DREAMER by Ann Mayburn

Chosen by the Gods book 2
Publisher: Liquid Silver
Date published: 12/12/111
ISBN: 978-1-59578-884-9
ASIN: B006L02VG4
Fantasy Paranormal
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Obtained via publisher


Devon King is one of the world's greatest warriors, handsome, powerful, Dominant. When the gods assign him to protect Shan Harrison, he can't believe that the beautiful and spirited Goth girl is the key to defeating the troubles that haunt the city. Shan has the potential to become one of the strongest dreamers in history, if she can survive long enough to come into her full powers. Devon is used to getting what he wants and he wants Shan. He knows that underneath her tough exterior she is the perfect submissive.

Ashamed of her cravings, Shan, a talented smith, plagued all her life by terrible nightmares, fights her attraction to Devon and tries to convince herself that what they have is only physical and temporary.

The servants of evil try to tear Shan and Devon apart. If Shan doesn't learn to accept her desires and Devon's love, darkness will triumph and everyone she holds dear will be destroyed by terrifying nightmares come to life.

When I started reading this book I thought it was going to be a five. The world building is brilliant, clearly and cleverly drawn, utterly believable, and quite unique. The characters are well drawn, each one with a distinct personality and knowledge of self. Shan is a talented smith, and the use of roses and their creation weaves through the story. Her sexual leanings and fascination with BDSM are well handled and the sexual tension is kept high, despite no hero/heroine sex until well into the book. I expect Ms. Mayburn will be getting many letters from readers demanding the secondary characters’ books, especially Daisy and Malik. They deserve their stories and I’d enjoy revisiting this world. The BSDM aspect is handled very well, with knowledge, taste and sensitivity.

And then small things started to annoy me. Eyes that are mostly called teal blue were described as neon blue—a totally different shade. Inconsistent capitalization of “Sir” in the D/s scenes. The heroine smoking marijuana. Yes I know it’s a fantasy world, but there’s no reason why she couldn’t have calmed her nerves with a legal drug like alcohol, or with coffee or even chocolate.

The actual resolution is too rushed and ill-explained. There is no reason why the two principal characters in the scene would have trusted each other’s word or acted as they did. We needed more explanation—several pages more—and a better build up to this so that it would flow instead of almost seeming as if: “Oh, I’ve reached my word limit. I need to stop writing now.”Thus this book is a 4. Well worth reading, but not living up to its excellent start.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.