The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain is an intelligently written book that takes a look at the interwoven fabric of time. Carly, a recently widowed soon-to-be mother is given horrible news about her unborn baby. When she is given an unthinkable option she must trust and sacrifice more than her heart can bear. This is a great multi-generational tale that looks at motherhood and family and what sacrifices you would make to preserve them. Diane Chamberlain departs from her typical writing style for this story - but it works. The characters are engaging as always and while the science is mind boggling at times it is well worth the read. I would highly recommend this book to my friends and family! I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a captivating story by Chamberlain! Her books are always heartfelt, but this book took an interesting twist. Such a great premise. Taking place in 1970, ‘73, 2001, 2013 and 2022, this book covered a lot of history. After her husband dies in the Vietnam war, Carly finds out that the baby she is caring has a life threatening heart condition. In order to save her she needs surgery, surgery that is not available in 1970. With the help of her brother in law, Carly time travels to 2001 to have this surgery to save her unborn child. Things become complicated with their return and Carly and Joanna are separated. What a journey Carly is on. A journey full of hope, love and hard choices. A delightful book from beginning to end.

I have a love/hate/like/love relationship with this book, which isn't a bad thing. I was deeply invested in the characters of this novel and loved the Vietnam Era setting which I wish more fiction was written around.
Recently widowed Carly Sears finds out that her baby has a heart problem which will eventually end her life. Desperate to hang on to the last living part of her husband who is a casualty of war, Carly learns an unbelievable secret and launches an incredible plan. Carly's brother in-law-is a time traveler from the future. Not only that but he knows how to send her to the future, where they have the medical expertise to save her baby.

But will it work?

What follows is a wildly emotional and harrowing journey of how far a mother will go to save the child she loves, and what it is that makes a family. Though at times I wanted to throw this book across the room, I still highly recommend it. It is evocative without being sentimental or maudlin and delightfully original in its presentation.

I have always loved Diane Chamberlain’s books and The Dream Daughter did not disappoint.
I really enjoyed this book that tells how far a mother will go to save her unborn child. I must admit that when I saw time travel was involved I thought this book was not for me as science fiction is not a genre that I generally enjoy, however, the story seems more like a story taking place in two different decades rather than something that I would consider science fiction.
I really enjoyed reading about both eras and remembering how simple and laid back things were in the 60’s and 70’s, which is something that is often forgotten in today’s fast paced world.
Just like people back then had no idea of all the advances that awaited them, I’m sure that we can’t even imagine what awaits us in the future.
I highly recommend this entertaining and thought provoking book.
I received an advance reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.

Chapel Hill, NC - 1965

Caroline (Carly) Grant is a physical therapist at a hospital. A male patient with a broken ankle refuses to participate in therapy. He appears to be depressed and it is thought that he may have jumped off the roof of a building when he sustained his injury. Seeing Carly across the room, he yells out that he would like to work with her. The doctors think she might be able to reach him so she agrees to work with Hunter Poole. Helping him with therapy, she realizes he is a Beatles fan as is her sister, Patti, and she agrees to introduce them.

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland - 1970

Carly (Grant) Sears is pregnant and as her baby’s heartbeat is irregular, she is there to look into the new use of ultrasound to check further on her baby’s condition. Carly’s husband, Joe, has recently been killed in Vietnam. She now lives with her sister, Patti, and her husband, Hunter, in Nags Head, North Carolina. Sadly, Carly is told that the baby she is carrying is a girl with a severe heart defect and will not live long after she is born.

Hunter tells Carly that his mother was a scientist involved in sending people to different time periods. Having done it himself, he knows how it works. He wants to send her to 2001 so she can have fetal surgery to save her baby. As frightening as it sounds, she agrees.

Carly steps out into the future willing to do anything to save her baby that she plans to call Joanna. The fear and uncertainly she faces along with the new inventions of the future that boggle her mind make for a very strong character. Her love for her daughter is key to everything she does.

At first I was skeptical of how the story was going to play out but as I keep turning (Kindle) pages, I found I was totally hooked and did not want to put it down to even sleep. Time travel in general does not necessarily appeal to me, but this is so well crafted that I am recommending that everyone be sure to read THE DREAM DAUGHTER. This is certain to be a 2018 standout novel.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

A captivating exquisitely told story about the power of a mother’s love💕

WOW! WOW! WOW! This was simply book perfection! It already has a spot on my “Fave“ shelf! As well as a spot in my heart! The thing I am most proud of in my life is being a mom; and the three people I love the most in my life are my three amazing children! And even though they are pretty much all grown up now I would do anything to protect any of them! So of course I could not help but put myself in Carly‘s position in this book, to what Lankes is a mother willing to go for her child? Would you be able to face the unknowable? Believe the unbelievable? Take that leap of faith?

