I am mad. So mad about this book. And here is your fair warning that there are spoilers.

I have been waiting a year for this book… You hear my but coming? Well, it is!

I liked the beginning of The Brightest of Dreams but I was flipping through since it was going slowly and I wanted to stay interested … and I found out that Julia was drugged by a doctor after her friend died and that the doctor raped her.
It's after WWI so there is still a lot of stuff with rich dudes getting away with stuff and women not going to the ploice when stuff happens to them so you can assume that she doesn't tell anyone but the love interest when he notices that she was pregnant and she says that it was rape.

Since I found this out I skipped ahead some more...
And found more discouraging content … The bad dude tries to take the baby she's pregnant with after the attack, she goes into early labor at court, goes to the hospital, they stop labor until later and then she has the baby after Quin gets there again. Once again bad dude comes in, at the hospital! He wants to see his kid!!!! Um, big no no to me, he deserves to be thrown in jail and the key lost and that's the nice version! But no, they talk, he kinda feels bad, and THOUGHT THAT SHE WANTED *IT* SICK SICK SICK SICK… No one was with them until the pastor came back in, and she forgives bad dude saying if he really is sorry he'd let her keep the baby. So, of course he does … And she thinks it's a good thing Quin didn't come in since he'd do something to bad dude, uh, yeah! He'd better do something!
Plus her uncle doesn't want her home after he finds out about the baby. Well, she can come "home" but has to stay hidden until her cousin is happily married to some rich titled guy and she can come somewhat out of hiding.

Now that we have that out of the way may I say how much I nearly loved it? Quinten's story is so heartbreaking … I wanted to see what happened with his siblings and I skipped through and found out. I loved it! Such a bittersweet story idea but the author ruined it with everything that she threw at Julia, I honestly feel like she did it just to give the heroine angst. Like the hero couldn't have all of the drama, no sir … That wouldn't work. *eyeroll* I will not be finishing The Brightest of Dreams and I won't be doing another book from Mrs. Mason.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. ( )

The cover drew me in, then the title, and I smiled when I saw this was written by Susan Anne Mason. I had enjoyed books by this author, so I was thrilled to read her newest novel. I read the first page in the prologue, stopped and looked at the cover of the book again. Yes, I was reading the correct book. I stopped because I had read No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky last year and it had a similar beginning, I was a little confused (things were cleared up in the Author notes to readers at the end). When the prologue ended the similarities did too.

Quinten said his farewells to his family and was off to war. Now he was home to discover his family had been scattered about. Quinten told his employer he was off to Canada to gather his family together. His employer the Earl (who he worked for years prior to the war) had a proposition for him. The Earl would gladly hold his position, give him some spending money, if he would also search for Miss Julia Holloway, his niece. He does the only thing he can do, he says,”..You have my word, sir. I’ll do everything in my power to bring your niece back to you.”

This is in author notes to readers, “When the subject of the British Home Children in Canada was suggested to me as a possible topic for a book, I confess I’d never heard of them. Not in all the time growing up in Ontario – where a large majority of these children were sent – and never in any of the educational studies…. So, to find out about these children and the role they played in our country’s history was indeed surprising.”

This was a remarkable, fun, fascinating hard journey Quintin and his family took. The characters are endearing, this story had the reader think about loyalty, trust, love, honor, compassion, family and forgiveness. It’s a wholesome romance story sprinkled with faith. Even though this was book three in the series I didn’t feel lost in this gripping, heart-felt novel I couldn’t put down that was full of twists and turns I didn’t see coming.

I highly recommend this novel for a book club pick. There is much to discuss.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org ( )

This has been a fantastic series of historical fiction. I had not read much that takes place in Canada before this and I had definitely not read about England sending children over to Canada. It seems like it was a good idea on paper but there were children that it did not work out for. I loved the characters of Quinten and Julia. These two came together at the right time in their lives and were able to help each other. This made me laugh and cry. I received a copy of this book from the author and Bethany House for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )

In The Brightest of Dreams, Quinten Aspinall returns to England from war to find that his ailing mother, being unable to care for her three youngest children, has sent them to an orphanage. And the orphanage has shipped the children to Canada for “the chance for a better life” as indentured laborers. Quinn promises his mother he will find his siblings and bring them back, but when he asks his employer, the Earl of Brentwood, for the time off to travel to Canada, the Earl has another mission for him. The Earl’s niece, Julia Holloway, ran away to Canada with a soldier in order to care for him after the war, and he wants Quinn to find Julia and try to convince her to return to England, as well. As an added bonus, Quinn will be rewarded with one of the tenant farms for him and his family if he can bring Julia back. In Canada, Julia is living in poverty as the soldier she was caring for has died. When Quinn finds her, comes to her aid, and offers her protection, she is grateful, but when she learns of the deal made with her uncle, she wonders if Quinn actually cares about her or if he is using her in order to earn the farm. As Quinn struggles to get all the pieces of his life together — finding his siblings, trying to win Julia, striving to get back to England with his brothers and sister in tow in order to keep his promise to his mother, and trying to hold up his end of the deal with the Earl of Brentwood in order to earn the farm and provide a home for his family — he wonders if it’s even possible for him to have all he dreams of.

The Brightest of Dreams is a clean, faith-based story. The story weaves in historical events as it tells about the British Home Children which is a pretty horrible piece of history that I had never heard of before. Although I liked the premise of this story, I personally had a hard time connecting with the characters. I felt that the story dragged and seemed a bit unfocused sometimes. And in some places, I thought the dialogue seemed awkward and didn’t seem to fit the time period. Of course everyone has their own reaction to a story, and as this book has many five star ratings, obviously many others did connect with this story in a way that I just didn’t. But I certainly do appreciate the focus on faith in the story, and I’m glad to have learned a bit of history as well.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )

Title: The Brightest of Dreams (Canadian Crossings #3)
Author: Susan Anne Mason
Pages: e-book
Year: 2020
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.
Quinten Aspinall returns from fighting the Seven Years War to find his mother in the workhouse infirmary and close to death. His father had died shortly before Quinten left home seeking work. He sent his pay home to his mother and thought it would be enough to keep herself and his siblings in their home. He quickly finds out his mother used the money for liquor instead of food and was forced to go to work. She didn’t have enough money to support her three children, so she took them to an orphanage temporarily until she could get back on her feet financially. However, the orphanage sent the children to Canada as indentured servants! Quinten will do whatever it takes to bring his siblings home to England, but after five years and few leads how is he going to find them in a foreign country? His former employer also has given him the task of finding his wayward niece, who has also traveled to Canada. Quinten will receive land and a house if he can find her and bring her back. His family would be set for life then, so Quinten accepts the additional challenge.
Julia Holloway traveled to Canada as a caretaker for a wounded soldier. He unexpectedly commits suicide, leaving Julie distraught and vulnerable to his manipulative doctor who takes advantage of her to act on his own desires. Julia must find another job to support herself and is scrubbing floors in a hospital when Quinten stumbles across her. She agrees to help him in his search for his siblings in exchange for him paying her rent. She has no intention of returning to England, and he has no intention of staying in Canada.
Quinten and Julie both have a stubborn streak but also put the care of others before themselves. In England, the differences of class were strictly adhered to. In Canada, the class distinctions are more relaxed. I enjoyed the setting of all three novels in this series, and I especially liked Quinten in this story. He put his siblings and Julia’s needs before his own wants and desires, trying his best to do what was right. Readers see the upside and downside to the siblings’ lives as indentured servants and how God honors Quinten’s decisions regarding Julia and the future.
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )