Sachael Dreams

The first thing I remember thinking about Sachael Dreams is: what a brilliant premise. Not unlike a wave crashing to shore, it landed on my desk and instantly captured my attention. The paranormal romance/romantic fantasy genres are heavily saturated with angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, and a plethora of other supernatural critters, but Winter managed to do the unexpected — she gave us a brand new creature altogether. Estelle’s story is not a peaceful one; kidnapping, escape, fight scenes, and arguments litter her tale with splashes of suspense. But those moments of tense action and drama, while exciting, are perhaps not the most memorable elements. For me, the enchantment of the story lies in its tone, ambiance, mystery, and passion. Lyrical and detailed, Winter’s prose transports us to the setting with a mastery that had me nearly smelling the ocean breeze on my home’s very non-ocean-oriented air. Realistic and gripping from the moment you start the Prologue (yes, there’s a prologue, and it’s handled with supreme efficiency), Sachael Dreams is like stepping into an ethereal world that’s maybe just a tad dark around the edges. Even the romance, which is central to the book’s core, starts with an almost Phantom of the Opera-like vibe, and the sinister nature behind the mysterious Sachaels lends a tinge of danger to the relationship unfolding between the lead characters. Add to that Estelle’s personal history (alluded to for much of the book and revealed fully toward the end) and a villain bent on revenge, no matter the cost, and you start to see why the story’s tone is heavier than your standard romance. Winter makes sure to give readers plenty of swoon-worthy, romantic moments though; don’t worry. But my favorite scenes were actually those where the sheer raw emotion — often of the darker variety — really bubbled to the surface: the arguments between Estelle and Azariah, the heartbreaking moments of loss and grief, even the tortured rage of the villain. All of them were handled with a grace and poignancy that is nothing short of impressive. Darkly beautiful and intriguing, Sachael Dreams is the beginning of what is arguably a refreshing, original take on mythology from a promising new author. Fans of romantic suspense, dark fantasy, and paranormal romance would be wise to check this one out. I, for one, am definitely looking forward to watching this world, and author, bloom into their full power. **Disclaimer: I was the acquiring editor for this title, however all opinions stated are my own and were not influenced by bias or compensation.**

First off, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ms. Winter’s style is easy to read with the perfect amount of description. I could see the coastlines, Estelle Bailey’s home, the village of Robin Hood’s Bay. The characters were enjoyable and for the most part, rich and complex. I did find myself wishing Estelle was just slightly braver earlier in the story. However, she is a complex character and extremely likeable. The romance between Estelle and the Sachael is beautifully drawn. The reader can feel the passion and electricity between the two, and I found myself intrigued by this stunning world Ms. Winter has created. And for as much as I love the main characters, Ms. Winter has written some amazingly wonderful villains. They are horrible, in the best possible way. The story is a love story, but it has been written with new mythology and original creatures, and is more than just a romance. The complexity of plot, and subplots, is mixed with the undersea world that is laced with the humans of the land thus laying the ground work for an exciting and fascinating series. I read this book in two days and am excited to read the next installment. My only reason for giving it 4 stars instead of 5, was I felt it could have gone deeper and been grittier, but despite that, it’s fantastic. Do yourself a favor and read this book, you won’t be disappointed.

