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Dreamscapes (Whisper of Love)
Imminent Thunder
The secluded old house on the edge of town, shrouded by ancient oaks and Spanish moss, seemed like the perfect place for Honor Nightingale to make a fresh start, to find the peace she had never known. But then the voices came, voices from somewhere beyond the edge of reason, whispering of unspeakable horrors.
One man, and one man alone, believed her nightmare was real—her enigmatic neighbor, Ian McLaren. Strange and compelling, he had clearly seen far too much of the dark side, and it had marked him forever. And yet she found herself hungering for him, even as the voices—and her fragile heart—whispered to her to flee his touch….
One man, and one man alone, believed her nightmare was real—her enigmatic neighbor, Ian McLaren. Strange and compelling, he had clearly seen far too much of the dark side, and it had marked him forever. And yet she found herself hungering for him, even as the voices—and her fragile heart—whispered to her to flee his touch….
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 15, 1993
About the author
Rachel Lee
373 books141 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 30, 2020
One of my all time favorites ... I frequently pull this out to reread ...
spine chilling in places and exquisitely sweet and tender in other's ... amazing story .. stands the test of time ...
spine chilling in places and exquisitely sweet and tender in other's ... amazing story .. stands the test of time ...
June 30, 2013
I have to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book. The summary and the reviews that I read all made it sound interesting, so I knew that the love story would be good, but I wasn't prepared for just how great a ghost story this book presents. All too often, when writers attempt to tell tales of haunted houses, they fall back on familiar, the-gorier-the-better tropes, but happily, that is not the case here. One of the more significant aspects of the ghost story is how the house makes Honor and Ian feel, and that is written in such vivid detail that the readers are actually able to experience most of those chills, goosebumps, and intense feelings of danger and foreboding for themselves. The ghost itself is a particularly nasty piece of work, and quite a powerful one, as well, as it is able to manipulate not only people's actions but also their senses. None of this is over-the-top or even requires all that much of a suspension of disbelief - it all feels as though it could realistically happen, which makes it all the more frightening, and is a true testament to the writing's effectiveness.
As for the love story, Ian is an incredible character; hardened by unimaginable horrors in his childhood and years of military service, he is utterly self-contained and understandably wary when it comes to allowing anyone to get close to him; in fact, he has never allowed that to happen because of the pain and rejection he has endured since he was a small boy. All of this doesn't make him cold and cruel, though; in fact, given all that he has gone through, it is a wonder how selfless and honorable he is. He is a true alpha male, but not overbearingly so, since the reader is privy to his motivations and feelings at every turn.
Honor, in my view, isn't not quite as three dimensional a character, but she is still interesting in her own right, given her own past full of pain and rejection, and the reserves of strength she must tap into frequently as she deals with more than her fair share of terror and danger.
The romance between these characters is not one in which it is immediately overpowering lust-at-first-sight (though some of that does come into play). Instead, it is the product of an organic journey in which they come to know and truly understand one another, and in the process, help one another overcome the immense pain in their pasts. Their love story is by turns heart-wrenching and passionate, and always powerful and realistic (even though the time-frame in which all of this occurs is a matter of days).
In all honesty, I went into this book thinking it would be a good read, but I was not expecting it to be as great and utterly absorbing as it was. This is most definitely a title I would recommend to anyone interested in a powerful love story that tugs at the heart strings, with the added bonus of a truly frightening ghost story.
As for the love story, Ian is an incredible character; hardened by unimaginable horrors in his childhood and years of military service, he is utterly self-contained and understandably wary when it comes to allowing anyone to get close to him; in fact, he has never allowed that to happen because of the pain and rejection he has endured since he was a small boy. All of this doesn't make him cold and cruel, though; in fact, given all that he has gone through, it is a wonder how selfless and honorable he is. He is a true alpha male, but not overbearingly so, since the reader is privy to his motivations and feelings at every turn.
Honor, in my view, isn't not quite as three dimensional a character, but she is still interesting in her own right, given her own past full of pain and rejection, and the reserves of strength she must tap into frequently as she deals with more than her fair share of terror and danger.
The romance between these characters is not one in which it is immediately overpowering lust-at-first-sight (though some of that does come into play). Instead, it is the product of an organic journey in which they come to know and truly understand one another, and in the process, help one another overcome the immense pain in their pasts. Their love story is by turns heart-wrenching and passionate, and always powerful and realistic (even though the time-frame in which all of this occurs is a matter of days).
In all honesty, I went into this book thinking it would be a good read, but I was not expecting it to be as great and utterly absorbing as it was. This is most definitely a title I would recommend to anyone interested in a powerful love story that tugs at the heart strings, with the added bonus of a truly frightening ghost story.
