TITLE: Incredible Dreams
AUTHOR: S.E. Felida
SERIES: Dreams (Book #1)
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
The book had everything I like and more. There was romance, suspense and intrigue, hot sex, good strong lead characters and support characters, Hot Sex, a gorgeous male lead (police officer with a tongue piercing - HELLO!!) and did I mention the HOT SEX?? Throughout the storyline is also laced with some comical moments, which helps relieve some of the heavier parts.
Leona, Alyssa, Alexandra and Naomi are flat mates and best friends. Throughout the difficult times in her past, Naomi has always been there for Leona. I don't want to give anything away with regards to the storyline, as it would be too easy to inadvertently give away a spoiler. What I will say is that Leona and her friends have the kind of friendship that many of us could relate to. S.E. Felida brings the characters to life so expertly, you feel that what they are going through, what they are doing, what they are feeling, they are doing it all in front of you. Every emotion, action, conversation, they all come alive and wrap you up and suck you in, until you can do nothing else but turn the page to see what happens next.
The storyline can flow from funny, to romantic, to hot and steamy, to suspense and to some dark plot lines without any problems. The author maintains a good balance throughout the book without detracting from the seriousness of the plot. The characters are all believable, some are likeable, some are hateful and others are just plain H.O.T! Nathaniel, need I say more? He is like the proverbial onion, peel away one layer and there's another one just waiting to be discovered.
Now anyone who follows my reviews, knows how much I hate reading a book, only to find the ending is a cliffhanger (I am not ashamed to say I have no patience!). Guess what? Yup, this one had a 'Holy Crap, No F**king Way Can This Be The Ending' type of cliffhanger! If I say I was waiting for my Kindle to say 'Ha only kidding, here is the rest of the story', will you think less of me?? Well I don't care, because that is exactly what I found myself doing! I sat there, with 100% read and unable to turn another page, did that stop me trying though?? Nooooo! Thankfully, my Kindle remains in one piece (probably because I was waiting on someone to tell me they had forgotten to send me the full file and here was the ending!!) so now I am waiting, somewhat impatiently, for book two. However, at this point, I have to hold my hand up and say kudos to S.E. Felida for providing an outstanding ending that never in my wildest dreams had I seen coming. It is one thing having a cliffhanger, it is another thing entirely to have the ending come right out of the blue and blind side you completely. If you have to end on a cliffhanger, then that is how I want them done EVERY time. I was left breathless and speechless. I felt like my heart rate was kicked up into dangerous territory and I loved it!
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, without any hesitation.
My Rating
We arrived at Club N around two and I excused myself straight away to go and find Naomi. I couldn’t see her anywhere in the main club, so I made my way up to the office. Her door was slightly open and she was sitting at her desk; it seemed like she was talking to someone but there was no one to be seen. Thinking she was on the phone I waited for her to finish, but after a few minutes I noticed her cell lying on the corner of her desk. Could I be about to interrupt her on some sort of office booty call? The thought of someone hidden under the desk, pleasuring my friend, made me want to laugh out loud. Oh my God, no; Naomi wasn’t that kind of girl. She was far too shy for that, especially with the door open.
I leaned in closer to try and make out what she was saying and could only just about hear her whispers. “Stop asking me to do that, I wouldn’t do that to her, she’s one of my best friends and I love her to death.” She was almost crying and sounded slightly unhinged as she talked. “Even if I wanted to do it, I couldn’t because he’s always with her. Just stop it, I can’t handle you in my head anymore, get out, get out and leave me alone.”
She sat on the floor and curled her knees up into her arms, then she started rocking back and forth like an upset child. All of a sudden she began hitting herself on the head and between sobs, started chanting, “Get out of my head, get out of my head, I won’t do it, I won’t do it, I won’t.” What the hell is going on? Who is she talking to?
Unable to bear seeing my friend like this any longer I tried to decide the best thing to do. It was starting to freak me out. Had she lost her mind? Was she seeing ghosts? Was she possessed? Every frightening scenario flashed through my mind in those moments and I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her.
