Dream Country

Rating:
Summary: Captivating yet once again
Review: I am a big Luanne Rice Fan and Dream Country is another, absolutely wonderfully written book by Rice. I could not, once again, put down one of her books, and read the book in two days.

Dream Country is about finding the love of your life and sharing and building that forever life, and yet, that once in a lifetime dream comes shattering down on you with the devastating loss of one of your children. Jack and Daisy are ripped apart by the mysterious disappearance of Jack, their darling three year old. Unable to cope and fearing for Jack's twin, Daisy flees to Connecticut from Wyoming with Sage, Jack's sister, divorcing Jack in the process.

With Sage's disappearance at sixteen, Daisy's life is once again thrown into turmoil. Knowing that Sage is on her way to Wyoming to see her father, Daisy flies to Wyoming and has to confront all that she escaped from, including the undying love, that she still has for her ex-husband.

Rice brings together another heart-warming tale of family conflicts, enduring love and the mysteries of the heart. The ending will blow readers away and have them once again grabbing their Kleenex! Rice fans will delight in her departure from the shores of Connecticut to the roaming and wildness frontier of Wyoming.

Readers will once again be captivated, drawn, and immersed into the lives of the Tuckers. Rice weaves magic once again! Wonderful, captivating book!

Rating:
Summary: Intense and Emotional
Review: I liked Dream Country. It's a pretty intense and emotional rollercoaster ride that hinges on some fairly unique plot points and takes some interesting side roads along the way. For that alone, I give Ms. Rice credit. I've read lots of books, and this particular plot is a new one to me.

It isn' t the best book I've ever read, and I enjoyed Firefly Beach (the other Luanne Rice novel I've read) more, but there was something almost hypnotic about the way this story unfolded that kept me riveted right from the beginning.

The main characters in this novel are very well developed, and the constantly changing POV is interesting, if a little over-used. I agree with some other reviewers that said the mystery wasn't much of a mystery, but I think that was the point. I think we were supposed to figure it out before the characters did and wait with bated breath to see how it would unfold. I certainly did.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, which felt rushed and didn't do justice to the well-drawn characters we'd spent so much time getting to know. I was rooting for Daisy and James, and for Sage and David, so it was a bummer to not see more of them together in the end.

If you're in the market for a dense, well-written novel that has an "epic" feel to it, then give this a try. If you're looking for something light to pass the hours, this will not suit.

Rating:
Summary: Dream country rings false to Dubois, Wy resident
Review: I read Dream Country about a year ago and I was so discusted with the book...well I can't even put in in words. I grew up in Dubois, Wy, the town that the story takes place, and it is appearant to me that Ms. Rice has never visited Dubois, and possibly never stepped foot in the state of Wyoming all together. Her discriptions of Wyoming life, the country surrounding Dubois, living on a ranch, livestock management, the town of Dubois itself, wildlife, and well too many things to mention continually ring false to a Wyoming native.

I feel Ms. Rice has insulted me and other Wyoming residents by writing this unresearched book when she appearantly has no knowledge of the makings of its content.

I had enjoyed a couple of her books in the past, but after reading this load of crap I will never read another of her books for fear that it will be filled with rubbish and lies. I would challenge Ms. Rice to research her books better in the future, or stick to writing what she knows.

Rating:
Summary: Not One of Her Best Pieces!
Review: I've read Luanne Rice's last two books (Cloud Nine & Follow the Stars Home) so I anxiously awaited the release of Ms. Rice's newest novel. I heard about it back in October, and as the day got closer, I began to get excited. Boy, was I disappointed. The story carries a bit of a mystery (which I'm not a huge fan of any way), but believe me when I tell you - NO SUSPENSE WHATSOEVER!!!! I figured out the ending less than 100 pages into the story. I only continued reading because I was curious how long it would take the characters to figure out what I already knew - It took until about the last 2-3 chapters - then the story was rushed forward to wrap it up nicely leaving no loose ends whatsoever. She took all this time dragging out the story - following the characters around & basically getting to know them (which was one of the pluses of this book & why I gave it three stars - good character development), only to have the ending rushed through way too quickly. I also found it senseless to have new characters, never mentioned at all earlier, introduceed in the final chapters of the book. They made brief appearances apparently in an effort to fill up pages - How else can it be explained? I don't want to give it away - there may be others who find this story interesting & would like to figure it out for themselves, I just felt totally let down and disappointed way before I finished reading this book, and for once, was glad when I finished reading it so I could go on to my next book!

Rating:
Summary: Something for everyone in this story
Review: You know that "ahhhhh" feeling you sometimes have after reading a very good and totally satisfying book? Well, I had that with DREAM COUNTRY.

Daisy and James Tucker lived an idyllic life on the Wyoming ranch that had been in James's family for several generations. They were happy right up until the time one of their three-year-old twins, Jake, disappears. The marriage soon falls apart and Daisy returns to her home back east with their daughter, Jake's twin, Sage.

Fast forward 13 years later. Sage has longed for the West - and for her father. But James has stayed in Wyoming all these years, not willing to leave in case Jake returns, refusing to accept that he is gone forever. Daisy is supporting the two them making unique, highly sought after jewelry with, some say, magical or mystical results to those wearing this jewelry.

One morning, after a particularly volative mother-daughter argument the night before, Daisy finds Sage missing -- and at about the same time, discovers one of the reasons she has left --she is pregnant. She soon finds out that Sage's boyfriend is missing also.

Daisy is soon convinced to go to the Tucker ranch in Wyoming to wait for her daughter. And there the continuing attraction she and James have for one another can't be denied.

I enjoyed this story very much. Rice's writing reminds me so much of Kristin Hannah's stories I had to keep looking at the cover just to make certain I wasn't actually reading a Kristin Hannah book. The addition of a paranormal elements only added to its appeal. I cried buckets at the end -- a real indicator of my enjoyment of the story. As a mother of teenage boy/girl twins, one named Jake, this story hit very close to home. If I have any complaint, it is that the author chose to call Jake and Sage "the twins" in quite a few instances. As a mother of twins, I know it is important that twins be seen as individuals and not lumped together -- no matter if they're identical or fraternal. In fact, it was one of the first things I learned when joing the Mothers of Twins Club, and something they were rather militant about. So although those instances took me out of the story several times, I was still overcome by the emotional intensity of the story. I highly recommend this book -- and I want some of Daisy's jewelry!