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20th out of 1,791 books
—
4,030 voters
Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars #4)
by
Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Goodreads Author)
A Desperate Young Mother
Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse. With an empty wallet, a car's that's spilling smoke, and a five-year-old son to support, she's come home to a town that hates her. But this determined young widow with a scandalous past has learned how to be a fighter. And she'll do anything to keep her child safe--even take on. . .
A man With N...more
Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse. With an empty wallet, a car's that's spilling smoke, and a five-year-old son to support, she's come home to a town that hates her. But this determined young widow with a scandalous past has learned how to be a fighter. And she'll do anything to keep her child safe--even take on. . .
A man With N...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
February 1st 1998
by Avon
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I avoided this book for some reason. Possibly because I wasn't in the mood to read about a non athlete hero after falling through SEP's Chicago Stars. I'm glad I did get around to read it since it is one of the most heartwrenching stories I've read. Chip, Rachel's son, is absolutely adorable. Especially his relationship with Cal's daughter, Rosie. Gabe and Rachel's relationship grew slowly and pain was involved considering their pasts, but in a SEP's manner, they do end up together. Ethan and Kr...more
Dec 07, 2010
Lady Valee
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
cont-romance,
favorites
5++ stars!
Another terrific installment in this outstanding series. This book was soooo goooood! Loved it. Once again SEP surprised me big time.I still feel bad because I had not read anything from this author before, I adore her style so much now.
Do you know what's so good about this series? It's the way the author makes it seem so real. I'm usually a paranormal-romance reader so I don't care much about contemporary romance. I don't like cheesy or corny stories. So that's what's so good about th...more
Another terrific installment in this outstanding series. This book was soooo goooood! Loved it. Once again SEP surprised me big time.I still feel bad because I had not read anything from this author before, I adore her style so much now.
Do you know what's so good about this series? It's the way the author makes it seem so real. I'm usually a paranormal-romance reader so I don't care much about contemporary romance. I don't like cheesy or corny stories. So that's what's so good about th...more
SEP has outdone herself. Dream a Little Dream is the most heart-wrenching and poignant book of hers I've read to date.
I was already intrigued by Gabriel in Cal's book yet more than a little skeptical as well, about whether or not SEP would be able to depict his grief properly while giving him a second chance at having a family. Relieved to say she wrote a realistically believable story on love, loss, and depression, one that was mostly touching and emotional, but occasionally humorous too.
Gabe's...more
I was already intrigued by Gabriel in Cal's book yet more than a little skeptical as well, about whether or not SEP would be able to depict his grief properly while giving him a second chance at having a family. Relieved to say she wrote a realistically believable story on love, loss, and depression, one that was mostly touching and emotional, but occasionally humorous too.
Gabe's...more
I don't cry when I read books or watch movies (apart from Air Bud, when I was 11) partly because I don't seek out stories that will make me cry, and partly because I have a cold cold heart. But with this book I found more than a few tears rolling down my cheeks.
Maybe this book caught me at a particularly emotional time, but I think not. It is more likely that the complex characters and their unfathomable situations were well written enough to touched me. Deeply. But it wasn't a hopeless type of...more
Maybe this book caught me at a particularly emotional time, but I think not. It is more likely that the complex characters and their unfathomable situations were well written enough to touched me. Deeply. But it wasn't a hopeless type of...more
This isn't the first book by this author that I've read but I do believe that this is the first one that I've really liked.
Rachel (h) is coming back to the same small town that she had lived in with her late husband. Now you would expect the locals to love the wife of a popular priest but not here, they found out the hard way that her husband was a fake and a user.
Gabe (H) after losing his wife and child to a drunk driver,he's been living minute by minute torn between eating a bullet or survivin...more
Rachel (h) is coming back to the same small town that she had lived in with her late husband. Now you would expect the locals to love the wife of a popular priest but not here, they found out the hard way that her husband was a fake and a user.
Gabe (H) after losing his wife and child to a drunk driver,he's been living minute by minute torn between eating a bullet or survivin...more
If you don't mind annoying, bitchy, rude, selfish, irrational, whiny, self-pitying, petty heroines who snap and snarl at everyone, then this book is for you.
Rachel = person I despise.
Edward = the most annoying, unlikable kid in booky existence.
Gabe = very likable hero.
Rachel + Gabe = bad idea!
Gabe, you can do better!
