I don't enjoy sci-fi or fantasy and don't really read books in this genre. I was hesitant to read this story by an author whose writing I really like. Time travel? I started this book with low expectations but immediately liked the main characters in the story. Caroline (Carly) is the girl next door, she and I would be friends. She meets and falls in love with Joe as a teenager. So, fast forward some years, Carly and Joe are married and Carly's baby has a heart defect which, in 1970, will certainly be fatal, but, in 2001? Enter Hunter, another extremely likeable character and a chance meeting. I had a tough time putting this book down as you can see from my dirty house, piles of laundry and the circles under my eyes this morning. I loved her descriptions of Summit NJ, a town I'm very familiar with. Diane Chamberlain does not disappoint with her most recent publication, I would totally recommend this one!

4.5 stars

I’m not a huge fan of books about time-travel, as I oftentimes end up feeling lost and confused trying to remember the different timelines and the back-and-forth sequence of events that usually occur with these types of books -- so when I first read the blurb for this book and saw that there would be a time travel element to it, I was a little hesitant. Add to this the fact that I had never read a book by Diane Chamberlain before (though I had heard a lot about her and do have several of her books on my TBR), I really didn’t know what to expect going into this. Now that I finished reading this book, I am tremendously glad that I decided to go forward with it, as I ended up really really enjoying it!

The summary uses the word “genre-spanning” to describe this book and I have to say that is a perfect description, as it truly is impossible to fit this into just one category – the time travel element seems to put it into science fiction but then again, that was only a small portion of the story (think of the time travel piece as a means to an end rather than the main arc of the story); there were also historical fiction elements with references to real historical events and a portion of the story taking place in the 1960s and 70s. Mostly though, this story is about a young mother’s tremendous love for her unborn daughter as well as for her family, which puts her on a path that she never imagined possible – it is also a story about faith, hope, courage, sacrifice, and the lengths a mother would go through to save her own child. In this sense, it would probably more appropriately fit into women’s fiction, but with a lot more depth to the story, plot, and characters.

I’ve heard that Diane Chamberlain is a masterful storyteller and after reading this book, I absolutely agree! The writing was fantastic and the plot was amazingly well-thought out, with enough detail to make the story believable (despite the time travel element) and a surprising amount of twists and turns that kept the story lively and engaging. What I liked most about this book though were the characters – Hunter, Patti, and of course Carly, whom the story mainly revolves around. I love stories with strong female protagonists at their core and Carly absolutely fit the bill – her tremendous strength and courage in the face of the situation she found herself in and the many difficult choices as well as sacrifices she had to make, one after the other, this was a character I not only admired, but also connected with on an emotional level. Carly was such a well-developed character that I often felt I was right there alongside her as she embarked on her journey and as I got to know her throughout the course of the story, she ended up being a character that I didn’t want to let go.

Heartfelt, poignant, and emotional, this is a story that made me shed a tear or two throughout the read, but at the same time, it also made me smile and laugh in a few places. I deliberately went light on the plot with this review, as this is a wonderful story that everyone should experience for themselves, so I didn’t want to spoil anything. This one is highly recommended!

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

This book just works! For the love of her unborn baby, one amazing mom will go to lengths that are fantastic. with sheer faith, she will defy horrific odds to protect her precious child. Emotional and strong, this book is a good one to read.

My copy is an ARC via Net Galley. My review is my own, left of my own free will.

I really loved this book. It's hard to say too much without giving away the plot, but the story is engaging right from the beginning and the writing just flows. It's easy to get caught up in it - I read this book in 2 sittings.

Caroline has just lost her husband in the Vietnam War and discovers that her unborn baby has a fatal heart defect. Her brother-in-law Hunter has a possible solution that will take every bit of her faith to explore. It's a moving story of a mother's love, the lengths that she will go to save her child, and the bonds of family.

There is so much here for discussion, and so many times I asked myself "What would I do?". It's an exciting, imaginative story.

I’ve always loved Diane Chamberlains books. Been reading them for many a year and always know I’m in for a good solid read each time I pick up her newest book.

When I began reading this I have to be honest that I said to my daughter, I’m not sure about this storyline. If I didn’t know better I would think I’m reading a different authors work.

But low and behold all of a sudden this took hold of me and I literally couldn’t put the book downl I was totally in awe of this author taking a path that she had never taken before and wowing me.

I didn’t have any problems being invested in the time travel aspect. At first I was “hmmmmm” but then the plot just took over, overwhelming me and my thoughts and emotions that I was gob smacked into actually believing this to be a natural way of travel.

The tension within these pages made me break out in a tense sweat. I was urging it all to work out to get things right that everything will come together and be fine.

God the tension in this made my head whirl.
It was so cleverly crafted, researched and thought out.

