Dragons, Dreams and an evil sorceress. All this and more is in store for readers when they pick up Between. 
 With a fascinating premise and promising start I was pulled right in to this story. There was mystery, and a touch of madness and death, so how could my interest not be peaked? 
 Vivian recently relocated to a small town and is now a local emergency room doctor. But she can't escape the feeling of responsibility towards her mother who has always been unstable and is now in a care home. 
 She has always had an issue with dreams and sleeping, partly from ramblings she constantly heard from her mother growing up, but lately her dreams have become worse and strange things start happening in her waking life as well. Soon Vivian meets a man named Zee who runs the local bookstore and she swears she has always known him in her dreams. He shares his thoughts on dreams with her and some very odd information. This coupled with the news of her grandfathers death and her mothers disappearance quickly throw things into turmoil for her. 
 The way Between started I really believed it was going to be an urban fantasy, but it really felt more like a traditional fantasy. A short ways into the book Vivian enters the dream or between world and the rest of the book pretty much takes place there in a more fantasy setting with a castle, servants, dragons, warlord, impoverished prince, an evil queen and a just as wicked man from Vivian's real life. 
 I was fine with this fantasy setting as I love traditional fantasy. But I definitely think some readers might be surprised by it if they were expecting urban fantasy as I was. While I enjoyed the book there were a few things that kept me from enjoying it more. At time Vivian is portrayed as this really strong character and yet she doesn't portray strong behavior. She mostly flows along with everything that is happening to her and really doesn't make any real progress that comes from herself. I felt that Zee has more presence of personality in his very few chapters than Vivian did the entire book. Whether it was due to her personality or lack of oomph, I was left feeling completely disconnected from her. 
 My only other bone to pick was the dream and between world. The rules just weren't there. This became a problem for me such that I started to pick at it in my own head constantly. I completely get that dreams might not have any rules but I always need some firmer guidelines for my mind to work within when reading a story that doesn't run in the same reality as my own. Usually those guidelines are gently given in the details of the story itself as you're shown the world over the course of the book. Things here instead only puzzled me and had what I felt were mild contradictions. But I might be over-thinking things. 
 Between is most definitely a promising start to a new series that I look forward to continuing. I often find when starting a new series that the first book has the chance of being shakey with me - but then I grow to seriously enjoy it as I move through the next book. I anticipate that will be the case here as the groundwork the author laid still really peaks my interest.