I was given this book by the author for an honest review.Best part of the book: Ok, I read a lot and this story was much different that other "dream" stories. After an accident Danielle began have these "dreams" of her past life. Through all of this "strangeness" she meet Ben. I like Ben! He is helpful to her and she feels comfortable with him. Like she has knows him her whole life. Danielle's life is complex and I really felt sad for her. However, Ben was there for her and help her figure out the puzzle of her life and dreams.Not so great about book: It was confusing at first. It took me a little bit to figure out when she was in her "dream" world and when she was in the real world. Also, the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger.Overall, its a good book and a unique tale. Background: Danielle is an 18 year old girl who is living a normal life in Georgia, attending college and hanging out with the same group of friends she has had since she was young. On the first day of summer she has a nasty fall and gives herself a concussion and then begins having very weird realistic dreams about people in another time period. A few weeks later, on a weekend trip with her best friend, she sees a man that looks oddly familiar but she cannot place him, until she realizes that he is from her weird dreams.Review: I have some likes and some dislikes with this book and I am a little torn about it. So I liked the plot it was interesting, I have read a few really bad time travel books and this one is interesting because it is more a dream state than time travel, so it was very cool to witness the occurrences taking place.I disliked the romance, and there is a lot of romance. I found it very teenage 'OMG I AM SOOOOOO IN LOVE WITH YOU!' And it is supposed to be an 18 year old and a 26 year old. The age difference was fine, whatever, but the instant love was weird, I can understand a physical attraction but not an immediate feeling that you know everything about someone and you met them a week ago (I have been with my husband for years and we still learn things about one another...)So that was a downfall for this one.I think Danielle is naive and has an issue with confidence which is kind of annoying but she does gain some composure through the story. Ben is very passionate and romantic and I have a feeling more female readers will swoon over him. Danielle's friends are a little annoying and stereotypical, you have the beautiful oblivious bestie, her arrogant boyfriend, and another guy friend who as we all know is friend-zoned for life. I kept reading to hear more about the other time period and find some resolution as to why Danielle is experiencing this strange ability...sadly no explanation was available in book one...so I am reading on. I will let you know how that goes.
What do You think about As I Close My Eyes (2012)?
A fun read. Looking forward to starting the sequel.
—SKJJFITZ
