy romance!

[Shelby P · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was choppy and confusing. DNF for me.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]


Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the author. This in no way influences my opinion.
I was a bit on the fence about reading this book. I wasn't entirely sure if it sounded like it was going to be my kind of thing, but after discussing it over with a friend, I decided to go for it and applied for ARC when they opened up. Unfortunately, this turned out to be not really my cup of tea and I ended up DNFing it about 30 percent of the way through. I found it to be confusing and slow, as well as problematic in certain areas. I will mention that I absolutely love the cover, however. The cover art was done by Charlie Bowater and it is absolutely stunning!
The problems with this book really start from the very beginning. From the very first page of the book, we are thrust into a commotion, without any real explanation of what is happening or why. The first few pages of the book are extremely confusing and it really set the tone, for me, up until the point that I DNFed. Whilst I usually wouldn't mind being thrown into action from page 1, I expect some form of world building and explanation to follow up so that I have a full understanding of what is really happening and why; and unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this book. The book carried on from the events at page 1, but without any real explanation as to what was going on and why. The world building and character development was lacking and it really had a negative impact on me as a reader.
The world building itself (the environment, dream realm, wake realm etc.) was really lacking as well. I couldn't physically picture the places we were supposed to be because there wasn't enough description for me. Dream Realm and Wake Realm are mentioned, as well as other places that are pretty far off and not where the characters currently are (but are places with rebellion etc.), but I personally had no real idea where any of these places were in regards to where the characters were and what was really going on and why there was rebellion etc. We know it is happening, but we don't know why and we don't really find out, even though we have the POV of one of the Princes. I would have liked to have seen more world building itself, along with more of an idea of what is actually going on as opposed to knowing about it and not knowing why.
Another issue I had with this book was the lack of character development. I never really felt connected to any of the characters because they were never developed further from the confusing beginning. Ali was extremely naive and a complete push over. She never exhibited any signs that she was a princess from the dream realm. From the vague snippets that we get about her dad and the kind of person he was, I was expecting her to be tougher mentally, but was left pretty disappointed on that front. She let herself be pushed around in the Wake Realm as well, even after the events of the beginning of the book.
Prince Kovis was a pretty unlikeable character. He often spoke down to and was relatively condescending toward Ali, despite the way she treated him. He often looked the other way and encouraged torture, and only really got involved when it started to affect him. He never really developed from this point on and stayed a relatively unlikeable character throughout. Personality wise, he fell relatively flat and there wasn't a particular character trait that made him really stand out in a unique way.
I also found this book to be relatively problematic. This book has sexual assault at the beginning of the book. Usually, I don't mind books featuring sexual assault, when it is written in the right way, because it's an issue that is extremely relevant within society today. However, I feel that the way in which the author tackled and represented sexual assault actually perpetuates it, rather than shows it to be what it is - an issue that needs to be dealt with and resolved. There was no real consequences for the people who committed the assault and the psychological issues that victims often face in the aftermath weren't properly represented either. I felt that Ali brushed it off and seemed to completely forget about it afterward. I will add a spoiler paragraph at the bottom so that I can talk about it openly without spoiling anyone.
Unfortunately, this book was lacking in a lot of different areas and left me with more questions than answers. For me, it was relatively problematic and I was disappointed with the way in which Lee represented sexual assault. I gave this book 1/5 stars
SPOILER PARAGRAPH:
As mentioned above, the way in which Lee represented sexual assault was relatively problematic. The prince himself (not Kovis, his brother) allowed his guards to assault Ali, whilst he stood and looked away. There were no repercussions for Prince Kovis' brother or the guards themselves. It's also later revealed in the book that their sister was sexually assaulted, and prince Kovis' brother claims he would never do/allow that to happen to anyone else... except clearly Ali because she's an exception? Prince Kovis himself doesn't even do anything about his brother or his brothers guards because "they're his brothers' men". He claimed to have said to his brother that he should get rid of some guards because of questionable morals, but that he couldn't force him.
My issue with this situations is that there is no accountability in either the guards, the prince or even Prince Kovis, who finds out about it and does nothing. Sexual assault is a societal issue that is extremely relevant, especially with victim shaming and the celebrities who are coming forward to share their stories. I feel that it is ok to have sexual assault represented within any book, as long as it does the subject justice and is dealt with in the right way. I felt that Lee never really had a reason for using it, and never did the subject and the severity of it justice. As already mentioned, nobody was held accountable and Ali herself brushed it off as of nothing ever happened. A lot of the focus for the beginning of the book was Ali either being sexually assaulted or being forced to strip her clothing. It wasn't used in a way that brought something to the story, or even as a learning device as it should be, but rather as a filler for something to happen. I personally found it to be problematic and it didn't sit well with me.


[Ann (annreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I believed creativity to be the expression of the person, who they were inside. Evil didn't create beauty like this.”