Opening with a brief and enthralling tale of love and the brutal heartbreak of loss and betrayal, we meet young Lilith, who fades into our memories like something from long ago. Enter the contemporary Estelle, seeking peace in her life and freedom from a crazed ex-boyfriend by escaping to the seaside, to a family home that brings her closer to the memory of her father and a life that feels soothing and calming. There is more to the water than the gentle ebbing and flowing of the waves, more than the marine life that plays offshore. A breed of underwater man-like creatures reside beneath the waves and one mysterious, warm and seemingly caring Sachael has found her and he promises her his love, if she will just trust in him and return to his world below the sea. What she discovers is that she will become a pawn in a brutal game of war and rebellion when another cold and calculating bred from the sea take her prisoner as they attempt to discover who and what she really is and fill her head with tales of the true nature of the Sachael. Who can Estelle trust? What madness are they talking about? Is it possible she is more than a mere human? Sachael Dreams by Melody Winter is a trip into a dark fantasy world where human women and their hearts and bodies are manipulated to keep an ancient civilization alive as the children they bear are stolen at birth, never to be seen again. Some move forward, some cannot, but Estelle is in love and unique, will she be the next victim of a man’s charm and lies? Melody Winter sets a beautiful stage with care, filled it with background, and scenes that will send the smell of the salt air through one’s mind. Savor the build up to the mystery and intrigue, the evil plot twists and the confusion that grows in Estelle’s mind and heart will be plenty of action for you, as will the speed at which these men from the sea move. Will she get her happily ever after or will the pain of the past, present and unknown future be too much to take? Part dark, yet gentle romance, part dark fantasy that will claw its way through your mind, Melody Winter has made a niche for herself in a world filled with the supernatural, the unbelievable as she travels that fine line between good and evil, blurring the edges often as she colors outside of the lines. I received a copy of Sachael Dreams from Melody Winter in exchange for my honest review.

MINOR SPOILERS I love the water so I'm always on the look out for a good "water-creature"-related read. I had always been drawn in to the idea of merpeople but I had never read something like what Ms. Winter's had written. I loved the idea of Sachaels. I did not know of them until I read this book. I like how the author took the idea of Sachaels and made it her own. Vicious when needed but mesmerizing. Just so you know, Sachaels are not synonymous with merpeople in this book. I liked the characters, Estelle is a good protagonist, she makes mistakes but she learns from them. There are some moments where I want to bop her on the head but her actions are understandable. Considering her situation I'm glad she questions what people tell her but sometimes I'd wish she'd fight a little more but I suppose then the plot wouldn't move as much. Still she's someone I had no problem rooting for during the story but I never did know what else she liked to do beside draw and paint. I found it strange that she didn't try to find a trade or have a job besides selling her father's paintings. I guess I would have liked to see more about her in her everyday life prior to all the craziness. I like the love interest as well, and for a Sachael, he's more of a gentleman than I thought he would be which I did not have a problem with but wondered where he learned it all from. I would have liked to learn more about where he came from but all that information is sparsely spread throughout the novel and we still only get glimpses. I'm not looking for an info dump but I kind of wish I got more information about his world and what's considered everyday life for him.  Estelle's mother was odd and not too helpful. I don't like how parents hide important information from their children when they need to know that information only for it to pop up later to shake their world. It's just frustrating to read and I see it a lot in books so it's a bit of a pet peeve in books lately. Just a personal opinion.  The author's writing is lovely and intricate. I had no problems imagining myself in the places she described although I've never been there. I could easily get lost in her writing but at the same time, I found myself slogging through looking for the good stuff. I felt like the writing kept me interested but I also wanted more action to propel me. I think the pacing could have been tighter and the stakes raised more. That's my only main complaint about the book.  The ending is somewhat satisfying but I'd have liked to see more but it did tie up the main arc. I felt where it ended wasn't as complete as I would like but since I know there will be sequels after this book it had been purposely left open ended. There isn't really a cliffhanger at the end, the reader knows what will happen immediately at the end which will just continue the story. This is good and bad but personally I'd rather have a cliffhanger so it'd give me something to look forward or speculate about until the next book. That's just a personal opinion. Other people may enjoy a more open ended conclusion like this so it depends what you like. The pace is slower than I would have liked for the novel but I found myself caring what happened to the characters. That is what pushed me to keep reading and to find more information about life under the water. If you enjoy slow romance, drama, and water-related mythical creatures, you can't go wrong with this read! 3.5 out of 5 rating for me! (A copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)

