Into the Dreaming

By: Karen Marie Moning

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

For the first time on audio, here is number one New York Times best-selling author Karen Marie Moning’s novella Into the Dreaming, a tale of Highland fantasy, star-crossed lovers, and the timeless manipulation of the ancient, immortal Unseelie king. This is Moning at her romantic, funniest finest.

Free him from his ice-borne hell....

Stolen from his beloved home in the Highlands of Scotland, imprisoned in the Unseelie king’s dark, frosty kingdom, Aedan MacKinnon endured centuries of torture before becoming the icy, emotionless Vengeance, the dark king’s dispatcher of death and destruction in the mortal realm.

And in his century you both may dwell....

Aspiring romance novelist Jane Sillee has always believed that she was born in the wrong century, but she’s managed to make a decent enough life for herself - if only she could stop having those recurring dreams about a man too perfect to exist.

In the Dreaming you have loved him....

Haunted every night of her life by a devastatingly sexy Highlander who comes to her while she sleeps, Jane tries to write him out of her head and heart. As a child he protected her, as a woman he loves her.

Now in the Waking you must save him....

When an ancient tapestry bearing the likeness of her beloved Highlander arrives on her doorstep, Jane is whisked back in time to fifteenth-century Scotland, to the castle of Dun Haakon on the isle of Skye, where she is given one chance to save her dream lover... or lose him forever to the Unseelie king.

Caught in a deadly game between the light and dark courts of the Fae, Jane must find a way through the ice to the heart of her Highander. But will the love of one mortal woman be enough to defeat such ancient and ruthless immortal enemies?

©2012 Karen Marie Moning (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Ahhh ..... it's short but oh sooooo good!!!

This could be a stand alone listen but, if you haven't already listened to her Highlander series, I would treat yourself and start downloading the entire series today. Anything she writes is an automatic download for me and this series has been just awesome.

Coupled with great time travelling stories, Phil Gigante brings all of Karen's books to life and his Scottish accents are so sexy and spot on (and I'm Scottish), I love his voice, its one of the best on Audible.

Worth the credit? - Hell yes.

The combination of KMM & Phil Gigante is a winner.

I typically don't purchase short stories in audio format because they are simply too short for the money - but since Karen Marie Moning has become an automatic buy for me, I gave this one a try and am glad I did.

First, let me say that Phil Gigante could probabaly read the phone book and I would buy it, so I was predisposed to like the narrator. While this is listed as book 7.5 in the series, you don't need to read all of KMM's earlier Highlander novels to understand or appreciate the plot -- although I highly recommend that you do if you like romance novels. Each book in the HIghlander series adds new people, backstories and plots that ultimately make up the interconnected story lines involving the relationships between KMM's fae and Scottish Highlander characters - both in the past and in the present - most recently revisited in her "Fever" series.

Without giving away what is a fairly traditional plot - SPOILER ALERT - the characters are "introduced" while they are dreaming and when they finally meet Jane has a short period of time to convince the Highland warrior Aedan that they know one another so that his destiny is changed. Not particularly complicated and maybe I liked this short story because I have read/listened to all the Highlander and Fever books, but ultimately I think I enjoyed this because it was a change of pace, short, simple with interesting characters and a great narrator. Not the best book in the series, but good if you buy it understanding that this is a short story with minimal character development and plot.

Short but Needed

This one is really short. Once it starts, mostly predictable. But its a necessary piece to understand all that happens to enable the Fever series to start. Still worth a listen. Phil does a great job..

Short but sweet!

What did you love best about Into the Dreaming?

KMM's writing and Phil Gigante's narration

Who was your favorite character and why?

Aiden or Vengeance, whatever you want to call him

What about Phil Gigante’s performance did you like?

What's NOT to like? His voice is AMAZING ~ he's very smooth and reads exactly as it's written. I hate when narrators emphasize in wrong places, or pause where they shouldn't...he NEVER does that. He's consistent w/ his character voices, and while his women's voices are a little syrupy, lol, I have to remember how deep and amazing his voice is for the males and how hard that is to translate into a female.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did. It was pretty short ~ I'd read it before.

Any additional comments?

Yes ~ this was a cute novella that was part of the beginning of the crossover from KMM's Highlander series to her Fae/Fever series. Anyone who has read on and not the other is missing out, because she most definently sets up for her Fever series in the Highlander books. I gave it a 4 because it was WAY short, and for the $$ thought it was a little steep. It wasn't that I didn't like the writing ~ she's writes amazing books.

In this, Aiden/Vengeance has been locked aways in the Unseelie King's realm for 500 yrs and is allowed out for one month ~ if in that month he finds love and is loved in return, he will be free. He and Jane Sillee have been meeting in the dreaming since she was a child, but he's been frozen for so long he's forgotten everything, so it's Jane's job to remind him.

VERY short story to do that in!

Sweet Dreams.. . . . . . .

Take a writter, a highlander, an evil UnSeelie King and a loving heart, then let Karen Marie Moning mix it all together and weave it into a tale that will grab your attention and keep it from beginning to end. From her mind the Highlander and Fever book series were born. Taking amazing highland romance and leading you into a world of her own creation filled with myth, legend, magic, mystery , treachery and yes, romance, Karen Marie Moning is a master!

NARRATOR: Phil Gigante Was virtually flawless in this performance!

CREDITWORTHY? Definitely yes.

HEAT FACTOR: Just a simmer.

Waste of Money

What did you like best about Into the Dreaming? What did you like least?

I love most of Karen's books, but this was a waste of time and money. It was like she wrote with no storyline, just wanted to put a short book out to make money.

What could Karen Marie Moning have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Written with a plot of some kind.

Would you be willing to try another one of Phil Gigante’s performances?

Yes - I love Phil Gigante's performances.

Do you think Into the Dreaming needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No - there is no storyline!!

Any additional comments?

Waste of time.

Sad to Hear It End

This book closes the series, and I'm sad to say goodbye to the amazing fictional world, rich in history and legend. Readers should read the series in order and not miss a single word. I've said it before but one more time... the voice of the narrator Phil Gigante is the best.

Not one of her best.

Narrator obviously didn't like this story any more than I did. I struggled to finish it.

not great

I love the writing style of Karen Marie moning. This book left me feeling like it was barely told story. there are parts missing the climax was really kind of anti-climactic whatever happened to the king etc this is by far the worst book she written but I forgive it because she's wonderful.

Excited at first but the excitement didn't last

What would have made Into the Dreaming better?

Making it a longer story line. I feel like I wasted money with this book. I should have read the description better but after purchasing it and finding out it was only 15 chapters...it upset me. I expected more.

What was most disappointing about Karen Marie Moning’s story?

The book was more like a short story. I had just finished the Fever series, which I absolutely LOVED and was super disappointed when I was finished with the books. This book just didn't match up to her other highlander books.

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes and he was brilliant in every performance I've listened to. Love his deep voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It was like she wrote it in a rush or like it was one of her 1st books. It left me disappointed.

Any additional comments?

Even though this book didn't satisfy me as much as her other books, I still love the Highlander books and I will continue to read/listen to them.