Wakeworld

December 16, 2013
In an alternate present-day U.S., Vivian Maylor was handed power and responsibility without the training she needs to carry out her duties as a Dreamshifter. By contrast, Morgan Weathersby has an abiding desire to avoid the obligations that come with his Dreamshifting abilities, accepting an unjust reputation as a murderer and the appellation “coward” instead. Vivian’s quest for the knowledge she needs to battle the beings of the Dreamworld results in her lover, Zee, getting lost in another universe. It also unites Vivian with Morgan. Apart, they may be doomed. Together, they can protect the worlds. This middling sequel to Between offers nothing new for urban fantasy readers: the untrained guardian forced to accept duty, a partner torn between love and obligation, and so on. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency.

January 1, 2014
Second (Between, 2013) in an urban fantasy series where three worlds--Wakeworld, Dreamworld and Between--are real. In the series opener, ER doctor Vivian Maylor learned that she is the last of the dreamshifters, one who can move at will from one realm to another. She's also able to transform herself into a dragon--and she's a sorceress. Unfortunately, nobody instructed her on how to awaken or use any of her powers. In the Dreamworld, her boyfriend, bookseller and artist Zee Arbogast, is the Warlord, slayer of dragons, and Vivian doesn't know how to tell him about herself. Wherever she goes, she's followed by a smart, brave penguin named Poe. Becoming a dragon has drawbacks, too, since dragons follow their own instincts and care nothing for humans. Meanwhile, Morgan Weathersby makes a living by conducting small parties of hunters into the Dreamworld, where they can bag spectacular trophies. He's actually a dreamshifter too, but he rejected the calling as a young boy and was forced to witness his father slaughter the rest of his family, a crime for which he was blamed. When his latest safari goes dreadfully wrong, he decides to return to his roots and learn about his origins, either to take up his calling or put an end to himself, he isn't sure which. Meanwhile, an old witch steals Vivian's protective amulet and locks her out of the Dreamworld. She learns of the existence of another possible dreamshifter, who might be able to help, and goes off to find him. This is only the beginning of a huge and complicated plot--sometimes overly so--vigorously narrated within spectacular and vivid settings, with action that rarely slackens. Best of all, it's set forth in prose so evocative that it practically leaps off the page. Baffling sometimes but enthralling and hugely enjoyable.

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January 1, 2014
Vivian Maylor is, according to her grandfather, the last Dreamshifter. Weston Jennings is also a Dreamshifter, but he's always denied the powerespecially since a mysterious tragedy in his youth. Vivian loses the man she loves in a dreamworld battle to retrieve a mysterious Key, and is brutally forced back into the waking world and prevented from passing back through dream doors. Meanwhile, Weston returns to his childhood home after losing the two people he was guiding on a hunting trip, and meets Vivian. Weston and Vivian must work together to reenter the dreamworlds, and attempt to prevent the use of the Key by those who would destroy the dreamworlds and thus the very fabric of reality. All the while, Vivian has to fight to find the balance between her human half and the dragon she could become. Weston is facing his own demons, both those of his past and his recent failures. The premise is engaging enough, and while the execution is uneven, it does entertain. The open ending hints at interesting mythological development in store for future installments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)