Thea Marlow has been having some disturbing dreams over the past month. They all involve a man whose face she never sees clearly except for his aquamarine eyes, who sometimes loves her, and sometimes kills her. Thinking she's going crazy, Thea goes to her family's lake house for some relaxation. But while she is there a man (Richard Chance) knocks at her door. He tells her he's renting the house next door. And he's the man Thea has been dreaming about...

Wow, I found this book/novella to be very romantic. I enjoyed the reincarnated lovers theme...the soulmates throughout the years. I liked both Thea and Richard and I was happy to see them get their long-awaited happy ever after.

A beautiful romance by Linda Howard. ( )

Lake of Dreams by Linda Howard is a 2016 Pocket Star Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher, as an XOXpert, the official street team of XOXO After Dark.

Lake of Dreams was originally published way back in the mid-nineties, but is now available in digital format.

This book is a short story/novella length paranormal romance centered around Thea, a woman haunted by vivid dreams, alternately sexual or nightmarish, in which her dream lover expertly makes love to her, or he becomes the villain and kills her. The dreams are becoming more vivid and more frequent, so Thea decides to spend some down time at her family’s lodge.

But, when a neighbor who introduces himself as Richard, stops by for a visit, she recognizes him as her dream lover.

Is he literally the man of her dreams or is he dangerous?

For the modern reader, the instant connection with the couple may seem outmoded. However, since this is a such a short story, try to stick it out, because there is an explanation for that as the book progresses.

Linda Howard is best known for her romantic suspense novels but has made a few forays into the paranormal realm, too. This story, at least in my opinion, has a sinister quality to it, since, like Thea, we do not know if should trust Richard or not. I often like the hero with a dark past or one that seems a little dangerous, at first. Again, stick with the book, and I think you can see how the author’s method was actually pretty clever.

I enjoyed the dream like quality of the story, and felt the author did a great job of creating that atmosphere of having just woken from a vivid dreams that felt so real, but left you feeling somewhat disoriented and unsure if it was real or not.

The theme throughout the story is trust, mostly the lack of trust Thea has in Richard. But, as we all know, love can exist without trust, but it seriously complicates matters, and most certainly has consequences.

Only love can transcend time, cross over between life and death in order to finally take hold of something that has remained just outside of its grasp for so long. Without trust, love will struggle to maintain it's strength, and until it is firmly established, it can’t grow to its full potential.

Overall, I was happy to discover this lost, and perhaps slightly misunderstood, little gem by Linda Howard. I am seeing several of her backlisted titles reissued in digital format and couldn’t be happier to discover some of her lesser known works and enjoy re-reading some of my favorite titles by one of my favorite authors. ( )

What a neat story! I really enjoyed the mystical aspect of Richard and Thea's relationship. It created emotional intimacy right from the start, making this novella a very satisfying read. ( )