Skalterra By Nightmare by M.T. Zimny

Wren Warrender wants nothing more than to get off the waitlist at her dream school and survive the summer with an insufferable new coworker, so when a group of Magicians drag her sleeping consciousness into a magical realm called Skalterra to act as their weapon each night, she’s less than thrilled. An old evil is breaking free of his glacial prison, and now it’s up to Wren to keep him from unleashing chaos across two separate realities. The lines between waking and sleep start to blur, and Wren is forced to reckon with the fact that some bad dreams are more than Nightmares.

Young Adult • Fantasy/Portal • Fantasy/Contemporary • Fantasy/Steampunk, Gaslamp, and Flintlock

Length: 142,000 words (about 406 pages)

Content Warning: Trichotillomania; self-harm (in the context of trying to wake up from a dream reality and NOT to cause lasting harm); fantasy violence; anxiety/panic attacks; bullying; missing persons

Reviewed by Mayhemboundbookshelf on 2026-02-03T14:19:39Z:

I really enjoyed this book, the narration was very well done, the plot moved along quite nicely and the characters were engaging. I do feel like the end felt a little rushed considering the length of time we spent building to those twist moments.