Review: Between by Kerry Schafer

PBetween
Author:Kerry Schafer
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Ace
The Between Book #1
ISBN:   042526114X
ISBN13: 9780425261149
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Vivian Maylor can’t sleep. Maybe it’s because she just broke up with her boyfriend and moved to a new town, or it could be the stress of her new job at the hospital. But perhaps it’s because her dreams have started to bleed through into her waking hours.

All of her life Vivian has rejected her mother’s insane ramblings about Dreamworlds for concrete science and fact, until an emergency room patient ranting about dragons spontaneously combusts before her eyes—forcing Viv to consider the idea that her visions of mythical beasts might be real.

And when a chance encounter leads her to a man she knows only from her dreams, Vivian finds herself falling into a world that seems strange and familiar all at once—a world where the line between dream and reality is hard to determine, and hard to control…

Vivian is an ER doctor who is dealing with some weird things. She has always known she was different but when someone in the ER dies from burning from the inside out after explaining things she saw in her dreams she is sent into a spiral where she learns more about herself and her destiny.  

I had no issues with Vivian as a character. She was real feeling and easy to follow. I had some problems with the whole dream/wake version of Warlord/Zee and their relationship with Vivian. It just didn't grab me, I couldn't connect to it. How can you fall for one version and when that version isn't there be ok with the other? The ex and his dream self, wow. There were some scenes with him i didn't really feel were needed or made big enough of an impact on emotions as they should have on Vivian.  Poe the penguin totem animal was interesting. He "helps" Vivian search for the key and gets her in a bit of trouble at points along the way. He was an entertaining sidekick. 

The world of BETWEEN was unique, the details that went into making the Dreamworld sometimes became a bit overwhelming but It was still easy to imagine it. There was a nice pace from beginning to end and plenty of action to satisfy. The finished result after all was said and done was satisfying but leaves you with some unanswered questions. Unfortunately I will not go out of my way to continue reading the series but I am a bit curious as to what will happen next. Id suggest reading an excerpt or grabbing a copy from the library before committing to purchasing it for your book shelf.

I gave it 2.5/5 stars