The Dream Daughter was a 3.5/5⭐️ for me. I thought the storyline was different and had some sci-fi elements to it, which is always a plus for me! Carly is our main character in the story who is pregnant but her baby has a heart defect that cannot be treated in 1970. She thinks all hope is lost until her brother-in-law lets her in on a little secret.. he’s from the future! He tells her time travel is possible and he can help her save her baby if only she will trust in him. I was sucked into the story right away! About 75% of the way though, I almost lost interest and skimmed a bit because it deviated from the main plot. Thankfully, it was only a few pages and I was pulled back in. It was a beautiful story in the end and I’m glad I stuck through that bit.

Luckily, I started this on a Saturday, and I didn’t have anywhere to be that I couldn’t sit and read because this was a novel that kept me so engrossed, an hour would pass and it would feel like it had only been ten minutes. As a Mom, Carly’s situation had my heart breaking and grateful that I haven’t had to face so many challenges that would force me to make such difficult decisions. Carly was such a beautifully written character, I wanted to be her friend. The way the author wove in the time travel aspect as well as the different time periods was handled deftly. So many changes have happened during my lifetime; sometimes I don’t notice the different stages. If someone skipped a chunk of that time, how would they handle such radical changes?
I loved the way the story was written and how intricately the story, setting, and time changes were woven together. It is one for the keeper shelf. This is my first experience with Diane Chamberlain, and I have heard it is a bit of a departure, but I am anxious to see if her other novels are as well-written and captivating. I am betting they are.
#StMartins #TheDreamDaughter #DianeChamberlain

I would give this book 10 stars if I could! While there will be no spoilers in this review, I will say that I was on a roller coaster throughout this novel. I could not put it down! I loved the story - it was so different from what I expect from the author. She surprised me with every chapter. The plot was tight; the characters completely 3 dimensional and the storyline sprung surprises out of each chapter!
This is a book that I have recommended to my friends and family alike and I can hardly wait to hear what they say. It would be a great book club read as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

This an amazing story of love, loss and what a mother would sacrifice for her child and what a wife would do for her husband.

The characters in this story are so real that you feel you know and understand them. The emotions are sometimes so raw and heart wrenching that you cry with the character. Carly Sears is a strong young woman who seems to act out of emotion only but as the story develops you realize that's not true.

Just as Carly has to get over her preconceived notions about time travel, the reader is asked to do the same. I did not find this a problem. It was just an added dimension to the story.

This is a well written story with well developed characters that make the reader care about the story and its outcome. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes books about family, love and relationships.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #St.Martin'sPress for approving my request the ARC of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Really enjoyed this amazing adventure, for me a different type of writing from a familiar author, but went into the book with an open mind, and thoroughly enjoyed the read. A captivating read that will keep you up long after you say to yourself “one more chapter”.

There were several things I really enjoyed while reading this book, the first being how compelling it was. I really wanted to know what would happen next and the short chapters made it very tempting to read - just one more chapter. I also really enjoyed learning about the various relationships in the book. The characters and their interactions with each other added a level of interest for me. The 3rd thing I really enjoyed was the comparisons and contrasts between the 1970's and 2001. Having lived through both periods made it really interesting, reflective and fun to see the changes in our world between those two time periods. My criticism is that sometimes the story moved too fast and as a result there were many aspects of the story line that were underdeveloped. At times I almost felt like I was reading a journal as opposed to being told a story which I would have preferred. It left me unsatisfied. I believe this is just a personal preference on my part. It seems I like a deeper and more detailed plot. However many people will love the pace and the easy reading experience. This is definitely a book to lose yourself in and it will be a go to for recommendations.

A riveting concept and a well-told tale that kept me guessing right to the end. It took a good few chapters to get into but the payoff was that by halfway through, I couldn't put this book down. I was reading in my lunch-break and long after I should've been in bed. I powered through the last half of the book in no time and the plot twists kept on coming. Totally gripping and lots of 'what if?' questions posed that kept it interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, my first book by Diane Chamberlain (but definitely not my last).

