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Dreaming

Dreaming

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Nothing like Barnett's other efforts!
Review: I read bewitching before I read this one and I have to say that this was not quite what I expected. The heroine was PATHETIC!! All that "prone to accidents" mixed with her begging the hero to love her was sickening! The hero wasn't even very likeable- hero my butt, he's a drunk jerk! She gives no real reason for his drinking other than to say he feels giult over his father & brother's deaths. I found myself skimming over pages just to get to the end. This was over the top with regards to a pathetic heroine & a drunk, callous jerk...overall, a real waste.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost exceptional book...
Review: I'm not a big fan of romances in general, but Barnett's 'Dreaming' is worth reading. It contains lovable characters, an interesting plot, and some funny moments. I particularly love the hero and heroine's interactions with each other. Certain scenes would take me from tears to laughter in a matter of paragraphs.

Maybe I'm just a relentless romantic and was glad that Letitia's persistance finally paid off or maybe it was the way Richard slowly fell in love with Letitia, but something made this book one of my all-time favorites.

However, I couldn't give this book five stars simply because it assumes that the reader has finished some other Barnett work. I didn't care about the characters of Joy and Alec and wondered why they were even in it. Maybe if I had read the previous book, I'd care about them, but I didn't and felt precious page space was being wasted on them. That and the somewhat strange use of magic kept me from giving 'Dreaming' five stars.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This one's for the recycling bin.
Review: I've been reading romance novels since I was eleven, but this is the first book I've read that has ever seemed to have been written BY an eleven-year-old. Letty's "dreaminess" and hopeless infatuation with Richard made her seem like a cross between a child and a mentally handicapped person. Richard was simply the typical, jaded hero whose opinion of Letty changed inexplicably from her being a pathetic disgrace to a desirable siren. The fiascos and side characters throughout the book were just unrealistic and irritating, and the only genuine scene is thrown in haphazardly on the last few pages. The book was okay for a quick skim, and I think the author shows potential for talent, but clouds the basics with inane attempts at humor. I don't plan to read her other novels.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This one's for the recycling bin.
Review: I've been reading romance novels since I was eleven, but this is the first book I've read that has ever seemed to have been written BY an eleven-year-old. Letty's "dreaminess" and hopeless infatuation with Richard made her seem like a cross between a child and a mentally handicapped person. Richard was simply the typical, jaded hero whose opinion of Letty changed inexplicably from her being a pathetic disgrace to a desirable siren. The fiascos and side characters throughout the book were just unrealistic and irritating, and the only genuine scene is thrown in haphazardly on the last few pages. The book was okay for a quick skim, and I think the author shows potential for talent, but clouds the basics with inane attempts at humor. I don't plan to read her other novels.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lighthearted, Great Reading!
Review: I've read Bewitching and enjoyed this one. Waiting for Richard to fall in love with Letty pushed me to read on! The mishaps, Letty's concern for Richard and the characters of the book are great! Jill Barnett is a favorite of mine!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A nice dream.
Review: If you loved "Bewitching", you'll love "Dreaming".

Letitia Olive Hornsby, a curly-haired, blue-eyed hellion thinks that Richard, the dashing, handsome, and totally disreputable son of the Earl of Downe, is the white knight of her dreams.

Letitia's courtship of Richard is full of accidents, and he soon has the bruises to prove it.

When a ring of dangerous smugglers makes them prisoners, Richard falls in love with his insufferable, although unforgettable, cellmate.

Great supporting cast.

Warning: Do not read in public, you'll laugh out loud.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lighthearted romance and fun!
Review: Lettie is a walking disaster. And her target has changed from her father to her neighbor - the rakish Earl of Downe. She's blackened his eyes, broke his foot, dislocated his shoulder, and all because she truly loves him. He can't seem to get away from the besotted girl... or her dog (who hates him). Lettie's dog accidentally spooks the Earl's horse, sending him over a cliff and into the clutches of three smugglers (clumsy triplets on their first heist). Instead of running, she plunges over the cliff to 'save' her love... and when she's not shooting him, setting him on fire, or blowing holes in the smuggler's ship, she's softening his hardened heart with her innocence and devotion. This book is a hoot - and although you'll miss the shape-changing surprises if you haven't read Bewitching first, you'll still love Lettie and her wicked rogue Earl.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Pleasant Suprise
Review: There are few things about a romance novel that annoy me more than the Great Heroine Tease. Avid readers of this genre will recognize the phenomenon. The author presents us with an intelligent heroine - usually a bluestocking - complete with terribly good sense and an unusually high level of education, and we're hooked. We're excited. God knows there's few enough of these characters around. Then suddenly, in what I can only imagine is a misguided attempt by the author to soften the character up a bit, the heroine becomes a silly, helpless, often idiotic shadow of her former self.
Oh look, down that dark deserted alley, it's that notoriously violent noblemen I suspect might be involved in a triple homicide. He looks drunk and he's carrying a saber. I'll just pop over and say hi.
Jill Barnett manages to avoid this common pitfall beautifully. Letty is a disastrously clumsy, irrepressible dreamer from start to finish - consistency is highly underrated in romance novels - and moreover, Letty knows it. I think this is key. In other books the heroine might very well burn down a building without realizing it (at which point one can almost hear the author screaming "She's endearing! Can't you see that she's endearing?!") whereas Letty is more likely to burn down half of London, but she's not so stupid as to be unaware of the fact.
In the end, it's just so much more pleasant to read about the awkward girl who shows a quiet bravery despite her failings, than the brilliant woman who acts like an idiot despite her gifts.
What stops this book from earning five stars is the necessity of reading it's predecessor Bewitching to fully understand what's going on (which is no punishment, as it's also quite good) and the too abrupt about face by the hero. In all other ways, this book is a lovely little romp.
Highly recommended.


Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This book although funny at times is also too shalow for me.
Review: There are two types of Ms. Barnet's novels, one is where the heroine is so childish and dimwitted that I feel like shaking her from time to time (e.g. Bewitching, Dreaming, Wild); the other one is where the heroine has a good common sense, can be serious but still funny and loving (e.g. Wonderful, Imagine, Carried Away) these novels I would strongly recommend for my friends. Dreaming simply fell into the first category, which is way I gave it only 2 stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great book. Read Bewitching first.
Review: This book is a must read. Its funny and heartwarming with some magical turns you won't suspect. Best if you read "Bewitching" first.


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