Rating: 
Summary: Funny, Charming and Wonderful! I never wanted it to end!
Review: "Letitia Olive Hornsby believed in fate, in hearts destined, in love at first sight. And she had loved him forever." At age eleven, she met Richard Lennox, her next-door neighbor, and the man of her dreams. She watched him ride his white steed onto the bridge, and knew it was love at first sight. Then she accidentally knocked him into the river. Richard, now the Earl of Downe, has been the object of Letty's affections for years. He has also been the object of her good intentions, which continually go astray. Like the time she accidentally dislocated his shoulder, or when she drove his curricle over his foot, forcing him to use a cane for two months. Richard's friends have been concerned about him of late, and finally convince him to return home from London. He's been putting all his effort into running from his mental demons, by indulging in drinking, gambling, dueling, and bedding every willing woman he could find. Now that he's home, things are about to get even worse. Letty, or as Richard refers to her, "the Hornsby hellion", is spying on him from a tree, and has another mishap. This mishap results in their capture by smugglers, who place them together in a cell aboard ship. And to make matters worse for Richard, Letty's "hellhound" dog, Gus, is also captured with them. Being trapped with Letty for days at sea may prompt him to realize his feelings for her...if Letty doesn't sink the ship before they manage to escape. This is the sequel to "Bewitching" which I accidentally read in the wrong order. I believe this may be the funniest story Ms. Barnett has written. I don't think I've ever laughed so much while reading a book. But it isn't all laughs because the story is also very sweet and touching. You may even shed a tear. I read this book in one day because I absolutely couldn't put it down. Letty is the klutz with a huge heart, who sees the world through rose-colored glasses, and loves Richard unconditionally. Richard is the bad boy who suffers the pain of all her accidents, and tries to chase her away for her own good, but can't help falling in love with her. Normally, I don't read books more than once very often, but I know I will read this one again. This is one of my all-time favorite romance novels, and it will remain on my keeper shelf. I really do recommend you read "Bewitching" first, because characters from that story are brought back here, and I remember feeling there was a history about them unknown to me. "Bewitching" is an extremely good read also. So, read both...you won't be disappointed!!
Rating:
Summary: Jill Barnett is my favorite author...
Review: and Dreaming is my favorite romance. The heroine is clumsy, funny, bright, and tender. I loved her! Her love for the hero is poignant and real, and the humor in this book taught me that an author who can touch the full range of emotions, from laughter to tears in one scene, is a rare gem. Dreaming has the top space on my keeper shelf.
Rating:
Summary: very sweet and charming....
Review: At first, i really hated Letitia. I thought she had no pride. She only thought of her feelings for Richard, and gave no thought to how others might perceived her feelings. But slowly, I started to admire and respect her courage. She is brave enough to say how she feels, with no strings attached. Slowly, like Richard, I came to care for her and to feel the pain that she was ffeling. Jill Barnett has really done wonders with this character that you just feel like you are in her shoes. Towards the end, you begin rooting for her happiness, and Jill Barnett has delivered it with style and full of charm. A definate MUST!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Richard, the Earle of Downe, is far from a hero type.
Review: But Letty, the awkward, disaster-prone, girl-next-door, sees that the true Richard is indeed the knight-on-a-white charger that she's dreamed of all her life. The hard part is convincing Richard of that.... I don't normally care for reluctant heroes, nor heroines who wear their hearts on their sleeves. But there's something about Jill Barnett's writing that makes it acceptable--the characters, the dialog, the hilarious situations, the suggestion that the most unlikely dreams can actually come true in spite of all odds. I haven't read "Bewitching" either, but you can be sure I will as soon as I get hold of a copy. In fact, I'm going to be hunting as many of Jill Barnett's backlist as I can find!
Rating:
Summary: One for the home library ... a must-read!!!!