May 6, 2018
I enjoyed this creepy, romantic story. Honor is an ER nurse with a haunted house and Ian the older, tortured hero, next door neighbor who helps her with the evil in her home. (The synopsis is for a different book.) From the early 90s.
A great paranormal intrigue and satisfying romance. And available on kindle.
I read at the recommendation of author Julie Miller.
A great paranormal intrigue and satisfying romance. And available on kindle.
I read at the recommendation of author Julie Miller.
May 11, 2025
3.75 rounded up. Seriously creepy story with two emotionally damaged MCs finally learning to open up. It was written in the early 90s, so some elements feel dated but it holds up pretty well overall.
CW for a potentially homophobic backstory.
CW for a potentially homophobic backstory.
January 17, 2020
Super cool that I lived right where this takes place. Want to contact the author about that!! Aged well. Ghost story, psychic abilities (that was an odd twist, that the story could have done without). Military romance. PTSD issues and awareness was done really well, touched on and addressed without taking over the ghost or love stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2017
Some editions of this book have a different synopsis with some woman named Brenna but my copy was about an Ian and Honor (and thunder played a big part of the story so I really don't know where the mix up is)
Okay, so both the writing and the plot was a little repetitive (I swear some sentences were copied and pasted at times...)
The plot is pretty much:
1- Dangerous encounter with the supernatural at Honor's house
2 - Ian takes her away to a motel/army base/his house/beach/pub to keep her away from the danger
3- They have sex
4 - Ian tells Honor to stay at motel/army base/his house/beach/pub while he goes back to her house to fight supernatural entity on his own
5 - Honor puts her foot down until he takes her back to her house so they can fight supernatural entity together
Repeat.
Still, I'm a big fan of the Experiment in Terror series as well as Simone St. James' novels and have been looking for other "horror-romance" books. Imminent Thunder manages to scratch that itch so I didn't mind it at all.
Okay, so both the writing and the plot was a little repetitive (I swear some sentences were copied and pasted at times...)
The plot is pretty much:
1- Dangerous encounter with the supernatural at Honor's house
2 - Ian takes her away to a motel/army base/his house/beach/pub to keep her away from the danger
3- They have sex
4 - Ian tells Honor to stay at motel/army base/his house/beach/pub while he goes back to her house to fight supernatural entity on his own
5 - Honor puts her foot down until he takes her back to her house so they can fight supernatural entity together
Repeat.
Still, I'm a big fan of the Experiment in Terror series as well as Simone St. James' novels and have been looking for other "horror-romance" books. Imminent Thunder manages to scratch that itch so I didn't mind it at all.
November 11, 2011
Imminent Thunder gets 4.3 stars. I really enjoyed the opening dialogue between Honor and Ian. This book had a great storyline in dealing with people who had extra sensory issues and a pissed off Ghost who was manifesting with intent to kill. Ian is a retired Army Ranger and I REALLY loved the amount of work that went into his character. He's also a telepath and can sense spirits or entities which are not human. A large chunk of the book covers Ian trying to deal with people shunning him his entire life because of his abilities. Honor is a nurse and she's a definite healer, both in her personality and her profession. She has her own issues to deal with and throughout the novel both she and Ian come to a great acceptance of themselves. I honestly thought the abilities of the Ghost were a bit over the top, but taking into account the activities the spirit engaged in while living, and that the "Possession" occurred with a blood relative, it is a bit easier to swallow. Great read overall!
March 22, 2013
At first, I thought this was going to be a run-of-the-mill romance where the girl is the one with the unusual gifts and that she needed rescuing, but I was only half right.
The girl still needs rescuing, but so does Ian. He is a loner and retired military. He is the one with the gift and the one with the deadly secret that threatens Honor.
I loved Ian's character. He was a fascinating read because he was damaged psychologically since he was a kid. Not that Honor didn't have her baggage, but Ian just drew me to root for him.
The girl still needs rescuing, but so does Ian. He is a loner and retired military. He is the one with the gift and the one with the deadly secret that threatens Honor.
I loved Ian's character. He was a fascinating read because he was damaged psychologically since he was a kid. Not that Honor didn't have her baggage, but Ian just drew me to root for him.
June 15, 2011
Probably my favorite romantic suspense novel ever--ST or series length. It appealed to me on so many different levels. Loved the hero, Ian. I could be that heroine--she was real and vulnerable and smart. Loved the mystery, action, danger, as well. Ending was so satisfying. Can't say enough good stuff. I re-read it often.
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August 7, 2011A mind reader and a nurse dealing with a nasty, haunted house. A fun, creepy read!
May 7, 2025
I first read this in 1993 and loved it. It's as much a fantasy as a romance.
Edit May 2025: Romantasy before it was cool.
Edit May 2025: Romantasy before it was cool.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews