Review: Daring to Dream by Nora Roberts

I was looking for something new to read, and my friend let me borrow a Nora Roberts book she had borrowed from her mom. (We’ve shared more books between her family and mine than I can probably count. Gotta love bibliophile families.) I now have the two others in the Dream trilogy on a list from the library, waiting for them to be available so I can finish the story.

I love it when a series of books involve all of the same people, but each book focuses mainly on one of the characters. You learn so much more about everyone, and it’s got to be a treat for a writer to write these kinds of books. There’s always so much you want to tell about each character – all of their secrets, thoughts and idiosyncrasies – but you don’t have to time to tell it all in one book. I had previously read the In the Garden trilogy by Roberts, where she did this same thing, and I enjoyed that as much.

Here’s the synopsis for this book (first of the trilogy) off of Goodreads:

Margo, Kate and Laura were brought up like sisters amidst the peerless grandeur of Templeton House. But it was Margo whose dreams first took her far away . . . 

Margo Sullivan had everything a young woman could ask for. But while growing up along the rocky cliffs of Monterey, she couldn’t help but dream of bigger things. The daughter of the Templeton’s stern Irish housekeeper, Margo had been treated like a member of the family. Deep down, she knew that money could not but the thing she craved most — her mother’s acceptance. 

Maybe things would be different if she could be sweet like Laura — or had Kate’s shrewd head for business. But all Margo knew how to do was be Margo, and that meant doing things her own way — no matter what the consequences . . .

I enjoyed learning about Margo. She was always one to go after her dreams, and she didn’t like people telling her that she couldn’t do something. She isn’t one to sulk about her problems, either. She wants to make it in the world on her own. She wanted to be famous, got it, and then lost it. So she has to pick herself up and do something about it. You have to admire that spirit.

I also like how Roberts interweaves the story of the girls as friends. They were all raised by the same parents, though Margo is the daughter of their servant while Kate was their niece. It is truly a loving, extended family who want everyone to be happy and good to each other, which we need more of in this world.

I sped through this book, and now I’m itching to read the others in the trilogy. If you like romances, or if you’re a Nora Roberts fan but just haven’t gotten to these yet, I would definitely recommend this first book.

Find the book on: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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About Brittany Westerberg

I'm a lover of writing and books. I graduated from South Dakota State with a master's degree in communications in 2011, the same year I was first published. I'm a wife and mom, and I work in content and digital marketing in South Dakota.