Such a wonderful all consuming read.


Thank you St Martin press via Net Galley for my copy.

You know a book is outstanding when you stop your own life to get to the last page -- and simultaneously, dread finishing the book. Diane Chamberlain's The Dream Daughter is a well-plotted, intriguing story of a mother's willingness to take risks, endure hardships, and face the unknown to ensure her daughter's well-being. Each character is multi-faceted with competing motivations that drive hard life altering decisions. Some of those decisions involve the use of time travel, a subject I find intriguing despite the fantasy. Chamberlain masterfully makes fantasy believable by meticulously depicting the cultural and historical details that disorient and challenge her characters. Although not surprising, the ending is entirely satisfying! This is the first book by Diane Chamberlain that I have read; it will not be last! Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC. #thedreamdaughter #netgalley.com

I am a fan of Diane Chamberlain's novels and I dove into this one knowing nothing about the story line. Well, I now believe in time travel. Excellent book. I felt like I was there with the Carly through it all. I could see each of the places she visited and felt attached to the characters. I didn’t want their story to end.
It was full of emotion but also kept me on the edge of my seat. I just loved it! This is a book that will stick with you and keep you thinking about it. Diane's ability to tell a story is amazing.
Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Dream Daughter is full of hard choices, good intentions, and unbelievable outcomes.

The story begins with Caroline Grant in the 1960's. She’s a physical therapist working in a hospital when she’s assigned a new patient to her schedule. The patient, Hunter Poole has not connected with anybody and they think he has sustained his injuries when he tried to commit suicide by jumping from a three-story building. When he sees her, he immediately points at her and tells her that he wants her as his physical therapist and he will do whatever she wants him to do.

Caroline will never know how this meeting will impact her life in the future.

A few years later, Carly is now Caroline Sears and she has recently become a widow. Her husband Joe has died in Vietnam and she has recently discovered that she’s pregnant. A bittersweet moment that soon becomes a nightmare when her unborn baby is diagnosed with a possible problem with the aortic valve.

In the 1970’s there is nothing to do for her baby. Her unborn daughter will probably die soon after being delivered. Caroline is devastated by the news. Then, her brother in law, Hunter, tells her he has a solution but it will require a leap of faith by Carly. At first, Caroline is skeptical, angry and worried that he's going crazy but when he proves he can do it, she knows she has to take the chance at a miracle.

The Dream Daughter shows a mother who's willing to sacrifice anything for the life of her child. I knew Diana Chamberlain was not going to disappoint me with her storytelling. I liked all her main characters especially Caroline and Hunter. Caroline was determined to help her unborn baby and do whatever was necessary to give her a chance at a normal life.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

I recently finished reading my review copy of The Dream Daughter, and I must admit that this is the type of book that pulls you in and keeps your interest. I am a fan of time travel and time shift fiction, and though there were some occurrences that I found to be a bit of a stretch, overall I felt that the author did a good job with it. The characters felt believable and nuanced, and the basic premise - What would you do to save your child's life? - definitely kept the various story lines together. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, but I imagine most readers would love how it wrapped up.
The Dream Daughter is the first book I've read by this author. Overall, I enjoyed the writing style, and may give her another go.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars and rounding up!

I really can't say too much about this book because I don't want to give anything away, but it was executed wonderfully. The characters and the story were fantastic. I loved it.

Before The Dream Daughter caught my eye, I have to confess that I had never given Diane Chamberlain’s novels a try. I always thought the synopses of her books sounded interesting but somehow just never got around to reading one. Well, let me tell you that I’m seriously kicking myself right now because I have clearly been missing out on some amazing books. The Dream Daughter is one of the most exquisite novels I’ve ever read. I devoured it and know for certain that it will make my Best of 2018 list at the end of the year. It’s just that good.

It’s also one of those books that is best read without knowing too much going in, so instead of writing a full fledged review here, I’m just going to give you five reasons why I loved this book and think you’ll love it too.

5 Reasons The Dream Daughter Should Be on Your Reading List

1. I’m a huge fan of time travel novels when they are well written and Diane Chamberlain writes time travel to sheer perfection in The Dream Daughter. Using precise scientific calculations to locate portals that will take you to a date and location of your choice, Chamberlain creates a brilliant and logical time traveling premise that will stretch the bounds of your imagination but, at the same time, will make you seriously think about whether such a thing could actually be possible.

2. The Dream Daughter is a unique blend of science fiction and historical fiction, as well as a heartwrenching domestic drama. It has a little bit of everything, and for someone like me who enjoys all three of these, having them so beautifully woven together in one story was reading heaven. What I think Chamberlain does especially well with this is that none of these elements takes over the story so I think even someone who loves historical fiction, for example, but not necessarily sci-fi, would still love the book.

