I was intrigued by the different elements the sorcerers could control, and I loved reading about the training sessions where Ali is learning more about the powers in this world. I just wished it was explained further, but I do understand that this is going to be a series and L. The magic system was very interesting to learn about, and the mythology was really interesting. One of the things I did enjoy about this book was the world. The premise is really interesting, and throw in the fact that there are also sorcerers in Altairn, who can each wield up to three elements, this book sounds pretty amazing. Alissandra is the sand maiden of Prince Kovis, and when he and his people are in danger, she must flee the Dream Realm to try to save his empire. The sand people remain in the Dream Realm, where they weave the humans beautiful dreams and try to keep the mares (creatures that cause nightmares) at bay. Lullaby takes place in the Altairn Empire, where every person has their own sandman or sand maiden. I have increased my rating here to reflect my new rating of her book (but I also left my previous rating), and any issues that were addressed in the new edition have *s next to them to indicate that it is either less of a problem or gone entirely. The second edition – the version currently for sale, as of February 2018 – has addressed a lot of these issues. After posting, the author had reached out to me and other reviewers to edit the book and republish. Note: This review was initially written for the 1st Edition, released January 2018. “I believed creativity to be the expression of the person, who they were inside. Unfortunately, the writing style, pacing, and the characters make this book very disappointing. Review In A Nutshell: Lullaby had a great premise and could have been amazing.

trigger warning for this book: sexual assault, rape/

Lullaby by L.R.W. Lee