Book Review #38: Fluttering Dreams by Becca J. Camp

Hello Dear Reader!

This one’s an indie read, and a debut read at that! This book is by Becca J. Camp, who’s got the Instagram handle beccajcamp.author, so go check her out! She’s such a sweet girl, and I really enjoyed reading her book full of wholesome moments and quirky characters. But before I get into that, here’s the back- cover summary: (from Goodreads)

Tara is a homeschooled fairy in the realm of Flur, where dreams are always just out of reach. Tara’s dream is to live a quiet life with her family in Fairy Forest all the days of her life; she doesn’t want anything to change. It’s so simple and mundane that it must come true! Then the assasination of Flur’s highest monarch, the Butterfly, shakes her world to its core. A messenger tells Tara that she’s the new Butterfly, and that she has to travel to the Butterfly Palace, on the other side of Flur, to rein in the chaos caused by the previous Butterfly’s death.But some people believe that the chaos can only be reined in by their own hands... Queen Ebony of the vampires is one such person, and she will do everything within her power to make Tara’s new authority her own. Armed with only her family and her new friends, Tara sets out to rule the realm she’s always been sheltered from. Her simple dream has fluttered away. Will she be able to find a new dream worth flying after?

That’s all for this back-cover summary! Time for the review!

Main character Tara is way to relatable. She reminds me of what I was like in middle school: super shy and awkward with little to know confidence in herself and unsure about her true abilities. It’s really refreshing having an MC that isn’t confident, because it gives room for character growth, and it really shows in certain scenes where she gathers the courage to do things she wouldn’t have considered doing before her little adventure started. Is her nearly constant doubt in herself a bit excessive? In my opinion it is, but it’s nice to see an unconfident character gather confidence throughout the entire novel.

Tara is one of the many unique characters featured in this book. For example, she’s got an entire family who are also fairies. One of them is her half-vampire sister, which I think is really cool. Also a part of her group of companions is a stoic werewolf named Ignur and a blind sprite Ribbonnie that’s just a big ball of positive energy that I really need in my life. Not to mention she slays at card games. She and I would get along very well. The princess of the vampires, a quiet persona named Holly, also joins Tara on her journey in becoming the Butterfly and fighting against the main villain of this book: Queen Ebony.

Frightening Queen Ebony is a strong, smart woman, and the vampires who follow her are very loyal to her. Though she’s rather brutal, I do like her as a villain because she holds herself really well. She’s a villain with a lot of class in my opinion.

The world of Flur is really unique. For example, humans aren’t a part of it. They live in another, magic-less realm named Vendore. In Flur are fairies, vampires, unicorns, sprites, and werewolves, and ruling all of Flur is the Butterfly, which is chosen by the orb, an object directly connected to the Almighty. This book has only scratched the surface of this world, and I’m really looking forward to potentially learning more about it in the future, especially regarding its magic system and the lore behind the orb. One thing I’d really like to note is that vampires are rather different in this realm. Instead of being really pale, the vampires in Flur are dark-skinned, and their specialty involves making potions of all kinds.

Fluttering Dreams is really unique in the way that it’s a middle-grade book that features characters in the young-adult age group. Tara is 17, and her companions are within that late-teen age group. While one may expect a book with a 17-year-old character to be a bit dark, Fluttering Dreams remains rather light-hearted and wholesome throughout its entirety. Even interactions with villains aren’t as dark and full of violence, and this also extends to the romance. It’s not as mature as romances in YA books, and it’s refreshingly young. Though, in my personal preferences, the way the romance came into fruition was a bit too young, but it’s definitely appropriate for younger readers in late elementary and early middle grades.

Though I loved a lot of things in this book, there were a few things that poked at me. I feel like the book could’ve gone through a couple more rounds of editing. Every time I saw parenthesis, I felt like I got thrown back into reality, and they kept me from being immersed in the book. Also, I feel like certain things could’ve been phrased a bit better. The romance didn’t suit my tastes personally, and action and emotional scenes didn’t hit me as hard as I would’ve liked. I also felt like a few of Tara’s thoughts were a bit repetitive, especially when it came to her self-doubt. The ending was also really super abrupt and came out of nowhere in my opinion. I also have a lot of questions when it comes to that orb, because when I thought of certain things related to it, they didn’t make sense in my head. Still, despite these things, I found reading Fluttering Dreams enjoyable. It was definitely something younger me would’ve enjoyed.

So, Fluttering Dreams rating:

3.25/5 and recommend, especially if you need a sweet, wholesome refresher after reading a lot of dark books. There are a lot of lovable characters in this book, and they’re easily my favorite part. So, if you love falling in love with characters, this one is for you!

Thanks for reading!