Dreams Lie Beneath
A curse plagues the realm of Azenor—during each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams. Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn.
I loved the magic in Dreams Lie Beneath. A curse that makes nightmares come to life? Magicians who fight these nightmares on the full moon? Yes, please! Ross did a great job creating this distinct magic system for her book. I liked how there were three types of magic and how proficient Clementine was as she fought the nightmares. She was a clever magician who proved to be the key to breaking the century-old curse.
Clementine and Phelan’s romance was the perfect definition of enemies to lovers, at least on Clementine’s side! She loathed Phelan after he and his brother displaced her family from the town they protected from nightmares. I loved how she used a spell to change her appearance so she could infiltrate Phelan’s life and find out a way to bring down his family. Quite clever! Of course, she didn’t plan to fall in love with him along the way.
I’m a bit torn about the ending. Phelan certainly deserved to rule the now curse-free dukedom, but I got the impression Clementine wasn’t quite ready to handle all that responsibility. At least she would have her parents and Phelan at her side, and she could create art again now that her disguising spell was broken. With the nightmares gone, she wouldn’t be able to be a warden anyhow. Running a dukedom is better than nothing!
Dreams Lie Beneath is an enchanting story that will cast a spell over readers on the first page.
Dreams Lie Beneath Rating: ★★★★
I loved the magic in Dreams Lie Beneath. A curse that makes nightmares come to life? Magicians who fight these nightmares on the full moon? Yes, please! Ross did a great job creating this distinct magic system for her book. I liked how there were three types of magic and how proficient Clementine was as she fought the nightmares. She was a clever magician who proved to be the key to breaking the century-old curse.
Clementine and Phelan’s romance was the perfect definition of enemies to lovers, at least on Clementine’s side! She loathed Phelan after he and his brother displaced her family from the town they protected from nightmares. I loved how she used a spell to change her appearance so she could infiltrate Phelan’s life and find out a way to bring down his family. Quite clever! Of course, she didn’t plan to fall in love with him along the way.
I’m a bit torn about the ending. Phelan certainly deserved to rule the now curse-free dukedom, but I got the impression Clementine wasn’t quite ready to handle all that responsibility. At least she would have her parents and Phelan at her side, and she could create art again now that her disguising spell was broken. With the nightmares gone, she wouldn’t be able to be a warden anyhow. Running a dukedom is better than nothing!
Dreams Lie Beneath is an enchanting story that will cast a spell over readers on the first page.
Dreams Lie Beneath Rating: ★★★★