I suppose I was supposed to feel sorry for Rachel because she was poor and had to take care of her kid, but I just didn't, because she was mean as heck! Especially to Gabe, who sh...more
Rachel = person I despise.
Edward = the most annoying, unlikable kid in booky existence.
Gabe = very likable hero.
Rachel + Gabe = bad idea!
Gabe, you can do better!
I suppose I was supposed to feel sorry for Rachel because she was poor and had to take care of her kid, but I just didn't, because she was mean as heck! Especially to Gabe, who sh...more
Jul 11, 2009
southpaw285
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to southpaw285 by:
bethany/amazon
Shelves:
historical-romance
A tragic story of a man who loses his wife and child;a woman who is desperate to provide for her precious five year old son.
This is the story of a man who struggles to live every day, and the woman who helps him overcome such a tragic loss.
This is the story of a desperate mother trying to provide for her child, and the man who helps her overcome the hatred and discrimination of an entire town.
A wonderful story that will bring you to tears.
This is the story of a man who struggles to live every day, and the woman who helps him overcome such a tragic loss.
This is the story of a desperate mother trying to provide for her child, and the man who helps her overcome the hatred and discrimination of an entire town.
A wonderful story that will bring you to tears.
Overall i really enjoyed the book but i didn't particularly liked the heroine. Thus the 4 stars. When i read a story i want both heroes to prove their love to each other. Not just word but also actions .I got that from Gabe but not from Rachel. There are moments on the book when Rachel claims that Gabe doesn't love her but judging by the things that he did for her i kind of rolled my eyes. We got to see how much the hero loved the heroine through his actions but we never got to see how much she...more
Long summary aside, Dream a Little Dream, is the fourth book in Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars series. It's the first of the series that doesn't include a man from the team itself as the leading romantic lead. The story is about a young mother and her son left destitute (and disgraced by her late estranged husband) who are taken under the wing of Gabe Bonner, brother of famous Chicago Stars player Cal Bonner. Gabe lost his wife and young son in a car crash, and he's coping, blah blah, t...more
By Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Grade: B
Rachel Stone used to be married to G. Dwayne Snopes, a televangelist accused of embezzling millions of dollars. He fled and died in a plane crash. Rachel goes back with her five-year-old son to the town that hates her (Salvation, North Carolina) in the hope of finding the 5 million dollars her husband had stashed away somewhere in her old house. She has no money left in her wallet and must take up some kind of work to support her son Edward (who likes to be c...more
Rachel Stone used to be married to G. Dwayne Snopes, a televangelist accused of embezzling millions of dollars. He fled and died in a plane crash. Rachel goes back with her five-year-old son to the town that hates her (Salvation, North Carolina) in the hope of finding the 5 million dollars her husband had stashed away somewhere in her old house. She has no money left in her wallet and must take up some kind of work to support her son Edward (who likes to be c...more
This book was amazing. The heroine, Rachel, was a woman to be admired when she held her head high and faced the town that hated her so much head on. She was brave and prideful. She knew she was far from perfect, but everyone who hated her in town had been deceived by her ex husband. Even though people intentionally wanted to make her life hell and run her out of town, she wouldn't back down and let them run her over. Gabe was a great hero. Life had been extremely hard on him when he tragically l...more
Unlike the other books in this series, Dream a Little Dream features Gabe Bonner, Cal Bonner's brother, a non-football player. Scared from an accident two years ago that killed his wife and child, Gabe is passing his day fixing up Salvation's drive-in. When Rachel Stone, widow of the infamous G. Dwayne Snopes who conned everyone in Salvation before running off and crashing in a plane a few years ago, finds her car stalled in front of Gabe's drive-in, she sees his sign for help and forces herself...more
This review is also posted on Always a Booklover.
Dream a Little Dream was amazing. It touched me in so many ways and I have to say, I loved every single moment of it. After I finished the book, all I could say was wow. Simply amazing. It was so compelling that I just could not put the book down. I could think of a thousand other things I had to do at that moment, but right then, the book just seemed paramount. I literally devoured every single word. And now and then, without any conscious contro...more
Dream a Little Dream was amazing. It touched me in so many ways and I have to say, I loved every single moment of it. After I finished the book, all I could say was wow. Simply amazing. It was so compelling that I just could not put the book down. I could think of a thousand other things I had to do at that moment, but right then, the book just seemed paramount. I literally devoured every single word. And now and then, without any conscious contro...more
(from www.iris-b.blogspot.com)
BINGO !! - LOVED. IT !!!
