Random Review: We Met In Dreams by Rowan McAllister #Review #Giveaway

Author: Rowan McAllister
Book: We Met In Dreams
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication date: February 27, 2017
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska
Length: 268 pages


Reviewed by Morningstar


Synopsis

In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind.

A childhood fever left Arthur Middleton, Viscount Campden, seeing and hearing things no one else does, afraid of the world outside, and unable to function as a true peer of the realm. To protect him from himself—and to protect others from him—he spends his days heavily medicated and locked in his rooms, and his nights in darkness and solitude, tormented by visions, until a stranger appears.

This apparition is different. Fox says he’s a thief and not an entirely good sort of man, yet he returns night after night to ease Arthur’s loneliness without asking for anything in return. Fox might be the key that sets Arthur free, or he might deliver the final blow to Arthur’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Either way, real or imaginary, Arthur needs him too much to care.

Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

Buy links

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Review

I am a lover of historical romance and Rowan McAllister hit the nail on the head with this one. With every word written, Rowan brought life to a world that I will soon not forget and one that I was sad to leave. There was so much to this story it’s almost hard to put into words.

The entire story was told from Arthur’s point of view, which made this story in my opinion, because it was centered around him. Although, getting into Fox’s head would've been great. I never felt the story less than, because I didn’t get it. There was an intensity to this story, it wasn’t dark, but it had this heavy darkness that just hovered at the edges, bringing down the light-hearted parts by just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The mystery around Arthur's illness at the end was unique. The author gave us the answer, but left it open to our own interpretation without making it feel as though we didn’t have all the answers. The ending in the romance was more HFN, since we don’t know what the two main characters will do to make their relationship work in a time period that being gay was criminal. Watching Fox and Arthur’s romance was nothing like any story I've ever read. Arthur’s illness made it so when Fox first showed up, he thought he was one of his apparitions, but one unlike all the others. There was safety in that for him because people made him nervous, so if Fox wasn’t real he could be himself.

Being in Arthur’s mind while he dealt with his illness and his thoughts about himself, or what others thought of him, was fascinating. I am a firm believer in having more stories about mental illness, and this one was one that will live in my mind for a very long time.

Arthur went through so much growth in this story I was at any given time cheering for him and fearing for him. Was there a bad guy? And if so, then who was it? I was never sure of Pendel, the butler or Oscar, his Uncle, even Fox had points had me worrying that I was so lost in the romance that I was missing something about him. I loved Arthur, and I loved Fox for him. The romance is what balanced the story for me. The fun and laughter and honesty that Fox brought out in Arthur was beautiful. The heat level is low but it was perfect for the innocent that Arthur was and the care that Fox had for him.

So much love for this story and I will be revisiting them again soon.

Giveaway

Enter March's Review Giveaway!

This month it's a $30.00 Dreamspinner Press GC!

Contest will end March 31st!

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