I decided I couldn’t leave her like this, so I pushed the door wide open and walked over to her on the floor. I tapped her on the shoulder and called out to her but she didn’t react. I tried again, louder this time, Naomi! What the hell is wrong with you girl?”
She turned to look at me, but her face was almost unrecognizable. She was so pale, as if all the blood has rushed from her face, and her pupils were fully dilated. I didn’t want to say it, but she looked scary. Mascara trails created crooked black paths from her eyes, down her cheeks and over her nose, and she was looking straight through me. As if I wasn’t really there. She didn’t look like Naomi at all and it sent chills down my spine.
I knelt down beside her and threw my arms around her shoulders, trying my best to comfort her. “Naomi, please answer me, what’s wrong? Who were you talking to?” She didn’t respond; it was as if she was in some kind of trance and I couldn’t pull her out of it.
Beginning to get desperate for a reaction, any reaction would do right now, I took her arms in my hands and shook her violently. That only seemed to agitate her though, and she screamed in my ears, “I won’t do it, I won’t!”
Not knowing what else to try, I text the girls and told them I needed help. I thought it was best not to let the guys in on this though, so I mentioned to leave them downstairs. It had crossed my mind that Naomi had taken some sort of drug to make her so out of character and I didn’t want her to get arrested. Even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t very nice for them to see her like this. The girls didn’t listen though, and when they arrived Nathaniel walked in behind them, both Joshua and Anthony were in tow.
“Wow, I sensed that something was really bad up here and I wasn’t wrong, was I?”
The first thing they did was switch on the lights; I had already grown so accustomed to the dark in my haste to get through to Naomi that I didn’t even notice the lights were still off. “What’s wrong with your friend, Leona? Why is she crying there on the floor? Did you argue with her as well?” Wow, Nate didn’t just say that did he? I swear I’d never felt the urge to slap someone in my life, as much as I wanted to slap him right then. Not even Vivian.
Right now wasn’t the time to get into an argument though, so I ignored him. Besides, I knew that he was only trying to provoke me in an attempt to get me to speak to him again. Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a rise from me, he took control of the situation; telling the girls to clear Naomi’s desk and getting Joshua to help him put her on it.
As he picked her up, she draped her arms around him, and for a split second it seemed like she was nuzzling his neck. She breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she took in his scent. I thought I was imagining it until she held on to the back of his head and grinned at me. What the hell was she playing at? I wanted to say something, but she let loose my gaze in the blink of an eye. It all happened so quickly that I began to second guess myself as to whether it had actually happened. Could my mind be playing tricks on me? It’s feasible that I had too many glasses of wine at the party.
“Anthony, go and ask the door staff if they have any of those smelling salts they use on people when they faint.” Nathaniel’s words snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You’re not really going to use them on her are you? If she’s not resistant nothing good will come of it.” Anthony was apprehensive and when Joshua tried to assure him that Nate knew what he was doing, he snapped back at his friend and stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath.
Alexandra tried talking to Naomi but she couldn’t get through to her either. She looked right through her with vacant eyes and caressed Alyssa’s face, murmuring over and over that she was a “pretty lady.” They asked if I thought she was on something and I had to let them know that I wasn’t sure. “She didn’t recognize me either, I don’t know what’s wrong. I didn’t think she’d taken anything at first, but this is all starting to look like a trip, a trip that’s gone really wrong.”
Nathaniel and Joshua were standing in the corner, clearly talking about something that we weren’t supposed to hear. I just prayed that they weren’t about to take her down town for a drug test. The whole time they were whispering, Nate never took his eyes off me. I hated it when he looked at me like that, he could always draw me in with his stunningly chocolate eyes, and even though I needed to stay focused for Naomi, somehow I just couldn't help but to stare right back at him.
