Sidney Sinclair was living the dream of any eighteen year-old girl…
A handsome rock star boyfriend, a closet full of designer clothes, a limousine service at her beck and call, and a mansion in the hills of Los Angeles.
Even with all that glamour and excitement at her fingertips, she still feels as if she’s been missing something in her life so she decides to leave.
While trying her best to … leave.
While trying her best to put her dysfunctional romantic relationship aside and tend to her beloved Granny, Sidney unexpectedly stumbles upon an intriguing emerald pendant boxed away in her grandmother’s closet.
Soon she learns it once belonged to her long-lost mother who committed suicide when she was just a baby. Suddenly feeling emotionally connected to the woman who had birthed her, Sidney begins to wear the necklace.
This sends her on a whirlwind journey that alternates between fantasy and reality…
Almost immediately, she starts having dreams linked to the mysterious pendant. As danger begins to seep into her life, Sidney refuses to remove the necklace and instead documents each dream to help her further understand them. However, she soon begins to wonder if they are dreams meant to bond her to a mother whom she never knew?
Or a subconscious warning that threatens her very life?
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This is one of those books you pick up, plan to read a few chapters, but stay up way past bed time to finish.
When Sidney’s boyfriend Ray gets a big break in the music industry, he takes her along with him on the journey. Who doesn’t want a Rockstar lifestyle? Then, the shattering news. Sidney’s Granny, the woman who raised her, has suffered a massive stroke. Now, she has to leave her boyfriend and her new life to take care of her.
Resentment boils to a stunning edge causing a massive rift in Sidney and Ray’s relationship. One which may never be repaired.
While cleaning out her Granny’s closet, Sidney finds an emerald necklace of her mothers. After putting it on, her dreams take her to a world that has her questioning the difference between reality and fantasy. Especially when she meets the dark and mysterious Adrian, the man she’d been dreaming about.
This book sucked me in and didn’t let go. Sidney’s character is very indicative of a young woman who’s trying to take the next leap in life but realizes the cusp of adulthood is full of pitfalls. My favorite thing is the draw of the two male love interests. Ray is her high school sweetheart. He fights for her to come with him as he makes it big. Then, he makes a woozy of a mistake. One that will make you hate him. In the end, there’s still enough of a romantic edge that I’m vying for things to work out between the two. Adrian, on the other hand is broody and mysterious. It’s as if the city itself swarms around him, the air full of forbidden secrets. Woven into the plot is a sense of foreboding, a dangerous undercurrent that takes you under. I highly recommend Between Dreams!
And I’m off to read Book 2 . . .
Between Dreams by Cynthia Austin started out a bit slow, but then quickly picked up about a third of the way through and I couldn’t put it down. Now I’m hooked! I have my own theories of what’s going on based on the breadcrumbs. I can’t wait to see how it comes together.
Austin provides us an intriguing story about a young woman and her need to feel loved and find her own place in the world. She faces obstacles and falls back into old, comfortable habits that prevent her from fully enjoying life. Although I’m not big on love triangles, I want to keep reading as I think this one will be an interesting one. I ask myself the same question Sid asks herself, who would I (she) rather her be with? What I know or what burn deem within my recesses.
I can’t wait to find out!
Sidney is a nineteen year old woman who outwardly appears to be living the dream you only see in the movies. Her rock star boyfriend has gotten a big recording contract and wants her to live with him in the record company’s posh digs in Los Angeles. Young and in love, she throws away her own dreams to follow him, but when her grandmother has a stroke she returns home to take care of her. The only parent she has ever known, Sidney loves her dearly, but when Sidney finds a necklace once owned by her mother, strange things begin to happen.
This was a fast-paced and easy to read fun book. The descriptions were vivid and I felt the author did a good job of setting a sense of place. As a character, Sidney was frustrating as she and her best friend, Chrissy, bought into the female stereotype of letting a man convince her that his hopes and dreams were far more important than her own. Since this is a series, I’m hoping this is part of her character arc as there were moments where she finally asserted herself, but then fell back into the trap when her boyfriend started paying attention to her again. Also, the supernatural elements came in a bit late and weren’t set up well, and I felt the biblical references came out of left field.
It did end on a serious cliffhanger which might annoy some, but certainly encouraged me to want to buy the next book.
Between Dreams is a coming of age love story/drama. Sidney’s life is turned upside down as her dreams are put on the back burner as she allows her boyfriend, Ray, to convince her to join him in Los Angeles to follow his dream of being a musician. Thinking that the love she feels for Ray is more important than anything, she is quickly reminded of her responsibility to her granny for raising her. Granny has had a stroke and Sidney chooses to return home to care for her. At this point, Sidney begins dreaming of a mysterious man, who then appears at the grocery store where she works. She thinks this may be a sign that her life isn’t going to be all about Ray. Not only does she begin to question her relationship with Ray, but also with God Himself. The more she questions everything, the more confused and unhappy she becomes. The story ends on a cliffhanger which makes you wonder what will happen next. It’s a good thing there are more books in this series!