Book Review: In My Dreams

Title: In My Dreams

Author: Cameo Renae

Pages: 242

Rating: A for Acceptable

Review: Let me just start off by saying that this novel is a love story. There is no denying that and if you are heading into it thinking there isn't any, you are highly mistaken. But because it is a love novel, I seemed to have read it in a sort of biased way. And as much as I tried ignoring the love moments and focusing on what was going on, there were parts where I groaned and sighed because I couldn't take it. So for that I am not going to review it as a love novel and take a different route and focus more on the story and what revolved around it.

In My Dreams is about a girl named Lizzy who has this strange occurrence of dreaming about death. The strange part about it is that she is seeing the death play out as it happens in real life. It begins with Lizzy in a dream witnessing the death of her boyfriend Michael and from their it unfolds. The premise of the story really caught my attention, I wanted to see how Lizzy dealt with these “premonitions” you would say, and how she reacted towards them. Unfortunately we don’t get to see much of these premonitions as it begins with her boyfriends death and continues from there.

The novel continues with Lizzy trying to find out what happened to her boyfriend and who murdered him. Through-out the novel her boyfriend seems to contact her in her dreams where they get to experience things they could not while he was alive. He also warns her and helps her survive against this murderer who is now coming after her. The love moments seem to come during these dreams, such as going to an island, an flying and going down mountains of snow and such. Things that any couple would want to do together. Especially the flying part. Who wouldn’t want to fly? I kind of found myself rushing through these moments just so I wouldn’t have to deal with them. But, if you love romance, then it would be good for you.

Towards the end of the novel we are introduced to a couple of ideas that I thought could have been brought in the beginning or even the middle to make the novel longer and just even more interesting. One involves Lizzy’s talent with death and sets up for future novels that could introduce us to a nice mystery/paranormal series. The other part was this supernatural part that to me seemed a bit out of the ordinary for this type of book, but it could’ve set up for a darker novel in the future.

The writing style was good. It wasn’t at its best, but you often get that when novels aren’t published with high publishing companies. It wasn’t horrible to the point where you couldn’t read it, but if you have read a lot of novels, you can notice one or two mistakes here or there. But they seemed to add to the atmosphere of what the book was and didn‘t cause a disturbance. The characters were interesting, although I thought Lizzy could have been a stronger female character and not so dependant on her boyfriend. Some of her actions made me question her character, and one in particular seemed to throw her intelligence out the window. This part is towards the end of the book where this fight happens. Michael seemed like every girl’s dream but it took away from the reality. He was good for a book but not so much for the real world.

The supporting characters were interesting if I do say so myself. I wished some had bigger roles and more book time, just to add to their character and who they were. I also wish we could have seen more of the history behind the murderer seeing as I love to get inside their minds and find out why do the things they do. These couple of things could have helped make the novel longer and possibly much more complex. Although I think the author just wanted a regular run-through novel which worked.

All in all, I found this book entertaining. It is definitely a light, easy read that is good between heavier books. It’s fast, it’s intriguing, there is a lot of mystery going on. The love did throw me off a bit, but I am an adult male who much rather read action, and explosions and such, but everything else I felt was good enough to keep me reading and recommend it to people who just want something fun. So if your brain is tired of thick books with multiple complex plot-lines, check out In My Dreams by Cameo Ranae. Also, I have to say that these are my opinions on the book itself, not on the author or her as a writer in a whole. For all I know, she could write a new novel that’s about 500 pages long and it’ll blow my socks off.

Author Interview - Cameo Renae

Hey guys! Today I have an author interview, which is more like Part 2 of the interview. The author is Cameo Renae and if you don't remember I interviewed her a week or so ago which you can check out right here. Now I would type some other stuff but I'm just really freaking tired and can't even think. Started working on Monday so I'm basically scheduling this post so I don't forget. So let's get it started!

The Novel

Let's start off by being honest. After your book was published, did you ever look at it and go, "Man, I wish I took this out or added this!" And if so which part the most?

For the most part, I was happy with the published copy. However, after I first published, there were some errors that a few friends picked out. BUT, the beauty of self-publishing is that I could go in and make those changes. :) So... I did. I know there are still a few errors that I didn't catch, but all in all, I can say that I am very pleased with In My Dreams. It's my baby and I'm very proud.

Are there any deleted scenes from the book? Parts that you took out for whatever reason?

Oh yes. I did delete a lot from the book. There were parts that, as I did my final editing, were long and drawn out. I was like... jeeze... this is so boo-ring! So, I deleted those wordy parts, and think it made the book much better.

And onto the book itself, do you see yourself returning to Lizzy's character and writing more stories about her?

I do...eventually. I'd definitely like to write another story about Lizzy. One where she's trying to cope on her own, and learning about her new gift. Right now, my mind is on vacation from In My Dreams, so I'll have to come back to it... when and if the time is right.

Did you base any of the characters off of anyone in your real life?

I'd have to say that Michael's character is a lot like my husband. He is just a great, lovable person. (But, don't get on his bad side! Lol) If you ever meet him, you'll love him, and feel like you've known him forever. He has a heart of gold, and would give the shirt off his back if he saw a need.

Do you think that Michael would ever contact Lizzy again? (For those who haven't read the book, go read it to see what I mean!)

Hmmmm... Reader's are asking the same question, and I'd have to say... yes. But, of course... there will be a twist or two. ;) I've contemplated it, but right now I'm near the completion of my next novel (which is book 1 in a trilogy). A YA Paranormal - it will have some romance, but there's a lot more to it. I'm really excited about this next one. So... Lizzy and Michael will have to wait until another day. They know I love them. :)

Future Novels

Can we expect any more novels about Lizzy and her "new job" shall we say?

I think so, but if I do, it will probably be only one more. I haven't decided yet.

Do you have any other plans for novels? IF so could you tell us some basic ideas or something like a teaser?

Yes. Oh boy! Okay... here we go... a very short, not too descriptive teaser... ;)

If you've read In My Dreams, then you know about the Guardians. I really liked the idea and carried it into my new novels, but there is a whole lot more going on... much more complex. This next novel has evil creatures (assassins), Fallen Angels, Guardians, Nephilim's, humans, and a girl who's been thrown into the middle of it all. :)

Have you ever thought about writing more novels set in the same universe as In My Dreams? Perhaps a whole series of alternating characters who may or may not mention each other or even show up.

That's a great question. If I did, it'd probably end up something like Ghost Whisperer, and I don't think I wanna go there.

But most importantly, now that you have one novel out, how do you feel knowing you can have more on the way for the public to read?

I'm overwhelmed at the wonderful responses In My Dreams has been getting. For the future novels, I am both excited and anxious. Excited because I love the concept, plot, and characters, and anxious because I hope that people will love them as much as I do.

A special thanks to Michael for letting me raid his awesome blog. ;)

And that is all folks! It was awesome getting to chat to Cameo who is just freaking epic and again awesome. I hope to work with her again in the near future and can't wait to read her other books. Check out tomorrow when a review of her novel comes up! =) I hope you guys are having a wonderful day, (as much as mine sucks for being at work but I get home at 4!) and again a special thanks to Cameo for being epic!