If you have not read this book yet, I am so jealous! You have such an amazing treat ahead of you... it is 1970... Carly has just lost her husband to the Vietnam war, and now she has found out that her unborn baby has an inoperable heart defect.... Hunter her sister’s husband, who seems to know the words to the Beatles songs before they have come out, and is also a physicist tells Carly there might be a way to save her baby.... BUT it will require her to believe the unbelievable and have faith and take a huge leap, quite literally.... you see Hunter is from the future he knows how to time travel and he can send Carly to the year 2001 where it is possible to operate on her babies heart... Time traveling? What? Who is the author again? DON’T panic! Trust me! It SO works! Shoot by the end of this book I was almost believing I could travel back in time myself!

Even though the time traveling aspect of this book was interesting and a little stressful... just imagine how much the world change between 1970 and 2001, microwave ovens, cell phones, Internet, the list goes on and on and on... this really is a book all about love, and hope, and sacrifice.... A beautiful heartwarming story with some time travel peppered in...

This is a genre defying, Decade spanning, story filled with all the components you want in a book... A perfectly pased and compelling storyline, relatable and captivating characters, and all the feels! This book truly surpassed my expectations and I probably could go on and on and on, but I will save you that! Strongly encourage you to add this book to your TBR ASAP! It will bring tears to your eyes, a big smile to your face, but most of all it will leave a warmth in your heart!

*** A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***

The Dream Daughter is a fabulous book and I can’t recommend it more highly! This is the first book I have read by Diane Chamberlain and at first I was a bit put off with the time travel aspect, but it ended up being my favorite part about it. What a mother will do for her unborn child! The book is so well written that going from 1970 to 2001 was totally believeable, especially with the technology differences. The characters were well developed and I grew to care about Carly and felt that I went through her journey will her, with all it’s ups and downs, and there were many. I hated the book to end.

Wow. 

Just about an hour ago I finished up my advanced copy of The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain and I'm still trying to work through all the feels I'm having. 

I think that the blurb for this book is very well done. It doesn't give too much away and I promise I won't either. I didn't really know anything going into this read and I'm so glad. If I had known exactly what it was about, I probably would never have requested it. 

The story begins in 1970. Twenty-six-year-old Carly Sears has just been told that the baby she’s carrying has a heart defect. After what has already been a rough year, Carly is devastated to learn that it is unlikely that anything can be done to save her baby's life. After the sudden loss of her husband, this baby means everything to Carly.

Thankfully she has the support of her sister, Patti and brother in law, Hunter. Hunter came to be a part of their family just a few years before. He is a physicist and he knows he can help Carly and her baby. But what Hunter tells Carly sounds unbelievable. At first, she wonders if he’s teasing her….and then she wonders if he’s lost his mind.

However, Carly will do anything if it means there is even the smallest possibility of saving her unborn child.

This is a story about, more than anything else, a mothers love. The extraordinary lengths that a mothers love can go to. And the heartbreaking work of doing what is best for your child. 

This novel crosses genres like no book I've ever read. But does it so seamlessly that I wholly accepted the new reality being presented to me. I felt Carly's love for her daughter; it was palpable, a character all its own. 

This was my first Diane Chamberlain (although I have had her books recommended to me several times) and I will definitely be looking into her backlist soon. Did not disappoint in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure. 

4/5 stars

The Dream Daughter is only the second book by Diane Chamberlain hat I have read. Her books are wonderfully written with the words flowing right off the page into your heart. This can be serious when the subject matter is heart wrenching and totally absorbing. Which is what happened as I read The Dream Daughter.

Bit of the mystical is part of the book, as a mother tries to save her unborn child’s life. The problem is real, the solution unbelievable but you believe it anyway and the characters simply steal your heart as you read. In any great story the characters change but then so does the reader. That is exactly what happens as I read The Dream Daughter. A deeply touching story from a true master story teller.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Caroline Sears has lost her husband in the Vietnam war and at the same time is pregnant with their first child. After a scan by her doctor they think there is something very wrong with her daughter and they don't have the means in 1970 to fix what is wrong with the baby. In walks her brother-in-law who may have a way to help her.

SPOILERS START HERE
I don't usually include spoilers in my review, but I feel like I have to with this one because the big plot point of this story threw me for a loop and I want to avoid that for anyone else.

Ok, here it goes, this book has time travel. If I had known before picking up this book, I am not sure I would have read it and continued, but I will say that I am glad I started and finished it and it sort of worked in this book. It is the only science fiction portion of the book, so if you can pause reality when you read for just a moment you can try this and possibly enjoy it.

Hunter, Caroline's brother-in-law is able to send her to the future where they can possibly heal her child. There are twists and turns and interesting plot points and in the end I enjoyed it. I liked how the science of it worked out, but it definitely came out of nowhere and I am not sure I was excited that I didn't know about it when I started the book.

