Just Dreaming, by Kerstin Gier

This is damning with faint praise, but Just Dreaming, the final book in Kerstin Gier's Silver Trilogy, is less of a hot mess than the finale of her previous series. So things are looking up (I guess), but Gier is still relying on the appeal of her lively, funny heroines to ease readers past overworked storylines, obnoxiously manipulative love interests, and sloppy plot conclusions.

Over the course of the Silver Trilogy, Liv Silver has discovered a magical gift for traveling through dreams. Accompanied by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Liv and her allies have solved mysteries in the dream world, fought off attackers, and uncovered terrible secrets. But in this installment, Liv's arch nemesis has discovered a horrifying new power, and Liv and her friends have no idea how to stop him.

At her best, Kerstin Gier reminds me of Meg Cabot. Both have knack for creating endearing, intelligent, self-sufficient heroines, surrounding them with memorable background characters, and placing them in intriguing worlds. Unfortunately, Gier's books are disorganized and needlessly elaborate, and she really needs some lessons from Cabot on how to write an appealingly bossy love interest (as opposed to an irritatingly mysterious creeper). I sincerely hope she eventually works out the kinks in her plotting and characterization, because I hate to see a writer with so much natural charm get bogged down by narrative messiness.