Strange The Dreamer (Strange The Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads Summary: 
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Review: 
"Inside a dream. 
Within a lost city.
In the shadow of an angel.
At the brink of calamity."

Lazlo Strange is an orphan. While working as a Librarian the Godslayer Eril-Fane shows up and Lazlo's dream becomes an adventure. Learning the language of Weep, Lazlo attempts to solve the problems of Weep, a city with hidden mysteries. As for the answers? They lie buried in the past.

There was a man who loved the moon, but whenever he tried to embrace her, she broke into a thousand pieces and left him drenched, with empty arms.

Many characters get a say in Strange The Dreamer, including one cinnamon haired beauty Lazlo sees in his dreams. As the nights pass they revel in each other's company, experimenting and testing the limits of their dreamscape. Their love is unique, and I believe it mirrors the quote above. It is a sad story, one which may or may not have met its end. There's a subtle magic in this romance, although it took me awhile to believe it was real and not just an insta-love scenario.

"That's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts, the more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can."

The city of Weep is only a flawed place hiding behind a mask of perfection and the illusion of glory, which Lazlo soon discovers. Those hidden facts lying beneath the surface mean more than most realise, the very definition of a dark past. Strange The Dreamer has a lot of world building and introductions made in the first part of the book, but once that is over there is a great story to enjoy reading.
Purchase Location: ~I received a copy from Hachette NZ and willingly reviewed it~
Edition:
Paperback
Buy the book:
Book Depository
Recommended for: Fans of fantasy and adventure books.