I love Diane Chamberlain as an author and that was one of the big reasons that I kept with the book and like her other books this story had great plot and characters that allowed me to pause my realistic self and keeping reading along.

I would say try it with this one.

The Dream Daughter is very different from most of Chamberlain’s stories.  Time traveling plays a large part in this novel. As usual, Chamberlain’s writing style is enjoyable and easily read in this novel as in her other novels.  

In 1970, Viet Nam war widow Caroline (Carly) Sears is pregnant with her first child.  Testing reveals her baby has a heart defect that is untreatable. There is no hope for a well child until her brother-in-law reveals he is a time traveler and fetal surgery is available in 2001.  Once Carly gets over her disbelief, she, of course, is willing to do anything at all to save her child. For reasons I won’t go into, more than one time traveling trip is required, and things do not always go as planned.

While executed nicely, this is not particularly my favorite type of book.  However, I did enjoy this story and will certainly read more from Chamberlain in the future.  Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel.

I have a confession to make. This was my first DC book. (Hangs head in shame) Why is that an embarrassing confession you ask? Well, because this book was so honest to god amazing that I cannot believe I haven’t read one of her books before. I am still blown away and absolutely reeling after finishing this one, I don’t even know how to review it because I can’t do this beautiful book justice.

I don’t even want to tell you any more than what the blurb does because I went into this completely blind and I’m so glad I did. Actually, I’m sure I read the blurb months ago, but I’m glad I forgot because this was the best kind of surprise and one that swept me away and had me absorbed fully and completely. Chamberlain’s writing is magical and evocative, this is about a mother’s love and just how far one would go to help their child. It’s about family, selflessness, love, loss, heartbreak and just messy, beautiful, wonderful life. It’s gorgeous you guys, I don’t even know how else to explain it.

The characterization was outstanding, I fell head over heels in love with just about every single one of them but mostly with the main narrators, Carly and Hunter. They got under my skin and into my heart and I swear I’ll never forget them and their amazing stories. This one crosses every genre, you’ll be scared and filled with dread, you’ll laugh, you’ll be sad and if you’re like me, you’ll even cry. I can’t say enough good things, read the book. Favorite read of the whole year for me and generally I have a really hard time even picking twenty favorites so that says it all.

The Dream Daughter in three words: Breathtaking, Exquisite and Poignant.

How far will a mother go to save her child? When Carly learns that her daughter—the sole link to the husband she lost in Vietnam—won’t survive beyond childbirth, she’s devastated. Sp when her physicist brother-in-law offers Carly a way to save her baby, is she brave enough to make the journey? A transporting time-traveler.

I won a copy of this novel on GoodReads from the publishing house. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you haven’t read Diane Chamberlain before, you really must! She is, truly, one of the most gifted writers.

Time travel is MY JAM so I was REALLY excited to see that her newest historical fiction novel had a science fiction spin that would be focused on time travel.

Diane Chamberlain AND time travel?

SIGN.

ME.

UP.

Set in the 1960’s, Carly’s husband has passed away in the Vietnam War before she can even share with him the news that she is pregnant.

At her routine doctor’s visit, they discover that this baby has a heart condition that cannot be treated and that her baby will die.

It is when she gets this news that her brother-in-law, a gifted physicist, shares with her that there is actually a surgery that can be done, but this surgery won’t be available until 2001.

How could he know this?

Well, let’s just say that he has time traveled a bit…

With his help, Carly time travels so her child can be part of this experimental surgery. Nothing is guaranteed, but Carly will do anything to save her daughter.

Chamberlain creates such suspense with this story that I could not put it down. This could have quickly turned corny, given the time travel aspect, but she does it with such beauty and believability, even crafting strain on the relationships of those left behind.

I hate to pick favorites, since I have loved so many of her books, but this is definitely one of my top 5 from this author!

Fans of, The Time Traveler’s Wife, will really embrace this one and the clever plot twists that surprised even me!

This is a story of how strong a mother’s love is for her unborn daughter when she finds out her baby has a heart defect, and how far she will go to save her baby when her brother in law tells her an unbelievable way he feels her baby could be helped.
Boy this book had me so into it yet there was three times I was ready to give up and quit reading it, one time a No scream was echoing in my head, but then I would find myself turning the pages even faster.
I recommend this book to adult readers if you can take your emotions being tugged and pulled and put through a wringer, it is so worth it.

I have read 4 books by Diane Chamberlain, though she has written quite a few more, and have thoroughly enjoyed each of them. The Dream Daughter is different with the added fantasy element.

How far will a mother go to save the life of her child, for Carly Sears it was taking an enormous leap of faith. It was also a leap of faith for me as a reader to suspend my disbelief and just go with the flow of the story - probably why fantasy and sci-fi aren't favorites of mine. Leaving the comforts and security of home Carly sets a course to save the life of her child.

