In My Wildest Dreams

Rating:
Summary: A delighful Sabrina like tale
Review: By 1843 all seventeen years old Celeste wanted was the love of Ellery Throckmorton, but the handsome noble never noticed the gardener's daughter. However his older brother Garrick sends Celeste to the highly respected Distinguished Academy of Governesses and after that to Paris.

Four years later, Ellery is betrothed to marry Hyacinth though he prefers to remain a bachelor, but sees Celeste and wants her. Garrick intercedes to insure that Celeste does not remain a distraction and thwart the wedding plans he has for his younger brother. However, he soon finds himself falling in love with the full of life Celeste, but she apparently loves his sibling.

IN MY WILDEST DREAMS, this reviewer never expected anyone to rewrite the classic Sabrina especially when the movie remake so paled in comparison to Hepburn-Bogart. However, the incomparable Christina Dodd provides her audience with a pleasant Victorian era rendition of Sabrina that sub-genre fans will enjoy. The story line is fun when Garrick's plan backfires and he falls in love with his target. Though a subplot involving espionage adds suspense, some readers will find it unnecessarily takes the reader away from a lovely historical romance that shows why Ms. Dodd is so highly regarded by fans.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Sabrina 1843 w/ more romance & a stronger heroine
Review: I honestly don't understand the ruckus over the Sabrina theme. There are no new stories; the differences come in the details & the telling. And Christina Dodd has done a fabulous job of rewriting the "Sabrina" storyline, which is itself a variation of the Cinderella story. Personally, I enjoyed the correlation.

Garrick is my favorite of the Governess heroes; he's strong, intelligent, and interesting, but not overly macho. Responsible almost to a fault, but not at all "high in the instep," Garrick starts out seducing Celeste to keep her away from younger brother Ellery, but winds up falling for her. Celeste, meanwhile, comes to admire & then love the inigmatic older brother, although she'd had her heart set on Ellery, who is newly betrothed in an important family alliance. Ellery is a self-centered adult boy, much like the younger brother in "Sabrina." Garrick is a widower who desperately needs a governness for his daughter and...another girl. Celeste, the head gardener's daughter, is the perfect fit; the girls love her instantly.

The chemistry & sensuality are there; Celeste & Garrick are a thoroughly believeable couple. The spy storyline worked for me; it was just enough for the tone of the book. I considered giving it 5 stars, but 4 & 1/2 is more accurate.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written & entertaining, but it's still Sabrina!
Review: I wish I'd read the reviews here before I checked this out of the library! Then I would not have been so surprised when, a couple of pages into the book, I thought, "Wait a minute, this is Sabrina's plot!!" So the rest of the book I had to picture Humphrey Bogart as Garrick and Audrey Hepburn as Celeste! But that's all right, as the book was enjoyable anyway. After all, Sabrina doesn't have the suspenseful subplot involving the Russians, although I do not feel that was well enough explained, really. I almost felt that the book needed a prequel to set up the whole "Great Game" thing, along with the many mysterious references to the "family business".

That said, Celeste, Garrick and Ellery are all well-done characters, even if we've already met them on film. The plot has its little twists and turns, but you know how it ends before you even begin (if you didn't, you wouldn't be a romance reader!). I loved Celeste's sassiness especially, even as I grew tired of Garrick's glowering.

If you want a predictable, sweet romantic tale, this is a good read. If you want a novel plot, well, look at one of Christina Dodd's many other wonderful books.