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The Dream House: Visions and Nightmares
Recurring dreams of a house Hope Graham's family rented when she was a child, taunt her nights with nightmares of a woman in a bloody nightgown pleading for help. Dream sequences of children metamorphosing into rats, blood spewing out of windows, and walking across decaying bones, foretell of sins of the past and forewarn of danger in the present. In an attempt to end the agony of her sleep depriving dreams, Hope travels to her hometown...only to discover that the truth can be more frightening than a nightmare.
161 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 1, 2012
Wow, what a great book! It is not scary, but very well written. This is an author to watch. The only reason it did not receive 5 stars is because I reserve that for classic literature, but I am very conservative in modern material I give 4 stars to. This book definitely attained that level.
ETA (04/01/2012): I came across this review I had written almost 2 years ago as I am getting ready to read the author's other book. My reviewing standards have changed..therefore, I am bumping this book up from 4 stars to 5 stars.
ETA (04/01/2012): I came across this review I had written almost 2 years ago as I am getting ready to read the author's other book. My reviewing standards have changed..therefore, I am bumping this book up from 4 stars to 5 stars.
January 2, 2018
This is by far my favorite Victoria Roder book. It is unpredictable and full of creepy suspense.
The story piqued my interest of the possibility that there is a real house like this and if so, where?
Perfect for readers who are interested in the supernatural and paranormal.
Like Stephen King, you begin to wonder if Victoria Roder isn't a bit supernatural herself.
Great job Victoria Roder, any more spooky stories coming our way soon?
The story piqued my interest of the possibility that there is a real house like this and if so, where?
Perfect for readers who are interested in the supernatural and paranormal.
Like Stephen King, you begin to wonder if Victoria Roder isn't a bit supernatural herself.
Great job Victoria Roder, any more spooky stories coming our way soon?
June 10, 2022
OK, maybe not a fair review since I barely got into it before giving up in disgust. I never find reading books that go into detail about dreams enjoyable. And the title should have warned me. This one had half the pages of the first 20 full of dreams; and the narrator talks to herself (out loud) too. Just didn't want to spend time even getting into the story.
March 29, 2011
Hope Graham is haunted by nightmares of a woman soaked in bloodstained nightclothes, silent children, dying babies and all sorts of terrifying incidents occurring in the house her family rented during her childhood. The nightmares have affected her ability to cope with her every day life, and might cause her to not only loose her job, but her sanity as well. The only solution she can come up with, is to return to her hometown and try to track down the source of these nightmares. With the help of her sister Sam, Brock - the hunky owner of the bakery next door to her childhood home, Ida - the sweet old lady across the street from the house, and Jordan- the child of a neighbor down the street, she probes the past of the house and the lives of the people who lived there. Will the answers to her questions give her relief from her nightmares, or will they yield more than just nightmares?
This is a well written novella that kept me quite literally on the edge of my seat. The nightmare sequences are easily distinguished from the waking realities, and are written in a truly spine tingling style. The character Hope is written with a bit of self depreciating sense of humor, and the rest of characters are easily believable. The scenes are set well. Hope’s childhood home gives you the shivers and Ida’s home will make you feel like you are at grandma’s house. I’m glad I read this book during the day because I would probably have had problems falling asleep if I had read it at night.
This is an easily read novella, that I was able to read in half a day. It has all the elements one would hope for in a good paranormal/mystery/romance/ghost story. It didn’t hurt, or help as the case may be, that I read the book on a rainy, dark windy morning. I actually found myself jumping at the sound of the wind blowing and looking over my shoulder a number of times. I did figure out the answer to the mystery very early on the book, but that didn’t take away from the journey, and there were still surprises waiting for me. The romance in the book is PG rated and there is a small amount of violence. While there are some religious undertones, it’s not in your face, mostly it’s the question of whether you believe in divine intervention. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This is a well written novella that kept me quite literally on the edge of my seat. The nightmare sequences are easily distinguished from the waking realities, and are written in a truly spine tingling style. The character Hope is written with a bit of self depreciating sense of humor, and the rest of characters are easily believable. The scenes are set well. Hope’s childhood home gives you the shivers and Ida’s home will make you feel like you are at grandma’s house. I’m glad I read this book during the day because I would probably have had problems falling asleep if I had read it at night.
