The Dream Daughter

The Dream Daughter masterfully explores the distance between doing nothing and doing something.

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SUMMARY
Carly never got to tell her husband that she was pregnant. He died in an explosion in Vietnam before she could ever get the letter written. Weeks later she finds that her unborn baby has a heart defect and will not likely survive. The doctors tell her there is nothing that can be done to save her unborn daughter. But her brother-in-law, Hunter, thinks that maybe there is something. But that something will shatter every preconceived notion that Carly has ever had. It’s something that will require a kind of strength and courage that she never knew existed. Carly is willing to do anything to save her unborn child.

REVIEW
THE DREAM DAUGHTER is a unique and fascinating trip through time. It’s a must-read, beautiful story of Carly’s quest to give her daughter a future. It’s a book any mother would understand and love, and will find impossible to put down. Carly captured me in her vortex in the prologue when, as a student physical therapy intern, she bravely agrees to work with the most unmotivated and depressed male patient in the hospital ward. It’s a decision that would change her life and make her take a leap of faith.

CHAMBERLAIN meticulously weaves a breathtaking tale not soon forgotten. It’s one of those books that will capture you emotionally and you will not want it to come to an end. The writing is smartly structured and the characters are as real as your own family. Author Diane Chamberlain is a New York Times best-selling author of 26 novels.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published October 2, 2018
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Let me be very honest - I hate books with time travel and I only read this book because I love Diane Chamberlain. I'm so glad I did because she did not disappoint. Her storytelling is beautiful and the story is unique and will keep you turning the pages until the very end, and what a great ending!
I would highly recommend, even if you don't believe in time travel like me, let go of your skepticism and give this a try.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try you really can't like something you thought you would. It's disappointing as you try to figure out just what it was that went wrong. Such is my feeling with the book The Dream Daughter

What I liked about this book.....There is nothing like the love of a mother for a child. We read so often of the ultimate sacrifices that mothers make for their children and in this book, Caroline Sears has been dealt two awful heart breaking occurrences. Her beloved husband has been killed in Vietnam, and the daughter she is pregnant with is diagnosed with a heart defect that will ultimately kill her. It is the 1970s where technology and medicine, in today's world, seems old and so out of date. It is a horrible diagnosis and now Caroline is faced with two tragedies. Her brother in law Hunter, has a solution he believes. Hunter is and has been a mysterious man. He seems to know things, like future song lyrics and is a brilliant physicist. What he suggests to Caroline requires a suppression of all Caroline knows but it may ultimately be a way to save her child. Hunter offers hope, he offers a solution, but it is so bizarre that Caroline wonders if it could be true

What I didn't like.....I have always had trouble with the idea of time travel in novels. From the book The Time Traveler's Wife as well as the Outlander series, I can't seem to be able to wrap my arms around this concept. So part of the problem I had with this book is definitely my aversion to the theme of time travel. In particular in this book, I had difficulty accepting the role some of the characters played. They just didn't reach out and touch me the way I thought they should. I also found quite a few inconsistencies in the story. How a brilliant physicist who ascribed to the theory that one traveling in time should never disturb events and then went ahead and did just that was one thing that stuck in my caw. There were other things that bothered me but then again they might have done so because I was readily looking for flaws.

So, I am going to leave it at that and try to remember that the theme of this book was ultimately what dimmed this book's shine for me. I am sure many will and do love this book. I also know that all books are not for all people.

Thank you to Diane Chamberlain, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

The Dream Daughter is a Dream book. It has everything you love about reading. Great believeable characters that you can cheer for and fall in love with. Storylines that keep your pulse going and make your eyes tear. An amazing ending that perfectly brings the stories together. I have always enjoyed the idea of time travel but Ms Chamberlain came up with so many wonderful twists and turns. I found myself thinking about possibilities for Carly and her dilemma. A perfect book for dreamers.

This is my first book by this author and I was not disappointed. This book was light and flowed back and forth between the different time periods. Having a child actually in the nicu this book hit on feelings of fear with having to put on a brave face and the things and depths a mother would go for their child. Just beautiful. I look forward to reading this authors other books in the future

Caroline “Carly” Sears is pregnant during a time when technological advances in fetal surgery were unheard of. Her unborn baby has a serious heart defect. A defect that could not be treated in 1970, so her doctor suggests terminating the pregnancy as even if she goes full term her baby would not live for long once born. Carly has already been dealing with one devastating death already. She lost her husband, Joe, in the Vietnam War. She can’t go through such heartache again. Caroline’s baby is the only piece she has left of Joe. When her brother-in-law suggests there is a way to get Carly’s baby the help it needs, she will have to suspend belief and take a leap of faith in order to give her baby a fighting chance. There is nothing a mother would not do for her child.

