Dreamveil

Rowan Dietrich grew up on the streets. Now she's out to start anew, find a job - and keep her identity as a Kyndred secret, as well as her ability to "dreamveil" herself into the object of others' desires.

But Rowan isn't using her gift when world-class chef Jean-Marc Dansant is stricken by her beauty and strength. And when dark secrets from her past threaten her new life and love, Rowan realizes she can't run forever...

This is the second Kyndred novel, an off-shoot of the successful Darkyn series. In Dreamveil, Rowan Dietrich arrives in New York, passing through on her way to a new job, a new life in Boston following the events in Shadowlight. Things go awry when she crashes outside of Jean-Marc Dansant’s restaurant. Jean-Marc patches her up, and insists she stay, that he’ll give her a job and an apartment. Rowan agrees, but only for a while. Readers of Shadowlight will know of Rowan’s almost casual talent in the kitchen and her reasons for leaving Atlanta.

Rowan is drawn to Jean-Marc, to his mastery of French cuisine, but then... she meets Sean Meriden, her nasty, aggressive, and oh, so attractive neighbour. Her confusion is complete. How can she have the misfortune to go from one doomed relationship into double the trouble?

Both Meriden and Dansant are equally compelled and compelling: Meriden, a roughly-spoken, irritable snarler with a clever, bad boy attitude and Dansant, who uses food to seduce, soft spoken intelligence to woo – how does a woman chose between two men who attract her for different reasons?

This is a worthy sequel to Shadowlight with Rowan’s talent more a background to her human foibles – until the dreamveil shows her the truth of her relationship with Sean and Jean-Marc. The clues abound and carefully constructed, woven seamlessly into the story until the climax.

Even the villains of the piece are well crafted: not wholly evil and with their own reasons for wanting particular outcomes; although those outcomes mean the end for Rowan. The final confrontation is pure Viehl as Rowan comes face to face with her past in an effort to keep her future.

The main characters from Shadowlight make a cameo but critical appearance. While not important toDreamveil, it provokes questions for the story arc and increases the tension.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the solution to Rowan’s relationship issues. Another resolution I didn’t see coming – and should have. I liked the focus on the relationships rather than the awesome talent. The dreamveil has it's place, but not until Rowan decides it's time and uses it for herself, not others. This is definitely one for re-reading.

Frostfire, the third in the series is out early next year and fans are treated to a taste at the end of Dreamveil.