Dream A Little Dream [Mass Market Paperback]

This book handled a very rough plot very smoothly. I
admire this author for writing this book. There are so many
situations out there just waiting to have stories written about
them, and I applaud Susan Elizabeth Phillips for having the courage to write this book.

A woman and her son return to Salvation, NC, with not much more than a bad reputation. People try every trick in the book to make her leave.She takes a low paying job and falls
in love. With the few friends she has she manages to prove herself.

I really enjoyed this book, I would recommend it, and this reviewer gives it 5 stars:)

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. This is her fourth book I have read in the past month and I have given three of those books the highest rating. Her stories are so touching and full of life. In Dream a Little Dream, her leads are very likable with well-rounded and interesting secondary characters. And one of those secondary characters is Rachel's five-year-old son, Edward. At times your heart loves him and breaks for him as he attempts to guard his mom, arrange a marriage for her, and put down roots in Salvation. This is not some cutesy kid - this is a heartrending portrayal of the son of a single mom who doesn't expect any one to like him and requires so little in life for happiness. As the son of a crooked, notorious, deceased televangelist, he has experienced a lot of rejection. There is a lot to be worked out in his life and it is a very dear sideline for this story. His relationship with the hero is realistic - filled with problems and those problems propel the turning point of the book.

Rachel has returned to her former home of Salvation, North Carolina - a place where she is despised because she is the widow of the deceased televangelist who put Salvation on the map and then ran away with millions from his ministry. They believe she was involved in the religious scam and spurn her and her son at every turn. Rachel is totally without money, friends, family, or resources. Her car breaks down as she is nearing Salvation at an old drive in movie theatre. There she meets Gabe Bonner who has purchased the old drive in and is restoring it. He has advertised for help and she decides she will fill the job. However, Gabe wants nothing to do with this woman and her young son. He is unkind, insulting, and pushy as he demands that they get off his property.

Gabe is a rugged, good-looking man recovering from a tragic loss. Even with his pushy, rude treatment of Rachel and Edward in the beginning of the book, he still appears as an overall attractive and very desirable man. Gabe is unaware that Rachel's broken down car is their home and calls a tow truck to get it and them off his property. But Rachel won't give up so easily. She is probably the most persistent heroine I have read and Gabe eventually gives in and hires her. Gabe and Rachel find themselves drawn to one another although neither wants a relationship. While Rachel would deny to anyone her poverty status, Gabe begins to recognize the many things Rachel and Edward go without and attempts to help them financially. It was rather refreshing when Rachel accepted his help - that seems to be in the "no-no" book of rules for romance heroines. So often the heroine refuses sensible help because she doesn't want to appear "bought". However, Rachel had no such qualms.

The characters from Nobody's Baby But Mine return in this book. I have not read this prequel to Dream a Little Dream. I think I would have enjoyed this book even more if I had but it also stands fine as a read alone book. One adult secondary character you will really enjoy is Gabe's younger brother - a pastor in Salvation. I have read few - if any - realistic portrayals of a minister in romance. But this one is really well done and adds greatly to the story line. Cal, Gabe's older brother (and the hero from Nobody's Baby But Mine), is quite the antagonist and behaves rather badly towards Rachel. He's a former good guy who becomes one you "love to hate" at one point in Dream a Little Dream. His comeuppance is served so well and with such subtle humor that it is one you will definitely remember.

I highly recommend Dream a Little Dream. It is a moving story in so many aspects. There are no silly misunderstandings between the leads and they both act quite maturely once they become involved. The sensual rating is about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). Dream a Little Dream is the third of four books in the Chicago Stars series. First in the series is Heaven, Texas followed by Nobody's Baby But Mine, then Dream a Little Dream, with This Heart of Mine as the last.

I actually read "Nobody's Baby but Mine First", liked it, and looked for other of her books. I found out there was a sequel, about the second Bonner brother, Gabe, so I went ahead and bought "Dream a Little Dream", and let me tell you, I haven't laughed and cried so much reading a book before,and all at the same time! I read other reviews and people raved about Heaven, Texas, but this is sooo much better.
Rachel Stone was married to a corrupt televangelist who died in a plane crash. She lost everything and left town with her son, Edward (otherwise known as Chip). Years later she suddenly finds herself stuck in Salvation, a town that hates her,as a last resort because she is determined to find some money she knows her husband left behind, money that will help her feed and keep her son because they have $10 dollars left and are living in their car (which dies a noisy death at the entrance of town, leaving them definitely stranded). Enter Gabe Bonner, a vet whose son and wife had been killed in a car accident and who has lost the will to live. He reluctantly ends up hiring her to help him put up a business and gets much more than he ever bargained for. She constantly challenges him, taunts him,insults him, and even desperately offers her body to him the day they meet, and through it all manages to keep her composure, strength and dignity, her spunk, her sense of humor and her desire to go on despite unimaginable hardship. She makes him feel again, even if it's mostly anger,and slowly brings him back to feeling somewhat human again.Unfortunately there's still another hurdle to overcome: Gabe can't stand her son because he compares him to his dead son and finds him so weak, scared, and lacking, that he can't understand why his son is dead while this scrawny kid is alive, and Chip can't stand his guts either. Then there's the people from town, who aren't happy to have Rachel back and give her a really hard time.With Gabe's help she tries to look for the money and fights against some enemies she unwittingly made along the way. But all's well that ends well, with a few surprises to boot! The eldest Bonner, Cal, and his wife appear too, and as in Nobody's Baby, there is a parallel love story, about the third Bonner brother, Ethan, who's a pastor in the community. I highly recommend this book, I found it was almost impossible to put it down, and was sorry to see it end. The second time I read it, I laughed and cried just as hard, and I'm sure I'll do it again some day.