Sugar & Gold (Dreamcatcher #2) by Emma Scott

🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

Nikolai Alexei Young was born with a special gift…one he’d do anything to lose. The heart and soul of every person he comes into contact with is an open book to his heightened senses. Colorful emotions, whispers of thoughts, the sour tastes of old memories…He feels them all. The sci-fi books would call him an empath. For Nikolai, his ability has made him an exile. He roams the U.S. alone, avoiding the glut of life in big cities, and using his innate talents to win money in underground poker games. Just enough to keep going, one town to the next. He has no hope that his life can be anything else, until he meets her…

At nineteen, Fiona Starling was trapped in an ugly, desperate situation until she freed herself the only way she knew how. Now three years later, living outside Savannah, Georgia, she is rebuilding her life on her own terms; seizing every moment and saving every penny so that she might fulfill her dream of moving to the raw wilderness of Costa Rica. But behind her carefree smile beats the heart of a lonely young woman haunted by her past, until a chance encounter with a tattooed stranger changes everything…

Fiona takes Nikolai under her roof for three sultry nights, waiting out the rain of a summer storm. She grows more and more fascinated by this brooding stranger with whom she shares an intense physical connection—a connection so strong, she wonders if there is something between them beyond lust and passion. Nikolai is shocked to discover that Fiona calms the raging turmoil in his heart. She alone silences the din of other people’s lives, and envelops him in the sweet beauty of her inner self. Every moment he’s with her—every touch of her skin—brings him closer to the peace that’s been eluding him his entire life.

But Fiona harbors secrets that she is too terrified to reveal. After Nikolai confesses his unique ability, she is caught between wanting to believe him and fearing he’ll eventually unearth her own dark past. When the unthinkable happens, Fiona’s plans come crashing down, and Nikolai discovers his hated ability might be the only thing that can save the woman he loves.

*I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

 I remember reading How to Save a Life, the first book in the Dreamcatcher series, and really enjoying it. This book was no different in that I really enjoyed reading it and going along for the journey of Fiona and Nik. I had no doubt that I would enjoy this book. It was different from the first book because Nik has a different gift than Evan and I have to say that I liked Nik's gift better. I found his more relatable because I am very in tune with the emotions of those around me and I understand how it can be exhausting after a while especially in crowded places. My heart broke for him and the challenges that he faced due to his gift. He wasn't accepted by anyone that knew and they saw it as a disorder when in reality it was a was to help others. I think that was why he related to Fiona so well. She came from her own version of hell and knew what it was like to be beaten down emotionally by someone close to her. I found that both of the characters were realistic and down to earth making it easy to want to keep reading about their journey together. 
I also loved that Evan makes an appearance in this one. It was nice to see him again and I loved how the author chose to tastefully put him in the story. He wasn't the focus nor did he take away focus from the story or the main characters. I found the story to be realistic because someone that came from Fiona's situation would have an easy time trusting someone or forming relationships with others. This was how Emma Scott portrayed her and let the story unfold around her in such a way that included this basic belief. She did the same thing with Nik which made for a good flow to the book as well as good characters arcs/development. 
I think that the only things that I didn't really like about the book were how fast a connection was made between the two main characters and the amount of sex that is included in the book. I just didn't feel that there needed to be as much physical intimacy in the book because it made it seem as if it was the focus in their relationship. It was understandable in the beginning because of the circumstances under which they got together but eventually I would have liked to have seen them build more of an emotional connection by having a bit more dialogue. The feelings between the two of them build fairly quickly and it made sense to a point. I understood this choice from the author's point of view because the story may have stalled out rather than having a nice flow if she took too much time building the relationship between the two of them. This is just my personal preference but overall I found the book to be a great continuation of the series.