3. The Dream Daughter is a poignant read that is sure to capture your heart. Chamberlain explores the lengths that a mother will go to and the sacrifices she is willing to make in order to save her unborn child. I was just so moved by the main character’s plight and the strength she displayed at every step along the way.

4. Speaking of characters, I was so impressed by the way both of the main characters in this book were written. The story is told from the point of view of Carly, a widowed soon-to-be mom who is in danger of losing her baby, and Hunter, a physicist who just appears in Carly’s life one day and ends up having a massive impact on her life. It’s immediately easy to feel sympathy for Carly because we learn that not only is her husband killed in the Vietnam War, but her unborn child also has an untreatable heart defect that is destined to be fatal soon after the baby’s birth. Carly’s desperation is palpable and it’s impossible not to root for her as she tries to find a way to save her child. Hunter, however, is equally sympathetic but he’s also a tad mysterious, which makes him all the more interesting. When we (and Carly) meet him, he is at a rehab facility recovering from a fall off a roof. There is some question as to his mental health and whether or not the fall was actually a jump. Although he is initially completely uncooperative with his physical therapists, he warms up to Carly right away and they become friends. Their lives further intertwine when Hunter falls for and marries Carly’s sister and then later when he approaches Carly with a possible solution on how to save her unborn child…if she’s willing to take a giant leap of faith. I thought Chamberlain did such an incredible job of developing compelling, layered stories for each of these characters and ultimately entwining them together into one beautifully complex story.

5. As you’ve probably gathered by me gushing about Chamberlain’s character development, I’m a big fan of her writing style. Not only was the character development wonderful, but everything about the story was. The prose was gorgeous, without being purple, and the pacing was perfect. The need to save the unborn child also added such a sense of urgency that I truly could not put the book down until I knew how it ended.

To conclude, go read this book!

The Dream Daughter grabbed me from the onset. I was never bored with the story - the twists just kept coming right along with the heartache. Despite it's sci-fi elements this story was so relatable for me as a mother because at it's core/heart, this was a story of the power of a mother's love.

It's 1970 and Carly learns her unborn child has a fatal heart defect. Faced with this devastating news she grabs hold of the only things she can - hope, trust and love. She blindly leaps into the unknown and is willing to go through unbelievable lengths to save her child.

Carly is faced with some heartbreaking and tough decisions. I could not help but feel a sense of awe at her strength and admired the pure love she had for both her husband and daughter. I felt so much compassion for this character.

This one would be best enjoyed allowing it's various twists and turns to unfold the way Chamberlain intended them to be revealed. The Dream Daughter was a bit of surprise for me. Every time I thought I had it all figured out, a new twist was revealed that made it so hard to put the book down. My advice - go into it with both an open mind and an open heart. This book is well worth the leap of faith.

In true D. Chamberlain fashion, this book took me on a roller coaster of emotions -sadness, fear, excitement, relief, frustration, hope - and I loved it! I was skeptical going into it knowing there was a time travel spin, but it wasn’t too “make believe” for me. I think she incorporated it well within the plot in order to make it unique.

This is the story of a pregnant, grieving widow of the Vietnam War finding out her baby has a rare heart defect. It’s 1970, and she is told her baby will die at birth. When her brother-in-law offers her a way to time travel to 2001 and get invitro fetal heart surgery, she takes it. From there the story takes off and offers a look into what mothers are willing to do to save their child.

This is unlike anything DC has written this far. I can’t think of any other author who can make me feel the intensity of the emotions the characters experience. The topics she chooses to explore are always original and interesting. As much as I read, it’s nice to know I can count on her to keep me intrigued.

The Dream Daughter (I posted this on Amazon.com:

Apparently this type of book—time travel— is unlike the many other novels by this prolific and bestselling author. The time travel got me started reading and the accomplished popular writing style kept me reading. In spite of a bit of repetition—the kind where you totally recall what the author seems to worry you've forgotten, thus not trusting the reader enough—most readers, I believe, would keep turning the pages to learn what happened to the sympathic main character. A plot with complications that I found easy to follow: sick unborn baby, mom-to-be willing to risk all (jumping off a pier into the future does feel pretty risky), miscalculations that cause major dislocations. Mother love rules the story here, though it competes at times with sibling love and a widow's attachment to her lost mate. The emotions evoked are complex yet readily empathized with.

The Dream Daughter is reminiscent of The Time Traveler's Wife. I love the different worlds and the characters were very believable. Ms. Chamberlain did a great job of wrapping up the lovely tale.

I have to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this wonderful book.

I was drawn in from the very beginning. That is a biggie since I never thought I would enjoy anything related to time travel.