The Dream Daughter is a captivating novel about courage, heartache, and acceptance. This is my 5th novel by Diane Chamberlain, it's a tie between Necessary Lies and The Midwife's Confession as to which one is my favorite. This earns a solid 4 stars. I was glued to the pages and anxious for Carly and her baby - finished this off in a couple days. It didn’t have the depth of those previous books with their multiple layers (remember just my opinion) that I love but still a book I will recommend.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Amazing! I have loved every book Diane Chamberlain has written and this one just skyrocketed to the top of the list. Carly Sears has just lost her husband in Vietnam and found out she is pregnant with a baby girl. But her baby has a heart defect that, in 1970, is fatal. Her brother-in-law, Hunter, then proceeds to tell her a way she could save her baby. It will involve great courage and an open mind to embrace a possibility that defies logic. Carly will have to make heartbreaking decisions that will have far-reaching repercussions.

With excellent writing that we've come to expect from Diane Chamberlain, this story has such a unique twist that it kept me reading way past my bedtime. The characters are well-developed and believable while the storyline keeps you engaged and trying to guess how everyone is going to react, or what choice will have to be made next. Overall, this book is an excellent read and I loved every page!

I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Absolutely brilliant and stunning novel by Diane Chamberlain!

Diane has such a powerful way with words... my goodness did I melt with her power of storytelling!

This crushed me!! In such a good way... took my breathe away!! I honestly am having a difficult time writing this review.. because this book was everything. I don't think a review can do this book the justice it truly deserves.

Let me tell you this.. it was raw, real, emotional, powerful, and crushing all in one.

The time travel aspect left me fascinated! This in my opinion made the novel. It heightened and highlighted the true aspects to the plot and storyline. Diane Chamberlain truly made this story blossom about an unconditional love that a mother has for her daughter. Wow.. talk about goosebumps to MY core.

I'm not going to dive deeply into the plot because you can read what the story is about yourself... but what I can tell you is this is such a rollercoaster of emotions. I cried, laughed, and most of all had anxiety (in a good way).

Diane Chamberlain left my jaw hanging with her talent. I cannot imagine the time, skills, and complex writing skills that she has demonstrated her in this novel.

This is one NOT to miss. One of my top contenders for 2018 reads!!

5 dream stars to the tee!!!

Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Publication date: 10/2/18
Published to GR: 9/30/18

Enthralling, memorable, and heart-wrenching!

The Dream Daughter is a unique, moving, time-slip novel that takes you into the life of Caroline Sears as she embarks on a perilous journey to save and protect her unborn child.

The writing is eloquent and sophisticated. The characters are genuine, compassionate, and courageous. And the captivating, time-travel plot sweeps you away into an intricately woven tale about life, loss, family, determination, hope, solace, sacrifice, remarkable medical and scientific advances, and a little magic.

The Dream Daughter is ultimately a mesmerizing, creative, well-written story that may be a little different than Chamberlain's previous novels, but is nevertheless an emotional, satisfying, page-turner of a tale that reminds us that a mother's love is all-encompassing, selfless, powerful, and everlasting.

The year is 1970. When Caroline Sears finds out that her baby has a heart defect, with little that can be done for her, Caroline is devastated. However, Caroline finds hope in her brother-in-law, Hunter, a physicist, who mysteriously entered the Sears family a few years back with no history, no family and what looks like lots of secrets. Hunter describes a way Caroline can save her child that will totally test Caroline’s strength and courage beyond anything that has come before. Caroline has the strength and conviction of a mother who truly loves her child and will do anything for this child. Can Caroline muster up enough to do this now for her child? Follow her as she moves along the roller coaster obstacles and events of a mother who loves her child above all else and will go to any lengths to stop the heart defect form taking this precious life.

I am not a big fan of time travel and did not realize this story was centered around it. However, the author treats the subject in a fantastic way, so I never did feel I was somewhere in the middle of some science fiction story. In fact, it was fascinating to explore this area, along with the author and book characters. I found the author’s writing style to be smooth and easy to follow. I wandered along with Caroline through the ins and outs as she explored and followed this stranger than life option. I strongly felt the love she had for her unborn, a love that would, in my opinion, only grow stronger and more powerful as time went on. There were plenty of surprises, ups and downs in this book, but I felt I had to keep with it to see what was going to happen next. Yes, I had to suspend my beliefs, but I did so willingly, just to see it through to find out what would happen. This is definitely a different time travel book. I am not a big fan of time travel, as I said, but this book managed to suck me right into this concept, hook line and sinker. The book is likewise a powerful look at a mother’s love and just how far she will go to protect her child. I think it can also change some perspectives on time travel, since the concept is handled so differently and expertly. If you have never really gotten into time travel or if you have read books heavy on science fiction time travel, I recommend trying this one. It will hopefully entice you and change your mind a bit. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.