Rating: 
Summary: A bit disappointed
Review: I've been a Katherine Stone fan from her first novel.... and have so looked forward to each new release. This book, however, was extremely disappointing. I felt as though Ms. Stone has discovered a "formula" and just wrote this book to fit the formula. Man meets woman - one or both have tragic pasts - they fall instantly in love - and basically the rest of the book is padding. The story was disjointed, and I felt the characters were "forced" on the reader, and instead of letting the reader "get to know" the characters and fall in like with them. This is not one of the romantic, spell-binding, touching stories Ms. Stone is known for.
Rating:
Summary: A bit disappointed
Review: I've been a Katherine Stone fan from her first novel.... and have so looked forward to each new release. This book, however, was extremely disappointing. I felt as though Ms. Stone has discovered a "formula" and just wrote this book to fit the formula. Man meets woman - one or both have tragic pasts - they fall instantly in love - and basically the rest of the book is padding. The story was disjointed, and I felt the characters were "forced" on the reader, and instead of letting the reader "get to know" the characters and fall in like with them. This is not one of the romantic, spell-binding, touching stories Ms. Stone is known for.
Rating:
Summary: Wasted Talent ... Great Premise, Terrible Execution
Review: Island of Dreams fails to live up to its promise - and is one of the silliest books I've read since Eloise James' "Potent Pleasures". An earlier reviewer touched upon one problem - it read like a 200 page intro into a longer book. It starts out well, if a bit confusing - a prolog that take place 23 years before the main action, of which, the first part of the prolog actually describes events that took place thirteen years before that (which means that the some of the driving events took place 36 years before the novel actually starts).The book then jumps too quickly to the modern day - but relies again on a long exposition of the past. We are also treated to a five page (which felt like fifty page) monologue in faux kiddie speak, to fill us in on the hero's background. The hero and heroine actually only have three scenes together in the entire book - the initial meeting, a brief scene at the "Island", and the climatic scene when the heroine's true identity is revealed. Between these meetings, we are treated to a secondary story that takes up far more time (and perhaps deserves a novel all on its own). We are brought current on the state of these pre-existing characters through the same hackneyed method that the author used earlier in the book - a long winded exposition by a minor, unnecessary character. It honestly seems that none of the characters ever really talk to each other, in all but two occassions - key information is passed along via third parties. However - readers should note that the secondary story line ties up loose ends from the aforementioned "Midnight Clear" and also "Home at Last" - and frankly - it would have been very nice if someone, somewhere in the cover synopsis, mentioned that this is part of that earlier storyline (that's the publisher's fault). Without wasting more time, and revealing the obvious - this is a story that take advantage of every cliched coincidence the author could exploit. This book, like nearly all of Katherine Stone's other novels, suffers from bad editing, and an author who doesn't understand that a linear storyline is really rather essential to the type of fiction she is trying to craft. A few words of advice: 1. Start from the beginning of the tale, and work forward; avoid extended flashbacks. But if you can't avoid using flashbacks, only use them once in the book. 2. Allow your main characters to drive the story, having secondary or tertiary characters give long expositions is not good storytelling. 3. Stick with one set of main characters - don't shift mid-novel to focus solely on another set of characters. 4. Have your main characters actually interact - three scenes together does not a romance make. 5. Avoid mass use of coincidence to drive a plot. If your plot isn't strong enought to develop without multiple coincidences, you need to change your plot altogether. The first, and perhaps best Katherine Stone I read was "Midnight Clear" - which I started and finished in St. Louis - Lambert International Airport, with rivers of tears running down my face. Since then, I've read numerous K.Stone novels, and not one of them has remotely come close to displaying the same level of intensity that Midnight Clear did. After so many disappointments, that one book was clearly a fluke - Ms. Stone is not the writer she clearly wants to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Island of Dreams hooked me right away and didn't let go. I really liked Giselle and Garek (who was an intriguing secondary character in A Midnight Clear). Their story truly moved me -- it was definitely destined to be!
Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: Island of Dreams is one of the best books I've read. I was completely drawn in by the story and loved the way the characters lives were intertwined. Ms. Stone's style is very unique, and, given some of the comments below, it's obvious that either you love it -- or don't. I do!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book
Review: Island of Dreams was amazing. I loved it. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and mystical
Review: Katherine Stone's Island of Dreams is meant to be the sequel to A Midnight Clear. It continues that magical story with magic of its own. I loved it. Ms. Stone touches the heart again.
Rating: 
Summary: What Happened Katherine?
Review: Ms. Stone is one of my favorite authors and I have read every novel she's ever written to date and have enjoyed them all immensely but I am sadden to say I was quite disappointed with Island of Dreams. I made a good decision when I decided to wait for paperback edition after reading a brief description of it in "PW". There are too many missing pieces in the storyline to make it work. This story could have and should have been good one but Ms. Stone left out a lot information which would have made it an interesting read. Sorry Ms. Stone "Island of Dreams" just didn't do anything for me.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent -- even better on the second read
Review: Ms. Stone's books are to be savored. But, as usual, on the first time through I read it quickly, wanting to find out what was going to happen. When I read it again, the beautiful writing really struck me, as did the depth and richness of the characters. Terrific book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a Dream!
Review: Once more Katherine Stone has written a story guaranteed to squeeze your heart. What else would we expect? There is a great deal at stake in Island of Dreams and Ms. Stone reveals the odds,and her brave and exciting characters at just the right pace. This is yet another book for Katherine Stone lovers--both those already hooked, and those yet to be hooked.
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