Wow! What a moving and beautiful story. A mother’s love for her child is such an amazing and powerful thing. I have to admit, I did go into this story rather blindly as I did not know that there would be a time traveling aspect to it. Time travel tropes are one of my favorites, so when I noticed where the story was heading I really started to get excited. Carly is skeptical at first when she hears Hunter’s plan to help her unborn baby. But, even if there is a slim chance Hunter is telling the truth imagine what it would mean for her baby. Sometimes you need to take a risk for something good.

Please don’t get hung up on the time traveling aspect of the story because it is so so much more than that. This story is about a mother’s love and the things you would do for your child which any mother can relate to. It is heartbreaking to see Carly going through this ordeal with her baby and knowing there is nothing that can be done in 1970 to save her. The Dream Daughter is so moving and shows real life issues during a time when not much was known about fetal surgery. I could feel the sadness and the hopelessness radiating through the pages as I read Carly’s story. She did not want to believe her daughter has a heart defect and that all of the doctors are wrong. Again, this is an emotional that all mothers would go through if faced with the same situation.

The pacing of the story really builds up to when Carly will be forwarded in time and from there the story takes a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. I was truly amazed how Diane Chamberlain takes a straightforward story and turns it into this masterpiece that touches on loss, family, war, triumph, determination, and a host of other remarkable points that make this story special and truly stand out. It will pull every emotion out of you and have you rooting for Carly in every way.

The Dream Daughter is a gripping story that will pull on your heartstrings. The writing is rich and vivid as you experience everything through Carly’s eyes. I highly recommend you pick up a copy and immerse yourself in this wonderful and remarkable story. This truly is a winner!

I have read several Diane Chamberlain books, and this one was quite different. Carly is a widow, losing her husband in the Vietnam War. After his death Carly finds out she is pregnant and her unborn daughter is sick. In a twist of events, Carly's brother in-law is able to share his time travel expertise and Carly embarks on a journey, doing everything to save her daughter.

A fast read that will leave you heartbroken, hopeful and engaged for the entire book.

On the surface, the premise of this story is intriguing. Spanning both Adult Fiction and Sci-Fi, this story has a lot going for it. Based on a simple question of “what would you do to ensure the safety and health of your child?” Ms. Chamberlain weaves a story of loss and hope that is very moving. However, that is not the whole of the book, and therein lies the issue that I have with the entire second half of the novel. I’ll put the usual acknowledgment here in case people don’t read the rest. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT read further if you do not want major points revealed.

I loved the time travel aspect; I thought it was an interesting twist and added dimension (no pun intended) to what could have been a middle of the road story. However, I had a real problem with Hunter “forgetting” about 9/11. I get that he had time traveled himself, and that Carly was in quite a state and forcing him to hurry. I suppose it is possible that he was distracted enough, and had been in the past long enough to have distanced himself from the 2000s to not make the instant connection. But as with other major world events (Pearl Harbor, Kennedy’s assassination), September 11, 2001 is an event that EVERYone remembers. They remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard about it/saw it. It is seared into people’s memories. So I just found it a bit unbelievable that Hunter would not have realized that faster. In addition, knowing that day was looming as Carly tried to decide what to do distracted me from the story of her child’s health. The dread I felt was uncomfortable, and not pleasant in terms of the story. I also didn’t care for the epilogue; it seemed to gloss over so much of the reality of what occurred. A decent book, and fans of hers will probably love it, but as a new reader, I found this particularly difficult to get over.

Wow, Wow, Wow! What an amazing read.

I received a free e-copy of The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book was addicting. I had a hard time putting it down and I just didn't want it to end. Amazing, Intense and intriguing. This is the first book I have ever read by Diane Chamberlain.
This is an amazing and beautiful story of a mothers absolute lover for her unborn child. What lengths would you got to, as a mother, to save your child. Would you go back in time? Carly is willing to do anything. Her brother-in-law, Hunter comes up with an idea for Carly to go back in time. She does just that, but is that the solution? Be prepared for an adventure full of characters with beautiful and rich details of each one of them will have you feeling like you know them.

