Dream of Me by Jennifer Froelich

Dream of Me
by Jennifer Froelich
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Publication date: September 16, 2011
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon

Bay-area dressmaker Erynne O’Keefe begins dreaming about a handsome stranger shortly after her mother’s suicide. Every night they walk along a damp street, empty beach or desert river until the light of morning pulls her back to reality. Practical and guarded, Erynne would like to dismiss her dreams as evidence of grief, but remembering her mother’s life-long struggle with strange dreams and nightmares, she fears they point to hereditary mental illness. Erynne begins searching for answers in a stack of her mother’s old love letters while trying to resist her growing feelings for the stranger.
But the man in Erynne’s dreams is quite real, living in Arizona and wondering why his nights are filled with dreams of a pretty stranger. Stubbornly resistant to commitments, Colin Green can’t believe he has become smitten with a figment of his imagination. To add to his concerns, his dreams always come with a persistent warning: Protect her. But how can he protect a dream? While Erynne and Colin move closer to finding each other, their dreams turn to nightmares as an unlikely foe becomes determined to keep them apart.

Dream of Me is a suspenseful thriller about one dream shared by three strangers. One is a hero, one will need to be saved and the other seeks to do harm. Froelich delivered a refreshingly unique tale that kept me on the edge of my seat. Once you start it you won’t be able to put it down.

The tale begins when we meet Erynne O’Keefe. She is a successful dressmaker whose mother recently committed suicide. Until she developed Alzheimer’s her mother suffered from nightmares and strange dreams. Right before she committed suicide the dreams began again. When Erynne suddenly begins having strange dreams she worries she is just like her mother. She begins exploring her mother’s past in an attempt to understand. The tale that unfolds is suspenseful and told from each strangers points of view.

Erynne lives in her childhood home and despite the radical changes she has made to it; she cannot escape the memories it holds. She begins to fear these dreams are a sign of mental illness. She cannot remember parts of her dreams or remember the face of the man who appears in them. She is determined to find answers. Collin Green wanted to be an F-16 pilot but instead works with numbers. He loves the home he restored but hasn't made it into a home. He begins having dreams and he doesn’t understand them. He is plagued and losing sleep. While visiting his mother, he learns his dad was haunted by dreams as well. He slowly begins to put the pieces together. Senator Michael Reardon has dreams too, and is frustrated by the mystery. As one hunts, the other two slowly put the pieces together. The characters in this thriller were well developed and believable.

The tale Froelich spins is suspenseful, creepy and very original. I found myself completely swept up in discovering the secrets and reasons for this dream. I feared the hunter and worried for the hunted.  Froelich quickly gives each character voice and descriptively describes the world and dreams around them. If you feel like I am being vague, I am! A part of me wants to spill details and applaud things, but I refuse to spoil one word for you. This is a captivating tale and I loved that it was told from each characters point of view. We quickly know who the hunter is but discovering why and whether he will be stopped is quite a rush. When the three characters come together..EEP!  Intrigued? You will just have to read it and find out.

Dream of Me is a tale that keeps you on edge and perfect for fans of romantic suspense and thrillers. This was beautifully told and I quickly consumed it. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

I want to thank the author for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I gave this novel 4 coffee cups out of 5. 

Have you ever experienced the same dream

or awaken in fear and cannot remember why? 

Is it possible it's a warning?