A few minutes later, Anthony finally returned with a small capsule which Nathaniel took and placed under Naomi’s nose. It was amazing, within seconds she began to breath quickly and slowly but surely came back to her normal self. When she snapped out of whatever she was on, she was shocked to find all of us in her office. “What happened?” She asked me, confused. She couldn’t remember anything from the last couple of hours.
I talked her through what had gone on, from when I found her sitting at her desk until now; she had no recollection of doing any of those things. I believed her because she couldn't fake an embarrassment like that even if she tried. She looked exhausted and said that all she wanted to do was sleep.
Alyssa suggested we take her to the hospital for a checkup and we all agreed that it was the safest decision. We still didn’t know what had happened to her, so if she had been on drugs, the results would tell.
I leaned in closer to try and make out what she was saying and could only just about hear her whispers. “Stop asking me to do that, I wouldn’t do that to her, she’s one of my best friends and I love her to death.” She was almost crying and sounded slightly unhinged as she talked. “Even if I wanted to do it, I couldn’t because he’s always with her. Just stop it, I can’t handle you in my head anymore, get out, get out and leave me alone.”
She sat on the floor and curled her knees up into her arms, then she started rocking back and forth like an upset child. All of a sudden she began hitting herself on the head and between sobs, started chanting, “Get out of my head, get out of my head, I won’t do it, I won’t do it, I won’t.” What the hell is going on? Who is she talking to?
Unable to bear seeing my friend like this any longer I tried to decide the best thing to do. It was starting to freak me out. Had she lost her mind? Was she seeing ghosts? Was she possessed? Every frightening scenario flashed through my mind in those moments and I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her.
I decided I couldn’t leave her like this, so I pushed the door wide open and walked over to her on the floor. I tapped her on the shoulder and called out to her but she didn’t react. I tried again, louder this time, Naomi! What the hell is wrong with you girl?”
She turned to look at me, but her face was almost unrecognizable. She was so pale, as if all the blood has rushed from her face, and her pupils were fully dilated. I didn’t want to say it, but she looked scary. Mascara trails created crooked black paths from her eyes, down her cheeks and over her nose, and she was looking straight through me. As if I wasn’t really there. She didn’t look like Naomi at all and it sent chills down my spine.
I knelt down beside her and threw my arms around her shoulders, trying my best to comfort her. “Naomi, please answer me, what’s wrong? Who were you talking to?” She didn’t respond; it was as if she was in some kind of trance and I couldn’t pull her out of it.
Beginning to get desperate for a reaction, any reaction would do right now, I took her arms in my hands and shook her violently. That only seemed to agitate her though, and she screamed in my ears, “I won’t do it, I won’t!”
Not knowing what else to try, I text the girls and told them I needed help. I thought it was best not to let the guys in on this though, so I mentioned to leave them downstairs. It had crossed my mind that Naomi had taken some sort of drug to make her so out of character and I didn’t want her to get arrested. Even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t very nice for them to see her like this. The girls didn’t listen though, and when they arrived Nathaniel walked in behind them, both Joshua and Anthony were in tow.
“Wow, I sensed that something was really bad up here and I wasn’t wrong, was I?”
The first thing they did was switch on the lights; I had already grown so accustomed to the dark in my haste to get through to Naomi that I didn’t even notice the lights were still off. “What’s wrong with your friend, Leona? Why is she crying there on the floor? Did you argue with her as well?” Wow, Nate didn’t just say that did he? I swear I’d never felt the urge to slap someone in my life, as much as I wanted to slap him right then. Not even Vivian.
Right now wasn’t the time to get into an argument though, so I ignored him. Besides, I knew that he was only trying to provoke me in an attempt to get me to speak to him again. Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a rise from me, he took control of the situation; telling the girls to clear Naomi’s desk and getting Joshua to help him put her on it.