I really enjoyed this book! Even though I had a few issues with the overall plot, it was a super fun read and I literally devoured it in like two sittings😂
The ending got me really intrigued though, I can’t wait for the next one!

3.75/5★★★

[Samantha Zeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a wonderfully fresh take on the Sandman (Sand maiden) and it was fabulous!

First I'd like to say thank you to L.R.W. Lee for providing such an awesome opportunity to allow some of us, myself included, to receive an ARC! So, thank you so much! Below is my honest review.

The characters development was wonderful, especially Kovis. He grew so much from the beginning before he knew Ali. Ali truly was what he needed to break through the wall he had built and once he did he was amazing! Ali was a fun female main character who grew to learn how the Wake Realm works and how the human body is so different from the immortal bodies in Dream Realm. Her journey in discovering magic and how it is used was a wicked awesome take that I have yet to come across in the exact same way in another book. Rasa I am curious about. Her character was very important and intriguing. She seems to have the potential of a deeper character and I hope she plays a larger role in the next book. Kennan I am still not sold on...we shall see what book 2 brings for him. I hope we see more of Ali's sisters in the story to come as I feel their importance has not yet fully been unfolded.

Next I'd like to mention the writing. The first few chapters were a bit hard to get into. Not because I wasn't interested, but because it was like watching a movie 30 minutes after it's started. But alas! it all fell into place and the missing pieces were connected. All was well, and after the fact I actually really enjoyed that aspect. Also, there were a few simple things I felt were a bit redundant and over used. The phrases "At length" and "several heartbeats" were thrown in too often. While they were always used properly and fit the setting each and every time, I think tossing in a different phrase here and there would have benefited the writing to make it feel less redundant. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Lee's writing style. Her intentions were clear and I was never backtracking to understand what was going on. It would be easily enjoyed by a 60 year old as it would be a 20 year old.

The story was magical and breathtaking. I was sucked in like a funnel draining into a world of unique creativity that I did not wish to find my way out of. Currently my favorite recent read and I will be suggesting it to all my bookish friends and family!

I can't wait for book 2! I was extremely upset when the book ended before I knew what happened next!

5 stars!

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what? I didn't think I would like this or appreciate this series at all - but since book 1 was free I gave it a go. Absolutely a good read. I'm going to check out the author some more. :)

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am changing my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars. I went back from the start to take note of lines that left me an impact. And I realized I enjoyed more of the story in this quick re-read. The realms the characters are in are truly unique. Also, if I can't move on from this particular scene in the book then I must have been imbued and captivated right? I would seriously love to find out more of what happens to Kennan to Ali and Kovis and how they would together endure that huge revelation in the end.

"I believed creativity to be the expression of the person, who they were inside. Evil didn't create beauty like this. This was honest. I resisted, but I couldn't deny. Perhaps misguided, but Kennan was a good man. I saw it."

- ALI

I am madly in love with Kennan. *Sigh.*

_________

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

I’d given everything I had. Just as Kovis had. He’d made good on his promise, “Best for best.” But I wasn’t sure my best would ever be good enough.

- Ali

Honest review. My problem with this book is that I did not immediately connect with the storyline and the characters as much as I expected I would. It had a very slow build and it was not until I was about 60-70% through that I was actually finally feeling it .

The book takes place in the Dream and Wake Realms and was told through Alissandra and Kovis’ POV’s. I found I enjoyed reading more from Kovis’ point of view. The world building, the storytelling, and the dialogues were not very seamless, sometimes I would get lost and confused with the pacing; I just think there were some plot holes that I couldn’t quite grasp at the moment. By the end of the book, I still felt like nothing much really happened.

But needless to say, the story has so much potential in that the main characters are very intriguing. I wish I got more of Ali and her beautiful and strong relationship with her sister, Velma. Ali’s Father, on the other hand, scares me to death. The royals – Princes Kovis and Kennan, and their sister, the Empress Rasa – have very dark and painful pasts yet inspiring enough to warrant my sympathy and respect, in spite of what they have become after a destructive past. I liked the dynamics of their characters very much. But it is with Kennan that I am most invested in. Even though he was rude and disdainful at the beginning, I was freaking spellbound by his personality (not mentioning further spoilers here) – I wish to have more of him in the next books.

I got more engaged during the latter chapters when some action finally happened. There’s just so many things I loathe about the main character, Ali, at the beginning, so I somewhat rejoiced at what she had become later on – more focused, a little less naive, confident, and braver.

With that very shocking ending, I have high hopes that the next installments will fulfill my expectations, so I am looking forward to what more awaits these amazing and unique realms!

[Elizabeth De Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Lullaby and WOW! this book gave me the feels, and the characters are interesting more and more as you dive in to the story. I was lucky to have an ARC, and now I can't wait to have this series added to my shelves. Seriously, I can't wait for book 2. I already miss Ali and Kovis. To L.R.W. Lee thank you for introducing me to another world that I would love to explore in. Planning on re-reading it tonight. :)

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

****I was given a review copy of this book in return for my honest review****

Lullaby was on my Amazon wish list long before I was offered a review copy and so when that chance arose I grabbed it with both hands, and oh my am I glad I did.

