Book Review: As I Close My Eyes by Sarah DiCello

Pages: 278

Genre: New Adult/Fantasy

Pub. Date: June 29, 2012

Source: Author for review

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says "When she looks into her own eyes, she sees a ghost and when she looks into his eyes, she knows she has seen them before ... Danielle Grayson is a beautiful, intelligent young woman in present-day Georgia, but when she closes her eyes, she becomes someone else in a different time, one hundred years earlier in fact. Danielle's other life is as entrancing and romantic as her current one, and the contrast between the lifestyles is intriguing and enlightening, but what starts out as being dreamlike soon becomes real and strangely familiar. Worse, whatever happens to her as Danielle seems to change the past, if it is a true past. And when she finds she is not alone in being able to flip between the two worlds, life, love and death become increasingly disturbing."

Danielle Grayson, or Dani, is your average college student who spends most of her time with her three best friends. One day they are hanging out on a boat waterskiing and Danielle gets into an accident.  She suffers a concussion and from then on, her life is turned upside down.  She has a weird "dream" of some sort about a girl, named Caroline, living in the 1800s in Cape May, New Jersey.  Except these dreams are starting to feel real for Danielle since the people in the dream are referring to her as Caroline..perhaps they are flashbacks?  Danielle spends the weekend away with her best friend and while at dinner, she sees a man who she not only is strangely attracted to, but she feels like she also knows him.  Later she realizes that this guy, Ben, is someone whom she recognizes from her flashbacks.  She makes a point to meet Ben to see why not only is he in her flashbacks, but to understand why she has a strong connection to him. Ben and Dani immediately hit it off and as things continue, Ben vows to help her figure out what these strange, yet captivating flashbacks are all about and what it could mean for both of them.  Sarah DiCello's debut, As I Close My Eyes, is a compelling story that fans of historical fiction, romance, and time travel will really enjoy.

Dani is an interesting character, especially when it came to the flashbacks to Caroline and Cape May.  Although I didn't always agree with her decisions, I found her to be likable nonetheless.  My one irritation was her insta-love with Ben.  Yes, I realize they have a undeniable connection to each other, but their relationship didn't evolve; it immediately went from zero to sixty.  Once I understood the history surrounding their relationship, it all made sense. 

A picture I took at the Cape May Point State Park

I especially liked the plot line surrounding Caroline in As I Close My Eyes.  I loved the time travel aspects of this book, especially since it takes us back to Cape May 1800s.  First of all, I LOVE Cape May and it's one of my favorite shore towns to visit.  I was giddy with excitement when I realized that Caroline was living in Cape May. I love how DiCello incorporated famous landmarks into As I Close My Eyes, such as Congress Hall and Jackson Street.  Cape May is such a fantastic and historic seashore town. It was the perfect location for As I Close My Eyes and I wish more historical reads were set in Cape May.

As I Close My Eyes started off a bit iffy, but as the story progressed, I found myself becoming more and more engrossed.  Thankfully, I have a copy of the sequel As I Wake and after reading the cliffhanger in As I Close My Eyes, I can't wait to find out what happens next.