A well-written YA fantasy with a unique premise that imagines a world of lucid dreams where danger and adventure await. The audiobook narration was awesome and on the whole, this adventure definitely gave me strong Peter Pan vibes, with the mysterious Steggie Belle as the fearless leader of a band of children exploring a new, fantastical world. It’s told from first-person past POV with the main character looking back on his adventures as an adult, which I felt distanced us from the action, but that’s just a personal preference. I did have a little trouble with the pacing and found myself wishing for deeper relationships between the main characters. Though they were all likable, I felt like I wanted to know more about them. The world was well-developed though, and I definitely think this book would appeal to those looking for a YA fantasy with a classic feel revolving around a whimsical world of dreams. Thanks so much to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review! More information below!

⭐⭐⭐ ½

The author: Elias Pell

Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors Audiobook is available for pre-order now!

Published by candlelight—surrounded by chanting Druids—at midnight on Summer Solstice back in 2020, this is Elias Pell’s debut novel. A semi-autobiographical Fantasy which delves behind the world we know, or like to tell ourselves we know.

Now, on the Autumnal Equinox—September 23rd, 2023—the unabridged Audiobook read by Jay Forrester arrives, pulsing through a pair of earphones near you! Listen to Zoofall’s incredible confession as the candlewax melts away and the shadows encroach ever closer upon the fragile, dwindling flame.

“What if our understanding of dreams is just a poor reflection of another place…

a real place?”

During a storm, a man who calls himself Zoofall has barricaded himself inside an attic. He has only seven candles worth of time to reveal his extraordinary secrets. How, when he was a child, he discovered the existence of a wild other world, where Reality and Mythology meet, beyond the limits of Lucid Dreaming.

As a boy, after a freak accident results in him making a peculiar acquaintance, a lengthy initiation follows, and Zoofall finally finds himself welcomed into a group of other young dreamers—who call themselves the Freedivers. They teach him hidden truths and the long-forgotten, true history of humankind. Of how the dream and waking worlds, although now separated, were once united as one, until the “cross-overs” began. They show him that the stuff of ancient myths and fairy tales, of folklore and urban legends have never been imaginary at all. These beings had simply migrated for their own safety, away from the waking world, and that these “crossings” are by no means one-way.

Within this magical and terrifyingly real realm, Zoofall must figure out if his own unusual powers make him a possible saviour or a dangerous burden. As dark forces rise up, threatening to engulf their group, he must uncover the greatest mystery of all. Who their incredible leader—Steggie Belle—really is, how she became so powerful, and if by any chance she can be saved?

About the Author:

Elias Pell is a London-born, previously published poet and self-confessed dreamer. Disguised as an adult (children have somehow always been able to see through this facade) Elias left England in 2016, putting all his savings towards the dream of writing full-time. Since then, he has sat, scribbling away on a rooftop in Barcelona, spurred on by the raucous cries of seagulls circling overhead.

Steggie Belle & the Dream Warriors is Elias’s debut Fantasy novel: a story inspired by his own lifelong Lucid Dreaming experiences. In 2020, it was awarded as a Finalist in the Fantasy category of NIEA’s global annual competition (the only self-published novel to reach that shortlist).

Elias has also published a collection of short stories for adults, entitled Scapegoats & Crowbars, and is currently working on the sequel to Steggie Belle, alongside other new writing projects. He is currently seeking representation, and can be contacted directly at elias.pell75@gmail.com.

For more info and updates, please visit www.eliaspell.com

Thanks for reading!