BEFORE I WAKE – Kathryn Smith
Nightmare Chronicles, No. 1
Avon Books
ISBN 978-0-06-134027-7
August 2008
Paranormal Romance

New York – Present Day

She was six years old when her mother told her she was a nightmare. Dawn didn’t realize until much later that what her mother meant was that she was created in her mother’s dreams, and that her real father, Morpheus, is king of the dream world. Dawn is now a psychologist and works at the dream research center in New York. On the way home one day, an old man calls to her, telling her she is a nightmare. How could he know? What does it mean?

Dawn’s mother is asleep and apparently does not want to awaken. Although her sisters know nothing about Dawn’s father, they beg her to help their mother, but Dawn knows that her mother will not wake up until she wants to return to the real world.

One of Dawn’s patients is Noah Clarke, her favorite -- not only because he is movie-star handsome and she is attracted to him, but also because he has very lurid dreams and is able to solve problems while dreaming. Dawn tries to control her dreams but is not always successful. A man invades Dawn’s dream and rapes her. She is only saved from him completing the rape when she forces herself to awaken. She is both attracted and repelled by him. Shaken from the experience, she is further dismayed when Noah tells her that someone is trying to kill him in his dreams and it sounds like the same man from her dream. That evening, Dawn encounters Noah in her dreams, bruised and beaten. Will she be able to save Noah and herself from the evil creature who claims that she is more powerful than she realizes? Dawn rejected the dream world and has lived in the real world, therefore has trouble fending for herself in the dream realm.

Dawn finds the old man who had previously called her a nightmare. He explains that people are dying in their sleep because of the creature that confronted Dawn and Noah -- he is a night terror named Karatos. The old man advises her to see her father if she wants to find out how to take care of herself. Dawn goes to the dream kingdom and confronts her parents. Her father is prepared to help her for a price. Will she be willing? Unusual things are happening in the dream realm which pertain to both Dawn and Noah. She will soon discover that Karatos is even more frightening than she first thought. Will Dawn and Noah be strong enough to ward off the evil before it kills again?

Very well written with good dialogue, BEFORE I WAKE is a very unusual story of a woman caught between two worlds, and not always able to control either one. She gets caught in some frightening nightmares and doesn’t always have the power to stop the dreams except to awaken. Meeting Karatos, she is forced into action. Ms. Smith has created a fascinating world of mist and dreams. The tale is very imaginative and will keep readers on their toes wanting to know what will happen next and where Dawn’s and Noah’s dreams will take them. Dreams have always been a fascinating subject for mankind as they live out strange, frightening, or wonderful stories in the dream state. This book will make readers think more about their own dream world. Secondary characters who are especially intriguing are Antwoine (the old man) who helps and advises Dawn, and the evil Karatos.

Ms. Smith has written a very exciting, original tale, captivating from beginning to end, with lots of adventure, romance, and with a strong, feisty heroine. BEFORE I WAKE is a must read, sure to be an enjoyable summer reading experience. After reading this story, readers will be looking forward to the next book in The Nightmare Chronicles. I know that I am!

Marilyn Heyman