Dreamscape by J.N. Sheats
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once you know, you can never let go. This is the first book I have read by the incredible J.N. Sheats and I couldn’t get enough. While this is the second book in the JJ Morris Mysteries series, I hadn’t read the first book, yet. Initially I was worried I would get confused or not understand the full complexity of the story, but I felt that it gave enough back information that I never truly felt lost in the overall plot of the story.
Joey Morris is a freshman in college and after a life altering senior year of high school she is struggling to return to a “normal” life. In high school she was the star student, top of her class, and all but after surviving a traumatic introduction to what lives in the shadows Joey is at war with herself. While she wants to continue her reputation of having perfect grades and being a perfect student, her mind is at odds with her. Sitting in class her mind is constantly spinning, is there witches or ghosts in my class, is the new girl at work a demon? She has been swallowed up and survived some of the darkest parts of the supernatural world and now all she wants to learn is more about what lives in the shadows. Insulting the cause in some ways she has now been having intense emotional vivid dreams. While she’s had dreams that she remembers for a few hours in the past she now can remember every emotion of the dream for days after having it and can recall in perfect clarity the details and emotions. A shift begins again when she sees a building on campus engulfed in flames and feels the intensity of an explosion. When she wakes the next morning remembering the details and how she was knocked out by the blast she is stunned to discover the campus shows no signs of an explosion of any kind and that the building has minimal external damage. More so the reason for the fire the police chief gives her is at odds with the physical damage she sees. The windows didn’t crack, or explode, they melted. Mystery alive again until she sees Gwen and her stomach drops.
What could melt the glass of the windows? Why is Gwen looking into the fire? Was Joey really awake or was the explosion just another dream? The world the author creates is reality based having been to Pennsylvania in the winter I feel the cold in my bones as Joey does. Her characters are easy to sympathize with and to understand, seeing yourself in their position both in the good and bad moments as she wrestles with reality from dreams. Having devoured this book, I will certainly be going back to book one to discover all the details of senior year and surviving “The Great Hunt”.

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