A Review for Dream Eyes (Dark Legacy #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: Janaury 8th, 2013

Finished Date: January 21st, 2013

Publishers: Piatkus Books 
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 304
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

The death of her friend and mentor, Evelyn Ballinger, brings psychic counselor Gwen Frazier back to the small town of Wilby, Oregon, and brings back memories she would rather forget. Two years earlier, a killer stalked the members of one of Ballinger’s research studies including Gwen. And though she survived while two others didn’t, Gwen knows that Ballinger’s death is related.

Sent by a friend to help Gwen, psychic investigator Judson Coppersmith arrives in Wilby barely in control of his own talent and his own life, haunted by urgent dreams. His attraction to Gwen is primal, but there are secrets he must keep to protect himself from surrendering to her completely, even as their investigation draws them into dreamscapes, into decades of deception, and into the paranormal fires of a desire too strong to resist. . .

The Review: 3.5 Stars! 

Dream Eyes is the second book in the Dark Legacy series – the background to the series is this… decades ago three like-minded men, believing in the worlds need for natural power sources invested in a mine. They weren’t prepared for what they found - unimaginable power encased in crystals – this caused a wedge between the men as they disagreed on how to handle their find. After an explosion - which killed one of the men - the other two decided the world wasn’t ready for what was uncovered and made it their lives work to both keep their find a secret & understand more about what they had found. One family in particular – the Coppersmiths – bear the burden of secrecy surrounding the Phoenix Mines and have vowed that the crystals will stay locked away….. the thing is, they have enemies, they have competitors…. but they also have talents, paranormal talents, and they aren’t the only ones….

Judson Coppersmith is a psychic investigator, he heads a security consultant firm with his brother Sam. As a favour to Sam’s fiancé Abby, Judson is sent to help her best friend Gwen Frazier – who is a psychic counsellor – following the murder of her friend. Gwen believes it was a paranormal murder linked to those committed two years ago that had also nearly ended Gwen’s life, but with the whole town believing she had been involved in that & not having enough evidence, she hires Judson to help. Judson has his own issues though, some that Gwen could most definitely help with, making the deal mutually beneficial but is he willing to trust in a woman he is intensely drawn to but knows nothing about? One thing is for sure, they BOTH don’t trust easy…. Which is exactly what they must learn to do as the murder count gets higher and Gwen’s life is put on the line again – can they save each other before it’s too late?

I have to say, I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than the first. If I were to describe it, I would probably say it was a murder mystery with supernatural elements and a nice dose of paranormal romance. What attracted me to the book was the murders and psychic references of the synopsis, who doesn’t love a good whodunit? That part of the plot was the majority of the story and I liked that it was complex, it was the kind of story where you think you have the culprit nailed from the beginning and in the end… you were wrong! It was filled with a few twists and turns, false leads & danger galore, it would have made a good book with that alone but when you add the supernatural element, it makes it better. I like how it was done, I like the idea of people with ‘talent’ and what that means to different people and how the stories tie in with the overall series background, which seems to have been a catalyst for a lot of changes and not just for the people involved. I like how the ‘talents’ were used to solve the puzzle and I especially liked what they meant romantically for our main characters, who doesn’t love a bit of romance where the lovers are connected on another level? I also liked that it wasn’t just a damsel in distress story too, that Judson needed just as much help as Gwen and they complimented each other in more ways than one which makes you believe in them as a couple both romantically and professionally. I also liked how this tied in with the first book, we had met Gwen briefly in book one so we already knew some of her story which made the series progression easier but also this book could definitely be read as a stand alone book (although the mine & crystal references may get lost on the reader). All in all, it was a nice read with likeable characters, an interesting take on the supernatural with a sweet dose of romance & a slowly emerging series background that begs to be told. I would read book three for sure.