Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy Series #1) by Mindee Arnett

I received The Nightmare Affair through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.  I FINALLY got to read it and discovered that it was written by a fellow Ohioan and is set in Ohio!  Love it!  Here is the cover and the Goodreads blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

This book was a win on so many levels.  I loved that the author was local and that the setting was in my home state.  I feel that Dusty being a Nightmare is one of the most unique ideas that I have seen in a long time.  There was nothing detracting from this book.  I tore through it in the course of an evening.  Dusty is such a great protagonist because she is special and has great power but she doesn't abuse it.  She is so modest and sweet.  I love her!  Eli was interesting because I felt like Dusty in that I could never be sure how I felt about him.  On one page I loved him and the next, I hated his guts.  When magic is involved it makes everything even more confusing.  Their partnership reminded me a bit of the Meister and Weapon partners in the Soul Eater Manga.  I love the idea that they need each other for their powers to work.  The idea of a magical partnership is really intriguing to me.  The world building is great and the characters are interesting.  All in all, a super read!  I highly recommend this one!  I hope to see Mindee Arnett when she signs in Wooster, Ohio in November.  (It's about 30 mins from my house, the closest signing I have ever been to!)

You can click here to add The Nightmare Affair to your Goodreads.  Mindee Arnett can be found on her website, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.  I give The Nightmare Affair 5 Fairies for being so unique and original and joining my growing list of favorites!