Scan barcode
ella_s93's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
toni_lee's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! I admit it took me a little bit to adjust to the hero's name, Clary, I don't know why, but it really through me off. Seemed like a name more for the annoying guy than the hero, but as a character I loved him. I liked getting to see our heroine come into her own and realize the harsh world outside of the ton. The ending was super sweet!!!
melissadeemcdaniel's review
4.0
Bronwen Evans is back on form with the latest in the Disgraced Lords series. I really think this is best read after the previous books in the series in order to fully understand the “orphans” plot line. But as a stand-alone novel, “Dream” is a steamy hot read with a tortured hero and a steadfast, but not wimpy heroine.
pgchuis's review
3.0
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
2.5* rounded up.
I requested this book in part because I loved the Welshness of the author’s name, although I see from her Goodreads bio that in fact she lives in New Zealand. This is the eighth novel in a series, which is apparent from the number of happily married siblings milling around. Apart from mysterious references to a past family “enemy” called Victoria, I thought the novel stood pretty well on its own.
The writing is very modern; all the characters use slang and language we use today and don’t sound at all as if they are living in 1820. Much of the behaviour is also rather unlikely for the period, but if you can put all that to one side it’s a fairly enjoyable story.
Naïve Helen is attracted to her sister’s secretary (yes, her sister has a secretary) Clarence and jumps at the chance to go with him to inspect an orphanage her sister has just added to her orphanage portfolio. Clarence is reluctant to take her because he thinks she is “perfection” and also very naïve about how the world really works and how the poor in London get by (she is). Much drama follows; Helen reveals herself to be open-minded and willing to learn, but her foolishness (“let me come with you, messenger boy, through a dangerous part of London at night to help pass a warning on to Clarence”) leads to Clarence being wounded.
There is a certain amount of repetition and much harping on the fact that Clarence’s past means he isn’t good enough for Helen. Clarence does indeed have a very dark and painful past (he is surprisingly well-adjusted, all things considered), but he spends most of the book intending to tell Helen about it and not quite bringing himself to do so. Then after he finally does tell her, it emerges that she didn’t really understand, a moment I found amusing, although I don’t think I was supposed to – SPOILER – what work did she imagine he did at the brothel that wasn’t as a houseboy or servant?
The good ended happily and the bad unhappily and Clarence even got a title, which seemed slightly to undermine Helen’s assertion that he was good enough for her just as he was, but whatever…
2.5* rounded up.
I requested this book in part because I loved the Welshness of the author’s name, although I see from her Goodreads bio that in fact she lives in New Zealand. This is the eighth novel in a series, which is apparent from the number of happily married siblings milling around. Apart from mysterious references to a past family “enemy” called Victoria, I thought the novel stood pretty well on its own.
The writing is very modern; all the characters use slang and language we use today and don’t sound at all as if they are living in 1820. Much of the behaviour is also rather unlikely for the period, but if you can put all that to one side it’s a fairly enjoyable story.
Naïve Helen is attracted to her sister’s secretary (yes, her sister has a secretary) Clarence and jumps at the chance to go with him to inspect an orphanage her sister has just added to her orphanage portfolio. Clarence is reluctant to take her because he thinks she is “perfection” and also very naïve about how the world really works and how the poor in London get by (she is). Much drama follows; Helen reveals herself to be open-minded and willing to learn, but her foolishness (“let me come with you, messenger boy, through a dangerous part of London at night to help pass a warning on to Clarence”) leads to Clarence being wounded.
There is a certain amount of repetition and much harping on the fact that Clarence’s past means he isn’t good enough for Helen. Clarence does indeed have a very dark and painful past (he is surprisingly well-adjusted, all things considered), but he spends most of the book intending to tell Helen about it and not quite bringing himself to do so. Then after he finally does tell her, it emerges that she didn’t really understand, a moment I found amusing, although I don’t think I was supposed to – SPOILER – what work did she imagine he did at the brothel that wasn’t as a houseboy or servant?
The good ended happily and the bad unhappily and Clarence even got a title, which seemed slightly to undermine Helen’s assertion that he was good enough for her just as he was, but whatever…
chymerra's review
4.0
When I saw the cover of A Dream of Redemption, I immediately judged the book. Yes, I am guilty of the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I knew that this book was historical romance from the blurb and the fact that I reviewed A Night of Forever. I assumed that it would be one of those books that would be light on plot and heavy on sex. Oh, was I proven wrong. A Dream of Redemption is not only about the power of love but healing after abuse. This was a book that brought tears to my eyes several times and made me laugh out loud.
A Dream of Redemption takes place in Regency England. I have read a lot of books for this period and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, the author knows her stuff. She did her research and I thank her for that. The division between classes was vividly detailed. I thought the whole scene with the Duke and Clary was very telling and true to that era. Broke my heart to read it.
The plot for A Dream of Redemption was not an easy one to read.The book explores child exploitation, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Clary is an ex-child prostitute who overcame his past. He works for Marissa, overseeing orphanages. He is happy in his life and he avoids any type of relationship. He considers himself damaged because of the abuse he experienced as a child. But, Helen (who is Marissa’s sister) makes him feel things that he thought he would never feel. He tries to keep away from Helen but events keep throwing them together. The Duke would never allow his sister-in-law to marry a commoner much less an ex-prostitute. But fate has a funny way of throwing people together. When Helen’s life is threatened by the same people who are kidnapping children from one of her sister’s orphanages, Clary realizes that he keeping his feelings from Helen might be a mistake.
