In Your Dreams (Afterlife #2)

One ill-fated night NYPD detective Sean Martino shot and killed an armed young man.  When he learns the gun was a toy, Sean’s unbearable guilt and selfish act sends him into the Afterlife where suicides are treated in an unorthodox way.  Initially an Afterlife bounty hunter, Sean retrieves spirits for reprocessing until he is reassigned to the Probation Department.  His first case involves a former child star struggling in a pit of despair.   In spite of her bleak future, Sean encourages her to live with purpose.  It should be all he’s capable of giving, but it’s not. Sacrifice may be the key to end their self-destructive cycles and the beginning of their happiness.

With the second book in her Afterlife series, Ms. Ardito takes readers into unusual territory.   Sean and his heroine, Isabelle, are separated by a critical attribute – Sean is dead, and by suicide!   “In Your Dreams” doesn’t necessarily focus on the romance as much as it notes acts of forgiveness and sacrifice, while instilling hope when conditions seem hopeless. This book had the makings of a very emotional story, yet it didn’t meet its full potential.  The relationship between Isabelle and Sean could have used further development in the attraction department.  Emotions shift without transition, requiring the reader to fill in the blanks and accept many characters’ actions as they happen. 

Overall, “In Your Dreams” is a break away from what romance readers usually find in stories involving the supernatural and, succeeds in being an enjoyable book. 

Anna Fitzgerald