Review: Dreaming is a wonderful romance about love, laughter, and faith. A book to make you laugh, cry, and fall in love. Jill Barnett has a gift unlike any other to pull you into her writing and make you FEEL. The reader falls in love with the heroine and joins in her enthusiasm of and for love. An amazing writer and an incredible book, this is a must-read for anyone who believes in or needs to believe in love
Rating:
Summary: *Cute and Funny*
Review: DREAMING, by Jill Barnett is a charming love story between Letitia Hornsby and Richard Lennox. Set in the Regency time period, it is a wonderful story not to be missed. Letty has loved Richard all her life, and has always tried to express it when ever she is around him. However every time she tries something, it always ends up as a disaster. Now eight years later, Richard returns home from years away at school. He's never forgotten Letty, who has always made his life insufferable, dreaming him to be her knight in shining armor, when he is anything but that. On the day of his return, Letty follows him and accidently knocks him off his horse and into the river. Hitting his head on a rock, Richard is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up again, he realizes that he's on a smuggler's ship, amd tagging with him is - Letty. Stuck together in a terrible condtion, it is up to Richard to get them out of this mess. But being confined so closely together and after eight years of separation, Richard soon notices how beautiful and sensual Letty has become. And if they end up getting out of this situation alive, he just might give himself and Letty a chance for love. What I loved most about this story is Letty's character. She's innocent and very sweet. She causes trouble, but always looks at it from the bright side. She's not afraid to declare her love for Richard, and at one point Richard gets really mad, because he knows he can't be what Letty believes him to be, and tells her to love someone else. And the most emotional part comes when Letty explains why she loves Richard, and why she always wants to show her love. This is the first novel I've read by Ms. Barnett, and I can tell you, I look forward to her other books. I hear BEWITCHING is the prequel to DREAMING. So I will give that a try, and I do hope I end up enjoying it as much as I did for this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Truly romantic and heartwarming
Review: I agree with the others that Jill Barnett has an exceptional ability to make her readers FEEL, laugh, and cry with the hero and heroine. The undercurrent sentimentalism and idealism make the very emotional story even more beautiful. Another remarkable thing about this book is that the supportive characters (Alec and Joy, for example) get enough pages that anyone who didn't know them before will rush and read their story the moment they finish "Dreaming," though it is definitely one of the books you never want to see the end of.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I bought this book on the basis of all the positive reviews here and because I greatly enjoyed the prequel to Dreaming - Bewitching. But I was sorely disappointed - this was almost a wallbanger for me except for the lovely romance between the secondary characters Neil and Gianna. The novel starts off great but unfortunately, the rest of the book is a recounting of the many, many foolish antics of Letitia. A first her awkwardness is cute but it wears thin after she has shot, almost drowned and otherwise entangled Richard in one debacle after another. She is always the little girl who needs rescuing and moreover she likes to play that role. I felt sorry for Richard for being saddled with a heroine who is little more than a dependent child. The book is well written and should be enjoyable to fans of "I Love Lucy" therefore I gave it 2 stars even though Letitia is utterly devoid of any charm or virtues other than dog-like devotion to Richard.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun, Hysterical Romance with a Klutzy Heroine
Review: I could rave for days about DREAMING. Both the hero (a sarcastic drunk of an Earl) and heroine (his naïve, lovesick stalker) are fantastic. Letty has to be the most klutzy, accident-prone, and oblivious heroine ever. The fact that she is so sweet and vulnerable makes it even funnier! You can't help but laugh every time poor, beleaguered Richard (the Earl of Downe) becomes the victim of all her disastrous attempts to help him. He's shot, tossed down a cliff, attacked by a cow, and more! Plus, her dog, Gus, is a good nemesis for Richard. If I had to complain about DREAMING, I'd have to say I would have liked more hanky panky and could have done without the highway robbery scene tacked on at the end.... Still, the book is a joy to read. I think that's mostly because Letty is a seriously fun heroine - kinda like the little girl with the crush who everyone laughs at as a kid, yet grows up to become everyone's best friend AND gets the cute boy she's always liked in the end.
PS. DREAMING is a sequel to the novel, BEWITCHING, which is where we are first introduced to Richard and Letty. Out of the two books, DREAMING is far superior.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny
Review: I found this book to have the same humorous writing as Jill Barnett's other ones, however, I did get annoyed at times with Letty. Some of the clumsiness and dreaminess was so extreme, it made her seem like an idiot. I thought the patience that Richard showed was beyond what any man could have endured, but I guess that's what makes it such a nice love story. I would have liked Jill Barnett to add some backbone in Letty's character. All in all, it was a nice read, and towards the end, Letty did get stronger. The final pages are the best, it left me smiling.
|