A wonderfully created world sees the reader move from the Dream Realm to the Wake Realm as the main character, Ali flees from her Sandman father. Once in Wake we meet well rounded characters who you cannot help but love. The bond between siblings, friends becoming family, the war between good and evil are all included throughout the story and it does not disappoint in the romance department either!
The romance, though important and a constant theme, doesn’t take over the story and overshadow the other things going on in the book.

Lullaby is well written, easy to follow and kept me wanting more. I cannot wait to see what happens next and read more by LRW Lee.

[Nicole Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of Lullaby from the author. It took me a few chapters to really get into this book. Ali, being placed into the Wake realm, it created a “newborn” affect to her. Everything is new and all she wants is to protect Kovis.

The whole Dream and Wake realms is very interesting. I don’t think I’ve read anything like this. Ali and Kovis goes through many hardships throughout the book. As the story progresses, character development for both was great to read. The ending part after the competition was a surprise.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt so lucky to receive an ARC from L.R.W Lee. My first arc ever!
So here is my honest review.

I really enjoyed the book. I think the story and the way it's presented is unique. I'd love to know more about Ali's world, but I'm sure that is to come!
The character development was done well. I especially love Ali and her sweet demeanor, but she is also so forward, especially with Kovis. Lol.

I can't wait for the next book!

[⋆Aree⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realmente no sé cómo calificarlo 🧍🏻‍♀️estuvo ??¿??¿ pero entretuvo🤔

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 Unicorns - I loved it!!!
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!! Yes, I got a review copy of this book, but no one tells me what to think, feel, or write about any book!

The cover is perfect for this new world and intriguing!

This is the first book in a new series that is considered New Adult which means you should be at least 18 to read this series due to the mature content.

Wow, this book was intense and full of drama, intrigue, treachery, magic, and more! This world is just as amazing as Andy Smithson’s world but more adult. Ali is amazing, and she must endure so much. Her strength and love are beautiful. I can’t say the royal family is my favorite, but Kovis does redeem himself in my eyes at the end!

The author is a magical story teller, and her talent amazes me. This was an emotional story that had me on a rollercoaster with Ali. Be warned that the ending leaves you wanting for book 2 immediately! I need to know what happens next.

I highly recommend to anyone who wants a magical story that has life’s messiness and makes for a wonderful tale of magical worlds and fantasy that really intrigues!

[Solaris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to LRW Lee for entrusting her hard work to me for review.

I have read the 2nd edition of this book, which includes additional footage. The narration and sentence structure flowed very well.

**

Alissandra, a sand maiden, finds herself very rudely awakened in Wake Realm: the opposite reality of her own Dream Realm. Ali, her dreambeam Prince Kovis, and his twin Prince Kennan, must all find a way to stop the ruler of Dream Realm from conquering Wake Realm. And so begins Ali's struggle to adjust and adapt.... and survive.

Ali has loved Kovis for a long time even though she is his sand maiden, and only knew him through his dreams. But Kovis only just met Ali, and so it comes as no surprise that he at first shares none of the blind devotion Ali does.

Lullaby is chiefly a romance story; the conflict plot takes the backseat, but it's there. Very interesting and original premise.

There is world-building, explanations for what Wake Realm and Dream Realm are; the role and presence of gods, magic, and the machinations present throughout the Lullaby's setting.

There is some torture and violence of a sexual nature encountered in Lullaby, and though it's subtle, it is addressed in a positive manner for the good of the victim and calls to account the perpetrator/s. I hold some reservations because it might not have been written to meet my exact expectations, but at least LRW Lee wrote it with the right, empowering attitude, whereas so many other authors write it wrong, or wind up completely misrepresenting justice, and normalizing or romanticizing violent or forceful predatory behavior.

The development of Ali's character is decent. Ali is an immortal sand maiden whose job is to guide her mortals through their dreams from sleeping to waking, therefore she has seen a great deal of the human experience and behaviors through the subconsciousness of many mortal lifetimes. But it's well-written in how different it is for Ali from what she's observed, from what it is to physically be alive itself and truly experience humanity.

Ali's devotion and personal experiences with Prince Kovis are the primary focus of essentially the entire book. It was a little tedious with every interaction being about how Ali felt, how Prince Kovis felt, their teasing of each other and broaching the same subjects a few times over when there is a dire threat and mystery looming over the empire and how many political intrigues and insurrections going on. I wasn't quite sure if I was supposed to focus on the romance, or the conflict. But since I'm a romance junkie myself, I'm not raising that much of a stink about it; just pointing it out.

