When Dreams Come True
Grade : B-

If the first thing you look at after you pick up this book is the back cover – ignore it. Did men have hair like that back then? The roses and tiara on the front cover have nothing to do with the story, either, but someone must have thought they looked pretty. Be assured that under all that strangeness, there really is a good read.

Eden is a trained courtesan with her virginity still intact, since that would, of course, make her more valuable. The Madam who found her starving on the streets has finally found a buyer who can afford the Madam’s price, so Eden is on her way to become a member of the harem of a wealthy, aging sheik. But Eden is given a token by an unlikely friend, a minister’s young wife, who wants Eden to escape – and grab a life for herself. The medallion is supposed to provide protection for her as she sets out on her journey. It also provides Eden with enough courage so when the ship she is on becomes storm-tossed, making her captors ill, she gets into a lifeboat and sets herself to sea. A few days later, unconscious and in her nightgown, Eden is discovered along the Cornish coast by Pierce Kirrier, Earl of Penhollow.

Pierce has questionable parentage – his mother was a butcher’s daughter whose father wanted a better life for her. Since the local gentry has ostracized him in the past, and since his mother went into seclusion after his father died and left them penniless, Pierce was raised by the local villagers. These villagers believe it is long past time for him to get married, so they ask the local wise woman to create a charm bag to bring him a wife. Eden is the result of that magic, and she is everything Pierce could want in a wife – beautiful, kind, passionate, and courageous. She is also keeping her secret, not only to protect herself, but because she finds herself caring more and more about what Pierce thinks of her.

Pierce is frustrated with Eden for not trusting him enough to share her secrets. When he almost loses her to a fire in the village, he realizes he loves her enough that losing her would be more painful than the pain of not having her trust him. Eden, already in love with him, cannot say no to his marriage proposal, even though she believes that she is not good enough for him.

When does Pierce find out the truth? How does he handle it? How do they get to happily ever after? Well, I’ll let you read the book to find out. To me, it was very believable and in the end, satisfying. Other things I enjoyed were the changes in both Pierce and Eden. They go from two people overly trying to please each other, to two confident people, each believing in the other and in their own worth. I liked Pierce’s mother – she was absolutely terrible to Eden in the beginning, and went through a reversal without losing character. I liked the villagers, how the Madam was portrayed, and some of the other secondary characters.

What I didn’t enjoy were the extremely sappy moments between Pierce and Eden. One example: "I can’t believe my good fortune in being with you. You are my life, my savior, my king." This sappiness involves only about ten pages of the book, so if you can manage to get through it (without too much snorting or eye-rolling), you're home free. Unfortunately, the book also has an almost distant feel to it – somehow it is written in such a way that the characters, even the hero and heroine, are not close enough to the reader, especially the joyous times. Still, the few painful passages are written strongly.

There is one icky moment between the hero and the heroine where he actually treats her like a whore, and she accepts it because she will have him any way she can. I was disgusted with Pierce then, and it took me awhile to recover. But it is just one moment, and it made Pierce and Eden seem more like real people with weaknesses, such as everyone has.

When Dreams Come True does have its flaws. Eden appears weak at times, but she always seems kind. Pierce comes off as being superior to Eden in a way, until finally all hell breaks loose, and they both are better for it. I also have to add that the title really doesn’t seem to match the book at all. Despite the few negatives, I really did enjoy this read. It was not bad. Not bad at all.

Reviewed by Rebecca Ekmark
Grade : B-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 23, 1998

Publication Date: 1998

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Rebecca Ekmark

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