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Sixteen year-old Nikki is a runaway. Never having gotten along with her mother, she heads to the streets. Staying one step ahead of trouble, one day Nikki runs into a man who turns out to be her white knight. Not really knowing if she can trust his promise to help her and to get her off the streets, they agree to meet in a neutral location at another time. The man is Maxim Devereaux, a widower with a small child and owner of a modeling agency. He sees great potential in Nikki – much to her surprise. He arranges for his mother to become Nikki’s guardian. Getting Nikki’s mother to sign guardianship over to Max’s mother becomes a matter of greed – but at least Nikki’s future is secured. Max, from first glance, has to fight his intensely powerful attraction to Nikki. For one, he’s nearly thirty years old, and secondly, he never dates his models.
Fast forward nearly ten years. Nikki’s modeling career took off like fireworks. Max, always a busy man, stayed away from her. He patiently waited for her to grow up, and suddenly he realizes a lot of time has past. Currently, however, his mother has just died, and his daughter, Alexa, now a teen, needs more than Max seemingly can provide. Max hires Nikki as sort of a companion to Alexa, for more reasons than one. Alexa has been having problems in school, but having Nikki around just might give Max the chance to speak his heart.
SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS is a book about barriers. The barriers come in a wide variety. At first, there is the considerable age difference between Nikki and Max. Then there is a tragedy that befalls Nikki that causes her to erect a shield around her heart. Max’s mother’s dying, and problems with Alexa create further difficulties. But, the biggest barrier of all is the dreams. Both Max and Nikki are experiencing them, yet neither of them have enough faith and trust in each other to divulge the things going on in their dreams. This is the crux of this most amazing book by Marie-Nicole Ryan.
Fate and reincarnation are two powerful truths that eventually Nikki and Max must face. Beyond the attraction they both have for one another, their hearts are intertwined in the most incredible way. This story teaches the reader that there is more to life than we know. Max proves to be a stubbornly infuriating man in this book. It is not often that I want to strangle the hero - and one who is sexy beyond compare - but Max's character definitely brought me to the edge more than once.
Since I suffer from the "happy ending syndrome", it is my fondest desire to see Max and Nikki find happiness and love. That is just one of the many factors that make SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS so compelling. The idea of reincarnation, which define the dreams the each of them have, add to the strong pull to this book, truly making it nearly impossible to put down. Then considering neither tells the other of their dreams makes the book even more intriguing. This may be the first Ryan book I’ve read so far, but it won’t be the last. Whether the characters were living the dreams, or experiencing the pangs of life and love, I was caught up in this story. I look forward to seeing whatever else Ms. Ryan has to offer.
Reviewed by Robin Taylor
for The Road to Romance
July 17, 2004
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