Review by estherfilbrun - Her Daughter's Dream

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estherfilbrun 's review for:

Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers

4.0

challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

After reading Her Mother’s Hope earlier this year, I knew I wanted to read this one, too—that book just wasn’t quite complete by itself. I was prepared for a gripping, heart-wrenching read, and I got that—plus! Rivers does an incredible job capturing the joys and sorrows of family life, and showing what unresolved unforgiveness and bitterness can do to relationships—especially when we aren’t willing to discuss our grievances with open, receptive spirits. This book is a powerful character study, and that’s quite possibly my favorite element of the book.

Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being a favorite read for me, though. As much as I wanted to love the book (and it ticked all the boxes with a good blend of characters, history, and a fast-paced story), it had far too many mentions of a suggestive nature for me to be comfortable. I do NOT like reading bedroom scenes, and unfortunately, several times the fade to black was not early enough for my comfort. Several of the scenes were integral to the plot, and I understand and agree they had to be there, but other times, mentions were unnecessary to the plot, and that really bothered me.

So while I loved the book, I can’t recommend it. The history was fascinating; I’m not sure I’ve read another book that was so good at showing what the hippy movement was like without being overly graphic about it. Some of the other historical events in the story were also interesting to read about, since they are such recent history, and therefore, unlikely to appear in historical fiction. I enjoyed that aspect of the story. And as I mentioned, the characters are great—dynamic, relatable, flawed human beings. My favorite! But…in the end, this wasn’t the book for me. I do not plan on re-reading it because of some of the content, and that’s disappointing, because otherwise, this would easily have been a 5-star read for me.

Content Warnings