Carly Sears is expecting her first child when she is told that her baby has a fatal heart defect and will not survive. This baby means the world to her because her husband got killed a few months prior. She is desperate to save this baby when she places her faith in a dear friend and brother in law when he tells her that he might could save her baby. This book will keep your interest! I loved this book and I would highly recommend it!

How far would you go, what would you do, for your child? That's the central question in this wonderful book. From the first page I was hooked. I love time travel books- so much to contemplate! - but if you’re not usually a fan of such books don’t worry- it is written so exquisitely that you will be drawn in. Your heart will break at times, but there is hope intertwined with the sadness. Just make sure you have plenty of reading time available when you start this book- you won’t want to put it down. Five stars- highly recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of The Dream Daughter. I am not a big time traveler fan in fiction. I usually think that it will be too much sci-fi. But this book was perfect in the amount of great novel and time travel science. I started this book this morning not intending on reading all day and finishing but that is exactly what happened. I just wanted to know what was going to happen. And while some of it was predictable most was not which made me keep wondering where it would go next.
I have not read any of Diane Chamberlain's books (even though I have a couple on my bookshelf) but this has made me know that I need to read those and more.
Great book!

This was such a great book . What if you could travel through time?
In 1965 Caroline (Carly) a student intern at a private rehab facility meets Hunter Poole, a patient there.

He marries her sister and in 1970 Carly learns there is something wrong with her unborn baby's heart, a fatal defect.

Hunter tells her he was born in 1986 and in 2001 his mother discovered time travel and he volunteers to travel to 1965.

He tells Carly that in the future there are ways to help her baby and he wants to send her to 2001 for her baby to have fetal surgery. which is still experimental.

Carly travels to 2001 and meets Myra (Hunter's mother) , she meets Hunter as well when he is a teenager.


Carly's daughter Joanna is born but she has to have surgery to enlarge her aortic valve.

Joanna is discharged from the hospital before the second return portal date but develops fever and has to be hospitalized leaving only one date of return,


Carly is all set to make the return trip with Joanna, only to learn she has become ill again and has to remain in the hospital for a few weeks. This leaves Carly with no choice but to return on her own and have Hunter arrange for her to return to 2001 and have more return dates for Carly & Joanna since she is unable to get in touch with Myra.

h
Hunter arranges for her to return to 2001 and she is back in 2001 on the morning of September 11th- unknown to Hunter and Carly at the time that the atmosphere has had an effect on the dates-it sends Joanna to 2013 instead..


Joanna is now 12 has been adopted. Carly realizes her return dates were form 1970 to 2002 and she is now stuck in 2013.


She locates Myra and Myra plans to send her back to 1970, but C

arly won't go until she is sure that Joanna is alive and has a good life.

Carly takes a job at a B& B close by Joanna's house and they become close when they meet while walking their dogs.

She learns that Joanna had to have the aortic surgery again when she was 10.

Carly wants to remain in 2013 so she can spend time with Joanna but upon learning of the Vietnam War memorial and subsequently learning her husband wasn't killed in the war but was a POW and returned home in 1972, she realizes that Joanna will be fine and that her husband will need her so she decides to return to 1970.

She uses Joanna's tree house as her jumping off point to return to 1970 and Joanna spots her in the backyard and Carly tells her the truth: she is her birth mother and about coming to 2001 for surgery and time travel.


In 1973 Carly's husband returns home and Myra comes on her final time trip to spend the rest of her life with Hunter.


In 2022 Joanna comes to North Carolina for the sole purpose of seeing Carly and meeting her father.


An interesting, intriguing and sad at times book.









Her baby has the surgery

Though I am not normally drawn to stories of time travel, this one had a very contemporary feel for me. I was already a young adult in 1970, so I really enjoyed revisiting that time period. My only complaint was that the characters had an answering machine in their 1970 home. I am pretty sure those weren't commonly used at that time. However, I was also reminded how far we have come technologically during my lifetime. Would I welcome going back in time to a simpler way of life, or would I be lost without my modern day devices? I loved the characters and unexpected twists in the story. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this emotionally satisfying story.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain that I read and reviewed.
This book was just okay for me. I really did not enjoy the sci-fi part of the book. I could not wrap my mind around what was going on and how it took place. Truthfully, sci-fi is my least favorite genre of books so I think that is why I did not love this book.
The characters where great and I really loved them. I loved their relationships with each other and how they grew throughout the book. Overall, this was an interesting book but not one that I loved.
I am giving The Dream Daughter four out of five stars.