I found Prince Kovis's conduct with Ali, going from aloof, suspicious stranger to helpful acquaintance and protector, then to subsequent friend and eventually more, to go in the right direction when it comes to character development. The setbacks in their relationship were realistic, --silly little tiffs, misunderstandings; so I appreciated that. I just wish he would have done more when Ali first came to Wake Realm, given that he has a strong connection to her and can feel her pain and fear as if it were his own. Also, Kovis's and Kennan's sister endured a great deal of pain herself, and I would have thought that would color a bit more of Kovis's and Kennan's actions.

The book's pacing was consummate. I loved that it was not crammed into a few short days or weeks, like so many novels of a similar genre do. The timeline was spread out over several months. I also really enjoyed the lexicon applied to this universe: suns, heartbeats, fortnights, moons, in lieu of day, instant, week, month. I felt that was a creative, clever application for building a fantasy world.

Overall, very interesting and unique concept: a dream world and a woken world, and how they affect each other. Weaving classic lullabies into the text, and making sand an unassuming yet crucial part of the story were fabulous details that enhanced Lullaby.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let’s begging this review by explaining my rating progress here 1 stars out of Five
I’ve heard a decent amount of buzz surrounding this book from the bookstagram community on Instagram and I feel the the buzz came more from the fact that the cover art of this book was contributed by the amazing Charlie Bowter the women who lends her art style to Sarah J Maas Acotar series. As well for the fact as this book immediately labeled itself as New Adult which I tend to see being the new trend when it comes to books no a days. A sub Category more mature then Young Adult but not to much that you just go into Fiction.

The Story
The story centers itself on an “18” year old girl name Alissandra note how I say “18” because this girl is technically and immortal being who had been torn away from her home by a power hungry father and tossed into the mortal world. This world had two worlds in, The Wake (the world that would technically be the realm we would all be living in right now) and Dream Realm (The Dream realm that Ali came from). Ali is tossed into the mortal realm only to find out that its not an ordinary mortal realm, She is tossed into this kingdom that worships a Canyon? That grants them the elemental powers fire,earth,water,Air,metal Ect…. Avatar the last Airbender stuff happening here honestly.

There’s a war happening in this country, and Ali just got tossed in the middle of it. Or rather she got tossed in the middle of her love interest Kovis bedroom with no clothes.
As the story progresses Ali and Kovis are told be love interest at the get go she calls him her Dreambean and he calls her Ali Dearest (see a connection here to another series… I’ll come back to this just wait). As this war goes on Ali connects that it is because of her father the Sandman who craves control of the mortal realm. But before the war problems can truly commence lets forget all about that situation and get tossed into some Throne of glass stuff over here. “THE CROWN CHAMPION”…. (I’ll stop here and come back to this in a moment)

The Characters:

Ali:
Also known as Alissandra The Sand Maiden. When coming to the mortal realm Ali is said she wasn’t able to walk, a very Little Mermaid vibe tends to happen here, she struggles to get control of her footing and new found weight back in the dream realm it isn’t said what kind of bodies they have there only that they have wings. So Ali coming from there her legs are something she is an awe about, fast forward less then a few days of being unconscious and on bed rest she a master at her footing and is able to jog away from her enemies…. -.- …. Really? Yup really. Ali tends to have a very trusting and forgiving nature (to all but Mr.Creepy which I can’t fault her for he needs a good 300 hour kicking to the balls that ass) Ali raises from the ashes and becomes part of the healer group in the palace apprenticing to heal the wounded, but as the story progress we come to learn that Ali isn’t like the rest she holds more than one affinity she can weld up to 6? Making her the strongest one of all you know right next to her “bonded” person Kovis

KOVIS:
Kovis is crown prince, he is like most of your male leads in YA brooding and hides a dark past, which is revealed, he was abused by his father that blamed him and his TWIN brother Kennan for the death of his late wife the Queen who passed away during childbirth to the twins, the abuse spread to their sisters the current ruler Kovis being the strong chivalrous one defended his sister in all matters that he could which had him locked away in a box! By his father…. It is also reveled that he was cheated on, he blame himself and the “Darkness” he had in him…. (I note I want to touch on here, he mentioned the darkness so much here and I still don’t understand what the hell he ment by that what darkness? He had a kind heart and he was cheated on by a women who he clearly stated was only going after him for a title)

KENAN:
Twin brother to Kovis, Commander to the armies, background story wise it isn’t said much if he suffered to the same extent as his brother the abuse from their father but he is clearly somewhat tramitized in a way, he is also in my eyes a coward, when meeting Ali it is understandable to demand answers but as time goes and he sees how weak she is he still allowed “MR.Creepy” to feel up Ali in the most inappropriate ways possible, and still said he had to follow the “guide” in a way he redeems himself by helping Ali but backtracks when he kisses her and drops flirtations vibes towards specially after knowing the kind of betrayel his brother has gone through and how withdrawn he is to the world he still went behind his back and kissed Ali (in all honestly I had expected the author to say Kovis Ex was found sleeping with Kennan and not with a guard that is what I expect out of it)

RASA:
The sister crown royal “Queen?” she is possibility the only realistic character of the bunch she took no crap and acts her role she only came in small moments but she acted every much a queen when she did.

