The Dream Daughter
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Published: October 2, 2018
Audio Download
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 3-11, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back.
Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby’s heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline’s part.
And all for the love of her unborn child.
A rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother’s quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.
Jessica’s Review:
I can now say this: The Dream Daughter is my favorite book EVER! Whenever I am asked about my favorite book, I can’t give an answer other than mentioning the book that got me reading again so long ago. The Dream Daughter has taken its place and is perfection for me! This was the first book by Chamberlain I have read and it will not be my last.
The advice I can offer up to you is this: Read the book description, but other than that go into this book knowing nothing. After finishing it, even reviews give away the angle this novel goes, which I will NOT do. Due to the angle the novel moves, this one is different from other Diane Chamberlain books. All I will say is that there is a sci-fi angle. I listened to the audiobook version and I was skeptical about the novel when it got to the point where you realize the direction the novel was going, but then you are taken for a roller coaster of a ride! In fact I am still thinking about the novel a few days after finishing it! My mind was truly blown in a very good way!
Though a few parts were predictable for me, I still loved every bit of The Dream Daughter. I did not know how it was ultimately going to end and then we have that last line: SO powerful! I am not a mother, but this is a novel for mothers: it shows the unconditional love that a mother has and that Caroline (Carly) will do whatever it takes to save her child.
The narrator, Susan Bennett, captured Carly’s voice perfectly. She conveyed all the emotions needed.
Again, I can say that this is my favorite book ever, so needless to say it will be my number one read of 2019. Thank you so much to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me a copy to review.
The Dream Daughter is very highly recommended!
Sunday Series Review: When Tomorrow Calls Boxset by JT Lawrence
Today the Sunday Series Review is back and today Kim reviews the When Tomorrow Calls boxset on Audible by JT Lawrence. We originally meant for this to be a Double Review, but I have not listened to it and I did not want Kim’s review to wait anymore since we were sent this copy by the author herself. Once I listen to the books, I will share the reviews with you! (Mine may be individual reviews.)
Books in the Series:
Why You Were Taken
How We Found You
What Have We Done
Why You Were Taken
Published: February 23, 2017
408 Pages
Imagine discovering your murdered parents were really your abductors. Then you find out you’re on the hit list. In tomorrow’s world, a troubled woman approaches Kirsten with a warning and a wafer key and is later found dead. Was she just another victim of the Suicide Contagion, or is there something more sinister at play? The key leads Kirsten on a chase to the Doomsday Seed Vault and a hit list of seven people … and her barcode is on it.
How We Found You
Published: May 18, 2017
489 Pages
Would you sacrifice your son to save your daughter? There’s something different about Kate’s four-year-old son. He wasn’t created the old-fashioned way. Now a violent cult wants him dead and Kate will do anything to protect him – until they take her daughter. Who will she choose to live, and who will she have to sacrifice?
What Have We Done
Published: October 23, 2017
550 Pages
In tomorrow’s world where the edges blur between addictive virtual reality and real life, would you hurt your daughter if it was the only way to set her free?
When gaming junkie Silver doesn’t make it home on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Kate and Keke go out to find her. It’s a treacherous journey navigating a city in the midst of a flash civil war. Shrouded in electrosmog and panic, it’s been taken over by vigilante bot hunters as a violent AI uprising puts everyone Kate loves in danger, especially Mally and his anthrobot girlfriend.
Suicide Agent Zack’s in trouble. After a charade of a trial he’s sentenced to hard labour at SkyRest, the most controversial penal labour colony in the country. He’s shocked by what he finds there, deep underground, but the more he resists it, the more they brainbleach him into submission. If he doesn’t find his way, he’ll never be able to tell Kate what he needs to tell her. Which is a problem, because it’s the whole reason he exists.
With the Doomsday Prophecy looming large, Kate discovers there are forces at play she’d never guess at, and much more at stake than just her or her children’s lives. What she’ll need to do to keep everyone safe will stretch her beyond every hard limit.
Will Kate play the game?
Cyberpunk meets the robopocalypse on the edge of litRPG in this dark dystopian thriller. Jack in and get ready for a headsplosion with this third book in the riveting series When Tomorrow Calls.
Ready? Your next addiction starts now.
