The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. (2018).
**4.5 out of 5 stars**
It’s 1970 and Caroline is pregnant with a baby girl who has a heart defect. Nobody can do anything about it. Except her brother-in-law, Hunter, says there might be something she can do…
Hunter appeared in their lives only a few years ago with a mysterious secret past, no friends and no family. Now he is telling Caroline if she wants to attempt to save her beloved unborn baby she must do something that will require her to have strength, courage and a huge leap of faith.
This book is actually very hard to review without a major spoiler because the narrative goes in a direction that is not clearly stated in the synopsis…but I’ll give it my best go haha!
I really enjoyed all aspects of this book. Carly (aka Caroline) was easy to relate to and feel for, I hurt for her a lot throughout the novel. The story is primarily from Carly’s point of view with a few short chapters from Hunter’s perspective, and takes place in several different years. Despite the concept at the core of the book having the potential to be confusing, the author has successfully simplified it so readers can both understand and appreciate the narrative; some readers may wish for a more detailed explanation but I personally think for the purpose of this particular story it’s done well.
I found the narrative to be both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and I was totally absorbed while reading. I would highly recommend this well-written novel.
