A wonderful read! Full of vibrant characters, a wonderful storyline and kept my attention from beginning to end! Highly recommend

The Brightest Of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is a delightful Christian historical novel set in 1919. It is the third book in the Canadian Crossings series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces.
The story surrounds the plight of Dr Bernardo’s children who were sent from the orphanages in England to Canada. Not all the children were orphans, some were in the homes due to their parents falling on hard times. Permission to take the children overseas was not obtained. It was a shocking time in history. Susan Anne Mason has woven a marvellous fictional tale around the facts.
The reader is reminded that God wants us to take care of the widows and orphans. There are some huge hearts within the novel who open up their hearts and homes to others and who do not judge them.
There are the themes of guilt and forgiveness. Deathbed promises made before World War I intervened did not materialize. A character is weighted down with guilt and needs to forgive the face in the mirror.
Another character is also buckling under the weight of guilt and inactivity. Forgiveness needs to be given and received.
God sees all our situations. When we cannot help our loved ones, we must surrender them to His care. We can trust Him with their lives.
Faith in God is vital. God is wherever we are. “No matter where in the world he travelled, God was with him.”
Due to circumstances beyond her a control, a character battles with feelings of self-worth. “She didn’t feel worthy to ask anything of God.” God asks us to come to Him just as we are. No one is ever too far from the hand and heart of God.
Once more Susan Anne Mason has created a charming set of characters who warm the reader’s heart with their love.
The Brightest Of Dreams is a beautiful story showing how God repays the years the locusts have eaten.
I received a free copy from Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Readers get to experience an adventure with our hero. His primary mission is recovering his siblings, but since he was also hired to find and bring home his employer’s niece, a beautiful, single adult near his own age, his mission is complicated.

I liked this author’s fresh, engaging prose and how she provided many allies. So often main characters don’t have enough allies to support them. The story’s pacing kept me reading, and we didn't lack for conflict in this layered story.

Though the hero was on a noble quest, he often came across as juvenile, extremely whiny, and self-absorbed. We never saw him outgrow this. His selfishness contrasted sharply with the heroine’s maturity. She’s used to serving others, not putting herself first. What surprised me was that she couldn’t see his immaturity. That didn’t seem quite believable.

As with many historicals, I did find a few instances of melodrama. Unfortunately, readers are left out when this happens. I also found a couple of instances of modern language in this historical, but I was reading the ARC, so that may have been changed in the final version. The writing in the final third of the story wasn't quite as strong as earlier. That's where the melodrama came in. And I found multiple uses of phrases involving "heated cheeks," which felt repetitive. Again, it's possible that was toned down to one or two in the final version.

A great way to end the series! Susan has a way of making me swoon throughout the stories and her plot twists keep me turning the pages.

I was not aware of the practice of sending children to Canada to find new homes. How tragic for these families. This book dealt with this practice and showed how things were changed.
The relationship between Quinn and his family showed loyalty by Quinn for never giving up. I also admired Julia for standIng up for herself.
I will be recommending this book to the patrons at my library.

4 stars for this historical romance. This book follows Quinn, who has just come back from the war (WWI) to learn that his mother was unable to support his siblings and she turned them over to an orphanage, where they were sent to Canada to be laborers. I've read one other book about the British Children's home and was absolutely astounded by this piece of history that I'd not known before. This is somewhat of a crude forebearer to the foster care system; but Britain was running out of room and resources and Canada needed farm labor. Some hundreds of thousands of children made the voyage in the few decades that this was happening. This book spoke to that time frame and how things came to pass for these fictional characters. Whie this is book 3 in the Canadian Crossings, it was the first I read and I was not at all confused, so this can certainly be read as a stand-alone.

Quinn was a multi-faceted character. In some instances, he was patient and kind - the perfect gentleman. In other instances, he was rather impatient and threw a tantrum (that happened a couple of times). Through it all, though, circumstances came about as he'd hoped. While there was some tension throughout the book, I felt like he found his siblings rather easily and his dreams came to pass rather quickly towards the end, making it seem a bit unrealistic. But.... the spiritual lesson throughout was trusting in God brought about His Will, and so I suppose if that was His Will, then there's no reason for it to not turn out happilly ever after. It just "felt" a little too easy. This is the main reason for a 4 star instead of a 5 star rating.

There was a lovely cast of side characters. I especially adored Mrs. Chamberlain, who ran the local boarding house. I also apprecatiated Rev Burke and the way he ministered to his flock and the new immigrants. Julia, the heroine, was also very likable and relatable. I appreciated her independent spirit and at the same time her reliance upon others when times got tough. She can be an example for us all in those regards. She lived a life of quiet faith and grace that was easy to admire.