This book is like a dream full of adventure and possibilities.

I am a huge fan of Diane Chamberlain and get excited to see new novels from her. While this one wasn't a typical Chamberlain novel, I'd say it was one of her best! This family drama had such believable characters. At first, I thought the time travel aspect might be a bit confusing but she did a fantastic job with the plot.

Spoiler alert: the one piece of the story I did not like was when Carly was sent back to NYC in mid-September 2001, and Hunter "forgot" what was going to happen during that time in our nation's history. This was a bit unbelievable for me but since the whole novel was so good, I was able to overlook this small point.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a fantastic early read!

Thank you St. Martins Press, Netgalley, and SheSpeaks for gifting me copies of this book, in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I rate this book a 4 out of 5 Stars. 

I love Diane Chamberlain's books, I think she is a master of her craft, and I have enjoyed every book that I have read of hers. I have only read one or two other books of this nature, but of all of this, I think this was executed so well. I didn't find myself concerned with the logistics of things, or how unrealistic it was. I sat back, enjoyed the story, and I was rooting for Caroline and her baby. 

This was a beautiful, mind bending, genre bending, heart wrenching book. A few times, I felt like screaming, a few times I felt like crying, but overall, I felt happy. A mother's love is strong, a mother and her child's bond even more so. I know I would go to then ends of the earth for my kids. I think Chamberlain did a fantastic job capturing that. I really am such a fan of hers, and I will read anything that she writes. I already cannot wait for her next one. 

I felt for Caroline, she had so many hard choices to make, it was so much more than the choice of putting her trust in Hunter. She faced so many obstacles, had to choose between her family, and her child, her past and her future. She was such a complex character with a very hard, emotionally wrought life. You couldn't help but want more for her.

Plots revolving around time travel usually make my head spin, but this was an exception. It was clever, yet not too confusing. If you are looking for hard core Sci Fi, this isn’t it, but if you want a well written, engrossing story, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Carly Sears is a pregnant woman in the 1970s who discovers that there is a life threatening problem with her baby’s heart that needs to be fixed before birth. At the time, doctors have no solution for her problem and they try to prepare her for the baby’s death. However, someone tells her a fantastic story that suggests she might be able to save her baby if she travels through time to a place where medical technology has advanced enough to completely repair her baby’s heart.

You’ve heard of mothers who have been separated from their children due to unfortunate circumstances, years later searching for that child. This is the plight of the protagonist. She is searching through time for her daughter, and is forced to make difficult decisions in extraordinary circumstances.

Recommended for those who like well written, imaginative, and engrossing stories.

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Dream Daughter is a very entertaining novel by Diane Chamberlain. The plot centers on Carly Grant, a young woman living in North Carolina in 1965. Carly is training in Physical Therapy when she meets a patient named Hunter. When Carly introduces Hunter to her sister Patti they fall in love and get married. Carly marries her childhood sweetheart Joe and is enjoying life until Joe leaves for Vietnam. As the story unfolds, Hunter reveals shocking news about himself to help Carly in a life saving matter. Although the plot is unbelievable, Chamberlin's writing makes it very enjoyable.

To what lengths would you go to save your daughter? Caroline Sears discovers her unborn daughter has a heart defect, and this sets a course that no one would expect. I literally could not put this book down. Highly inventive and original, this book kept me guessing from beginning to end. And even when I thought I had it figured out, I didn't. I don't want to say to much more about the plot. Go in with as little information as possible, and a free afternoon! Highly recommended!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"If I've learned anything in the last day, though, it was that the love of a mother could make a hero out of an everyday woman."

This book blew my socks off!!! It just grabs a hold of your heart, squeezes, and doesn't let go until the very end. I will admit that I'm not normally one to read books involving time travel. Those books really are not my cup of tea, they tend to be more sci-fi. This book is nothing like that. I kept seeing all these glowing, raving reviews of how incredible this book is so I wanted to give it a try. I am so glad I did. This book is breathtakingly beautiful. I just loved, loved, loved it!!! This was such a unique story that takes you on a rollercoaster of a journey. I was literally holding my breath until the last page. This was my first book by Diane Chamberlain and I'm excited to check out her other work. This book is not just a pleasure to read, it's an amazing experience. You will not be able to put this one down!!!