I always wondered what a book would be like that I'd rate 5/5. "Dream a little Dream" is very, very close to just that, but I couldn't give it any less than 5 because of the way it got me glued to the pages for two full days and got the emotions going non-stop.
The story tugs at your heart from the very page and it doesn't stop for quite a while. I had this book read within just a few days and am very glad I did.
With only a few dollars left in...more
BINGO !! - LOVED. IT !!!
I always wondered what a book would be like that I'd rate 5/5. "Dream a little Dream" is very, very close to just that, but I couldn't give it any less than 5 because of the way it got me glued to the pages for two full days and got the emotions going non-stop.
The story tugs at your heart from the very page and it doesn't stop for quite a while. I had this book read within just a few days and am very glad I did.
With only a few dollars left in...more
*spoiler alert*
Quick summary: Rachel Stone is the broke, down-on-her-luck single mother of 5 yr old, Edward. She's returning to Salvation, NC as the now reviled widow of the evangelist Dwayne Snopes, the man who bilked 5 million from his faithful parishioners and died while trying to flee with the money in his private plane. Rachel has come back to find the money that everyone thinks she had a part in stealing. She is desperate to provide some security for her son and will even fight the devil t...more
Quick summary: Rachel Stone is the broke, down-on-her-luck single mother of 5 yr old, Edward. She's returning to Salvation, NC as the now reviled widow of the evangelist Dwayne Snopes, the man who bilked 5 million from his faithful parishioners and died while trying to flee with the money in his private plane. Rachel has come back to find the money that everyone thinks she had a part in stealing. She is desperate to provide some security for her son and will even fight the devil t...more
A drunk driver nearly killed Gabe Bonner, though he was nowhere near the car that carried his wife and five-year-old son that brutal day. In an instant, his life was seared down to a quagmire of loss, misery, and regret, and he teetered on the brink of self destruction in a booze and drug haze in the backwater in Mexico he'd fled to until his brothers Cal and Ethan showed up and dragged his butt back home to Salvation, N.C. He is just now starting to function, more or less, and his family, one a...more
Another enjoyable book..
I did not warm to Rachel as much as the main characters in the previous 3 books, but she did grow on me and her story was one of a woman on the brink who finds her own strength, who does her best for her son in fairly desperate circumstances and learns to love.
Rachel, is the widow of a crooked televangelist who was mentioned in the last book. Gabriel is the brother of cal and he is devastated by the death of his wife and son.
Rachel returns to Salvation to try and find...more
I did not warm to Rachel as much as the main characters in the previous 3 books, but she did grow on me and her story was one of a woman on the brink who finds her own strength, who does her best for her son in fairly desperate circumstances and learns to love.
Rachel, is the widow of a crooked televangelist who was mentioned in the last book. Gabriel is the brother of cal and he is devastated by the death of his wife and son.
Rachel returns to Salvation to try and find...more
I'm having a good time reading SEP's backlist via overdrive as her ebooks don't have a monster waitlist, and I'm guaranteed a great read (versus waiting for months for a book that ends up being a dud!) It's probable that I read this in the past as it felt comfortingly familiar, yet I was still surprised at some of the twists and turns. For a 15 year-old book, this story has held up remarkably well. The story of Rachel, the penniless widow of TV evangelist who bilked thousands of people out of mi...more
4.5 out of 5. This novel is sort of an extension to "Nobody's Baby But Mine" in that Chicago Stars' quarterback, Cal Bonner had two brothers who make their appearance in this earlier book and are now featured in "Dream A Little Dream" and whose stories are the core of this novel. It is also the story of Rachel Stone--actually the widow of DuWayne Snopes, the debunked televangelist whose house was purchased by Cal Bonner in the earlier novel. So there are lots of overlaps in this subsequent novel...more
A rare 5-star romance and the best book in this series. Rachel and Gabe are both complex characters, likable but imperfect. At the beginning of the book, Gabe is still in mourning for his wife and son, who died in a car accident two years before. Rachel is the widow of a sleezy faith healer, still widely hated for the role people think she played in his corruption. She's returned to the town where it all happened, risking the town's ire, because she thinks she knows where her husband his five mi...more
I honestly expected to instantly fall in love with this book. God, I was dead wrong.
