Of Dreams and Shadows

Written by Jesikah Sundin

Narrated by Olivia King

Previously published as: ÆROREH

She is forced to dream while awake.

He must face his nightmare—her.

Something is terribly wrong. What her eyes see conflicts with what she feels. But Princess Aroreh Rosen doesn't know she is under a glamour, one that forces her to see only illusions of beauty and contentment.

Not how hunger and sickness plague her factory-choked land.

Or how her mother's cruel, dark magic is amplified when Aroreh is awake and why she's enchanted to never sleep.

And definitely not how the handsome young man her mother prepares to sacrifice is demonized by her realm.

Not until a rebel sect of faeries, that is, releases her mind and unleashes her magic—the power to weave new realities while dreaming.

Now on the run, Aroreh’s unspooling world collides with Félip Batten McKinley’s, the young man her mother had captured and the surviving heir to the throne of faerie. The very throne the queen maneuvered to annihilate through Aroreh's magic. And why the faeries hid Félip as a child in the factory slums. But an uprising pushes Félip from the shadows of his life and into the hauntingly beautiful light of Aroreh Rosen—a young woman who represents every nightmare he knows.

Yet only she has the power to awaken a new dream and save their people.

✨ OF DREAMS AND SHADOWS ✨ is a young adult elven fantasy spin on the romantic tale of Sleeping Beauty, blending faerie magic and pagan ritual with an Industrial Revolution meets medieval faerie tale inspired setting. Guaranteed to please readers who love angsty, enemies-to-lovers medium-burn fated romances, twisted fairy tales, and strong found family themes.

STANDALONE in a connected series / shared world

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forest Tales Publishing
• Release date: Sep 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781954694064

Jesikah Sundin

Jesikah Sundin is a sci-fi/fantasy writer mom of three nerdlets and devoted wife to a gamer geek. In addition to her family, she shares her home in Monroe, Washington with a red-footed tortoise and a collection of seatbelt purses. She is addicted to coffee, laughing, and Dr. Martens shoes ... Oh! And the forest is her happy place.

Reviews for Of Dreams and Shadows

[Sarah Carner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fun story! This is Mythpunk, which is a new genre for me. It has some foreign words, though there's a glossary (Thank You Jesikah!). I struggled at the beginning a little with remembering the words but it all came together in the first third of the book. It's written with dual perspectives, which was really well done. The magic system is mixed with technology, which was so cool!
Æroreh kind of reminded me of Rapunzel from Tangled. Fun and silly, but also that internal struggle to please her mother. I love Æroreh and Félip's chemistry. They are so cute together.

Two of my favorite lines: ?
"She was going to murder him, one smile at a time."

"His humor softened and their gazes locked. 'Lass, if I were to corrupt ye, there'd be no suffering, ye ken? Only sighs and smiles.' "

Looking forward to book 2!