Kim’s Rating of the Series: 4 Stars
Kim’s Review of the Series:
I received this series for free on Audible in exchange for an honest review. I listened to all three books. I really enjoyed the first book. It’s unique and I liked the narrator a lot. I fell in love with Seth very quickly and although Kirsten wasn’t my favorite character, I cared about what happened to her. Keke was easily one of the best characters in the series. The futuristic world of Johannesburg with all the cool tech was well developed and I wouldn’t mind visiting someday! The ending came out of nowhere and when I finished, I couldn’t wait to move on to the next book.
Book two wasn’t as good as the first, mainly because of Kirsten, now called Kate. She was whiny through the whole book! Seth and Keke were still strong and the story was engaging. I found the religious conspiracy interesting, though not really unique. The ending was strong, but I wasn’t sure what more needed to be said.
Book three is the weakest of the series, and honestly, I don’t think the series needed it. The ending is what really disappointed me. It was weird and completely unconnected to the rest of the series. Overall, I really liked books one and two, and didn’t like book three.
A good series and I think fans of sci-fi and futuristic fiction would enjoy it!
Once you have finished the series…There is more! JT Lawrence has written more:
The Sigma Surrogate (Prequel)
Published: March 16, 2018
193 Pages
Joni is a state surrogate: young, bright, and most importantly: fertile.
… and someone wants her dead.
Keke is a smart, sexy biker; a renegade with a hunger for justice. She won’t stop until she exposes the truth, even it means putting her life in danger. Will Keke’s reckless ambition help the state surrogates, or harm them?
Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Never Let Me Go and Mr Robot.
Keke’s story is waiting for you.
The Stepford Florist (short novel)
Published: October 21, 2017
78 Pages
Jasmine is arrested for performing a bootleg vampire facelift in her modded-out steampunk caravan.
She’s thrilled, because it’s worked out exactly as she planned.
Jasmine has mastered moonlighting. She’s a steampunk inventor, a cosmetician, and a gene-hacking florist. And then there’s her real job: exposing evil corps and dodgy clinics.
When Jasmine, the head of Alba—an underground biopunk organisation—is tipped off that something morally dubious is happening at the city’s most luxurious high-tech spa, she takes it upon herself to investigate, and discovers a whole lot more than she bargained for.
(Warning: Contains colorful language and sex.)
This short novel is set in the near-future ‘When Tomorrow Calls’ world, and introduces Jasmine, Seth and Keke, just before we meet Kirsten, the kick-ass main character in ‘Why You Were Taken’.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US:
Why You Were Taken
How We Found You
What Have We Done
Free on Kindle:
The Sigma Surrogate (Prequel)
The Stepford Florist (short novel)
Amazon UK:
Why You Were Taken
How We Found You
What Have We Done
Free on Kindle:
The Sigma Surrogate (Prequel)
The Stepford Florist (short novel)
A Face Like Glass
Author: Frances Hardinge
Published: May 10, 2012
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
In Caverna, lies are an art — and everyone’s an artist…
In the underground city of Caverna the world’s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare. They create wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned. Only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear — at a price.
Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell’s emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed…
Kim’s Review:
I have had this book on my shelf for a while. I bought it on BookOutlet for a great price and the synopsis sounded really good! But, y’all know I’m a pretty ADD reader and I got distracted so I only just now picked it up and read it. And I wish I could say that I loved it . . . and I did strongly like the last half, but that’s about it. It was just really slow in the beginning.
Thankfully, the mystery of Neverfell’s identity was firmly established from the beginning and it was that that kept me reading. What I thought would fascinate me most, a group of people who have no facial expressions and must be taught expressions only by facesmiths, actually got really old, really fast. For some reason, it just didn’t capture my imagination like I thought it was going to.
Once Neverfell got involved in the politics and elite of Caverna, things started to finally get interesting. I liked how little mysteries kept creeping in to try to distract from the main story and throw you off. I found the Grand Steward to be the most fascinating character of all! Because he has lived so long, he has trained his body to sleep only one half at a time . . . as in his left side is awake while his right side sleeps. And both sides have different personalities!! I will admit that he saved the story for me. Once the Grand Steward entered, I was good to finish the book. Had it been half the length it was, I think I would have liked it a lot better. Overall, I would say that this book is worth reading once, but I’ll probably never come back to it. It’s also safe for younger teens, at least the detail-oriented ones! I can’t say that I would recommend this to all teens, but you could definitely do a lot worse!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