I've read kiss an angel by SEP and loved it with all of my heart, but wasn't planning on reading any of her other books. I've guessed they're too predictable for my liking, butI read lots of positive reviews about this one so I was like, hey! Why don't I give it a try!
In the first fifty pages, I viewed Edward\chip as an adorable little child! I LIKED HIM, so I was pretty disappointed when he turned out to be one...more
I've read kiss an angel by SEP and loved it with all of my heart, but wasn't planning on reading any of her other books. I've guessed they're too predictable for my liking, butI read lots of positive reviews about this one so I was like, hey! Why don't I give it a try!
In the first fifty pages, I viewed Edward\chip as an adorable little child! I LIKED HIM, so I was pretty disappointed when he turned out to be one...more
Aug 23, 2012
♠ Sharon is an emotional book junkie ♠
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2012,
emotional-angsty-books
Rachel and her son have been on the move since the death of her televangelist husband who conned people out of most of their money. Broke, but with a possible idea, she returns to Salvation, North Carolina, only to have her car literally die. With only a few dollars left to her name, she heads into the drive in that has a help wanted sign. Unfortunately, the owner is a "butthead".
I was drawn to this book because it is suppose be very emotional and I do have to say that there are some emotions j...more
I was drawn to this book because it is suppose be very emotional and I do have to say that there are some emotions j...more
This is the fourth book in the Chicago Stars series and probably the most emotional one that I’ve read to date.
Rachel Stone is in the process of wiping the dirt off herself. Following the death of her husband, crooked televangelist G. Dwayne Snopes, Rachel has moved her five year-old son, Edward, all over the map to get her life back on track. The trouble starts when her car breaks down in the same town her and Dwayne preached in so many years ago. Desperate to find a job, Rachel begs the first...more
Rachel Stone is in the process of wiping the dirt off herself. Following the death of her husband, crooked televangelist G. Dwayne Snopes, Rachel has moved her five year-old son, Edward, all over the map to get her life back on track. The trouble starts when her car breaks down in the same town her and Dwayne preached in so many years ago. Desperate to find a job, Rachel begs the first...more
I could maybe give this book four stars. Maybe I should, but the beginning irritated me so much that I almost didn't continue.
At the beginning of the book, Rachel Stone and Gabe Bonner were the two most unlikeable characters I've ever seen in a romance. His behavior was reprehensible, and she was an obnoxious, disrespectful woman who seemed to have no remorse for her part in bilking poor people out of millions of dollars. I had no respect for either them. I kept reading mostly to see if the auth...more
At the beginning of the book, Rachel Stone and Gabe Bonner were the two most unlikeable characters I've ever seen in a romance. His behavior was reprehensible, and she was an obnoxious, disrespectful woman who seemed to have no remorse for her part in bilking poor people out of millions of dollars. I had no respect for either them. I kept reading mostly to see if the auth...more
On sort du milieu du sport pour ce quatrième tome de la série des Chicago Stars... et c'est dommage. Bye bye mâle alpha... ah non? Cool. Voici donc le troisième frère des deux présents dans le tome précédent (pasteur belle-gueule et son frère ex-footeux), veuf de retour de dérive, tentant de noyer la perte de sa femme et de son fils.
Donc on a un mâle, mais pas de sport.
Et la dame? Ah, la dame. Une veuve de téléévangéliste escroc, disparu dans l'Atlantique avec son magot. Il s'agit bien des ancie...more
Donc on a un mâle, mais pas de sport.
Et la dame? Ah, la dame. Une veuve de téléévangéliste escroc, disparu dans l'Atlantique avec son magot. Il s'agit bien des ancie...more
What was the point of being fastidious when her child was hungry and homeless?
- Rachel
Her eyes began to sting with tears, but she wouldn't let a single one fall. No time. No point.
- Rachel
love the sinner and hate the sin.
- Carol
Are you so stupid you haven't figured out yet that it doesn't matter?
- Rachel
Tell you what, Rachel. I might consider giving you a raise one of these centuries if you start restricting yourself to four words when I talk to you. Yes, sir. No, sir.
- Gabe
Poor people don't g...more
- Rachel
Her eyes began to sting with tears, but she wouldn't let a single one fall. No time. No point.
- Rachel
love the sinner and hate the sin.
- Carol
Are you so stupid you haven't figured out yet that it doesn't matter?
- Rachel
Tell you what, Rachel. I might consider giving you a raise one of these centuries if you start restricting yourself to four words when I talk to you. Yes, sir. No, sir.