Sachael Dreams, The Mine Series book 1, Melody Winter Genre: Romance, Fantasy/Sci-fi, New Adult. Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews The prologue....so so emotional. I read it, but it didn’t really make sense until I was well into the story, and then everything fell into place. Its a hard book for me to review – its well written and a gripping story, but there’s so much that didn’t connect with me. Why was Estelle so accepting of what is something totally odd – “ so you’re really a guy from somewhere under the ocean, you don’t have females but mate with humans and steal the babies at birth” Oh yes! of course she believes and accepts all that...perfectly normal. Maybe its just that I’m not NA/YA that I felt Estelle’s reactions were a little strange, muted, kind of non reactive. I found it difficult to accept she just believed everything Azariah tells her, because of course, after just a couple of strange dreams and meeting him she’s in luurve....and he’s different to the others. Having just come out of an abusive relationship you’d think she’d be more cautious. Still, if you can accept her reaction, and that she’s ok – ish – with stolen babies, then what follows is a great story. Romance, mysteries and danger – it’s all there. I just found her acceptance of the stolen babies a little weird. she doesn’t seem to spare a thought for them or their poor mothers. Most people would be horrified. It certainly coloured my view of the Sachaels, and even though Azariah says he’s different what about his father? His brothers? and the rest of them. Then later when the danger stacks up with the Sect, and their leader tells her what he’s got planned for her...somehow I just couldn’t see it going the way he thought. So – overall a well written and really promising story, but for me one that had too many character reaction issues for me to get properly into it. I need to empathise, to engage with the main character, to feel what they feel as if I'm in the story but there’s no way I could just have the bland acceptance over the babies and the mothers that Estelle does. There’s a few too many unanswered questions too – I can’t say more without giving too much away, but it did affect how I viewed the story. Its promising and I think maybe its an age thing, that I’m asking too many questions instead of just accepting and enjoying the story as is. Stars: Three, an enjoyable read but for me not one I want to read more of. Too many questions and disagreements on my part! ARC provided by Netgalley and publishers

We begin with a prologue. Lilith. Some people don’t like prologues, but this one was perfect. Her story stays with us after we move on… to Estelle. What happened to Lilith… will it happen to Estelle? That kept me reading, the mystery, the questions. For it starts with a shell. And continues with a voice, one that haunts her dreams. Azariah. But who is this stranger? Can we trust him? Azariah, a sachael, a creature from the sea, seems very nice. A little too nice for me, but Estelle begins to fall for him. The first half of the book did, I admit, have me rolling my eyes at all the so much in love parts, the so happy parts, the sappy stuff, the I-want-him-SO-MUCH-but-I-just-don’t-know parts. It’s a romance, not quite my thing, but the entire book is extremely well-written. I like Estelle, there is something to this girl. And the mystery of her family is fascinating. Azariah bores me a bit, falling a little flat, BUT he is not just some flirty fish-man, he has hidden sides, I glimpsed them. Michael is a nice guy, just mixed up with the bad crowd. Which brings us to Orontes… who is awesome. Sure he’s bad, but so powerful, and knows what he wants. Bad boys for the win! Last but not least the setting. Ravenscar is a character in itself. And someday, I’m going, cause it’s real and sounds like heaven! Once the story gets going, and it does, the action pulled me right along. The mysteries kept my mind spinning with ideas. The answers satisfied and intrigued me. And the ending put a smile on my face, even though a battle would have been very cool. (I expect a big fight later in the series… yup) But the story isn’t finished. Will I, the non-romance reader, read the rest of the series? Yup. For one, I need to see the underwater world! NEED! This is what I live for… fantasy! Two, I want to know the other sides of Azariah, looking forward to him developing. Three, I want to meet Lilith (she’s still around!), to see how she has been affected by her past. Four, the mystery of Estelle. HOW… WHY DOES SHE EXIST? Five, Orontes… I like him. There must be a bit more to his story.