Helen was a woman who knew what she wanted and she wanted Clary. Honestly, the only reason I think she wanted him, to begin with, was because he ignored her. He was something that she needed to figure out. She did try to press Marissa for his information. Marissa told her “Stop asking me. You need to ask him about his past“. That fascination grew into love during the book. I liked that Helen was a woman who knew what she wants and who she didn’t want. I also liked that she was willing to do anything to be with Clary. She didn’t care about class. All she knew is that she loved him and wanted to be with him.
Clary broke my heart. I liked that the author chose to gradually reveal what happened to Clary and his brother. Everything Clary did was for his younger brother. He endured things so his brother would be spared the same fate as him. I wanted to reach through the book and hug young Clary. He couldn’t have any meaningful relations because of what was done to him. He thought that Helen would be disgusted by his past.
The secondary characters were very well written and added depth to this story. I like it when secondary characters are so well written that you start to care (or hate in this case) them. I also liked that these characters did not overwhelm the book. I loved that the secondary characters got what they deserved.
The secondary plotline, with the orphanage, was very well written. I did some research while reading this book and found out that children going missing in this period was very common. Very few people cared about what happened to those children. It was refreshing to see a fictional character go above and beyond what society expected them too.
The romance between Clary and Helen was beautiful to read. It was a push/pull relationship for most of the book. Clary tried to keep Helen at arm’s length and Helen chased Clary. In some books, I would have rolled my eyes and said to myself “Desperate” but not this book.
The sex that Clary and Helen had been hot. Now, I shouldn’t be saying Regency England and hot sex in the same sentence but it was. The author was wise enough to save Helen and Clary’s sexual exploits until the latter half of the book. Loved it!!
The end of the book was great. The author resolved all storylines in ways that made me very happy. I loved the epilogue. Just reading that made me have a huge grin.
Pros of A Dream of Redemption:
A) Not your typical romance
B) Helen’s dedication to help find the missing children
C) Clary
Cons of A Dream of Redemption:
A) Reason why Clary became a child prostitute
B) Lord Fairfax
C) Helen’s upbringing
I would give A Dream of Redemption a rating of Adult. I would recommend that no one under the age of 20 read this book. While there is no language, there is explicit sex scenes and violence. There are also triggers with this book. They are: talk of past sexual abuse, child abuse and child trafficking.
I would recommend A Dream of Redemption to family and friends but I would include a warning about the triggers and sex scenes. This is a book that I would reread.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
A Dream of Redemption takes place in Regency England. I have read a lot of books for this period and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, the author knows her stuff. She did her research and I thank her for that. The division between classes was vividly detailed. I thought the whole scene with the Duke and Clary was very telling and true to that era. Broke my heart to read it.
The plot for A Dream of Redemption was not an easy one to read.The book explores child exploitation, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Clary is an ex-child prostitute who overcame his past. He works for Marissa, overseeing orphanages. He is happy in his life and he avoids any type of relationship. He considers himself damaged because of the abuse he experienced as a child. But, Helen (who is Marissa’s sister) makes him feel things that he thought he would never feel. He tries to keep away from Helen but events keep throwing them together. The Duke would never allow his sister-in-law to marry a commoner much less an ex-prostitute. But fate has a funny way of throwing people together. When Helen’s life is threatened by the same people who are kidnapping children from one of her sister’s orphanages, Clary realizes that he keeping his feelings from Helen might be a mistake.
Helen was a woman who knew what she wanted and she wanted Clary. Honestly, the only reason I think she wanted him, to begin with, was because he ignored her. He was something that she needed to figure out. She did try to press Marissa for his information. Marissa told her “Stop asking me. You need to ask him about his past“. That fascination grew into love during the book. I liked that Helen was a woman who knew what she wants and who she didn’t want. I also liked that she was willing to do anything to be with Clary. She didn’t care about class. All she knew is that she loved him and wanted to be with him.
Clary broke my heart. I liked that the author chose to gradually reveal what happened to Clary and his brother. Everything Clary did was for his younger brother. He endured things so his brother would be spared the same fate as him. I wanted to reach through the book and hug young Clary. He couldn’t have any meaningful relations because of what was done to him. He thought that Helen would be disgusted by his past.
The secondary characters were very well written and added depth to this story. I like it when secondary characters are so well written that you start to care (or hate in this case) them. I also liked that these characters did not overwhelm the book. I loved that the secondary characters got what they deserved.
The secondary plotline, with the orphanage, was very well written. I did some research while reading this book and found out that children going missing in this period was very common. Very few people cared about what happened to those children. It was refreshing to see a fictional character go above and beyond what society expected them too.
The romance between Clary and Helen was beautiful to read. It was a push/pull relationship for most of the book. Clary tried to keep Helen at arm’s length and Helen chased Clary. In some books, I would have rolled my eyes and said to myself “Desperate” but not this book.
The sex that Clary and Helen had been hot. Now, I shouldn’t be saying Regency England and hot sex in the same sentence but it was. The author was wise enough to save Helen and Clary’s sexual exploits until the latter half of the book. Loved it!!
The end of the book was great. The author resolved all storylines in ways that made me very happy. I loved the epilogue. Just reading that made me have a huge grin.
Pros of A Dream of Redemption:
A) Not your typical romance
B) Helen’s dedication to help find the missing children
C) Clary
Cons of A Dream of Redemption:
A) Reason why Clary became a child prostitute
B) Lord Fairfax
C) Helen’s upbringing
I would give A Dream of Redemption a rating of Adult. I would recommend that no one under the age of 20 read this book. While there is no language, there is explicit sex scenes and violence. There are also triggers with this book. They are: talk of past sexual abuse, child abuse and child trafficking.
I would recommend A Dream of Redemption to family and friends but I would include a warning about the triggers and sex scenes. This is a book that I would reread.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
More...