THE APPRENTICES:
I’m not going to lie Ali’s friends I can’t remember their names, they weren’t that memorable the only thing they served in the story were helping Ali with basic human needs that she was clueless abount and gossip.

THINGS I didn’t like:
❝Prince Kovis Rhys Aldrick Desmond Griffin Daren Altairn.❞ -- Kovis’s eyes grew wide “The most powerful sorcerer and crown prince of the Altrairn empirer.”
I’m stopping the quote there and just saying this story was clearly heavenly influence by no other by the ACOTAR series.
Firstly Rhys? Hmmm okay, I’ll let that slip cuz I mean names… but then theirs the matter of the “BOND”…bond… mating bond? Hmmm yes that is what it was, mind talking and everything now those things aren’t sealed to one fandom alone that is obvious but then we come to the whole “Ali dearest” which I can translate to “Feyre Darling” honestly the similarities are way to much and I found that the most disappointing.
(Quick note I just found out that Aldrick is the name of a character in the air awaken series hmmm I have yet to read the series but I guess we will see if their aren’t any similirites)
This author also focused a lot on the fact of Kovis tattoos and how ali kept noticing them, theirs a huge war going on outside their doors and the whole story revolved around the fact she placed him to sleep, oh he dind’t kiss her, work, train, and repeat.
Now I mention this above the throne of glass reference “Crown champion” the way this was reference was to close to yet another sarah j maas series and celena the crown champion to the queen, and a fight to see the strongest warrior from the kingdoms hmmm,,, and yet again we are ignoring the main thing about the story. Ali’s father the sandman coming for her!!!!
When it came down to it and he found her she and Koiv ran away to only be worried about her maideness not being used by his manhood…. This book seriously ended on a sex scene and how they will save the emperor and his brainwashed twin brother!!!! Who btw was taken over by ali’s power hungry father….
Koiv’s character repeatedly says how much his family means to him and yet he ran away and left them all to be controlled by her father.

Things I liked:
The story is unique I would give it that, the daughter of the sand man story something that I never seen anyone touch on and it is a fascinating subject in all honesty to see that in the dream realm there would be one-person in charge of each human being on earth and control and protect their sleep.

OVERALL.
While I’m writing this review I’m noticing more and more flaws to this book then I initially noticed from the begging and I will stick with my two-star rating. The concept itself was interesting the way the author went about it was just not up to par with what I had hoped and expected from the small hype surrounding the book itself. The characters were more so lacking development our main protagonist Ali, while a kind heart, was way to trusting after all the time and the struggle she had with her father and the stuff they put her through in the begging she could have grown a backbone more. The castles background characters as started before were more used then anything for gossipers around the castle the main love interest Koivs didn’t have any character growth, the moment Ali was in danger and almost towards death is when his character demeanor shifted and not by much. I didn’t feel that much of strong connect.

Funny enough as much as I said above about Kennan being a coward, I felt more a connection between him and Ali then I ever did with her and her dreambean at all… there was a lot of things left unanswered which since this is book 1 in a series I can only hope those things would be answered in future books. As for me picking up any future continuation…. I’m not sure, if I come across it I might…. But I won’t be seeing myself hunting down for the story.
The author tried hard to create a world like acotar which if she took more time to develop this world and think of the loopholes and foreshadowings in the story she might have successed sadly it wasn’t the case.

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.
TW for rape and sexual assault
also warning, this review is freakishly long

I'll be honest, I went into this book with really high expectations (I don't know why), luckily, for the most part it lived up to them. Overall, my experience with this book was really good, and I look forward to continuing the series, but the were a lot of little details in the writing that bugged my and prevented this from being a 5 star read, so I'm going to briefly (I hope) discuss them.

I'll start by saying that although you don't need to read the prequel, Rock A Bye Baby, to understand this book, it does help a lot with the world building, as well as characters' motives and backstories. I don't know why it's listed as book two, but if you are going to read all 4 books in this series, read Rock A Bye Baby before Lullaby.

Ok, let's start with some of the good. I absolutely love the world building of this series. It's a really creative concept working around the sandman lore, but there are also small details in the world building that remind me a lot of other popular series, which was fun.

Something that did bug me though, it that for the first half or so of this novel, Ali's notion of love is really juvenile. I understand why, considering her upbringing, it just felt a little off for a NA novel and made for some really intense tonal shifts when the books switched to discuss something serious, such as sexual assault, which is my next point in this review.

