Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.
Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.
A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.
** I received this ARC from Curiosity Quills Press for an honest review**
Catch Me When I Fall by Vicki Leigh and published by Curiosity Quills Press is a paranormal young adult adventure/romance. When I started reading it, I was sure that the narrator would be a girl. I was pleasantly surprised. The male lead, Daniel, is a Dreamcatcher. Not the Native American totem for good sleep, but a breathing corporeal spirit living his afterlife to protect people’s sleep until the day they die.
By breathing corporeal spirit I mean exactly that. No, they aren’t zombies. No, they aren’t alive. They have a body, but have all the benefits of being a spirit (invisibility, going through walls, etc.) and some downsides of being corporeal (eating, bleeding, etc.). Yes, they can basically go from one to the other. The concept is interesting. The moment I realized what the Dreamcatcher did, I thought of the Native American dreamcatcher I made in Brownies. It makes me wonder if somewhere down the road we will see a connection to that later.
Anyways, the book was good. I liked the concept of a Dreamcatcher and I loved the fact that the narrator was strictly Daniel. It’s nice to see the male point of view in a romance and even better to deviate from the female narrator stereotype. There were moments where I felt Kayla was a bit “woe is me”, but given her circumstances, it made sense. She did show gumption though and that’s all that matters.
There were moments of lull, but those were quickly replaced by action. The last 50% of the book was a torrent of action that the reader could end up lost in. Lost in a good way. Whereas I took a while to get through the first half, the second half made up in pace and action as well as delectable betrayal (which I had partially pegged). The main villain will come as a surprise, but it makes it that much more.
It didn’t end on a completely great note, but there is some happiness to get the reader satisfied. There is also enough mucked-up-ness to keep the reader wondering what Vicki Leigh has in store for the next book. Catch Me When I Fall is expected to be in publication on October 23, 2014.
Casia's Corner 