Dreaming was never so deadly or exciting...
Hades doesn't often give second chances.

Xypher has one month on Earth as a human to redeem himself through one good deed or be condemned to eternal torture in Tartarus.

Simone Dubois is a woman with a secret even she doesn't know. She's never understood why the dead haunt her, especially her sidekick who will never leave her alone. But over the years she's learned to cope. At least until an intriguing and lethal stranger walks into her life.

Now the fate of the world hangs in their hands...

It was bad enough when just the dead relied in her. Now there's Xypher who needs Simone to open a portal to hell.

And you thought you had bad days...

Background on my reading: Before my writer's conference last weekend, I knew Sherrilyn Kenyon was one of the major romance writers in attendance. I had no idea how fanatic her following is, or that the wait in line for her autograph was over an hour long. She was the keynote speaker at our Friday dinner and spoke of the obstacles to not only getting published, but to staying published. She had spilled a drink on her speech, too, which made her and everyone else laugh when she couldn't read a section. When I spoke to her during the book signing, she was very sweet and encouraging and wanted to know how conference was for me and if I'd had any agent requests (yes!) and she even squeezed my hand for good luck. That means a lot coming from someone who is such a huge success and a #1 New York Times bestseller.

The book Dream Catcher was one of many free books I was given during the conference. I've never read any of Sherrilyn Kenyon's novels, nor any other paranormal romance. I read very little romance, period. I found this book quite fascinating and compelling. She has created a vast and detailed world that involves all the major pantheons of gods; this book focused most on the Greek, Sumerian, and Atlantean deities. The characters felt very real, complete with a plethora of pop culture references (even one to Hannah Montana), and it was believable. The sex scenes were inevitable, but at that point both of the characters had matured and it felt... well... right. Yes, it had some of the same flow that one would expect with a romance novel, but it was still a refreshing approach. I wouldn't mind reading more of her books. ( )

Synopsis: Dream Chaser is #21 in the Dark-Hunters series of romances by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Xypher is a twice-damned Dream-Hunter with a checkered past (aren't they all?). In exchange for recently helping the good guys save the world (see Devil May Cry), the lord of the underworld has agreed to allow Xypher to spend one month in the mortal realm as a human. If, at the end of that month he has committed a good deed then he will be free from the underworld to live out the rest of his days on earth as a free man. A normal person wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and would seize the opportunity to be a better person and save themselves from eternal damnation. But no, Xypher is a bitter and reckless sort who prefers to spend his time seeking revenge against those who wronged him all those eons ago. Meanwhile, across town, medical examiner Simone Dubois is investigating a grisly murder involving a corpse that actually got up and walked out of the examining room. The cops and the county coroner are stumped, but Simone has a special gift that might help to shed light on the case: she sees dead people. Having witnessed the murder of her mother and younger brother as a child, she has been able to see and speak with ghosts ever since. When she runs into some really nasty soul-sucking Daimons in a dark alley, Xypher arrives on the scene just in the nick of time. He fends off the Daimons, but not before they have time to slap a really nasty curse on our hero and heroine. Unable to move more than 20 feet away from one another, the two must work together to fight off the bad guys and (of course) save the world.

I really liked this book. After meeting Xypher in Devil May Cry, I was looking forward to seeing more of him. He's mean, badass, and snappish - but basically a sweet guy underneath (like any good romance hero). He even does some really kind things for the heroine without intending for her to even find out it was him. Simone is a good Kenyon heroine: she's super-smart, courageous, and has just the right amount of vulnerability to make her likeable. You can tell she really treasures the people she loves. Even though the romance develops pretty rapidly, I think it works in this one. And her ghost sidekick is a pretty adorable character. Story-wise, you get lots more info on the different races of demons that are cropping up left and right in the series lately - and we meet some new characters who will probably become major players in upcoming books. ( )

Xypher gets one month on earth and a chance for revenge. Simone is human with a connection to the supernatural. She lives with a ghost and is not extremely surprised when she meets the god Xypher. He soon gets on her nerves with his anger though. They can't separate due to a curse, or they will die. Together they have to try and survive and maybe get revenge for Xypher's suffering in hell.

Entertaining as always. ( )

Excellent addition to the Kenyon's world. In this outing, we head back to New Orleans where Medical Examiner Simone sees ghosts and other supernatural things and runs into Dream Hunter Xypher, out for vengeance. One nice feature of this book is we get to see a few characters from past novels that we haven't seen for awhile. ( )