- Gabe
Poor people don't g...more
Oct 13, 2012
Amafle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reto-12000-páginas-2012
Este es un libro sencillo, fácil de leer con un argumento que se puede encontrar en muchos otros libros pero que tiene la poderosa pluma de SEP para desarrollarlo.
Insisto en lo que ya antes había expresado "me gusta mas la historia que gira en torno a Ethan y Kristy" que la de Gabe y Rachel.
El reverendo y sus voces internas me sacaron mas de una sonrisa y Kristy tan dulce, ellos me encantaron de verdad que si.
En fin, es una historia que me gusto y que recomendaría sin dudarlo, tiene unos perso...more
Insisto en lo que ya antes había expresado "me gusta mas la historia que gira en torno a Ethan y Kristy" que la de Gabe y Rachel.
El reverendo y sus voces internas me sacaron mas de una sonrisa y Kristy tan dulce, ellos me encantaron de verdad que si.
En fin, es una historia que me gusto y que recomendaría sin dudarlo, tiene unos perso...more
I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish this book. When I finally put it down, I still couldn't sleep, so I reread some of my favorites passages again. It was that good.
Call me a sucker, but I love the idea of two broken hearts coming together. Rachel isn't just down on her luck, she is desparate. And Gabe, despite his tough exterior, has as many layers as an onion. I like an emotional hero.
As always the dialog was fantastic. Witty, fast paced, and utterly believable. SEP cre...more
Call me a sucker, but I love the idea of two broken hearts coming together. Rachel isn't just down on her luck, she is desparate. And Gabe, despite his tough exterior, has as many layers as an onion. I like an emotional hero.
As always the dialog was fantastic. Witty, fast paced, and utterly believable. SEP cre...more
A hunky hero: check
A heroine to be rooted for: check
Well-developed characters: check
Intriguing storyline: check
Passionate love: check
Hilarious witty banter: check
Now tell me what more a romance reader could ask for? Trust Susan Elizabeth Phillips to get your fix of romance and then find yourself desperately longing for the love story she expertly conveyed.
I want to point out that this book was a little on the darker side when compared with the rest of the Chicago Stars series. Gabe and Rachel ar...more
A heroine to be rooted for: check
Well-developed characters: check
Intriguing storyline: check
Passionate love: check
Hilarious witty banter: check
Now tell me what more a romance reader could ask for? Trust Susan Elizabeth Phillips to get your fix of romance and then find yourself desperately longing for the love story she expertly conveyed.
I want to point out that this book was a little on the darker side when compared with the rest of the Chicago Stars series. Gabe and Rachel ar...more
5++++++++++++++++ stars!! Wow, let me tell you that this is the 4th book out of 7 that I've read and this... is BY FAR, my FAVORITE!!! I can't even begin to tell you how, beautiful, heartfelt,romantic not to mention heart breaking but HEA!! I hate giving spoilers, but I love reading them... lol so i'm not going to leave any since everyone has. All I will say is... Gabe and Rachel's relationship is amazing!! I love how they bring the best out in each other!! I love how, sweet.. caring and loving...more
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SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS
The Huffington Post says the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips provide a “gateway drug to the whole [romance] genre,” which she assumes is a good thing. Bookpage magazine calls her “the crown jewel of romantic comedy writers,” which is definitely a good thing. Since she wrote her first novel on a typewriter in her kitchen, her books have been published in over 30 languages...more
More about Susan Elizabeth Phillips...
The Huffington Post says the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips provide a “gateway drug to the whole [romance] genre,” which she assumes is a good thing. Bookpage magazine calls her “the crown jewel of romantic comedy writers,” which is definitely a good thing. Since she wrote her first novel on a typewriter in her kitchen, her books have been published in over 30 languages...more
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“The engine roared to life. He ran toward her. She shot our of her parking space. He rushed to the side of her car. "Stop it, Kristy! You're overreacting! Let's talk about this." That was when she did the unthinkable. She rolled down the window, thrust out her hand, and gave Reverend Ethan Bonner the bird.”
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36 people liked it
“Ironic, isn't it, what religion does to people?"
"I guess it's more ironic what people do to religion.”
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10 people liked it
More quotes…
"I guess it's more ironic what people do to religion.”
Nov 13, 2011 05:54am
i thought they had the slowest relationship to grow in all SEP's books , but it...more
May 07, 2012 06:14pm