Sexual assault and men's complacency in rape culture are very complex issues that I'm not going to fully dive into in my review for this book, but I'll try to talk about them in short. For the most part, this book discusses sexual assault well, but I did find some issues with it. For one, I just found it too be in a bit too much detail. I can't pinpoint what is was in the writing, but Ali's assault felt incredibly real. Yes, this is technically a sign of strong writing, but I don't think it needed to be that vivd. Sexual assault is essentially the one thing no one is gonna fault you for not going into detail on, as it can be triggering. Of course, this book does include trigger warnings, but still, I think you can just allude to it or keep that section brief and make just as strong a statement. On to the more complex aspect of the way sexual assault is described in this book, that I honestly don't know how to state my feelings on in this short review. For context, early on in this book, when Ali is presumed to have tried to kill Kovis, as a part of her interrogation, Keenan lets her guards sexually assault her. It does get stopped, but it is unclear how far he would have let them go. To start with the good, this book doesn't dissolve Keenan of guilt. Ali repeatedly tells him as it is happening that even if he looks away and tells himself its for the greater good, he is still complicit. This is completely true and was good to see. Where it gets messy is that Keenan is still generally a good guy in this book. Him and Ali later talk and he kind of has a redemption arc. The book never condones what he does, thankfully, but it really emphasizes his "good" motive (fear for his brother's safety). Again, it's a complex issue, but I don't know how I felt about this. After Keenan opens up, Ali does state that even if she understands his motives, and that he is generally a good person, she cannot forgive what he did, and also adds that no matter the circumstance (even in torture) sexual abuse is a line that should never be crossed. She also rallies to change the rules for interrogation. Again, this was good to see. The message about abuse is for the most part strong, it just gets messy since Keenan, the person in power who allowed Ali's assault, is technically a good guy. I don't know. There's definitely more good than bad in the conversation this book presented, but the bad should still be acknowledged, as this is a serious topic.

Onto some less serious stuff. Once the plot of this book picked up and the romance became more two sided, I really did enjoy this book. In addition to the strong romance, plot, and world building/magic system, there were also just a ton of tropes I loved in this book. This book reminded me a lot of Sarah J Maas's various series. (The tropes and similar details in canon reminded me of ACOTAR, but the writing is more reminiscent of ToG). I'm not a huge Maas fan, and the writing styles of the two authors definitely differ, but the tropes used, overall tone of the book, and grandiose of the plot/world building of Lullaby reminded me a lot of Maas's writing.

On to my last serious complaint about this book, which wasn't a big deal in the text (for example, unlike sexual assault), but I'm still gonna talk about it (and knowing me, overanalyze and make it a big deal). Simply put, I didn't like how big a deal Ali and Kovis's first time was made out to be. This is more a personal issue than objective problem with the text, but still, it bugged me. Basically, the main character's don't have sex until the end of the book because Kovis wants to make it special for Ali and wait until they are married. Obviously there is nothing wrong with a woman wanting her first time having sex to be special, and sex is a two person activity, but since it wasn't Kovis's first time, it felt like he was placing a little too much importance on Ali's virginity (virginity is a social construct btw :) ). Again, nothing wrong with a woman wanting her first time to be special, but Ali literally didn't care. It was just Kovis who wanted to "maintain her womanhood" or something like that. Even if the reason he cared so much about it being special and "proper" was for the sake of her (which to his credit, it totally was), the idea that losing your virginity as a woman is some huge act that should be saved til marriage is rooted in misogyny.

So overall, although I had some issues with this book, I had a good time with it. Most of the important things this book covered, like sexual assault were done pretty well and with good intentions, there were just a few details that I feel like could have been fixed. As for my other complaints, such as Ali's naïveté at the beginning go the book, those aren't issues that are detrimental to my enjoyment of this book, just little qualms I had. Overall, this was an enjoyable read with some cute romance and strong messages, I just think the writing could have been touched up a bit in a few areas to make for a stronger theme and more cohesive novel. (And once again, I'm going to commend this book just for it's premise, cause I think it's just so creative and new. It allowed for a lot of tried and true tropes to be used without the book feeling unoriginal)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review and I would like to say I definitely liked this book but I would give it about 3.5 stars and here is why:

First, the plot itself is really unique and I loved the idea behind it. The magic system is one of my favorites in the books that I have read recently. I do love the fact that there are non magic wielding cities as well with their own rules and traditions. I would LOOOOVE if the next book had more of them involved. It definitely has the potential to be a really good fantasy book if it had not read... well.... kind of like a fan fiction.

That was my main issue. This book is marketed as a FANTASY book.. but in reality its just a pure romance novel with a side of fantasy. there were so many good fantasy concepts that were just grazed over or skipped over and didn't quite "go there"

I lost count of how many times a person chuckled or "flicked their eyebrows"
multiple times.
in one paragraph.

The prince himself has zero personality... but Kennan was the most fully realized character in the whole book and he isn't event he main character... I really hope to see more of him in book two.

At the beginning of the story you are thrown into it so quickly with no character development so a lot of the times I found myself not caring about what was going on with any of the characters because...well, because I didn't know them. It wasn't until about 50% in that I finally got intrigued by the story. So, it does definitely get better, but I know a lot of people will DNF a book if it doesn't grip them within the first few chapters. So, it is definitely a slow burner.

had this book been marketed for what it actually was, a romance in a fantasy setting, I might have enjoyed it a lot more.