Captivating story of a mother's love, dedication and unwavering commitment to her daughter. This novel takes you to the bounds of your normal and successfully convinces you to believe. Enchanting, full of the heart and promise of a mother's love. #TheDreamDaughter #NetGalley

I am a big fan of Diane Chamberlain and this book did not disappoint. I am not sure where to begin. The book is poignant, heartbreaking and emotionally moving.

I was intrigued by the time travel dimension of the novel, the suspense, the love, the courage and the beautiful mother/daughter theme.. The book is captivating and magical. It took my breath away! I loved this novel. I could not put it down. Highly recommended!

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review

This is a very special book and one that will stay with me for a long time. The main character, Caroline, finds out that the child that she is carrying has a heart defect. The year is 1970 and she has also just learned that the father of her baby has been killed in Vietnam. Her brother in law has an idea that may be able to save the baby but it involves a giant leap of faith and time! I have read a lot of Diane Chamberlain's books and this was a departure from the others by delving into the SF genre but, still with the emotional connection that the reader has with her characters. Highly recommended!

A unique and entertaining story that is quite different from other Chamberlain books I’ve read. This time, Chamberlain’s thought-provoking topic is wrapped in sci-fi, as mother-to-be and unborn baby travel through time to take advantage of medicine’s progress in saving the baby’s life. This child surely would have faced certain death back in 1970 but due to advanced medical technology in the future of 2001, the defect is no longer a death sentence. Risky is the travel, the portals, the timings of ‘step-offs’ and identifying gateways. The human emotions of Hunter and Carly amidst the science shone through.

arly Sears has just found out that her unborn child has a fatal heart defect. She’s already struggling because her husband, the child’s father, was killed in the Vietnam War. Her life feels hopeless. Then her brother-in-law tells her he may have a way to save her unborn baby. What is a terminal heart defect in the 1970s is operable in the 2000s. Is what he suggesting for real? If so, does Carly have the courage to go through with it?

I don’t want to say much more, except that things do not go as planned and so there are many twists and turns to Carly’s story. Time travel is not a new concept in literature but I found the way Chamberlain uses it to be totally original and creative. Carly’s journey to save her daughter is full of complications and I could not for the life of me predict how the book would end. It was bittersweet but satisfying.

Even though there is an element of science fiction in this book, at its heart, it’s a story of family and a mother’s love for her child. I think it would make an excellent book club selection. As a mother, it made me think deeply about what lengths I would go to and what sacrifices I would make for my children. I imagine a book club could have a robust discussion about what they could do vs. what Carly did.

The other book I’ve read by Chamberlain is Necessary Lies, which I loved as well. However, it’s so different from this book; I’m impressed with the range that she has. I definitely want to read more from her. I also want to read The Dream Daughter again. It’s the kind of book that is so well plotted that you will gain even more from it when you read it through knowing what’s in store at the end. I highly recommend it.

This is the type of book that keeps you thinking, dreaming…long after you’ve turned the last page. To put it simply, I loved it.

To tell you anything about the plot would be to ruin your experience. So, I’m not going to go there. But, I will say this:

In 1990, I gave birth to a baby girl who weighed 2.12 pounds and spent the next five weeks in the NICU. At that time, I wished there were books to let me know the feelings I had were normal. My daughter is 28 now and Diane Chamberlain finally wrote the book I needed back then. I remember feeling the same way Carly felt the first time she held her daughter. I remember my baby fighting to keep her eyes open as she stared into mine and the tears that fell when I had to give her back to the nurse. Thank you, Diane, for putting those feelings into words.

I received an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.

To be honest, the blurb on the back of the book doesn't give away anything about the story (which I appreciate), but when I realized what was happening, I thought I was going to hate this book. Oh boy, was I wrong. Diane Chamberlain proves just how skilled of a writer she is with this one. I just wish I hadn't read it in a day because now I have to wait until the next one she releases.