The Last Dream Keeper (The Witches of Echo Park, #2) by Amber Benson

The Last Dream Keeper (The Witches of Echo Park, #2) Reviews

• 
  Jenn

  So, I didn't like this one as much as the first. The plot felt a little less thought out and the POV's were jumbled together in a sort of timeline that came off a little confusing.
  
  After the end of book one, Lyse has accepted her position as head of the Echo Park coven and they all have been warned that something called The Flood is coming for them and they must protect the last Dream Keeper at all cost. And then they all separate.
  
  What I liked about this book was that we got to delve more into each witch and learn more about them. We got histories and families much more than we did in the first and I feel that this brought each girl a little bit more alive and distinguishable.
  
  What I was not a fan of was how all over this plot seemed. What seemed like strong, independent women in the first book, turned into easily swayed minds and betraying one another like wildfire. The character that disappointed me the most was Lisbeth. I found her fascinating in the first and adorable. As the Dream Keeper, I knew she was going to be important to the center of the story but I felt like everything that made her her was just lost in this book. And I did not like it one bit. She went from my favorite character to my least favorite all because she found someone who apparently saw her. I really hated her plot line if you couldn't tell.
  
  I also felt extremely bad for Lyse in this book. Here was a girl who was thrust into this world, and as a leader to boot, and when she tries to do the right thing, she's stabbed in the back by people she thought she could trust. Also, if the girls see their true love during the ritual with the Horned God, does this mean that Lyse is shit out of luck since Weir was killed and that's who she saw?
  
  I'm hoping this book suffered from middle book-itis and somehow Benson can reel it all in cohesively in the final.
• 
  Shelley

  *Source* Publisher
  *Genre* Urban Fantasy
  *Rating* 3.5
  
  *My Thoughts*
  
  The Last Dream Keeper is the second installment in The Witches of Echo Park series. This is a series that doesn't feature just one main character, but a coven of (5) Witches that make their homes in Echo Park. The women of the Echo Park coven face off against a group of people known as The Flood that are totally willing to bring back the Salem Witch trials in order to rid the world of those who may be able to stop them. There is nothing good about calling something a new world order. There are always those who go to extreme lengths to get what they want, including torturing, hanging, burning at the stake, and experimenting on witches.
  
  *Full Review Posted 01/09/2016 via Gizmos Reviews*
  
  
  http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
  
  Expected publication: January 5th 2016 by Ace
• 
  Cynthia

  This must not be my cup of tea. I tried really hard to get into this book. I received an ARC from Ace Books and since I hadn't read the first book in the series, I checked it out from my local library. The first book showed promise but this one was just a mess. I usually like books that switch POV from chapter to chapter but these characters are so clueless about their purpose in life, changing opinions about each other and their goals with the slightest nudge of a perfect stranger. Naive doesn't even come close. The main character Lyse, gets injured frequently yet never seems to need medical care. The coven is told they must stay together but what do the do the first chance they get? Hair off in different directions, listening to crazy old lady ghosts from their pasts.
  
  Everyone has an agenda. Lyse's evil grandfather and uncle, Lyse's grandmother who she always thought was her aunt. The supposed council of witches. Something called The Flood. And people are dying like flies. Where are the police? There aren't enough characters left to make irrational decisions in volume three. As for me, I'm done.
• 
  Luke

  The Last Dream Keeper continues The Witches of Echo Park and develops the world further and the characters come alive again. There were twists and turns, and it left me wanting more. The ending was the worst: that cliffhanger. . .I need the next one. . .is there another? There must be: why would a series end like that?
• 
  Amanda Kratz

  Read for the Pop Sugar 2022 Challenge
  
  #19 A book that takes place during your favorite season (Fall)
  
  This one is just so so dark compared the the last one and yet I still don’t know who the flood are, what they want, or why they are doing this.
  
  The transition between book 1 & 2 is seamless. Like I said in review of 1 if didn’t feel like a complete story but just an introduction. Which leaves this book #2 is all action and horrible things happening to all the characters. It is just so much sadness all around. So much distrust and it’s just jumbled.
  