This book was an interesting historical romance about a time and issue that are little known, with a sweet romance, solid faith thread and interesting sub-plots. I would recommend to fans of inspirational historical fiction. Special thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book. I was not obligated to write a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

The Brightest of Dreams was written by Susan Anne Mason, and is book three in the Canadian Crossings series.

Summary: This third book follows Quinten Aspinall, and his desperate search for his siblings. Upon returning from war, he finds they have been sent from England to Canada to serve as indentured servants when their mother could no longer care for them.

Determined to reunite his family, he immediately books passage to find them. His employer tasks him with another mission on his journey-to find his estranged niece Julia, and bring her back to England. His reward? A farm of his own where his family can all be together at last.

Will Quinten be able to locate his siblings, and bring Julia Holloway back to England? He has to try-if only to fulfill the promise to his dying father to look after the family and keep them safe.

My Thoughts: This was a great book. I have enjoyed the others in the series as well, and I am not sure I could pick a favorite. It is definitely not necessary to have read the previous books in order to enjoy this one, but they are all worth the read.

I really liked the characters, the storyline was well-done, I enjoyed the romance, and it was a fitting conclusion to the series as a whole. I also enjoyed learning more about the history behind the mass migration of English children to Canada during this time period.

It is a good read, and I recommend it! Another great book by Susan Anne Mason.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

This has been a fantastic series of historical fiction. I had not read much that takes place in Canada before this and I had definitely not read about England sending children over to Canada. It seems like it was a good idea on paper but there were children that it did not work out for. I loved the characters of Quinten and Julia. These two came together at the right time in their lives and were able to help each other. This made me laugh and cry. I received a copy of this book from the author and Bethany House for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

I am mad. So mad about this book. And here is your fair warning that there are spoilers.

I have been waiting a year for this book… You hear my but coming? Well, it is!

I liked the beginning of The Brightest of Dreams but I was flipping through since it was going slowly and I wanted to stay interested … and I found out that Julia was drugged by a doctor after her friend died and that the doctor raped her.
It's after WWI so there is still a lot of stuff with rich dudes getting away with stuff and women not going to the ploice when stuff happens to them so you can assume that she doesn't tell anyone but the love interest when he notices that she was pregnant and she says that it was rape.

Since I found this out I skipped ahead some more...
And found more discouraging content … The bad dude tries to take the baby she's pregnant with after the attack, she goes into early labor at court, goes to the hospital, they stop labor until later and then she has the baby after Quin gets there again. Once again bad dude comes in, at the hospital! He wants to see his kid!!!! Um, big no no to me, he deserves to be thrown in jail and the key lost and that's the nice version! But no, they talk, he kinda feels bad, and THOUGHT THAT SHE WANTED *IT* SICK SICK SICK SICK… No one was with them until the pastor came back in, and she forgives bad dude saying if he really is sorry he'd let her keep the baby. So, of course he does … And she thinks it's a good thing Quin didn't come in since he'd do something to bad dude, uh, yeah! He'd better do something!
Plus her uncle doesn't want her home after he finds out about the baby. Well, she can come "home" but has to stay hidden until her cousin is happily married to some rich titled guy and she can come somewhat out of hiding.

Now that we have that out of the way may I say how much I nearly loved it? Quinten's story is so heartbreaking … I wanted to see what happened with his siblings and I skipped through and found out. I loved it! Such a bittersweet story idea but the author ruined it with everything that she threw at Julia, I honestly feel like she did it just to give the heroine angst. Like the hero couldn't have all of the drama, no sir … That wouldn't work. *eyeroll* I will not be finishing The Brightest of Dreams and I won't be doing another book from Mrs. Mason.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Brightest of Dreams
by Susan Anne Mason

Bethany House
Bethany House Publishers
Christian
Pub Date 04 Feb 2020



I am reviewing a copy of The Brightest of Dreams through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:


Quinten Aspinall who out of determination to keep a promise to his late Father to keep his Family together he heads to Canada. Canada was where his younger siblings were sent to as indentured servants while Quinten was away at war.



Julia Holloway's decision to come to Toronto had been met with disaster. After her uncle's employee Quinn rescues her from a horrible situation she worries she will never be able to repay him. When he asks for help finding his sister Julia agrees. Soon after though she receives devestating news that changes everything.



Quinn is now torn between reuniting with his family and keeping Julia's secret safe. Will he be able to reunite with his siblings.



I give The Brightest of Dreams five out of five stars!