[Ella Keough · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of the book Lullaby. Which (just in case you don't know) means I received a copy of the book before it's official release date. Lullaby is being released on the 15th of January 2018. In exchange for receiving this book, I am giving an honest review! This is the first ARC I have ever gotten and I'm glad to have been one of the lucky ones who received a copy!

Lullaby is a fantasy, romance, New Adult novel with Young Adult appeal. L.R.W.Lee also the author of the Andy Smithson series. The book is set in a beautiful fantasy world with sorcerers, romance and a crazy/evil/Sandman/father/king! I love the new twist on the sandman idea, how everyone has a Sandman/sand maiden. Also, the cover is an absolutely gorgeous work of art done by Charlie Bowater, who has to be one of my favourite artists! As you dive deeper into the book the characters and plot become even more compelling. Ali's curiosity and newness to the Wake Realm led to some funny situation, which were some of my favourite parts of the book. Kovis' character definitely deepens as you continue through the book. Lullaby felt a bit slow at first as I didn't initially connect with the characters or storyline but as I got towards the end I definitely connect more. Speaking of endings, the ending of this book definitely has me wanting the second book NOW. When I was reading Lullaby I felt an A Court of Thorns and Roses vibe, so if you are a fan of that series I think you will enjoy this book!

I hope you found this review helpful!

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read books like this for fun and entertainment, so I usually give high rates when I like the story and it captivates me, even when I don’t actually agree with/like every part of it. I really liked this book, but it does have some issues. I know we can’t possibly love all stories and we won’t agree with every part of all books we read, but I wish this story was… I don’t know… more. It deserved more. The short version? It needs more development. The world is great; the characters and the plot though. Good, but not so great. They could be MUCH more. That being said, I think this world has A LOT of potential and I look forward to see more of it. Especially because of the way it ended, with both of them on the run . Please show me more lands and people and cultures and diversity. The long version:
The characters
Ali – I liked her and I think she is adorable. I loved the way she changed and how she tried to adapt to this new body and this new reality. Her observations about how some of the things that we do just don’t make sense to her were great (like that I-don’t-want-to-take-your-virginity-bullshit that really got me rolling my eyes) . And the first time she has her period? I thought it was wonderful and clever and hilarious all at the same time.

“Red. A puddle of it under my behind! Blood! My blood! My breathing quickened, and I leapt out of bed. This body was defective! I’d thought it before, but it left no doubt!”

I’ll just adopt that moto to my life: this body is defective and it does not make sense to bleed every month. I also loved how she changed. She came into Wake Realm to save her prince, and she was kinda of obsessed with him, his life and happiness was all that mattered and that’s why she had sacrificed her immortality (which was a bit annoying at some point). But as she grew, she stopped being so naïve. Especially when she became the crown’s champion and realized that she needed more, that her life couldn’t be just about him and this relationship, she needed a reason to fight and love him was just not enough. I hope we get to see more of that in the next books. Like this world, Ali has a lot of potential, but I fear this story may lead her down to the Obsessed-girl-in-love-with-a-prince path. I truly hope not.
Kovis – I’ll be straight-forward: I didn’t like him. I kinda liked him in the last 20% of the book (maybe just during the 10% where he was supportive and nice), but all this Someone-broke-my-heart-and-I-can’t-love-anymore was just a pain in my ass. His previous love story wasn’t even that bad to justify his behavior. I hope he develops into something more in the next book ‘cause he is just annoying, boring, and shallow. It’s 2018, we don’t want broken-shallow-princes-with-a-dark-past anymore. We need deep characters, we need development, we need flaws that don’t actually come from an abusive/broken relationship, we need books that are not Instagram profiles and everyone is either a perfect snowflake or a terrible monster. Well, that’s what I want in a book anyway.
Kenan – I loved him. He could have been better, of course, but he is one of the most adorable characters in this book. I hope we get to see more of him. I and know this is a fool’s hope, but I truly hope Ali ends with him if she is to end with someone. He is interesting, better developed and multifaceted. We want guys that are more like him in the books we read. I know I do.
Rasa – I didn’t like her, but I did. I truly hope she is well developed in the next books, because she is a very interesting female-character. I also hope she is more than a Strong-girl-with-a-dark-past-that-became-queen. I hated how she voted for Ali being crown’s champion, but I get why she did it. I liked her because she is flawed and she gets her kingdom and her people wrong (she could have forbidden the killing in The Ninety-Eight instead of ending the tournament, but she just doesn’t understand her people’s traditions), but that doesn’t make her a bad empress, just a short-sighted one and I think that’s awesome. We need more good characters making mistakes and learning from them. Enough with the perfect ones that always do things right, even when they do wrong.
The healers – As many parts of this book, their friendship could have been better developed. It was some sort of Friendship-at-first-sight, but I liked how they cared for each other.
The guards – I just love Kovis’ guards, they are cute and they gossip about everything. I think they’re very human.

