Review: Dreamy romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2013
Weaver of Dreams is a paranormal fantasy novel with a romantic subplot. The novel is difficult to quantify because it does not fit into any of the standard sub-categories of paranormal fiction. Brenda Sparks has created a unique mythology and engaged in world-building to give us a truly original story. Her descriptive language is vivid and extensive, employed to paint a memorable image of each setting within the reader's mind. Much of the imagery is quite surreal and entirely appropriate to the theme.Maggie is a high school guidance counselor who suffers from terrible nightmares thanks to the villainous creature called the Dream Stalker who is...well, stalking her. The heroine also seems to engage in some vivid dreaming aside from her nightmares and retains accurate recollections of what she dreamed.  She is a quiet, compassionate woman who cares about her students a great deal. She has the daily burden of dealing with her odious ex-boyfriend who also happens to be her boss, and the stress of a lawsuit against the school district. Only in her dreams does she really seem to be able to cut loose, let her hair down, and express her true self.Zane is another sort of creature, not human, but a Dream Weaver. He is composed entirely of energy and exists on a different plane of reality, able to enter and exit the human world via mirrors. Dream Weavers subsist on positive dream energy emitted by people; except when they consume negative energy and become...dun dun dun...Dream Stalkers.Sadly, this is not the Monsters, Inc. world. The power of screams trumps the power of laughter, and the victim eventually goes insane as a result of the nightmares. Poor Maggie...Zane also happens to be a Peace Keeper, charged with the task of hunting the Dream Stalker who is haunting Maggie. He is good, honorable and courageous, the embodiment of all things a hero should be. After meeting Maggie, our hero becomes distracted with our heroine's charms, which results in the pair sharing some very memorable "wet" dreams. *wink wink*Although packaged as a paranormal romance, Weaver of Dreams does not follow the romance formula closely enough to be labeled a romance novel. The hero and heroine and both introduced within the first two chapters but they do not actually meet until chapter nine. Their individual plots follow separate but parallel paths that eventually converge, appropriately enough, within a dream setting. The resulting intersection provides the patient reader with a spicy romance scene between Zane and Maggie. Dialogue is quick and light, and their interaction is highly enjoyable.The author keeps the action moving throughout the story and provides the reader with a very satisfying ending to this exciting tale of supernatural dreaming. I'd recommend Weaver of Dreams to readers looking for a unique paranormal tale with a terrific romantic pairing.