Dream a Little Dream: Chicago Stars, Book 4

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 hotshot ex-football star quarterback, the other a minister, is heartened by Gabe's purchase and renovation of the local abandoned drive-in movie theater, seeing it as a sign that Gabe is finally on the mend.Neither of them have any idea that he sleeps - if you could call it that - with a loaded gun next to his bed. And not for personal protection.Rachel Stone was teetering on the brink, as well, though not of self destruction. Virtually penniless, homeless, and struggling to protect and take care of her son Edward, she limped back towards Salvation with nothing but pride and bitter hope. And little left of either of them. Knowing good and well that her short, ill-fated marriage to the swindling televangelist who stole so much from the people of Salvation wasn't going to win her friends, she still had no choice. She was beyond desperate and following a meager trail to the millions of dollars that her crooked husband had bilked, millions that hadn't been recovered after his death. To get that money meant saving the life of her child. To get to that money, she has to get to Salvation.As her luck, all bad, is still holding, her car dies just outside of a rundown drive-in theater first, and the welcoming committee shaped like one Gabe Bonner wasn't exactly full of goodwill. The imposing man terrorized her son, insulted her, and tossed them both off his property. Except Rachel had nowhere to go, no way to get there, and a son still recovering from the pneumonia that almost killed him and who hadn't had a decent meal in long, hungry days.With that, the unstoppable force slams into the immovable object and sparks that neither want, need, or can stand flare between them. One is lost and looking for nothing but oblivion, the other is looking for nothing for herself at all, but desperate for everything for her child. Together they may find more than either ever dared dream.While  Dream a Little Dream  is considered the fourth book in the Chicago Stars series, this lovely companion to  Nobody's Baby But Mine  really reads more like a conclusion to and for events and characters introduced or mentioned in that book. It's set, like most of NBBM, in Salvation, N.C., and the only connection to football, the Chicago Stars, or sports in general is through the character of Cal Bonner, who pops up in an ancillary character roll in this book. I loved seeing him and Jane again, as I really enjoyed their book (after a grotesque and horrifying beginning, anyway), but I have to admit, I wasn't very fond of some of his actions in this one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.We learned of Gabe's tragedy in Cal's book, and here we see its effects in all its grim glory. Gabe is barely clinging to life and is none too happy about even that. He's still in abject misery three years after his grievous loss, and all the well-meaning actions of his family aren't doing anything to ease that pain. His character is too darn cussed to be totally sympathetic, and while I felt for his loss, and understood his actions, I don't have a lot of tolerance for self pity, and his character was swimming with it at first.Then, of course, he met Rachel. I loved her. She was so strong, such an impressive character on every front. Her past was littered with disappointment and distress, but she had such an appealing inner strength and stubborn determination. I admired her and respected her actions and commitment to her son. She went toe to toe with Gabe and didn't take any of his crap, and was like a mama bear when it came to Edward. All in all, and even with a few precious flaws that made her very human, I liked her very much, and found her well rounded and sympathetic.Seeing Gabe transform as their relationship evolved was my favorite part of this book, and where I felt the story really shined. It wasn't a smooth transition, by any means, but as Gabe's demons slowly withdrew and he got his life back in torturous inches, I became more and more impressed with SEP. Her patient storytelling and adroit ability to handle his journey with understanding of the intricacies of healing after a terrible tragedy speaks highly of her skills as an author and made those aspects of the story very emotionally impacting.I wasn't at all enamored with Ethan in this book, though. I found his prejudice against Rachel unwillingness to bother even asking before condemning very unpalatable and hypocritical. He's a minister, and supposed to be the "good" one of the Bonner brothers, but in this book I found him charmless, clueless, shallow, and just not very likable. That was a huge disappointment because I really enjoyed his few scenes in the previous book.The subplot of the romance between Ethan and Kristy didn't work for me, either, in part because of how I felt about Ethan as a character, and in part because it was so heavily laden with religion and many mentions of God. I get that he's a minister, and I get that Kristy is devoutly religious, so I suppose it makes sense for the characters, and I even appreciate that it was quite clear that these two characters were living their faith, not proselytizing to readers, it's just not something I like reading and it lessened my enjoyment of the book. The faith healing aspects with Rachel did nothing for me, either, and when combined with that scene of her in Emily's room, I found myself feeling annoyed by all the God/faith/religion messages.Still, there was a lot of charm in this book, and I loved that SEP took the time to round out the Bonner brothers' story before going back to the Chicago Stars. I wish Gabe's (and Cal and Ethan's) parents had more of a presence in this book, and I was so sorry to see that Annie had passed, but it was truly lovely returning to Salvation and spending time with characters that felt like old friends.~*~*~*~Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