The plot
Well. It has some holes in it. I kinda guessed that Ali was going to end in The Ninety-Eight somehow, so it was predictable. I think we need more explanation about how this mind-control thing works, ‘cause it doesn’t seem believable that Kenan got to the tournament so fast. It took the party two weeks to get there and he was there five or six days later? If the mind-control only works when people are sleeping, it doesn’t make sense at all, because he would have waken up at some point of this journey and would have been very confused to be in the middle of the road when he should be in his castle.
The sexual abuse (not rape) in the beginning was awful to read, but not as horrible as it could have been for my standards, so I actually liked that it happened (I do not/cannot read books with hard sexual abuse/rape scenes, so I was able to continue reading though I did skip some parts), it made the characters more human, but it also separated them into two categories: good-honored-selfless people and bad-awful-horrible-sexual-predator guys. It does make a bit of sense, because of the code-book-bullshit they’re following, but I wish we could have seen more realistic human beings.
I don’t like how the book ended. I just don’t like the This-is-my-mother’s-ring-please-marry-me ending, but, as I’ve said, this world has a lot of potential, I believe the next book is worth reading. If it is not better developed and if it turns into Twilight or The Paper Magician’s kinda Girl-suffers-for-boy-and-that’s-it, then I’ll drop it, but I think it deserves another try to see where this series takes me.

For its potential and because I really liked the world, I’ll give it 4 stars. For the plot and some of the Not-so-interesting characters, I’d give it 3. As I can’t give it 3.5 stars, I’ll stick with 4 because it seems promising.

That’s it, my first review here because this book really got me thinking for a while.

[Ann Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

I've really enjoyed this series so far it's different than most fantasy books and has been fun to get lost in their word

[OanaD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess it's one of those books you either hate or love, but I can only say that this book has come into my life in a rather difficult time which made me appreciate it all the more.

[Bonnie (A Backwards Story)]

"I believed creativity to be the expression of the person, who they were inside. Evil didn't create beauty like this. This was honest. I resisted, but I couldn't deny.
~LULLABY


I'll admit it: The first time I heard about this book, it was because the cover had just been revealed and shown in a social media thread I was following. Then I saw that the cover art was from Charlie Bowater, who has done artwork for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. THEN I read the summary. Sand maiden lore? For fans of Maas, Rachel E. Carter (Black Mage series), and Elise Kova (Air Awakens series)? Sold. 100% SOLD.

The debut doesn't disappoint, either, and I can see why it has been comped to all three of those series. I'd even throw some Hunger Games / Red Queen into the mix because of a competition that plays an important part in Ali's journey to acceptance in her new human form. LULLABY reads fast and introduces an intriguing new world that I'm eager to explore more of as the series continues.

Ali is a Sand Maiden--think about all you know of the Sand Man and the way he lulls you to sleep. Every human has their own personal Sand Maiden or Sand Man. For Ali, it is Crown Prince Kovis Altairn. When she finds out that her father is trying to take over the human world by manipulating humans in their sleep, she gives up her immortality and magically crosses over into our world as a human. The only problem? She crosses over in the prince's bedroom. In the middle of the night. Covered in nothing but sand. The royal guard immediately takes her in for questioning, and nobody wants to believe her fanciful tales about being a Sand Maiden. But without her in his life, Kovis will never sleep again, and as the kingdom's most powerful sorcerer, that isn't an option, especially with war on the horizon...

LULLABY is very much about Ali's journey as she learns more about being human and the strange new powers she possesses. As a human, she has magical powers and is on her way to becoming a sorceress, but only if she can learn to control them. I also liked the use of colors and the way they came to represent the different elements of magic. There are even color-shifting tattoos that can tell you a lot about a person's mood!

Ali is helplessly in love with Kovis, whom she has watched over his entire life as his Sand Maiden, but he barely trusts her, which messes with his psyche. Kovis, on the other hand, is understandably wary, since Ali is a stranger to him and he must protect the throne. I liked that his sister, Empress Rasa, was the reigning monarch and that both brothers had important roles in the kingdom. It was nice to see an eldest daughter on the throne and not passed over for her brothers, Kovis and Kennan. I really appreciated this element, even though Rasa definitely made life harder for Ali in a lot of ways. It will be interesting to see how she develops in future books. It will also be interesting to see how Kennan develops and where his storyline takes us. I'm hoping there won't be too much drama in that department, but we'll see! He'll definitely have a big role to play in the next book with how things shake out at the book's end.

And speaking of the end! The cliffhanger thankfully isn't deadly, so you'll be able to pick yourself up off the ground after reading LULLABY. But a LOT of stuff happens at the end and the characters aren't in the best place...at least in some ways! So it definitely will leave you wanting more and to see how everything resolves itself and what new complications are thrown in coming up. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and reuniting with this cast of characters!