31396013Twenty-three-year-old Vivienne Du Lac has a life she thinks is perfect – except she has no idea she’s the reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake, mythical sorceress from King Arthur’s time, and Merlin’s apprentice.

Sure, she’s always had flashbacks and dreams of a different life, but never did she believe they were real. When a chance encounter with a tall, dark and handsome stranger awakens more than memories within her, the enchantress is forced to reconsider her notion of reality, with a shadow from the past tightly closing in.

Caught between an old flame and an old foe, Vivienne quickly finds out not even closest allies can be trusted. Eventually, she must decide: will she accept the past – and all the power that comes with it – or will she reject it all for a chance at a normal life?

*I received a copy of this book directly from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I must have been in the mood for romance when I decided to accept this book for a review. Hey, we all get weak at times! Just kidding, of course… I believe it was the aspect of King Arthur times and the promise of magic that drew me in. First off, I would like to disclose that as most of you know, I don’t cope well with time travel nor with some strange dream scenarios. In Avalon Dreams however, the flashbacks and dream elements were done in a way that pretty much provided two stories in one. And two stories in one is a win especially when it’s well done!

Romantic fantasy… Avalon Dreams delivers nicely into the genre. The story has a few surprising elements to it so I will try to keep it as brief and spoiler free as possible.

The fantasy of this book was cool. I mean, you’ll get glimpses of King Arthur times, Merlin and some surprise characters. There is the required magical power play in between good and evil. It was well delivered and entertaining.

The romance… let’s just say it grew on me. The soulmate-love spans lifetimes and if you are a romantic at heart who likes stories where sacrifices are made in the name of love then this book is for you. I preferred  the ‘historic’ romance story more than the modern one in this case, though. Who wouldn’t like a knight in shining armor? 🙂

The modern romance was full of obstacles and stubbornness, and on again, off again behaviour. Rightly so, there are reasons, but it got a bit draggy for me at some stage. This book has tons and tons of sexual tension and build up, and characters that can’t keep hands off each other even when they’re in a dire situation. The sex scenes however are kept to a minimum- if I remember correctly, there’s 3 which is a decent ratio for 600 something pages. They’re not majorly graphic and are described briefly. If all the make out sessions that occurred would have led to sex every time, Avalon Dreams could be labelled erotica, with a touch of paranormal. Vivienne and Sébatien were just… mad for each other!

The writing was nicely consistent and story progressed at a steady pace. I did have two tiny issues. First of all, I was surprised at the author being able to write this very imaginative story with historical elements and yet repeatedly refer to characters as ‘the blonde’ or ‘the brunette’. There was quite a bit of ‘the blonde’ repetition towards the beginning of the story. I was also confused with the use of ‘champion’/’ex-champion’.. Was it according to the situation Sébastien was currently in that he was referred to either as a ‘champion’ or ‘ex-champion’? Secondly, the slow pace of the modern romance- let me be honest- Sébastien annoyed me a bit. He was so reluctant to make sense of things, to accept that he may not always be right. I was like, come on man, just cop on and see the wood for the trees! 🙂 As I said, two minor issues.

Overall– 3***, I liked it, a well executed story that will satisfy a reader who’s after romance and some fantastic adventure. I will definitely look forward to reading more by Alexa Whitewolf. I would also like to compliment the mix of the historical and modern elements- it all tied together nicely and the book concluded well!

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