The Dream Keeper's Daughter

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Time travel romances aren’t my usual reading fare. I find they can be problematic simply because I often have trouble suspending belief enough to really buy into the main premise of the story. Still, every now and again I come across something that really catches my attention, and Emily Colin’s The Dream Keeper’s Daughter is an example of why I’m glad I usually listen to my gut about these things. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s still quite enjoyable.

Archaeologist Isabel Griffin hasn’t had an easy life. Her mother disappeared when Isabel was a teenager, and she hasn’t been heard from since. Even after all these years, the police have no leads, leaving Isabel and her father to deal with the fact that she is probably dead. Six years later, Max Adair, Isabel’s boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, disappears in a remarkably similar way, and in the eight years since it happened nobody has been able to explain it or provide information as to where he has gone. Isabel is now a successful archaeologist who is working hard to raise her young daughter, Finn. She misses Max every day, and hasn’t completely given up hope of one day being reunited with him.

One day, while on an dig in Barbados, Isabel receives a mysterious phone call from Max’s number. She has a hard time making out what the caller is saying, but she’s convinced it’s Max on the other end of the line. Unfortunately, when she tries to call the number back, she finds it’s been disconnected. Isabel doesn’t understand why Max would be reaching out to her after all these years, but she’s sure it’s a good sign. Her father and her best friend Ryan aren’t so sure, and both advise Isabel to forget about it and concentrate on her work and her daughter. Of course, Isabel doesn’t agree. She’s determined to find out what really happened to Max.

Then, in a strange coincidence, Isabel discovers a custom-made necklace that belonged to her mother buried in the ruins of what used to be a sugarcane plantation on Barbados. She is understandably baffled. The ruins are 200 years old, so why is something that belonged to her mother hidden there? Could the two disappearances be linked?

Once she returns to South Carolina, Isabel continues to receive signs that all might not be as she first thought. Seven-year-old Finn begins to have strange dreams featuring her father and grandmother, neither of whom she’s actually met. Isabel swears she sees Max in her backyard on several occasions, but when she tries to approach him, he disappears into thin air. Desperate to figure things out, Isabel begins to investigate Max’s family history, learning far more than she bargained for along the way.

Through chapters told from Max’s perspective, the reader learns that Max has been thrust back in time to 1816 Barbados. One minute, he’s walking through the woods in South Carolina on his way to meet Isabel, and the next thing he knows, he’s standing in a cane field in Barbados. He soon learns that he’s on his family’s plantation on the eve of an infamous slave uprising. To further complicate matters, it soon becomes apparent that Julia, Isabel’s mother, has suffered the same fate. The two join forces to figure out how to return to their own time as well as how to save the life of the plantation’s mistress who is destined to die in the rebellion.

I had some difficulty understanding the time slip employed by the author. I’m used to the concept of people traveling through time, but not necessarily to their changing their location. In some ways, it would have made more sense to me if the characters had disappeared from Barbados rather than South Carolina. As it was, the jump was really difficult to wrap my head around.

I also struggled with the amount of contact Max is able to have with Isabel and Finn while he was in the past. For example, how did he call Isabel on the phone, and how was he able to converse with Finn in her dreams? None of this is explained very well, making it necessary for me to just accept it at face value.

I loved the portions of the novel that sre set in Barbados. The author obviously did a great deal of research to make both the era and the setting come vividly to life; she’s very descriptive, and this really made me feel like I was there, something I love, especially when reading about places I’ve never actually been.

All of the characters are expertly drawn. There were several occasions I found myself disagreeing with the decisions of one character or another, but Ms. Colin did a great job helping me understand why they acted as they did. She creates very compelling leads, as well as a cast of supporting characters that seem to leap right off the page.

Readers who are expecting a conventional HEA will most likely be disappointed by the direction the author chooses to take toward the end of the story. Personally, I didn’t mind it all that much, as I was able to understand why things unfolded as they did. Still, it’s something to be aware of, especially if you’re picky about your endings.

The Dream Keeper’s Daughter is an engrossing read that will captivate readers of novels like The Time Traveler’s Wife. If you’re looking for the next Outlander, this probably won’t fit the bill, but it’s still worth the read.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

Reviewed by Shannon Dyer

Grade: B-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 28/07/17

Publication Date: 07/2017

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Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

I'm Shannon from Michigan. I've been an avid reader all my life. I adore romance, psychological fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and the occasional memoir. I share my home with my life partner, two dogs, and a very feisty feline.

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Dabney Grinnan
Dabney Grinnan
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07/29/2017 11:07 am

I adore The Time Traveler’s Wife, so sign me up!