The big question is: What would you do to save your unborn babies life? Would you risk everything you thought you knew and travel into the future for a surgery to save your unborn baby? Would you be willing to take that leap of faith? Literally? A true, loving, caring, mother would I believe.

This book took me places I have never been. I felt like I was going right with Carly. The fear she felt. The tears she shed. The pain she endured for her baby. At times I thought nothing would ever be ok. She was lost and so alone in a strange place in time. Nothing was like back home. But Carly was much stronger than anyone thought when it came to her child. She did what she had to do for that baby girl to be ok. For her future to be so good. For her to have the best kind of life.

This is a heartfelt story that will take you on many ups and downs. Many highs and lows. Many tears and lots of laughter in parts too. It blew me away in parts. I thought it was such a believable story. I even questioned whether this could really happen in our world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful in so many ways. The characters were so likable and realistic. I didn’t care for Hunter’s mom a whole lot but I still liked that she helped Carly when she needed help so bad. My heart broke for Carly when she visited places that held a lot of sadness for her. I don’t want to give anything away here.

This was a book I had a terribly hard time putting down. It was so well written and truly will make you beleive in things you never thought you would. I will be reading more of this author’s work. I loved it. I felt it. It opened up my heart in so many way. Thank you Diane Chamberlain for taking that leap of faith in writing this book!!

A big 5 stars for me.

Eh. I was compelled by the summary but it felt a bit too simple for me. Like predictable and just not very interesting. But it wasn't terrible.

The Dream Daughter is an amazing book that blew my mind! I hadn't read anything by Diane before but the synopsis of this one intrigued me. And once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

This is a story with interesting, likable characters wrapped around a wonderfully woven story-line. I felt all the angst, emotions, and love that Caroline experienced. It's amazing what a mother will do, all because of the love she has for her child.

I also loved the time travel aspect of this story. Time travel written about in books has always interested me, with The Time Traveler's Wife being one of my absolute favorites. This one is going right up there with that one. I'm definitely going to be reading more of Diane's books and I've added her to my list of must-read authors.

Considering how unlikely I think time travel to be, it’s odd how much I love the genre. I usually prefer they don’t bother getting into the weeds of figuring out a real way to travel in time, so portals that exist just because are fine with me. Diane Chamberlain’s The Dream Daughter is the kind of time travel that doesn’t bother with the mechanics so we can focus on the story and that story is compelling and deeply humane.

The story starts in 1965 when Carly is starting out as a physical therapist who is assigned a problematic patient with an uncanny knowledge of Beatles’ lyrics. She thinks he’s perfect for her sister, so when we jump forward five years, it’s no surprise to see Hunter has indeed married her sister. Carly married her sweetheart Joe who died in Vietnam. She’s pregnant with Joe’s child and learns the baby has a heart defect that means certain death. Hunter reveals his big secret, he’s from the future and he can send her forward to 2001, where they can perform fetal heart surgery and possibly save her daughter’s life. And so she takes the leap, quite literally.

Of course, the story gets complicated and Carly is faced with difficult choices that are shatteringly painful. And if you can get to the end without crying, there’s something wrong with you.


There are so many reasons to love The Dream Daughter I almost hate to bring up a very irritating problem. The central complication is Hunter didn’t provide Carly enough return portals. It seems such an unlikely error, but even so, there were months and months that Hunter’s mom was available and who could have figured out a dozen more to see her through. Particularly when the last time they saw each other, they both knew she had just one left. Of course, without this inexplicable failure of two brilliant scientists, then the entire story would be very short, would lack the fraught choices, and not be nearly as interesting.

I received advanced reading copies of The Dream Daughter from the publisher through NetGalley and a Shelf Awareness drawing.

The Dream Daughter at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Diane Chamberlain author site

What an unusual book from an author who is usually firmly in the ‘Women’s Fiction’ writing lane! I’ve read quite a few of Ms. Chamberlain’s books and have been really impressed with her writing skills, and her ability to capture the nuances of family interactions within the era that she is writing about. Even though this book has the added element of time travel, the fine nuances of family interactions and in this case, eras – are skillfully rendered.

Would you jump forward in time to save your baby? How would it feel to experience a world three decades more advanced than the one you were born into? What would you be willing to sacrifice for the safety and contentment of your child? These are the types of questions that are tackled in this book. I won’t give you a full rundown on the plot basics since those can be found on the book blurb. Suffice it to say, I really liked this book I quickly became invested in Carly’s story. I didn’t see some of the plot twists coming (which is always a plus in my book.) I liked the fish-out-of-water aspect of the book, and how the ties to Carly’s 1970 family were a pull on her whatever year she currently existed in.

I gave this book 4 stars. I highly recommend it!

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, St. Martin’s Press; and the author, Diane Chamberlain; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.