Dreams Lie Beneath | Rebecca Ross

"you challenged me as if you were a nightmare on a new moon, and i knew then that you were the one i wanted beside me."

 

    This is a dark, captivating, mysterious and magical tale - and of course you can expect the gorgeous and lyrical prose that I fell in love with in the previous books I’ve read by this author: ‘Divine Rivals’ and ‘Ruthless Vows’.

    Clementine Madigan is her father's apprentice, and he is magician in Hereswith, a small town within the realm of Azenor. A curse has plagued the realm for many years, wherein the magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, serving as territory wardens, stand between their people and the mountain’s curse. Clem and her father go from house to house when someone has had a nightmare; they record it in the Book of Nightmares which the warden of each territory holds. Each new moon, one of these nightmares come to life and since they’ve recorded them all during the month, they are able to be prepared to fight whatever monsters, demons or evil creatures that manifest.

    But then one new moon, two magicians, Phelan and Lennox, show up to challenge her father for the position, she finds herself feeling bereft of home and purpose when they win. Her father and her, along with beloved Imonie, have to move, and they go to a big city where her mother lives, ad she takes them in. Determined to get revenge, Clem disguises herself with a magical glamor and sets out to work alongside Phelan who, in her opinion, stole her home, hell bent on destroying him and his family, and taking back what is rightfully hers.

    Unlike Lennox, Phelan Vesper is quiet, intelligent and bookish. Her is kind to his housekeeper and her grandson, and seems like a really good person – which cannot be true, right?  Watching his character unravel and become more than what we saw at the beginning made for a great story. He has his own motivations, and though he also has familial loyalty, in the end he makes his decisions for himself. He doesn’t want to be under the thumb of either his mother or the Duke anymore. We discover that where familial bonds are Clem's strength, they are Phelan's chains. He can be pompous and impolite and selfish, but at the core he is a good person, which annoys Clem.

    The longer these two work together the more secrets are revealed about the mountains curse... if she hopes to succeed to break this curse she will have to unite and work with her rival. Their story is so well told, it is a slow, slow burn but it’s constantly simmering in the background and the tension can be felt through the pages. Clem and Phelan naturally became closer working together and it was such a gradual shift, you barely felt it until it was right in your face. And though Clem has assumed the false identity of Anna, there is still a deep understanding between them, as she could not have possible hidden away all of herself.

    Another layer here is the broken family – the Madigans’ secrets start pouring out and the source of the curse is revealed. It was shocking but so, so well done – I absolutely loved the pacing of this book and the way the information is revealed piece by piece until it all clicks into place. The segment on the castle on the mountain was filled with such tension, but it also showed just how much Phelan loved Clem and the information revealed made complete sense, when looking back at characters' actions.

    What I love was that even though this starts as a book about revenge, it is a story that shows us that first impressions and anger can always be misplaced. I also really enjoyed that there was a mystery aspect to this book which will have you turning pages. The only complaint I have - I'd really love if there were more stories set in this richly drawn world to read.