  Also there is still no real explanation of the magic system of what good their powers can actually do. We haven’t seen them use any magic at all. Just getting kidnapped and shot at and wrestling with monsters. Other than some random telepathy and being able to sense ghosts or memories we’ve got bumpkiss.
  
  The single bright point is Lizbet and Temicoles … but at the same time he only exists in her dreams as his physical body is dead so really that’s a doomed relationship.
  
  The book ends on a massive cliff hanger.
  
  I intend on reading the next one simply to know what happens. (That and it fits the witchy prompt :)).
• 
  John Amory

  Confusing and very strange. This doesn't even feel related to the first book, which was all character and almost no plot. This one is the exact opposite. Curious to see where the third book goes.
• 
  Stacy

  I gave it 3.5 stars
  
  THE LAST DREAM KEEPER was a nice follow-up to THE WITCHES OF ECHO PARK, but I am hoping that after the ending that book two gave us that book 3 will blow me out of the park.
  
  There was a lot going on in THE LAST DREAM KEEPER and by the end there was a lot hanging in the balance. Some characters had tremendous development and some didn't have any. There was some betrayal, a shocking loss and a whole lot of danger. There were some slow parts and there were some parts that I felt went too fast, but I never wanted to put the book down and walk away.
  
  It really sucked when THE LAST DREAM KEEPER ended. I have way too many questions and I don't feel like we got enough answers. The crap was hitting the fan and I really wanted to see what was going to happen next because I was honestly a little confused about a few things and the ending was so big you just couldn't help being a bit frustrated that it ended right where it did. I am hoping that Benson will blow me away in book three with answers and events. We shall see!
  
  * This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Rachel

  I was not a fan of this book, sadly. I wanted to enjoy it because I love Amber Benson, and I persevered to the end because of that, but it was a struggle. I started reading this over two months ago, got 50 pages in and stopped, and picked it up again earlier this week. I guess the Halloween spirit inspired me enough. It was very confusing--I couldn't remember what had been happening or who a lot of the characters were. I finally sat down and read the last 200 pages today. The plot momentum did pick up, but it was still very messy and confusing. Not to mention, super dark and horrifying in a way that I didn't feel was earned. I liked the first book a lot more, as it focused more on the relationships between the characters rather than the muddled world-building and plot-thickening. I might pick up the sequel when it comes out, out of loyalty to Amber, but this second installment doesn't make me excited about it.
• 
  Eva Millien

  Only one witch has been prophesied to be able to stop the encroaching darkness and Lyse MacAllister and the Echo Park Coven must keep her safe – no matter the costs in this thrilling urban fantasy. I wasn’t quite as enamored of this one as I was the first book because while the story is a bit complex, it seems to move a little slowly despite the jumping from person to person and I couldn’t quite get in to the way the characters were portrayed in this one but at the same time I was caught up in the suspense and since there is a cliffhanger as the battle has only just begun, I am holding out that the next book will pick up the promise of the first one.
  
  3 ½ STARS
  
  “Copyright Night Owl Reviews”©
  
  See my full review at:
  
  https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Re...
  
• 
  Pamela

  If the first book was dark, this one is darker. The ties of the blood sisters will be torn. Hearts will be broken. New characters are introduced. Some will prove trustworthy, others won’t, and others I wonder if their agenda may not be black or white, but murky. The story is full of tension that spirals higher and higher and never gives you a break. Amber Benson hooks the reader with words that magically compels you to read to the last paragraph. I cannot wait for the next installment in this series.
  
  Read rest of the review at
  http://www.ismellsheep.com/2016/01/bo...
• 
  Charlotte Walker

  "It's in the blood." Hessika's prophecy becomes more and more clear and true with each installment of this series. There are no true battles without sacrifices, and there are more losses and sacrifice as well as possible and true betrayal. There is also an unbreakable bond between strong and magical women.
  "Where there is a woman, there is magic." (Ntozake Shange) The women in this book separate, then reunite and come to a magical conclusion.
  
  This is not the end.
  
  One of my favorite memes is from Wild Woman Sisterhood. I think of Lizbeth in the last scene of this book whenever I see it.
  