As he picked her up, she draped her arms around him, and for a split second it seemed like she was nuzzling his neck. She breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she took in his scent. I thought I was imagining it until she held on to the back of his head and grinned at me. What the hell was she playing at? I wanted to say something, but she let loose my gaze in the blink of an eye. It all happened so quickly that I began to second guess myself as to whether it had actually happened. Could my mind be playing tricks on me? It’s feasible that I had too many glasses of wine at the party.
“Anthony, go and ask the door staff if they have any of those smelling salts they use on people when they faint.” Nathaniel’s words snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You’re not really going to use them on her are you? If she’s not resistant nothing good will come of it.” Anthony was apprehensive and when Joshua tried to assure him that Nate knew what he was doing, he snapped back at his friend and stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath.
Alexandra tried talking to Naomi but she couldn’t get through to her either. She looked right through her with vacant eyes and caressed Alyssa’s face, murmuring over and over that she was a “pretty lady.” They asked if I thought she was on something and I had to let them know that I wasn’t sure. “She didn’t recognize me either, I don’t know what’s wrong. I didn’t think she’d taken anything at first, but this is all starting to look like a trip, a trip that’s gone really wrong.”
Nathaniel and Joshua were standing in the corner, clearly talking about something that we weren’t supposed to hear. I just prayed that they weren’t about to take her down town for a drug test. The whole time they were whispering, Nate never took his eyes off me. I hated it when he looked at me like that, he could always draw me in with his stunningly chocolate eyes, and even though I needed to stay focused for Naomi, somehow I just couldn't help but to stare right back at him.
A few minutes later, Anthony finally returned with a small capsule which Nathaniel took and placed under Naomi’s nose. It was amazing, within seconds she began to breath quickly and slowly but surely came back to her normal self. When she snapped out of whatever she was on, she was shocked to find all of us in her office. “What happened?” She asked me, confused. She couldn’t remember anything from the last couple of hours.
I talked her through what had gone on, from when I found her sitting at her desk until now; she had no recollection of doing any of those things. I believed her because she couldn't fake an embarrassment like that even if she tried. She looked exhausted and said that all she wanted to do was sleep.
Alyssa suggested we take her to the hospital for a checkup and we all agreed that it was the safest decision. We still didn’t know what had happened to her, so if she had been on drugs, the results would tell.
Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was born in Curaçao, a small Island in the Caribbean but I’m currently living in Holland with my husband and our three sons.
Tell us about something that has just/recently happened in your life that you would like to share?
Incredible Dreams has finally been translated into Dutch and will be ready to release this December for my Dutch readers.
If you had to sum up incredible dreams in 30 or less words, what would you say?
Incredible Dreams is an Erotic, Suspenseful Romance Novel that will try and pull its readers further and further into the story throughout the book and series.
List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend to readers?
Wow I’ve read allot of great books this year but if I needed to recommend just three of them, my top three would definitely have to be The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley, Thoughtless series by S.C Stephens and Find You in the Dark Series by A. Meredith Walters.
What is Your Favorite Wine?
Canei Rosé
Is there an Author that you would really like to meet in person?
Yes a few actually but J.K Rowling is at the top of list.
What authors have inspired your work?
Stephen King, J.K Rowling and Nicci French but the latter the most seeing as they are the closest in the genre that I write in.
Are you currently working on any upcoming projects?
Yes I have two pending projects, one Romantic thriller that’s called The Puppet Master and another Suspense Romance Novel that’s called Colorless Love.
What's your favorite movie of all time?
That’s a tied first place for me, Stephen King’s It and the Entire Harry Potter Series.
I was born in Curacao, a small Island in the Caribbean. But I’m currently living in Holland with my husband and our three boys, I’m still in school and I’m studying to become a kindergarten teacher, I go to school two times a week and the remaining of the week I am a teacher’s aide at a kindergarten. I've always loved to read books and to write short stories and poetry, I began writing at the age of eleven. In my spare time you can find me in the kitchen, on the soccer fields to watch my sons play, reading, writing or having a girls night out with my lovely ladies.
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