Parallel by Elle O’Roark

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She first met him in a dream. And now, weeks before she marries someone else, he’s appeared in real life.
**
I’ve spent my entire life hiding what I can do. The things I know. Until the day Nick Reilly walks into my hospital room.

Nick—the man I’ve been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. I know everything about him, as if we spent an entire lifetime together, and I know I loved him in a way I’ve never loved anyone else…including my fiancé.

Even stranger? Nick’s been dreaming about me too.

Working with him to unravel the puzzle might save me, but the attraction between us could destroy us both. Just like it did before.

Parallel

The Strange Pull of Parallel Lives

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: ❤️💙💚💛
Spice: 🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋😉😎😛
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

Character Backgrounds and Plot Summary

Quinn’s life takes a sharp turn after a head injury leaves her waking up in a state of confusion. She recognizes almost nothing around her. Her fiancé Jeff feels like a stranger, and even her mother seems unfamiliar. Instead of reaching for the people who are actually in her life, Quinn keeps asking for Nick, a man she insists matters deeply to her even though she has no memory of meeting him. Her mother reveals that Quinn used to mention Nick when she was a child, which only adds another layer of mystery.

Jeff becomes an important part of the emotional tension because he is not portrayed as a villain or a disposable boyfriend. He genuinely cares for Quinn and is trying to hold together the relationship they built, which makes Quinn’s growing emotional distance difficult to watch. Rather than being an obstacle simply inserted for romantic drama, Jeff represents the life Quinn thought she wanted.

Nick has his own unsettling experiences. He is in a relationship as well, yet he repeatedly dreams about Quinn. These dreams are not random fragments. They feel vivid and complete, almost like memories from another life. In these dreams he experiences a level of happiness and emotional fulfillment that makes his actual life feel muted by comparison. As Quinn and Nick eventually connect in reality, both of them begin questioning whether their dreams are just dreams or something much bigger.

The story slowly reveals its central concept through strange coincidences, emotional recognition, and moments where Quinn and Nick feel they already know each other. Rather than racing through answers, the book builds tension around whether fate, alternate realities, or something else entirely is pulling these two together.

Highlights and Limitations

The strongest part of Parallel is the way Elle O’Roark builds emotional intrigue alongside the mystery. The concept of dreaming another life could easily become confusing, but the story grounds itself through Quinn and Nick’s emotional reactions. When Nick realizes his dreams feel more meaningful than his actual existence, it creates a surprisingly sad undercurrent. He is not simply attracted to Quinn. He feels as if he is grieving something he cannot explain.

Quinn’s situation is also compelling because of the conflict it creates with Jeff. There are several scenes where she tries to reconnect with the life she had before her injury but feels detached from it. That emotional disconnect creates tension without needing dramatic arguments or exaggerated misunderstandings.

The dream sequences are another highlight because they feel substantial rather than decorative. They serve as puzzle pieces that slowly reveal information instead of interrupting the narrative. There were some big surprises in this story, it went to places I would center guess. Also, Quinn’s dreams of another life with Nick changed to multiple other lives with him. They were also other lives within this life. The main one was kind of like an alternate life with him if she would have taken a different direction in her life. If her dad had never gotten sick, and she didn’t quit college to help out at home, she would have gone to London and would have lived that life with him. The other one was that she grew up knowing him and hanging out with him and his twin brother.

The biggest limitation is pacing during the middle portion of the book. The mystery unfolds very gradually, and there are moments where Quinn and Nick spend a lot of time questioning what is happening without receiving many new answers. Readers who prefer immediate plot progression may occasionally feel impatient. Some of the repeated uncertainty also slows momentum.

Narration

Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke work well together in this dual narration format. Brentmoor captures Quinn’s confusion and vulnerability effectively, especially during scenes immediately following the accident. She gives Quinn a believable sense of frustration as she struggles to understand why everyone around her feels unfamiliar.

Jason Clarke handles Nick’s internal conflict particularly well. His voice conveys the strange sadness and restlessness Nick experiences because of his dreams. The emotional contrast between his ordinary life and the happiness he feels in these dream experiences comes through clearly.

Both narrators succeed at making the romantic and emotional elements feel natural rather than overly dramatic. They also help distinguish the shifting emotional states as the story moves between uncertainty, curiosity, and growing connection.

Final Opinion

Parallel combines romance, mystery, and speculative elements in a way that feels more emotionally driven than concept driven. The strongest aspect is not simply the idea of alternate lives or strange dreams. It is the way Quinn and Nick react to feeling connected to someone they should not know. Jeff’s role also adds complexity because the story avoids making the relationship choices feel simple.

Readers looking for a fast-paced mystery may wish the answers arrived sooner, but those who enjoy emotional tension and slowly unfolding questions will likely find themselves pulled in. The audiobook especially benefits from strong narration that captures both the uncertainty and the emotional weight behind the story’s unusual premise. It also ends in a way that makes continuing the series very tempting.

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