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Member Reviews

I love Diane Chamberlain, although this was not my favorite of her novels. I enjoyed the plot and characters and there were some unexpected twists. The time travel concept intrigued me and I thought it was well done and sequential so as not to confuse the reader!

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Diane Chamberlain is a wonderful author. She develops the characters so you feel you know them. This book is about time travel. It reminds me a bit of a Wrinkle In Time and the Time Traveler’s Wife. Make sure you like that genre before reading. The book is also about a mother’s love and what she would do for her child.

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Holy cow!!! Where do I begin??? This book had me from the very beginning!! It was so well written! A little different from what I would “normally” read, but Diane is simply amazing!!!! Get your tissues ready as you embark on this roller coaster!!!

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The subject matter is different than Diane Chamberlain's usual and it wasn't my usual genre, but she is such a gifted writer that she was able to pull it off beautifully.

The Dream Daughter weaves a tale of one mothers tough choice to do something drastic with the hope of saving her daughter.. As it got towards the end of the novel I was engrossed because I needed to know what happened to the baby. It was heartbreaking, bittersweet, and beautiful.

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Anything by Diane Chamberlain is worth the time. This book was no exception. I like reading about time travel as I am a history buff.
This story may have been incredible in many ways , however, I had a hard time putting it down. It will be difficult to start another book after this.

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Just finished this wonderful book by Diane Chamberlain...I am a fan of hers..but this book is very different and yet I hear her voice on every page. The genre of time=travel is not one I am fond of or usually read..but because of the author I wanted to get my hands on it. It does not disappoint...She tells a story that is very creative and takes much talent to keep on trace...all her nuances from today and yesteryear are right-on.
The little twists make it that much more enjoyable... I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to spend some hours reading it...because once you begin...it will be hard to put down....

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Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advance read of this novel in exchange for my honest review. I'm already a fan of Diane Chamberlain. In the first couple pages of this book, I had to go back to the description to make sure it was her book and her plot, because it seemed so different than her normal plot. Wow. I also normally steer clear of time travel, for reasons unknown to me. This book was so well done, and I felt like I knew the characters. I don't usually tear up while reading, and this one had me tearing up AND, at one point, literally putting my hand over my mouth in surprise. What if you could go back in time to save your child's life? What if you knew there could be consequences even you couldn't anticipate? Trust me: this is not a science fiction type novel. This is a novel about family, choices, life and love. I couldn't recommend this more highly.

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I found this book impossible to put down. It starts out with weird feelings about a guy, goes to Vietnam War issues, lots of time travel and the love, be it biological or adopted for a child. As a mother, my heart aches still to make those big choices.

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This is a story about time travel but nothing like the Outlander series. This a beautiful story about a mother’s love for her child. Would you travel in time to save your daughters life? I don’t want to tell more about the story because I want you to read it and experience all the twists and turns. It’s the best book I’ve read for quite a long time. Wish I could give it six stars!

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This was a quick read and I enjoyed the time travel premise. Although the story seemed slow moving at times I remained interested in finding out how things would be resolved. This contained some intriguing plot twists and a good representation of the 1970's.

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Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors. Normally I am not a fan of time travel but this book kept my attention. I loved all of the characters and really felt for their situations. There were many times when I was sitting at the edge of my seat because the story was so gripping. I live in Noth Carolina and recently visited the outer banks so I enjoyed chamberlain's descriptions of the area. I will purchase this book for the library and trust that my patrons will love the book as much as I did.

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Time travel is not usually a choice of mine, but the Dream Daughter was one I really enjoyed. Reading for enjoyment is important to me and this book entertained.

Carly, in 1970, learns her unborn child has a probable fatal heart issue. Hunter reveals he is from the future and feels her baby can be saved if she goes to 2001. A huge gamble it is, but staying in 1970 is not an option if she wants this baby to live.

I enjoyed the twists and turns while wondering how this could possibly work out. The title didn't really fit, which is my only moment of huh? Thank you NetGalley for a most enjoyable advance read in exchange for an honest opinion.

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I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley. Thank you, what an entertaining read. The time travel is a little far fetched and different from all Diane Chamberlain’s books. But it was so good. My niece died from CHD after fighting for her life of only 9 months. She never left the PCICU. So the book interested me from the beginning. I’d recommend it to anyone. It was a touching story. This is also posted on my goodreads page.

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This book was engaging from start to finish! Although it felt like it skimmed over events sometimes, it was a nice mix of chick-lit with a dash of science fiction. The characters were all good people that I wanted to root for. Even cranky Myra who had understandable concerns. In the later parts of the book I wanted to shake Carly and tell her to move on, but it all ended well.