Happy Reading

An enjoyable and inspiring story. A bit predictable , but good character development. Sad to think of what happened to children in times after wars. I would read this author again. I think this was my first book by Susan Anne Mason. I do like historical fiction with perhaps more feel for the time period.

In The Brightest of Dreams, Quinten Aspinall returns to England from war to find that his ailing mother, being unable to care for her three youngest children, has sent them to an orphanage. And the orphanage has shipped the children to Canada for “the chance for a better life” as indentured laborers. Quinn promises his mother he will find his siblings and bring them back, but when he asks his employer, the Earl of Brentwood, for the time off to travel to Canada, the Earl has another mission for him. The Earl’s niece, Julia Holloway, ran away to Canada with a soldier in order to care for him after the war, and he wants Quinn to find Julia and try to convince her to return to England, as well. As an added bonus, Quinn will be rewarded with one of the tenant farms for him and his family if he can bring Julia back. In Canada, Julia is living in poverty as the soldier she was caring for has died. When Quinn finds her, comes to her aid, and offers her protection, she is grateful, but when she learns of the deal made with her uncle, she wonders if Quinn actually cares about her or if he is using her in order to earn the farm. As Quinn struggles to get all the pieces of his life together — finding his siblings, trying to win Julia, striving to get back to England with his brothers and sister in tow in order to keep his promise to his mother, and trying to hold up his end of the deal with the Earl of Brentwood in order to earn the farm and provide a home for his family — he wonders if it’s even possible for him to have all he dreams of.

The Brightest of Dreams is a clean, faith-based story. The story weaves in historical events as it tells about the British Home Children which is a pretty horrible piece of history that I had never heard of before. Although I liked the premise of this story, I personally had a hard time connecting with the characters. I felt that the story dragged and seemed a bit unfocused sometimes. And in some places, I thought the dialogue seemed awkward and didn’t seem to fit the time period. Of course everyone has their own reaction to a story, and as this book has many five star ratings, obviously many others did connect with this story in a way that I just didn’t. But I certainly do appreciate the focus on faith in the story, and I’m glad to have learned a bit of history as well.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a fantastic finale to the Canadian Crossings series and my favorite of the set. The story line was so engrossing, it kept me reading to find out what was going to happen to these characters and how they would get their happy ending. Quinten and Julia were very likable characters and I loved seeing Mrs. C again and learning more of her story. Really enjoyed this book!

I received this book from NetGalley and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

Quentin Aspinall returns from the war to find that his siblings were shipped off to Canada as indentured labourers. Quinn must travel across the pond to reunite the family and keeps his promise to his late father. As he embarks on this trip, his employer asks him to look for his estranged niece who eloped with a WWI soldier and bring her back to England in exchange for a reward.

It took me a minute to figure out that The Brightest of Dreams is the third instalment in the Canadian Crossings series. While this can be read as a standalone book, a reader might wonder about the disappearance and reappearance of some supporting characters. who featured prominently in earlier titles.

The Brightest of Dreams was a pretty easy book to read that I finished it in less than two days despite being over 300 pages long. I was fascinated by the siblings' indentured lives in Canada and by the fact that it was based on real-life events.was quite shocking. Overall, this was a good escapist read.

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is the third book in her Canadian Crossings series. I haven’t read the first two, but the back copy of The Brightest of Dreams captured my interest, so I did something usual: I read Book Three first. I’m glad I did!

Quinten Aspinall worked as a butler for an English earl in the early 1900s. After returning from war, he learns that his mother is deathly ill, in a workhouse hospital and his three younger siblings had been sent to Canada after his mother left them in an orphanage. Determined to bring his family back together, he gains his employer’s blessing to travel to Canada to search them out.

The choices Julia Holloway has made have left her alone in Toronto and in dire straights. She determines to find her own way out, but in a moment of weakness, she pens a letter to her cousin, who shares it with her father, who tasks his butler with the job of bringing Julia home. Quentin wants to refuse the task, but the earl insists.

Faced with so many social issues of the day, Quentin and Julia navigate many difficult waters. From child labor to unwed pregnancy to family expectations and class distinctions. The Brightest of Dreams is not necessarily an easy book to read, but it does an excellent job of showcasing the issues facing immigrants in the early 1900s.

The Brightest of Dreams can stand on it’s own though the last book in a series and though readers are given a sneak peak at the characters from the first two books. I also hadn’t read Susan Anne Mason before but after reading Quentin and Julia’s story, I intend to take a look at her other books. If you love historical fiction or just want a snapshot of what it was like to live in that time in history, I highly recommend The Brightest of Dreams.

