While The Nightmare Affair is a fun mystery, and introduces a fresh concept with the Nightmare, it tends to stick with conventions typical of a paranormal story and falls somewhat flat due to its predictability. 
 Mindee Arnett brings a fascinating new creature to the YA paranormal mix. She does a great job creating and developing their lore and background, and establishing them as legitimate characters. I like how she clearly demonstrates their abilities throughout the book, which allows the reader to develop a clear picture since they are a new concept in the genre. She also does a good job mixing in more well-known paranormal creatures, like fairies and werewolves, but still giving them her own flair. 
 Other than the Nightmare concept, the book falls a bit flat. While I love books set in boarding schools, mixed in with a good mystery, this story is quite predictable. It was fairly easy for me to guess the ending as the twists and reveals were by no means mind blowing or original. A love triangle is also hinted at, but I'm still trying to determine if it is really developed as such, as it fades in and out of the story and ultimately, has little use. 
 The protagonist, Dusty, is a character who is immediately likable and witty. I love that she keeps the story light and never fills the pages with angst or melodrama that is so typical of YA. But other than Dusty, there is a lack of characterization for the rest of the characters who are only lightly touched upon. 
 Despite my issues with its predictability, I still enjoyed reading The Nightmare Affair. It's a light paranormal mystery with a fresh, interesting concept, and I look forward to seeing how Mindee Arnett develops her ideas in the sequel.