The science of time travel is not explained a lot, but it didn’t need to be. Instead the settings in North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey are nicely detailed. I want to visit each place. Also, the every day technology details are well done. It’s really amazing to see how it has changed in a short time.

This was my first Diane Chamberlain book, and it made a good impression. The relationships were well done, and I liked how clean it was.

I received a copy of The Dream Daughter from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I love Diane Chamberlain’s books. This one wasn’t my favorite. What I liked: I appreciated Carly's maternal struggles and I found the ending very satisfying. What didn’t work for me: The time travel was contrived. I’ll admit, that is not something I typically like, but I’ve seen it done in a way that I believe it (Stephen King’s 11/22/63, for example). This one just didn’t work for me. Also, I thought some of the characters were poorly developed, especially Patti and Myra. I just thought Myra, a scientist, would speak in a more intellectual way, and Patti was too reactionary for me.

All that said, it was a solid 3 Star book for me. Carly was a great character and I enjoyed watching her journey, and I liked the inclusion of the National conflict over Vietnam.

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Time travel, not exactly something I ever wanted to read about. I was wrong. This is a wonderful story that held my interest from the first page to the last. It was the kind of book that when I finished I had to take a break from reading for a few days so that I could go over it in my mind. I love all of Diane Chamberlain's book and this one is on the top of my list. Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and especially Diane Chamberlain for the opportunity to read the advance copy.

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This book was absolutely incredible! Full disclosure - I am a big fan of both Diane Chamberlain and books about time travel. In a way, this book was very different from her others - she doesn’t normally write about science fiction - but it was also everything that I’ve come to expect from her books. Fully developed characters, timely plots with occasional fascinating twists, an engaging voice and an immersive reading experience that makes them difficult to put down. Although I was concerned before I started The Dream Daughter as it is such an unlikely premise, both the details of time travel and the motivations of the characters, especially the main character, are very believable. It provided an enjoyable escape for a difficult week.

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Wow, this book was amazing. Completely different from Diane’s other books but I loved it! I couldn’t put it down. The story line was excellent and I fell in love with Carly, the main character. The family ties in this book are so strong and the love the have is real and seems to jump off the page. I was fully engrossed in this book and I was fearful I wasn’t going to be happy with the ending, but oh was I surprised!! Highly recommended!

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Diane Chamberlain writes a multi-layered, genre crossing and complex novel that is emotionally heartbreaking and moving. Through the device of time travel she outlines just how much the world has changed from the turbulent 1970s to the beginnings of this century and the momentous events that occurred such as 9/11. In 1970 in Maryland, 26 year old Caroline 'Carly' Sears has faced difficult times with the loss of her husband in the Vietnam War. She is pregnant and expecting his child, when she receives another crushing blow, her child is afflicted with a heart defect that cannot be rectified. Her supportive sister, Patti, is married to Hunter Poole, a man about whose background very little is known, and they are blessed with a child. Hunter feels he owes everything to Caroline, the person who helped him when he was a broken man. A man with huge secrets, he makes the decision to open up to reveal himself as a time traveller, informing her that he thinks there is a way to help her baby.

Caroline finds herself facing a mind blowing solution to her woes that sounds incredibly far fetched and puts her in a quandry. However, she is a mother who will do anything to save her beloved child, and for this she is willing to think beyond herself and go where she never thought was possible, into the future, to a New York where the leaps in medical science from the 1970s have been astonishing. Like all the best laid plans, returning back to the 1970s turns out to infinitely more complicated than thought for Caroline. She is bemused at all the technological shifts in society and how the perspectives on the Vietnam War have changed as the story moves in unexpected directions. Chamberlain writes a emotionally gripping story of love, loss, grief, family and mother-child relationships. Through the character of Caroline, she highlights the stresses and pressures of living in two different time periods and how far a mother is willing to go to save her child. For many readers, the inclusion of time travel in this novel will require a substantial suspension of disbelief, but I was fine with it as the author made use of the device well to illustrate pertinent points and issues. A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for an ARC.

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This story was very creatively written with absolutely amazing characters. I loved the time travel plot and the challenges Carly had to face as she headed 31 years into the future to save her unborn baby. I also liked how the author effectively used the time periods, such as the Vietnam Era and 9/11 to add layers of realism and emotional angst to the characters’ lives and choices made.
This was a very fast read due in part to the author’s ability to engage her reader from the very first page until its completion. Very highly recommended!

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