This is an easily read novella, that I was able to read in half a day. It has all the elements one would hope for in a good paranormal/mystery/romance/ghost story. It didn’t hurt, or help as the case may be, that I read the book on a rainy, dark windy morning. I actually found myself jumping at the sound of the wind blowing and looking over my shoulder a number of times. I did figure out the answer to the mystery very early on the book, but that didn’t take away from the journey, and there were still surprises waiting for me. The romance in the book is PG rated and there is a small amount of violence. While there are some religious undertones, it’s not in your face, mostly it’s the question of whether you believe in divine intervention. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
July 18, 2010
I ran into Victoria Roder’s novel, The Dream House: Visions and Nightmares, quite accidentally: While following a discussion on the Amazon forum which encouraged authors to pitch their books, I read a short synopsis of this story and immediately felt drawn to it.
The Dream House tells the story of Hope Graham, a woman who, night after night, is haunted by a recurring dream taking place in her childhood home. Concerned about her physical and mental wellness, she decides to visit the now abandoned and dilapidated house to seek answers and healing. She is determined to dig any secrets connected to the dwelling, and along the journey she meets several key characters: Ida, an old lady who’s an old-time resident and self-appointed ‘eyes and ears’ of the neighborhood; Clarissa, a self-absorbed woman who owned the property next door to the home Hope and her sister Samantha lived in before being adopted; and, finally, Brock, a local baker whose charm and good looks don’t go unnoticed from the moment he and Hope strike a casual conversation about the house. On her journey of discovery, Hope finds more than what she bargained for, and must now come face to face with a child’s worst nightmare, if she at all hopes to slay the demons of a painful past, and allow the energy still living in the house to rest in peace.
While The Dream House is an exciting read from the first few pages onward, the reader can’t help but gasp in surprise as the story evolves in a crescendo of emotional turmoil and paranormal suspense. What I found unique about this book, is the subtle connection between the supernatural activity described, and individual traumas buried deep within the folds of the subconscious mind.
The Dream House is definitely an exciting story. By the time I read the last page, I hated only one thing about it…that I was running out of pages to read.
The Dream House tells the story of Hope Graham, a woman who, night after night, is haunted by a recurring dream taking place in her childhood home. Concerned about her physical and mental wellness, she decides to visit the now abandoned and dilapidated house to seek answers and healing. She is determined to dig any secrets connected to the dwelling, and along the journey she meets several key characters: Ida, an old lady who’s an old-time resident and self-appointed ‘eyes and ears’ of the neighborhood; Clarissa, a self-absorbed woman who owned the property next door to the home Hope and her sister Samantha lived in before being adopted; and, finally, Brock, a local baker whose charm and good looks don’t go unnoticed from the moment he and Hope strike a casual conversation about the house. On her journey of discovery, Hope finds more than what she bargained for, and must now come face to face with a child’s worst nightmare, if she at all hopes to slay the demons of a painful past, and allow the energy still living in the house to rest in peace.
While The Dream House is an exciting read from the first few pages onward, the reader can’t help but gasp in surprise as the story evolves in a crescendo of emotional turmoil and paranormal suspense. What I found unique about this book, is the subtle connection between the supernatural activity described, and individual traumas buried deep within the folds of the subconscious mind.
The Dream House is definitely an exciting story. By the time I read the last page, I hated only one thing about it…that I was running out of pages to read.
November 5, 2010
Ms. Roder has created a well-written debut novel of suspense and paranormalcy that is extremely difficult to put down once you start reading. The imagery is vivid, chilling and disturbing and definitely shows that the truth can be more frightening than a nightmare. Fortunately, there's a hunky, charming baker to inject some light into the darkness!
October 10, 2009
Roder's debut novel pulls the reader into the nightmares that haunt Hope Graham. The images are so vivid, they'll haunt you! Roder delivers characters you'll both love and despise as she serves up a mystery that's not as easy to unravel as it at first appears.
November 14, 2009
Victoria Roder has spun an intriguing tale in The Dream House. Suspenseful and gripping right to the very end. Great book and an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews