Book Description Review A Palm Beach Post 2020 Recommendation“Compelling…[A] good, captivating and ultimately satisfying story.”―Greensboro News & Record“Chamberlain is more than a terrific writer. She’s incisive and understands people.”―The Star-Ledger“Chamberlain’s depictions of creative beauty and perseverance across time and in the face of inevitable obstacles will keep readers turning the pages.”―Publishers Weekly“Chamberlain’s writing is reminiscent of a quilt made up of pieces from different people, places, and times, stitched together into a single, emotional story.”―Booklist“An engaging, well-researched, and sometimes thought-provoking art mystery.”―Kirkus Reviews“[A] great escape.”―First for Women“[A] heart-pounding whodunit.”―Women’s WorldPraise for Diane Chamberlain’s The Dream Daughter“With a little tension and a lot of heart, The Dream Daughter will delight Chamberlain’s fans and hook new readers.” ―Booklist“Chamberlain writes with supernatural gifts…fate, destiny, chance and hope combine for a heady and breathless wonder of a read.”―Pam Jenoff, author of The Orphan’s Tale“Can a story be both mind-bending and heartfelt? In Diane Chamberlain’s hands, it can. The Dream Daughter will hold readers in anxious suspense until the last satisfying page.” ―Therese Fowler, author of Z Read more About the Author Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times and international bestselling author of The Stolen Marriage, The Dream Daughter, and Big Lies in a Small Town. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her sheltie. Read more Customers Review: This book was beautifully written. Set in two different times, the past and future weave themselves together for a beautifully told story. Anna gets the chance of a lifetime. After losing her mother, she has the chance to paint a mural in a small town. Times are different in the south. After befriending two boys to help her with her mural, rumors fly and the town is quickly divided. Things get heated and Anna gets more than she bargained for. Morgan, hasn’t had the greatest life and after getting an unexpected get out of jail free card she is thrown into a different life than she pictured for herself. Restoring Anna’s mural restores Morgan’s faith in herself and life. Bringing the past and future together in an unexpected twist. This book was flawlessly written with amazing characters that were true to the time of their stories. I absolutely loved this book.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this book early to review! I was so surprised to find this in my email and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I really needed a book to get me out of a reading slump. I haven’t been reading books that I love lately and I really needed a book to love. I always read Diane Chamberlain without even reading the synopsis. She is an autobuy author for me. This is my 22nd book that I’ve read by Diane Chamberlain and she does not disappoint with this book. I love when authors are able to blend a historical fiction timeline with a present timeline seamlessly. I was able to predict one of the connections, but it didn’t affect my feelings toward the book at all. I also really enjoy the way that Diane Chamberlain is able to put hard-hitting issues in an accessible way for readers. When you leave a Diane Chamberlain book she always leaves you feeling like you’ve learned something and it really makes you think. She is able to take a contemporary story an extra step that really pushes boundaries without going too far. I will continue to read everything Diane Chamberlain writes and will continue to fully promote her to my youtube subscribers. Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review this e-book!
How is this book so darn good???? I’m a little obsessed. I had to give it 4.5 Stars.SUMMARYThis story is told from two points of view; Anna and Morgan. Anna is an artist in 1939, who created a WPA post office mural in Edenton, NC but mysteriously disappeared before completing the mural. Morgan is a former art student, current prisoner in 2018 who was offered the opportunity to restore the mural in return for getting out of jail early. As Morgan works on the restoration, becomes increasingly curious about Anna begins to look for answers about her disappearance.I really don’t want to give much detail because it’s so amazing to read the story the way the author, Diane Chamberlain, laid it out. Chamberlain certainly knows how to tell a story; slowly doling out little nuggets of information making the reader unable to think about anything but picking the book up again and finishing it ASAP!WHAT I LOVEDDiane Chamberlain really knows how to write the South. She understands the nuances and subtle differences that give it it’s unique character. She also writes fascinating characters and knows how to portray relatable women.There was a lot packed into this story; alcohol dependency, the prison system, racial injustice, sexual and physical abuse and redemption. The story was based in small town NC, Anna’s part taking place in 1939-1940. During Anna’s narrative, Edenton was basically run by white men, leaving both women and African Americans bound by the rules and limitations dictated by these men. Anna was from a New Jersey suburb of NYC and was not accustomed to these southern small town mores, her naivety about these conventions played a large role in her story. I absolutely loved Anna, she was so loyal and held onto her beliefs even when it was exceptionally uncomfortable for her to do so.I really loved Morgan. Writing a story with a female ex-con for a main character was an unusual choice for a book like this. I truly didn’t think she would be such a sympathetic and fascinating character, but she turned out to be such a great choice.Although I loved all the aforementioned things in this book, the absolute best part of it was the plot. The plot was what help me totally and completely glued to my kindle. I had no choice but to keep reading, I needed to find out what was going to happen next. It was just so darn good!!!!WHAT I DIDN’T LOVEClearly I loved just about everything about this book but there was one twist near the end that I found a little too coincidental. I mean, it would have explained one mystery, but it was just hard for me to wrap my head around.OVERALLSuch an amazing story!!!! I loved it so for that I feel sorry for the next book I read. It’s going to be a hard book to follow! I highly recommend reading it, I don’t think my review is doing it justice.
A stunning and magnificent piece of literary work. The story is told in the present from two vastly different eras. The author chronicles the life of Anna and Morgan through there challenges. It is a journey of actions and consequences and how they can affect generations to come. It mixes history, mystery and love to form a perfect mosaic. The depth of emotions tied in with the characters stories as they discover all the things they didn’t know about themselves or other connected to them is tangible. This will definitely a book you want on your bookshelf to read several times. |
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