Review:It’s no secret that SEP has figured out a magic formula for her stories that coincides precisely with what I look for in a highly satisfying romance: top-class humour, off-the charts banter and sexual tension, quirky yet tough down-on-her-luck heroine, a great redeeming act of love with a topping of angst, and a reluctantly in love hero. This is also everything the current book offered, in loads. This time the emphasis, however, was on the angst (less so on the humour), which I don’t mind at all, but there was an aspect of unnecessary cruelty there as well, that I kind of did have an issue with.I cannot stress enough how much I adored, respected and admires Rachel. She had been through hell and her path of pain and humiliation did not end with meeting the hero. She was constantly mocked, bullied, offended, discriminated against… the whole package. And, while I somewhat understand the motivation of the townspeople, knowing the truth, that she was not the big bad, instead she was the most direct and unfortunate victim of her conman husband, I was very protective of her and took her troubles to heart. And, wanted to beat up and give a piece of my mind to all the ignorant morons. This included the brothers of Gabe, however charming they allegedly were supposed to be, and however much I sympathized with Cal in his own book. Despite this constant bullying, Rachel was hardworking, determined, upbeat and, most of all, she was an incredible sacrifice-herself-in-a-heartbeat mother to her adorable son Edward aka Chip.Chip was simply delightful. I just wanted to take him and put him in my pocket to protect forever. I did feel, however, that the fearful, somewhat borderline abusing relationship between him and Gabe went a bit too far. I can try to understand Gabe’s pain and the cause for his behaviour, but Chip was such a sweetheart that even a slight wrong look towards him made me jump with my fist up, ready to bounce.The romance between Rachel and Gabe was somewhat bittersweet, a lot more emotional and mature than other SEP books. Both of them hid tons of pain inside, but while Rachel forced the sun to shine over her head against all odds, Gabe revelled in the constant dark cloud over him. They were the couple you just cannot see working out, due to, among everything else, the mountain of baggage, but that surprise you in the end with outlasting everyone. The slow burn was also welcome and I appreciated that it took some time for them to have their relationship even slightly functional. A steady and constant development is key to an enjoyable romance that makes you cheer for the main couple and become invested. The epilogue was like balm on a wound and I thought it was a perfect bright sunny day in the end of years of rain. It did come across as too good to be true though, due to that drastic change, but enough angst and agony is enough.The typical side romance, which SEP always ads as a side dish, didn’t do it for me this time. The coming together of Gabe’s younger brother Ethan and his overlooked secretary Kristy, was too superficial, short and cliché. It had potential though, so maybe a more detailed approach would have guaranteed better results. Maybe they should have had their own book? I think so. It would have also provided time to have a more positive image painted of Ethan, who was smeared with quite a bit of mud due to his treatment of Rachel. Also, being part of the Chicago Stars series, the story doesn't have much to do with football or it's hunky athletes, only Cal makes an appearance.

I'm re-reading all the Chicago Stars series and forgot how much I loved this book! The story of two broken people who were dealt a crappy hand in the game of life. SEP writes in such a way that gets a hold of you and you never want the book to end. The love story of Rachel and Gabe will make you smile, cry and feel things you normally don't when reading a book - enough time has passed now so I'd love to see a follow-up telling the story of Edward and Rosie - hint, hint!

I hated this book. It felt like the author deliberately set out to manipulate the reader's emotions and instead of a nicely flowing story which feels natural we had a series of manipulations.Here's the vulnerable child who is recovering from illness. Here's the mother, so poor that she is dressed in rags. Here's the handsome hero who lost his wife and child in a tragic accident. And so it went on. Add in A LOT of religious claptrap and you can see where it's headed. I think that this book will appeal to people who are from a strong Christian background but other than that, I felt that it was without merit.Finally, if there were a prize for the least appropriate cover picture, then this would have to win it. Rachel spends the vast majority of the book dressed in rags or hand-me-down clothes. She possesses one pair of old boots and no shoes and starves herslf so that her poor child can eat. Where does the pink silk dress and chocolates come from? Not her "dream" either. Not even on her wish list! An awful book. If your'e religious it may well have a feel good effect, if you're not I'd leave well alone.

I have to say though i have only read about 5 of this particular authors book, this was certainly the one i enjoyed the least. It was by no means a bad or unenjoyable read but having read the others before this one, i can comment and say that it was not as good as some of her others.The story is interesting, but it was definitly a let down when it came to the relationship between the female lead and her male counterparts brothers. Sorry, but who would really forgive Cal and Ethan so easily? How could their brother not mention anything except display a small moment of anger by throwing one of them in a fountain? It just made the book a little less enjoyable after such an interesting and well-woven relationship between the two leading charters and her son. They were so believable that it just highlighted the lack lustre ones from the other characters.

Typical :can't wait to read the next page book by this author

I'm not into religion and though this is centered around it I thought it was enjoyable to read some parts were breezed through but you can understand her desperation. I have read others in the series and would read any new ones related and read her historical books too.

My favourite in this series, made me laugh all the way through. Love all the characters especially Rachel, I would recommend to everyone