SUMMARY (from online)"Nora Roberts presents the final novel in a dramatic trilogy. Margo, Kate, and Laura were brought up like sisters amidst the peerless grandeur of Templeton House. But it was Laura who seemed to have it all - until she lost almost everything and had to begin again ...Laura Templeton found out the hard way that nothing in life is guaranteed. The daughter of a wealthy hotelier, she had always known comfort, privilege, and security. But by the age of thirty, her storybook marriage had been destroyed by her husband's infidelity. Laura's divorce left her both emotionally and financially devastated - but determined to rebuild her life without the help of the Templeton fortune.Laura had always defined herself as a wife, a daughter, or a mother. Now, she must finally discover Laura the woman ..."SERIES: The Dream TrilogyI didn't read Book 1 of the Dream Trilogy, Daring to Dream, because the heroine just didn't really do anything for me - lol, don't mean it like that, just that Margo is beautiful and an ex-fashion model and just not really my type of heroine. She seems very nice and I like her as a supporting character in the two other books, but did not have an interest in reading her book. The second book in the series, Holding the Dream, was just as fantastic as Book 3 and I also gave it 4.5 stars.MY OPINIONRoberts' book summaries are very odd because I feel like they leave out so much - mainly the romance! You know it's there - that's why we read these books - but so many times the hero is hardly mentioned, if at all. This book has the wonderful hero of Michael Fury, Josh's bad-boy friend from childhood (Josh is Laura's brother). He's basically been a nomad/wanderer for most of his life, doing a variety of things - and doing them all well - and he has now recently finally settled on raising / breeding horses.This book was absolutely *fantastic*!! I love bad-boy heroes and Michael was a great counterpart for Laura; she's so prim and proper, always doing what was right and what she felt she should do, so it was wonderful to have a guy who wanted to focus on her (and her children - the scenes between Michael and her daughters will make you go "awww" out loud), make her live on the wild side and show her passionate side, and really give her the all-consuming love she has always wanted and dreamed (haha, no pun intended) of.HERO AND HEROINE LOOKALIKESLaura, the heroine of this book, is very similar to Abby O'Hurley, from Roberts' short story The Last Honest Woman, which is the first story in Born O'Hurley and Book 1 of the O'Hurley Collection (I rated that story 4.5-5 stars). Both women had horrible marriages and husbands that were complete ____ who abused them either emotionally or physically and left them in financially dire straits.Michael, the hero, reminded me of Murphy Muldoon, from Born in Shame (rated 4 stars), in the way that they're both very comfortable with themselves, who they are, and what they want from life. They are also similar in their livelihoods, and connection to natureand the heroine of the books they're in.
I read this book when I was 16 or 17 and that's the reason I'm giving it 4 stars. Had I read this book nowadays, and the rating would be definitely lower; But, as a teenager the story did leave a mark on me and I believe that perhaps, regardless of your age, this book may touch you like it once did to me.So Laura is turning 30; She just had a rough divorce two years ago because her husband cheated on her with his secretary - how predictable can men be?! - and on top of that he ran away with all their money. So now she is a divorcee, with a big and expensive house to pay - it's her parent's legacy therefore she won't sell it - and two beautiful daughters that don't understand why their daddy went away - and of course at some point they will blame Laura for his leaving. With debts to pay and kids to take take of, Laura has two jobs that keeps her way too busy for anything else... until Michael comes along (and I leave the rest for you to find out when you read it ;) )The reason I liked this book so much was the fighting trait of Laura; The way she handles every obstacle of her life and overcomes it, the way her love for her children obliged her to be emotionally stronger and the way it made her grew up was amazing. Of course, the other reason was Laura and Michael relationship: the bad-boy that turns her life upside down, wins the love of her children and, in the end, also stoles her own heart!Now, the reason I don't like it all that much anymore is because now, when I think about the story, it seems kind of detached from reality; yes, Laura fights for everything she gets but, in the end everything is pitch-perfect: No character has a flaw, her children kind of forget their father and are happy with a substitute, and so on. It's a perfect illusional HEA kind of thing and maybe that's the real reason I don't enjoy it anymore.Nevertheless, this is Nora Roberts writing so you know it's a light, amusing reading you will have either way.
What do You think about Finding The Dream (2006)?
3.5*I liked this one! In my opinion, it was much better than the last one (Kate's story) and on par with the first one (Margo's story). The characters had chemistry and there was an actual conflict in the story, that was not superficial! So - that was excellent! In fact, I think this one could have been absolutely perfect had there not been some issues that the author didn't quite address/resolve or that didn't quite make sense...Few issues I had with the book:- I was not sure why Laura let Peter STEAL her money and take money away from her daughters, so that now she has to work two jobs and practically neglect herself and her kids... Working is commendable, especially when she comes from a rich family where she doesn't HAVE to work but chooses to (admirable!) - but working days and nights to make ends meet, because you let your husband rob you, makes no sense! She is the only rich woman (term I don't like = WASP) who ended up getting NOTHING from her cheating husband, in fact he took all HER money and she said nothing! - Despite everything she let Peter do to her, Laura keeps being described as "strong" > strong?! Her ex husband AS WELL as her daughters are all walking all over her... All she does is work , work, work in order to be able to support their lifestyles and upkeep their mansion! She is a total weak pushover, who occasionally lets loose her temper (which doesn't make her strong, just human!)... - While the issue of "social status" was a valid conflict in this romance (unlike so many romances that focus on misunderstandings, etc...), I think Laura (and possibly the author) failed to grasp the severity of the situation! Michael and Laura's problem is identified many times and it definitely does exist, but I dont's see how it is solved in the end! Social status might seem like a shallow reason not to be together but if one party (Michael) feels so strongly about it - that can't be changed overnight, just by Laura telling him "I don't care about all that..." >> If Michael has such a strong inferiority complex then, realistically, how WOULD he function in "high" society?! How WOULD he fit into the Templeton world?! Would Laura just stop going to functions, openings, and galas because Michael refuses to go and is entirely uncomfortable with them?!? Would HE stop seeing himself as a mongrel and a second class citizen, just because Laura says so?? I think that this - unless properly addressed and resolved - is something that would eventually cause a huge rift between them, hence their "forever after" requires some suspension of belief... In my opinion, this complex problem was brushed away by the author and the reader is told that just the fact that they love each other is enough for them to overcome such a huge obstacle - which is often just NOT the case in real life. I get it, i get it... this is NOT real life, it's a romance novel... fine! :) )
—Elena
It's always the stories of the mom's that get me because I am one but this one especially because she had two daughters and was lucky to find a man that wanted to be daddy to them and not out of obligation.
—Rosemarie Massengale
