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A review by ufcasey
Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4.0
4.5 stars
Some romance books are great to read but usually they don’t make much of an emotional impact because they are just so far removed from your own life experiences. So maybe it's just because I also have a 5 year-old son like the heroine, but this book absolutely struck a chord with me (even though I don't have anything else in common with the heroine).
This is a really heartrending story about a single mother named Rachel who is more than down on her luck and is ostracized by the entire community for something she can reasonably be blamed for by others. It's also about Gabe’s struggles with an unimaginable loss in his past and his attempts to bury his pain through distraction and anger. When these two characters meet for the first time it’s hard to imagine making a worse first impression. Seeing their distaste and distrust slowly transform into desire and devotion is riveting. There’s also a surprising side-plot between two secondary characters, Gabe’s brother Ethan and Ethan’s longtime friend Kristy. All of these characters are so painfully real and their struggles are hard to witness at times because they’re so ugly, but it absolutely makes for a captivating story.
In case it interests you or bothers you, I feel the need to note that there are some Christian undertones to the book, though nothing too preachy, however this is definitely not a ‘clean’ romance. Oh, and this is part of a series, but it reads as a standalone.
Some romance books are great to read but usually they don’t make much of an emotional impact because they are just so far removed from your own life experiences. So maybe it's just because I also have a 5 year-old son like the heroine, but this book absolutely struck a chord with me (even though I don't have anything else in common with the heroine).
This is a really heartrending story about a single mother named Rachel who is more than down on her luck and is ostracized by the entire community for something she can reasonably be blamed for by others. It's also about Gabe’s struggles with an unimaginable loss in his past and his attempts to bury his pain through distraction and anger. When these two characters meet for the first time it’s hard to imagine making a worse first impression. Seeing their distaste and distrust slowly transform into desire and devotion is riveting. There’s also a surprising side-plot between two secondary characters, Gabe’s brother Ethan and Ethan’s longtime friend Kristy. All of these characters are so painfully real and their struggles are hard to witness at times because they’re so ugly, but it absolutely makes for a captivating story.
In case it interests you or bothers you, I feel the need to note that there are some Christian undertones to the book, though nothing too preachy, however this is definitely not a ‘clean’ romance. Oh, and this is part of a series, but it reads as a standalone.