Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross: FAQ & Character Overview (2024)

Dreams lie beneath is a Young Adult fantasy novel by bestselling author Rebecca Ross. This book was first published in 2021.

In this article, you will find some frequently asked questions about this book. I have tried to answer them as best and honestly as possible.

I hope you enjoy reading these, and I hope this post answers some of the questions you may have about this book!

Since I will be answering questions about the book and its story, this article will contain spoilers.

Summary of Dreams Lie Beneath

Below is the official summary from the book:

A curse plagues the realm of Azenor. During each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams.

Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town. But when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge. But as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn.

Is this novel a standalone or part of a duology or series?

It appears that it is a standalone. Rebecca Ross didn’t imply that there will be any more books in a series. Also, the ending is pretty closed with not much room left for a new story.

Dreams Lie Beneath Tropes

There are several tropes in this book. Most are recurring in a lot of young adult fantasy books. Here you can find a list of some of the tropes in this book:

• Enemies to lovers;
• Slow burn romance;
• Good vs Evil;
• Hidden identity

What genre is this book?

Dreams lie beneath is a Young Adult (YA) fantasy novel.

Does Dreams Lie Beneath have romance?

This book does not start out as a romantic story. But during the story, when Clementine and Phelan get to know each other better, it changes. Clementine is focused on her mission, but starts to have feelings for Phelan.

At some point during the story, you really hope they will get together. But the true romance doesn’t happen till the last few chapters.

Is this novel enemies to lovers?

Yes, this book absolutely is an enemies-to-lovers story. Clementine takes on her disguise to fool Phelan and try to take back her job. But when she gets to know Phelan better, she realizes he isn’t what she thought him to be. He is influenced by his mother and brother. And he cares more about others than she knew at first.

Phelan does not know who she really is at first, but he starts having feelings for her. And even after finding out that she has been fooling him all this time, his feelings do not change.

Clementine also starts to get feelings for him. She does not want to, because he is her enemy. But she can’t help how she feels about him.

Is Dreams Lie Beneath spicy?

No, this book is not spicy. It is a true young adult book with minimum hints towards anything sexual. There is attraction between Clementine and Phelan. But there is no real action taken toward this attraction.

Who dies in this book?

At one point, Lady Vesper invites a bunch of people to one of her dinners. She then has a few of the members killed in a gruesome way including the Duke and Clementine’s father.

But this is not to really kill them. She does this to show and confirm who these people really are. Soon after killing them, they all start to breathe again showing them to be the original townspeople from the mountains who were cursed when their leader was killed.

When and where does Dreams Lie Beneath take place?

The entire story takes place in a fantasy world. It has a lot of similarities with old London. But it doesn’t directly parallel anything in our world.

The when is a bit harder. Because it isn’t the real world, it’s difficult to put a time period to the story. I would say it is most similar to the late 18^th century.

Does Dreams lie beneath have LGBTQ+ characters

There is no specific LGBTQ+ storyline. There are 2 girls who seem to be in a relationship together. But it isn’t specified in as many words or more detailed descriptions of romance.

Dreams lie beneath characters

There are many characters in this book that all have their own story. And all of them are important for the entire storyline. So I will discuss a few of them here.

Clementine

Clementine is an apprentice for her father. He is a warden and is teaching her how to be one as well.

When her father is challenged by Lennox and Phelan, Clementine is there to help him. But she fails, and Lennox takes over the role of warden.

Clementine wants revenge, and to get back the role as warden for her father. So she takes on a magic disguise. Disguised as Anna, she becomes Phelan’s partner. This way she tries to find out his and his brothers’ secrets.

But while doing this, she finds out so much more about Phelan, but also about her father and other people from the town.

Phelan

Phelan is a warden. He is a magician that can wield magic. It is his job to register all the nightmares in his town. Once a month he then must fight whatever nightmares come to life.

He wants a partner, someone to help him fight the nightmares. Clementine gets this job while posing as Anna. She does not look anything like herself anymore. But Phelan does realize who she is in the end.

Lennox

Lennox is Phelan’s older brother. He takes over the town where Clementine and her father were Wardens. It is his idea to do this, and he forces Phelan to help him do this.

The Duke

The man that calls himself the Duke isn’t a real Duke. But it takes Clementine some time to figure out who he really is.

The Duke has taken an interest in Phelan claiming he would like to make him his heir and paying for his studies. Phelan just doesn’t know why the Duke would do this for him.

Everything becomes clearer once Phelan and Clementine find out the Duke is one of the cursed from the mountains.

Dreams Lie Beneath Ending Explained

A group of people returns to the mountains to try and break the curse. Among this group are the original people from the mountains, along with Clementine, Phelan, and Lennox.

Each night, a nightmare comes to life. It is a nightmare from one of the people from the group staying inside the castle. They won’t know what nightmare will come and have to be prepared.

The one who is able to defeat the nightmare and find the way out will be the new ruler in the mountains. But they will need to take their place on the throne first to deal the deal.

Clementine is able to defeat the nightmare, but her uncle dies trying to protect her. Even though she succeeded with the nightmare, Clementine is badly hurt. She won’t be able to make it to the throne, and maybe not even survive the attack.

Phelan takes Clementine in his arms and sits down on the throne while he is holding her. Because they did it all together, they both become the new rulers.

Clementine needs time to recover, but once she does, she is able to take on her new role and investigate her true feelings for Phelan.

Conclusion

Dreams Lie Beneath is a beautiful and original story. The magic systems and world-building are interesting and original. Rebecca Ross knows how to keep you interested from start to finish and make you fall in love with her wonderful characters.

I hope I have answered some of the questions you may have had about this book! And if you have more questions that I didn’t answer, feel free to let me know in the comments below!