A man dreams through the eyes of a woman he's never met, setting out to find love that might be a figment of his imagination.
Joe Riley has a successful, by-design life in the world of finance. He loves order, discipline, the tangible, the measurable. In pursuit of success he's spurned attachment, keeping romantic entanglements "on an island" while leaving his life and heart invulnerable. When he begins to dream of a woman half a world away he's never encountered, his notions of practicality and planning are called into question.
In a search that variously brings him to the psychologist's office, a medium's table, and from the Rocky Mountains to the streets of London, England, Joe begins to fall for the woman of his dreams. In the process, he's beset by innumerable questions: Is he going mad? Might she actually exist? If so, why does he see through her eyes? Why is he party to visions that are either the greatest privacy invasion of all time, or a possible cosmic match in the making?
In the quest for answers, Joe confronts the deeper questions that assail most of us who dare open our hearts: Will I be enough? Will they love me when it stops being easy? Will they stay? Will they sweep me up, just to watch me fall?
A moving exploration of relinquishing fear and embracing the unknown, Of Dreams and Angels invites you to trust the dreams that brought you this far will bring you further.
In Morrison’s heartfelt debut romance, successful Canadian wealth manager Joe Riley dreams every night that he inhabits the mind of a woman he’s never met: Claire, a beautiful British newsmagazine editor. In his sleep, he witnesses what she sees, experiences her memories, and senses her emotions, but he cannot access a secret that haunts her every move. Increasingly bothered by these prescient but limited visions, he travels to London to find Claire, and a precious love story quickly unfurls. Neither her complicated family situation nor living on different continents can slow the connection, until Claire reveals the secret that will test their mutual devotion.From the first page of this sweet, sensitive romance, Morrison poses a profound question: Can finding true love be more important than one’s carefully plotted career goals? As Joe develops a new understanding of love’s significance, readers are given an inside view of his warring thoughts, which infuses the text with a philosophical, albeit at times meandering tone. Although Joe’s character is a stock career-driven cynic (who disavowed love after a youthful heartbreak) and the plot centers on a familiar conceit — taking a leap of faith to pursue a magical connection to the ideal woman — his loyalty to Claire renders him lovable.
Despite its length, this novel flies by, and Morrison’s writing is intelligent without pretension, graced by regular witticisms. Readers are immersed in dreamy romance as the couple sightsee in London, hike amid the Canadian Rockies, and stay in a luxurious hotel, alongside picturesque phrasing that illuminates their journey: “They walked the corridors of the fabled building, ate late brunches in its various dining rooms, danced in the ballroom to music only they could hear.” Of Dreams and Angels is an enjoyable, easy-to-read romance that probes the weight and meaning of our relationships.
Takeaway: A heartfelt, philosophical romance about a predestined love affair.
Great for fans of: Josie Silver’s The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, Sarah Rees Brennan’s Unspoken.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
A businessman who’s sworn off love searches for the woman he’s literally been dreaming about in this debut novel.
Canadian Joe Riley, 37, has spent nearly two decades avoiding serious relationships. The workaholic, with his own private wealth management practice, prefers going on solitary hikes and living alone. Then a strange woman monopolizes his dreams. These are more than lucid dreams; Joe sees through her eyes and feels what she does. When awake, he can’t get her out of his mind, completely derailing his busy routine. Advice from a psychologist and even a medium only convinces him that the woman of his dreams is real. So he learns all he can about her: She’s Claire, a divorced Englishwoman with three kids and a cheating ex. After making the unprecedented decision to take a California vacation, Joe suddenly changes his mind—and his destination. Surely, it can’t be that hard to find a newspaper writer named Claire in Britain. He scours bylines and makes phone calls once in London, but what will he say if they’re face to face? While explaining what led him to her is one thing, there’s the possibility that Joe is already in love. Morrison delivers a grounded, absorbing romantic tale. Ample discussions of love do sometimes spin off into clichés, which are no less formulaic with characters continually acknowledging them. (“ ‘I know this sounds utterly cliché, if not painfully cheesy, but I feel like I’ve known you longer than these few weeks,’ Claire said.”) Nevertheless, the author offers a refreshingly realistic narrative approach. Both Joe and Claire, for example, willingly succumb to romance while plagued with endless doubts that such a relationship can last. Two people fearing the prospect of love does make for a heart-rending story, especially in the latter half. But humorous details provide relief, such as Joe naming his inner voices (for instance, perpetually cynical Roger). Morrison moreover sets his novel in the late 1990s, sparking such memorable scenes as Joe trying out this thing called the “World Wide Web.”
An appealing love story that’s both sentimental and down-to-earth.
