Falling Under was the story of Theia and Haden falling together and making choices they never thought they’d have to make. Dreaming Awake deals with the aftermath of those decisions and how it affects all the relationships in the novel.

Theia now has demon blood in her and she’s trying to continue as if she was completely human. She manages to escape from Mara and Under, but that doesn’t mean Mara won’t go after her. As Theia starts to shut people out to protect them, things keep getting worse and worse.

Once again, the relationship between Theia and Haden had me smiling. I may have been a little put off by the insta-love in Falling Under, but in Dreaming Awake there’s enough of a relationship there to make it wonderful to read. The only aspect I didn’t enjoy was Theia’s insistence on breaking up with Haden to protect him. I’m getting a little tired of Young Adult novels using this as a way to separate characters, instead of having them work on the relationship and its problems together.

Theia’s best friends, Donny and Amelia, are still fantastic people in this novel. They don’t let Theia ignore them or push them away. They tackle problems as a group, making sure they use their individual strengths to cover each other’s weaknesses. They’re some of the best written friends I’ve read in Young Adult fiction lately.

Varnie takes on an even more important role in Dreaming Awake and I loved him so much it hurt at times. Gabe is also a little more prevalent in this novel and I enjoyed reading about his and Donny’s relationship and their struggles to be together yet not lose who they were and what they stood for.

Dreaming Awake is a fantastic novel that really delves into the consequences of the characters’ actions in Falling Under. It makes the characters grow up and deal with the future they have written, while still maintaining a sweet, touching quality. Falling Under and Dreaming Awake are a wonderful pair of books that anyone who likes a touch of the supernatural mixed into the romance needs to read.