  "The divine feminine has been reawakened on the planet. In other words, 'Mama's home.'"
  
  
  https://www.google.com/search?q=The+d...
  
  
  
• 
  Bree Taylor

  Book 2 continues exactly where book 1 left off. And I’m not entirely sure why I continue to read this book series. I keep HOPING that it will get better.
  
  Unfortunately, we continue to more POVs and even less coherent information about our characters. There is soooo much telling in this story that it sounds like it just needed a better editor or someone who could tell Benson that all the description she has is kind of unnecessary.
  
  MOST unnecessary is the reveal about Evan near the end of the book. This particular reveal is not needed for the plot (in this or book 3) and I’m not entirely sure why Benson felt the need to bring this into the story.
  
  Book 2 was more of a slog to get through than book 1.
• 
  Pamela Hanna

  ok so this is the 2nd book in the series and the only one I have read so far..in this book Lyse and her coven have to protect the Last Dream Keeper who is in their coven of witches but things go crazy and the ladies turn against one another once they arrive in Rome and they lose one of their friends there also..they also discover what the group The Flood is doing and are trying to figure out before it end how to stop them..so I guess come last book we shall see if Lyse can pull their group together and with the spirits of the Dream Keepers beat the bad guys in The Flood before they destroy all the witches
• 
  Maria

  What the hell did I just read? I feel like someone switched authors in the middle of the book. I have no idea what is going on. The characters are still interesting, and so is the plot, but the execution is poorly done. It's rushed and disjointed. The author flips rapidly from character to character, and from location to location with little to no transition. It's one big chaotic mess. The only saving grace is that the characters were so well done in the first book that I need to see how they end up. I really hope that the next book pulls it together.
• 
  Misty

  I continue to be impressed with Amber Benson's writing. I enjoyed the Calliope Reaper Jones series and so I started reading this series as well. IT IS SO GOOD. The characters are complex, the writing is smart - never talking down to the reader, and the plot keeps moving. In most stories I can see the plot and the answers long before they are revealed - this has not happened in this series. Love this series. Can't wait to read #3.
• 
  Heather

  I found myself immersed in this world that Amber created. Whenever I sat down to read, I looked forward to seeing how the story progressed. I definitely got a better sense of who each character was as I read through chapters focused on them individually, and I can't wait to read the next book!
• 
  T

  Okay it took me way too long to finish this and I️ almost put it down, (the pace is just not what I’m used to because I read mostly y.a.) but I’m glad I️ pushed through, it was a good story and I’m looking forward to reading the end of magic, I️ may just take like 4 years to do so
• 
  Pernille Olsen

  The five different POV's didn't work as well in this book, as it did in the first one. Probably because the characters seperated through the story, and it got a bit disjointed. I hope the all join up in the next book
• 
  Kim

  I was a tad lukewarm on the first book in the Echo Park Coven series. However, with this latest installment, things got better. The pace was faster, and everything went a lot smoother than in the first book.
• 
  Bryn Geddes

  It seemed to get weirdly rushed at the end. Hoping the third book sorts it all out.
• 
  Jena

  Meh;
  
  I liked parts of this book, and disliked others.
  
  Like the “romance” was just stupid. They sleep together once and they love each other? No.
  
  But the rest of it was okay.
• 
  Stephanie

  Just could not get in to this book.
• 
  Yippie

  I was a bit disappointed by this 2nd book in the series. The bit sudden and very dark turn didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if I'm even gonna invest in reading part 3. Sad, I had higher hopes.
• 
  Teao

  Didn’t finish this book, just didn’t catch my interest from the start.
• 
  Nicole

  Fast paced and whorl wind action. Things kept happening and I couldn’t stop reading. Before I knew it the story was over, and I was left hoping for a third book.
• 
  Lizz

  DNF. Just couldnt finish it. First book in the series was great. This one was a struggle. I wanted to like it so much but couldnt get into it.
• 
  Leticia Fonseca

  I didn't read the first one but for me this started of interesting but then became a total mess I didn't even want to finish reading...
• 
  Linsey aka Bibliofiendlm

  Full review:
  https://tinyurl.com/jvwggev