Cass de Warenne is a writer of historical fiction who lives with her aunt and her sister's daughter in England. Cass' sister, Tracey returns home with a fantastic ruby necklace from her job at Sotheby's. She also brings Antonio de la Barca, her boyfriend, who also has an interest in the necklace, believing it to have belonged to an ancestor of his. As more information is revealed about this ancestor, they discover that the two families have been involved for generations, always with tragic consequences. Cass, Tracey, Antonio, Antonio's brother, Gregory and the two children belonging to Tracey and Antonio end up at la Casa de Suenas, the de la Barca family home, where they are confronted with the ghost of Isabel de Warenne de la Barca and the vengeance Isabel wishes to wreak on both families.This novel of ghosts, history and revenge reads more like a straight-to-dvd horror flick than a novel. The setup to the action is rather longer and more arduous than necessary. The plot has a good concept, but the execution is quite heavy handed. The characters are still trying to disbelieve the existence of the ghost almost to the last page. Also, a lot of information is revealed to the reader, flashback style. The author can't quite make up her mind whether the characters are privy to this information as well. They seem to be aware of some things, without having gleaned that information from any obvious source other than the preceding chapter, but then, they are still in the dark about other details. The writing style is also...off...somehow. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about it, but the sentences did not seem to flow. I found myself having to re-read certain sentences to figure out what they meant, and in what is marketed as a 'beach book;' the reader shouldn't have to think that hard.Having said all that; however, I was compelled to continue reading to the end. I liked the characters, for the most part, and was curious about what happened to them, as well as what happened to Isabel to make her so angry and vengeful. The ending was a little anti-climactic, and after more than 400 pages, I expected a bit better payoff.Reading over this review, it seems more negative than I had intended. I did like the book. I'm just not sure I really like the author.
Beyond awful!It makes me sad to say this, because the same author wrote one of my favorite books, "The Third Heiress" "House of Dreams" is poorly written, a 5th rate remake of "The Turn of the Screw" in a modern setting, with the most unappealing sex scenes I've ever read thrown in to make it even worse . Implausible plot twists, subplots left hanging, characters behaving as stupidly as actors in a low-budget splatter film. Cliche after cliche repeated endlessly. Just leaf through this bore-fest and see how many times "Cass's heart stopped." (portable defibrillator, anyone?) I think I stopped counting after ten. Same thing with: "Cass's heart turned over, hard." Please. How many times can a writer, in good conscience, say that the lights inexplicably went off, or beat the reader senseless with repetitive occurrences in which the presence of a ghost is heralded by the scent of VIOLETS?! Characters realize that a person is possessed, then, incredibly, forget about it moments later! It's as if the Keystone Cops wandered into a Gothic novel, only it's not funny. How did this plodding, amateurish book ever find its way into print?
What do You think about House Of Dreams (2004)?
Scared the hell out of me.But maybe because I read it at night, all alone, on Halloween?If you are into slasher type horror, then this book is not for you.But if you like 15th Century ghosts who knows how to use a laptop to express their feelings, then this is the perfect book for you.The book was okay, a little bit dragging at times.I don't like Cass, I think she's an insecure b*tch and really annoying.Antonio, the love interest is not that swoon worthy, also. In fact, I like his twin brother, Gregory, more.What's really annoying is the fact that all the terror arise because of the main characters' stubbornness and stupidity. There are so much angst, sister rivalry, jealousy and betrayal here. There are also some hot scenes so I don't recommend it to kids under 18.The only thing that held my interest is the interweaving of historical facts about the reign of Bloody Mary. I am obsessed with England's history and that kept my nose pressed on this book.So I guess, the strength of this book lies on its plot and definitely not on its characters. The lesson here? Don't read horror books, at night, on Halloween.
—Izia
3.5 Stars..I graded on the curve because the last quarter of the book was amazing.Oh my goodness. Whew...that was intense!I have a habit of not reading the descriptions of books before I read them so this one caught me completely off guard. I don't want to say a word about it because inevitably it would be a spoiler alert! lolTo all my goodreads.com friends this is a must read! I know my markings weren't very high, but this is a story I will never forget.*Reasons for the 3.5I found parts of the book annoyingly repetitive and the characters made me mad because of some acceptance issues...lol (If you've read this you know what I'm talking about.)*Reason for the grading curveI was crying and scared through the last part of the book and the story will forever be etched in my mind!
—Sarita
Not quite 5 Stars...but pretty darn close! "House of Dreams" mixes a contemporary romance with a historical romance that went terribly wrong. Love and death were mixed splendidly throughout time all because of a women who was truly wrongfully scorned in the 1500's. I didn't read the description of the book before I bought it (I mean does it really matter what it's about when it's written by Brenda Joyce?), so I was really shocked when all the "otherworldly" stuff starting happening. I would for sure recommend this to all my friends.
—Barbara
