Review: The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain (audio)

Title: The Dream Daughter

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Narrator: Susan Bennett

Published: October 2018, Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press

Length: 13 hours 32 minutes / 384 pages

Source: Audio – Digital audio via Macmillan Audio / Print – ARC Paperback via St. Martin’s Press

Summary: 

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.

My thoughts:  Diane Chamberlain has just recently become an author who has made it to my must-read list. I have read her last few books and have absolutely loved them and while I am not a fan of time travel, I decided to still give this one a chance because it is Diane Chamberlain and I am so glad I did…this is one book you don’t want to miss!

I think what most comes to mind when thinking about this book is just how complicated the plot structure really is. It’s one of those books that is probably best that you go into it as blind as possible for you to get the most enjoyment out of it, so I will not be going into too many specifics here, but I will say this – this book is about choices, it’s about how far a mother is willing to go for the love of a child. It will take you on a wild ride of emotions and whether you believe in the science that is explored in this book, the fundamental question is still there – as a parent, you will still do what you believe is best for your child and that is the story that Diane Chamberlain has given us.

Along the way, we meet some amazing characters that I will not be forgetting anytime soon. I think that is one of Diane Chamberlain’s strongest suits – she creates such strong, capable characters that you just cannot help but fall in love with. Carly is one such character. Oh, the strength this woman had! I sure wouldn’t want to be in her shoes, though…she had some tough decisions to make and I sure didn’t envy her at any point. 

This book wrecked me…in such a good way. Even if time travel is not your thing, like it’s not mine, I strongly recommend you giving this book a try. The way it’s used in this book is in a good way…it helps with the story and moves it in such a way as to not feel so science fiction-like. Yes, this book is emotional, but it is a journey that is also filled with laughter and hope. Give this one a chance – you won’t be sorry!





Audio thoughts: Even though I had a copy of the print book, I was excited to have won a copy of the audio book, so I decided to listen to this story – and what an amazing experience it was! Susan Bennett did a phenomenal job narrating this book…her pacing and intonations were spot on. I was completely captivated by this book and the narration really helped with that…I loved this audio book!!!