Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Dream Chaser

May 4, 2008

Dream Chaser - Sherrilyn Kenyon

12:26 PM |

HADES DOESN'T OFTEN GIVE SECOND CHANCES…
Xypher has one month on Earth to redeem himself through one good deed or be condemned to eternal torture in Tarturus. But redemption means little to a demigod who only wants vengeance on the one who caused his downfall.

UNTIL ONE DAY IN A CEMETERY…
Simone Dubois is a medical examiner with a real knack for the job. Those who are wrongfully killed appear to her and help her find the evidence the police need to convict their killers. But when a man appears and tells her that she’s more than just a psychic, she’s convinced he’s insane.

NOW THE FATE OF THE WORLD HANGS IN HER HANDS…
It was bad enough when just the dead relied on her. Now’s there’s the seductive Dream-Hunter Xypher who needs Simone’s help in opening a portal to the Atlantean hell realm to fight insatiable demons. The future of mankind is at stake-and so is her life. The only question now is: Who is the bigger threat: the demons out to kill her, or the man who has left her forever changed?

We first met Xypher in DEVIL MAY CRY and right away I was intrigued by his character. Still I didn't have very high expectations for his book after the slight disappointments in reading DMC and UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR. But I must say it was a lot better than I expected, I was pleasantly surprised by Xypher and Simone's story. Though honestly I must say that again it weren't the main characters that attracted my attention the most. This really has become a recurring thing with the last few books I've read by Kenyon. In DREAM CHASER it was Jaden who mesmerized me. I really want to know more about him and what drives him. More than I wanted to know how Xypher and Simone were developing. And although I think this is a disturbing development this doesn't take away the overall good feeling I had reading this book.

The chemistry between Xypher and Simone is there from the beginning but all through the book I couldn't ditch the feeling of having it at my fingertips but never being able to grasp it fully. I missed the fiery and unstoppable attraction between hero and heroine I loved so much in the DREAM HUNTER and the early Dark-Hunter novels. Those spine-tingling love scenes that had my heart beating fast and goose bumps rising on my arms. I came close to this feeling in the second half of the book but by the time it really kicked in, the book ended.
This doesn't diminish however the fact that I really liked both Xypher and Simone. Their characters and development really appealed to me on an emotional level. Xypher transforming from being coldhearted and detached, living only for his revenge to someone who cared so much for Simone he would do anything to keep her safe. The way he secretly enjoys the attention and care Simone has for him was truly endearing and in those moments I really felt for him and the suffering he had been through.
Simone transforms from a lonely workaholic with a ghost as her best friend, going through the motions of life into someone who had everything to live for, finding love in the place she least expected it. She takes the discovery about whom she truly is in an amazingly brave way, showing exactly how strong a character she is. What she went through was heart wrenching and combined with Xypher's suffering the two of them made me grab a tissue a few times.

One of the things I loved about DREAM CHASER was that the humor "Kenyon-style" was back in full force. I missed that in the previous books so I really loved the bantering between Simone, Jesse and Xypher. Another thing I liked was the cameo appearances by Dark-Hunter characters and elements: Acheron, Stryker, Daimons, Julian, and Katra. That and the story being brought back to New Orleans scored big time for me, bringing the Dream-Hunter and Dark-Hunter worlds together in a fast paced, witty and action-filled book, with lots of new and intriguing elements that offer promising prospects for the future.
I was dazzled by the many different demons and their characteristics, making both the Dream-Hunter world and the Dark-Hunter world much more complicated but richer at the same time, even though I'm still missing the amazing feeling that vibrated through me reading the first few Dark-Hunter novels. Still I'm confident that Kenyon has lots of good vibes in store for us with Acheron.

I have to give Kenyon credit for a very entertaining book she has provided with DREAM CHASER. Unfortunately romance didn't have the upper hand in this book, which is also a disturbing development in the last few books for me, but she more than made up for that with the plot, the action and let's not forget her knack for sarcastic bantering and smile-inducing humor.

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