The madman and the nightmare…

Vincent Blackman is a little…unhinged. He recently fought a nightmare from the world Darkside and won. Now he fears nothing and wants revenge on the man who had his father brutally murdered. And how convenient to find an ally in Mirren Lambert, his enemy’s gorgeous and sexy daughter. Unfortunately, she’s made a few enemies of her own.

She might be a nightmare, but she’s also his ultimate fantasy.

Mirren was born half human, half nightmare. She was on the run from her ruthless father, but when he abducted her young son, she knew he had to be stopped once and for all. Dangerous Vincent is just who she needs to help her, though she has a perilous part to play as well, infiltrating her father’s circles to discover his secrets. They learn something dark is stirring in the dreamwaters, and it’s reaching toward the waking world. Vincent might be holding on to the last of his sanity, but that’s okay, as long as he holds on even tighter to her.

Vincent, who was introduced to the series as trying to manipulate Jordan in the first book to save his father (and paid the price for it, of which we saw the result of in the last book) and Mirren who was introduced in the last book as manipulating Rook (and by default Jordan) to save her son, have come together to cut out the middle man and take care of business themselves.  The business? Ridding the world of the menace known as AtreidesDidier Lambert, Mirren's father and the architect of what the world knows as the Reve.

He also happens to be a meglomaniac with a God Complex willing to sacrifice anybody to "The Sandman" in his bid for world domination.  But that's the least of his flaws where Mirren and Vincent are concerned.

I gotta admit I didn't much like Vincent until he mentally broke.  Mirren notes that "waking" Vincent is just a little too perfect, a little too Hollywood and that sums up my issues with him in the first book.  He was aware of the fact as well, but now that he's fought nightmares and survived he's a wonderful kind of unbalanced that fits with Mirren's own madness well.

In odd ways this is one of the most functional relationships I've read about in a while.  These two are unfailingly honest with each from the start, support each other through everything, have faith the other is working towards goals of mutual interest and hide nothing.   It was honestly refreshing for to read.  If either had doubts they talked about it together, how it would effect them both, how they could find a solution for it together.

Meanwhile Coll manages to be his own somewhat insufferable self and Masie pops up to remind everyone she's a creative badass so don't forget it.

Didier...he was...its hard to really get a feel for this guy.  He's a larger then life prescence in the other books - omnipotent, deadly and a menacing figure.  This book picks up right where the last one left off, so we get to see Vincent's confrontation (spoiler: it doesn't go exactly as planned) and Mirren's conflicted feelings.  (which again, she talks to Vincent about and they discuss what that means for the two of them together with no additional drama. In fact at one point Vincent's like "I'm killing your father, is that okay with you?" and after a moment of soul searching Mirren replies "That's between you and him, I won't interfere." THANK YOU MIRREN FOR YOUR LACK OF MELODRAMA)

I'm not sure how long this series is going to go for, but at this point it just keeps getting better.  Next installment we get to watch everyone deal with the fall out from revelations about "The Sandman", a couple deaths and Masie on a roadtrip. Which...that can't possibly go well for anyone.