[Review] The Dream Daughter - Diane Chamberlain

Summary: When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back.

Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby's heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline's part.

And all for the love of her unborn child. (Pub Date: Oct 2, 2018)

In the 70's, Caroline has lost her husband to the war and may also lose the child he's left in her because medicine still hasn't progressed enough to save her unborn daughter. That's when her brother in law Hunter shares a secret—he can travel in time, and he can send her to the 21st, where they could save her baby, but he can't go with her. It's a challenge she'll have to take on her own.

This isn't that much of a time travel novel. Here, we have a law a person won't go back from her fifth trip, so Caroline wouldn't be able to come and go as she wants. I did think it lacked the thrill this trope gives you, but that law added a danger we don't usually see in similar books. Caroline has to do it right and alone, because Hunter has already used up his quota. This was interesting, thrilling and frustrating all at the same time. But I also think that if there's such an important rule, the climax should have been about going against it. Unfortunately, even though we do see more about that, it was just in the background.

I liked the title because it called to me but I'm not sure how much it connects to the story either. It's not like she dreams of her daughter as if she's real or anything. I wonder if The Future Daughter was unavailable, lol.

But okay, the thing is that this was a very nice book to read. It was definitely not about the time travel, but the dilemmas here present were so heartbreaking! It was a book that really made me connect to the main character's problems. Also, we see her having to make a handful of difficult decisions. Even though I wouldn't have taken some, I think I understand them all. It's very rare for me to be on this level with a character's chosen path. Still, gosh, this is a cruel story. Imagine losing your husband and being about to lose his child, and of course stuff happens making it all even more complicated... How can this writer be so cruel!

I don't recommend to those who are simply interested in time travel stories. It's not the focus, you'll probably be disappointed. This is much more like a family drama, which happens to use time travel here and there. It's unusual to go to such lengths for a story but that's what happens in the book. As a drama book, this was great. I confess I wasn't glad with the end but it doesn't mean it was bad. How to put it without spoilers? I'm wondering if the author was trying to be even more cruel with the dilemmas she presents Caroline with or if she wanted to give her some prize after all she's been through. Either options, I felt a about the end was somewhat forced. But if you ignore it, it was a good ending.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.


Rating: 4 out of 5.