Book Review: The Boy in Her Dreams

The Boy in Her Dreams (The Girl In Between Book 2)

Author: Laekan Zea Kemp 

Published By: Laekan Zea Kemp 

Publication Date: 

Page Count: 288 

Source: eBook sent from author 

Audience: Young Adult – paranormal 

Review of Book #1: The Girl in Between

 I was so excited to have the opportunity to read The Boy in Her Dreams, the second book in the The Girl In Between series, to find out more of what happens to Bryn and Roman, to finally get some answers to my questions. Laekan Zea Kemp does not disappoint. 

The book starts out right where the first book ends, and you can already tell that the dynamic and chemistry between the two main characters, Bryn and Roman, are just as potent as in the first. Now, however, they are no longer in the dream world where they met, they are in the real world and real world issues play a huge role in their story. Roman has just woken up from a six month coma, a car crash putting him there, and he has to start from the beginning: learning how to talk, move his arms and hands, legs and feet. Bryn still has her KLS to deal with, graduation, and an impending trip to Germany to have more tests done on her disease. Roman soon realizes his legs are paralized and he doesn't think he is the same guy Bryn got to know in dream world, the boy with no memory, and so he cruelly sends her away.  

Bryn moves on with her life, yet with a broken heart, and Roman works to get control back over his body. Bryn goes to Germany and soon her strange symptoms start to return, seeing the future, fighting against the shadows. Roman starts to get the feeling back in his legs, but he soon starts to develop strange abilities. He realizes the mistake he made in sending Bryn away and races after her. Together again, they meet new people, people with Bryn's abilities, and people with Roman's, realizing they aren't alone and it wasn't the KLS causing everything. 

A whole new world emerges of Rogues, Dreamers, and Demons, and Bryn and Roman realize the shadows of before were not the only ones and they are again fighting for their lives and the lives of others. It won't be an easy fight, the line between friends and enemies blurred by desperation and longing. 

 This is such a brilliant story and I tried not to give away too many spoilers and ruin the book for anyone wanting to read it. There is so much more involved in this second story, so many questions answered, though I must admit, I have many new ones waiting to be answered. The imagery is just as good as in the first book, the real world and the many different places visited in the dream. You get a closer look at the family dynamics of both Bryn and Roman, and you, as the reader, develop a relationship with each character, invested in their lives because Kemp created such memorable and loving characters. They evil characters, “baddies” are just as developed and you feel the pain and anger of them as well. Kemp is a wonderful storyteller. 

The story is written from both Bryn's and Roman's first person points of view, as is the first book. And I love that in each chapter you get to hear their voices, understand their thoughts. Kemp makes it easy to follow them, never confusing the two because each has such a different personality.  

I will admit, I did not like the ending to this story as well as the first. They both leave you jumping in your seat for the next book, but this one is more confusing, less clear on exactly what happened. 

 I cannot wait for the next book in this series, to jump back into the harrowing adventure Bryn and Roman have ahead of them and to find out what other dangers and discoveries Kemp has put in their path. 

One Last Thought: As mentioned above, the ending was a bit confusing. I couldn't tell who survived in the end, and even the last line of the book left me saying, “huh?” Also, something I forgot to mention in the first book review, there is a lot of cussing in these stories, many many “F-bombs” dropped. If a younger teen or preteen were interested in reading this, I would recommend reading it first or waiting till they are a bit older. Nothing against it, but in a movie, this would be R-rated just for the language. 

My Favorite Thing About This Book: Roman and Bryn's realization that this was all much bigger than just them and the dream world they met in. Realizing how much deeper the story goes, transcending the dream world into the real one. 

First Sentence: First there was her voice, a stray thin thing I couldn't hold onto. 

Favorite Character: Bryn 

Least Favorite Character: Michael 

Synopsis 

When Roman wakes from a six month coma, the first thing he sees is the girl of his dreams. Except Bryn isn’t confined to the dream-state any more and neither is he. He’s awake and alive and as the memories of how he and Bryn fell in love come rushing back, so do the memories of why he’s lying in that hospital bed in the first place. 

Plagued by guilt, Roman makes a decision that alters both their fates and as Bryn fights for her life in a German hospital, Roman must fight for her forgiveness before it’s too late. Because Roman and Bryn weren’t the only things to wake out of Bryn’s dreams. The shadows seem to be hunting them both and a strange side effect of Roman’s miraculous recovery may be the only means of stopping them. That is, if he can reach Bryn before she slips too deeply into the very dreams that seem to be imposing more and more on their waking lives every day.