Review of Pleasures of the Night (Dream Guardians #1) by Sylvia Day

Pleasures of the Night is the first book in the Dream Guardians series.

Lyssa Bates encounters a man in her dreams that fulfills every fantasy. And dreaming of him helps her to finally rest peacefully after many years of sleeping and not resting.

The dream man, Captain Aidan Cross who defends Dreamers from Nightmares, cannot get enough of Lyssa. He falls for her even though it's forbidden to become attached to a Dreamer. But he's the only one she'll let into her dreams, keeping all other guardians out. Most Dreamers want a fantasy that guardians provide, but Lyssa wants truth. Only in truth will she let someone in. And Aidan gives her that.

Their passionate time together as Lyssa sleeps shows Aidan that she is in danger, not only from Nightmares but from the Elders of his own world. In order to protect her, he crosses the boundaries of his world to show up in hers.

This was my first Sylvia Day book, and now I understand her success. This was the best erotic novel I've read in a long time.

The fantasy aspect of this novel made the sex fade into the background, even though it was hot and steamy every time. The world-building was excellent and involved a fantasy world of a type I'd never encountered even in all my time reading fantasy novels. The world of dreams isn't something new to dive into in the genre, but this was original and nothing like I'd ever read before. The world-building wasn't flawless, but good enough to have me not question it. But it was the originality that captured me and combining that with the erotic element made it a compulsive page-turner for me.

The complexity of Lyssa the Dreamer as compared to Lyssa awake was another astonishing element to the fantasy. The detrimental effect on her waking hours that her subconscious lock on her dreams held was fascinating. She wasn't as deep of a character as I would have liked, but that complexity of the dream world vs. the real world made up for it.

Aidan the warrior was a very interesting character with a crisis of faith that shook his reaction to Lyssa. His lack of belief in something essential to other Guardians made his character have more depth, and his disconnect with his duties other than going into battle was interesting. It was his reaction to Lyssa that made his character fascinating. For me, Aidan made the novel really come to life.

The descriptions of settings were excellent. I could imagine perfectly what Aidan's world was like along with Lyssa's house and vet clinic. Background characters were interestingly portrayed, especially Lyssa's best friend and receptionist. Her mother was a boisterous, loving woman who I instantly adored.

I enjoyed the dialog. It felt completely natural with only a few dips into cheese. The conversations were compelling and drove the story forward. Sometimes, conversations slow the pace, but in this novel sometimes the conversations were what propelled the story forward.

This book was a pleasure to read from beginning to end, and I did so in a single day. Unfortunately for me, my library doesn't seem to have the second book, and it looks as though the series may be unfinished. However, I got a taste of Sylvia Day and will be going back for seconds.

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