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I received this book free from NetGalley in order to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I thought this was a good concluding story to this three book series. Quinten's story is one that has the reader routing for him to pull his family back together again even though it seems impossible. Not all stories are "rosy," and the author portrays that well with the heartbreak that happened with the British children who were brought over from England to Canada to work on farms. So many children were frightened and hoping for a good home, but many ended up with awful situations. I was not aware of this time in history until I read Carrie Turansky's book, No Ocean Too Wide. I'm glad to see authors bringing to light this part of Canada's history, and helping readers to understand all that these children went through. Although, Quinten finding his siblings is only part of this grand story. Quinten finds that his plans are beginning to change once he encounters the beautiful Julia Holloway. Now, he must choose between family obligations and a woman he loves. It was interesting to see how his character changes throughout the story battling inside himself to do what it right. I thought the author did a great job creating tension and resolution throughout this story. It kept the story moving and the reader interested.

***I received this complimentary book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

An informative and eye-opening account of three, among the nearly 100,000, British Home Children brought to Canada between the war years. Detailed review to appear in the May 2020 edition of the Historical Novels Review magazine.

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is the third novel in the Canadian Crossings series. It can be read as a standalone if you have not read the other two Canadian Crossings novels. If you have read Best of Intentions and Highest of Hopes, you will be delighted with this final story. Grace and Emmaline are in included, so we get to find out how they are faring. I thought The Brightest of Dreams was well-written with developed characters. I can tell the author did her research for this novel. It is heartbreaking that hundreds of children were sent to Canada as indentured servants. The working conditions for some of them were intolerable as we see in this story. Quinn Aspinsall is searching for his two brothers and sister in Canada so he can return them to England. He hopes that when his mother sees all her children once again, she will begin to recover. The Brightest of Dreams is an emotional story that captures the time period beautifully. Christianity is woven into the story making it an integral part. The characters pray to God for help on their journeys and with their lives. Quinn and Julia become a part of a charming church community that includes Mrs. Chamberlain and Reverend Burke. My favorite phrase from The Brightest of Dreams is, “God’s timing was always perfect.” It is can be hard to turn our worries over to Him and leave them in His hands. The romance plays out sweetly and slowly which suits the time period and the story. The Brightest of Dreams allows us to glimpse into the past in this multifaceted novel. I especially appreciated the epilogue. The Brightest of Dreams is a story that draws you in and holds you until you finish the very last page.

I have loved this series by Susan Anne Mason. This book brings together the separate storylines we’ve been following throughout the series in a perfect way. Quinn and Julia have some tragedy and heartbreak to go through before all is settled for them. I admired Quinn’s strong determination to rescue his siblings and reunite them with their seriously ill mother back in England. Julia comes to the point that she has to put aside her fierce independence and accept help. I’ve loved Harriet Chamberlain’s role in this series as the one who helps and “mothers” the young ladies, and was glad that she also found her happily-ever-after.

I would suggest reading the books in this series in order so as to get the full impact of the “British Home Children in Canada” storyline. Based on historical facts, it’s been a heart-touching series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I don't generally write negative reviews, but I have mixed feelings about The Brightest of Dreams, so I decided to include it. I have never read a book by Susan Mason before, so I didn't go in knowing what to expect.

The story itself is intriguing. Quentin Aspinall returns to his employer, the Earl of Brentwood, after World War I. He requests that the Earl give him leave to travel from England to Canada to find his three siblings who were sent there from an orphanage. 

The Earl allows Quinn to go, and also requests that he search for the Earl's niece, Julia. She traveled to Canada with a wounded soldier against her uncle's wishes. He told her she could never return. 

He has since had a change of heart, and wants her to return. The Earl promises Quinn his own tenant farm if he brings Julia back.

From there the story does go well. The parts about Quinn's travel to Canada, the search for Julia and his siblings kept me interested and wanting to read more.

But I thought the book should've ended much sooner than it did. I found myself reading it because I wanted to hear the end of the story, not because I was enjoying it. 

A lot of the things that happened seemed improbable, especially in 1919. I have not done research about that time period, but some of the medical procedures seemed a bit too advanced for the day.

There is one scene in the book where Julia tells the reverend that she doesn't deserve for God to forgive her. He responds that we all deserve God's forgiveness. 

That is exactly opposite of what the Bible says. None of us deserves forgiveness, but He forgives us anyways. That's the whole point of mercy. I think the author could've taken a different approach to that scene altogether. 

There were parts of the book I did enjoy, and find informative. I did think it was interesting to learn the plight of orphans who were sent from England to Canada in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. 

I also liked Quinn's character and how he worked to bring his family back together. The Brightest of Dreams book was okay, but I'm not really interested in reading the rest of the series. 

Overall: 3 stars