My thanks to Diane Chamberlain, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I am going to have to recover after this book hangover! What a beautifully crafted novel that kept me guessing throughout and one that I hated to see end.
Diane Chamberlain intertwined time travel into this suspenseful story and it worked so well.
To what length will a mother go to save her unborn child? That's the foundation for all that transpires.
This is the first book that I've read by this author and I can assure you that it won't be the last.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I don't enjoy sci-fi or fantasy and don't really read books in this genre. I was hesitant to read this story by an author whose writing I really like. Time travel? I started this book with low expectations but immediately liked the main characters in the story. Caroline (Carly) is the girl next door, she and I would be friends. She meets and falls in love with Joe as a teenager. So, fast forward some years, Carly and Joe are married and Carly's baby has a heart defect which, in 1970, will certainly be fatal, but, in 2001? Enter Hunter, another extremely likeable character and a chance meeting. I had a tough time putting this book down as you can see from my dirty house, piles of laundry and the circles under my eyes this morning. I loved her descriptions of Summit NJ, a town I'm very familiar with. Diane Chamberlain does not disappoint with her most recent publication, I would totally recommend this one!

4.5 stars

I’m not a huge fan of books about time-travel, as I oftentimes end up feeling lost and confused trying to remember the different timelines and the back-and-forth sequence of events that usually occur with these types of books -- so when I first read the blurb for this book and saw that there would be a time travel element to it, I was a little hesitant. Add to this the fact that I had never read a book by Diane Chamberlain before (though I had heard a lot about her and do have several of her books on my TBR), I really didn’t know what to expect going into this. Now that I finished reading this book, I am tremendously glad that I decided to go forward with it, as I ended up really really enjoying it!

The summary uses the word “genre-spanning” to describe this book and I have to say that is a perfect description, as it truly is impossible to fit this into just one category – the time travel element seems to put it into science fiction but then again, that was only a small portion of the story (think of the time travel piece as a means to an end rather than the main arc of the story); there were also historical fiction elements with references to real historical events and a portion of the story taking place in the 1960s and 70s. Mostly though, this story is about a young mother’s tremendous love for her unborn daughter as well as for her family, which puts her on a path that she never imagined possible – it is also a story about faith, hope, courage, sacrifice, and the lengths a mother would go through to save her own child. In this sense, it would probably more appropriately fit into women’s fiction, but with a lot more depth to the story, plot, and characters.

I’ve heard that Diane Chamberlain is a masterful storyteller and after reading this book, I absolutely agree! The writing was fantastic and the plot was amazingly well-thought out, with enough detail to make the story believable (despite the time travel element) and a surprising amount of twists and turns that kept the story lively and engaging. What I liked most about this book though were the characters – Hunter, Patti, and of course Carly, whom the story mainly revolves around. I love stories with strong female protagonists at their core and Carly absolutely fit the bill – her tremendous strength and courage in the face of the situation she found herself in and the many difficult choices as well as sacrifices she had to make, one after the other, this was a character I not only admired, but also connected with on an emotional level. Carly was such a well-developed character that I often felt I was right there alongside her as she embarked on her journey and as I got to know her throughout the course of the story, she ended up being a character that I didn’t want to let go.

Heartfelt, poignant, and emotional, this is a story that made me shed a tear or two throughout the read, but at the same time, it also made me smile and laugh in a few places. I deliberately went light on the plot with this review, as this is a wonderful story that everyone should experience for themselves, so I didn’t want to spoil anything. This one is highly recommended!

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

This book just works! For the love of her unborn baby, one amazing mom will go to lengths that are fantastic. with sheer faith, she will defy horrific odds to protect her precious child. Emotional and strong, this book is a good one to read.

My copy is an ARC via Net Galley. My review is my own, left of my own free will.

I really loved this book. It's hard to say too much without giving away the plot, but the story is engaging right from the beginning and the writing just flows. It's easy to get caught up in it - I read this book in 2 sittings.

Caroline has just lost her husband in the Vietnam War and discovers that her unborn baby has a fatal heart defect. Her brother-in-law Hunter has a possible solution that will take every bit of her faith to explore. It's a moving story of a mother's love, the lengths that she will go to save her child, and the bonds of family.

There is so much here for discussion, and so many times I asked myself "What would I do?". It's an exciting, imaginative story.