Edge Of Dreams [Kindle Edition]

"Edge of Dreams" is a fantastic 5 star read and the first in a series which promises to be highly exciting and truly unique.

It was refreshing to read a fantasy novel for a change, which only had humans in it and no other paranormal characters; albeit humans with a difference and very powerful magical and psychic abilities which allows them to travel into parallel dimensions and manipulate time with their minds.

When Ricky discovers that the people and places of his extremely vivid dreams are real, his attention is diverted from a possible life of crime to far more challenging adventures. Enter Calith, with his colorful hair and equally colorful personality, and things for Ricky and his sister may never be the same again. Ricky is not the only one who faces change as Calith also has to deal with doubt and horrific betrayal from those he trusted most. Amid all the seriousness I had to smile at Ricky's smart mouth which often came close to getting him into trouble, as well as at Calith who can throw some impressive temper tantrums.

The author expertly incorporates fantasy, magic, different plains of existence and psychic powers into daily life as we know it. The unbearable suspense builds up slowly as to give the reader an in-depth insight into the worlds and lives of these exceptional characters. Although this is a straightforward good vs evil plot, the reader is kept guessing until the very end as to who are the bad guys and who are the heroes in this story.

I enjoyed the friendship and close bonds shared between the characters, and it touched my heart how readily they would make sacrifices, including their lives, for the ones they love and to keep their worlds safe. The two main characters, although only seventeen, are remarkably grown-up and deal with their unusual trials and tribulations in a mature and intelligent way. A touch of romance between Calith and Ricky's sister Louise, adds that extra sweet touch to this story.

"Edge of Dreams" was a real pleasure to read from start to end. I applaud the author for her originality in creating worlds that are so well portrayed, the reader can experience and appreciate every single detail of its beauty to their fullest. I strongly recommend this brilliant read to readers of all ages. It's worth every penny! (Ellen Fritz)

Personally, I've never read much contemporary fantasy, but this book has really made me enjoy the genre.

Now I love my fair share of elves, faeries, dragons, and wizards (not exactly a fan of vampires), but this book did a very good job of incorporating fantasy into the regular life of Ricky.

Anyway, for a quick overview, you basically have Ricky, who is just a regular kid who has funny dreams about someone named Calith with crazy-colored hair. But then his dreams start to become real, as in Calith appears before him in real life. Without giving anything away, all I can really let you know is that there are dream-worlds that don't exist in any physical place but are just kind of, there. Vayan is the leader of one, Venn, and Saxen is the leader of another, Kelrinna. As Ricky gets dragged into the competition between these two real-dream-worlds, he learns that Calith was raised by Vayan, but left and was taken in by Saxen. Because of his past, nobody trusts Calith, and being the temperamental brat he is, I don't blame them.

Calith was an interesting character because of this storyline. You want to smack him across the face as he sasses everyone, but then again you feel exactly how he is trapped by unfortunate circumstances. I found myself second guessing how I felt about Calith on every other page, and that's the sign of a very well designed character.

Ricky is your classic main character. Bored of his regular life, trying to get involved in this magical world, yet always being blocked out and not really let into everything. You have to feel bad for Ricky, who only wants a little excitement in his life and ends up getting into a whole mess more of trouble.

Another character who becomes more prevalent about halfway through the book is Louise, Jem's younger sister. She plays an interesting role because it isn't the typical main character falls for the one female character scenario. Calith sees her as symbolic of everything he's never had: freedom, friendship, love, and to not be judged. But being as she's Ricky's sister, and Ricky disapproves, it gets the reader asking: should Calith really like Louise like that? Or is it wrong because it's Ricky's sister?

As you can tell, the book gets you to ask a lot of questions and guess your feelings about characters, and I think that any book that can make me think is a good book. The story moves quickly and I was never able to anticipate where it was headed next. The way they use their powers to jump between real and dream worlds is really cool, and almost unexplainable, but the author does a good job of describing very detailed mental powers. I think it would be cool to see how this story would be portrayed in a movie with their powers.

So if you're looking for a good fantasy read, I would most definitely recommend Edge of Dreams, and I will be eagerly awaiting the second book, Flashpoint.