Customer Reviews

Dream Island

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you haven't discovered Josie Litton, do so immediately. She is a writer who blends adult romance, suspense, and historical detail with a style that will keep you reading into the night. For all you Garfield fans who have been left hungering for the author to return to the historical genre, try Josie Litton. And check out her Viking-Saxon trilogy. The heroes are strong, intelligent and fair, and the heroines are spirited (and each has something just a little "different" about them)and practical.

I can't wait for the next installment in this series.

I have read a lot of romance but by far I find Josie Litton the best author. Her books never fail to bring you into the story and completly saturate your every thought. This story, while not on the same line as her previous books was every bit what I had hoped it would be. I could not put it down, I recommend this book for the regency romantics while her previous books I would recommend for the historical romantic. All are excellent reading!

The first thing I appreciated about this book was Ms.Litton's departure from the traditional Regency romance setting of London. Instead the majority of this novel takes place on the ficticious island nation of Akora.
Lady Joanna is looking for her brother Royce who has disappeared on his voyage to Akora. Because Joanna is determined to find him she stows away aboard the ship of an Akoran prince, Alex, and arrives on the island amid controversy and speculation. It would be difficult to say more without giving away the happy ending.
What's nice about this story is that although political undertones and the typical romance elements exist throughout, the characters of Joanna and Alex are well written, completely believable, and likeable as well. I'm looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.

I bought this book merely because it was on sale at a local bookstore. I needed a book to read on a flight to a business trip. It started rather boring before leaping into action at the second chapter.
A willful English outcast, Joanna desperately wants to find her brother, Royce, who traveled to the fabled land of Akora to seek out its secrets. Akora is a fortress of solitude and isolation. No one gets in and no one gets out. That's what the society is encouraged to believe. Joanna is not just anyone. She's a willful woman who only wants her beloved brother back home where he is safe.
She is usually quite conventional, but to her surprise, when Lord Alex, prince of Akora, refuses to help her, she takes a leap (literally) into the dangerous clutches of an age-old evil. She steals away into an Akoran ship which happens to be the ship of the dangerous yet mysterious Alex. He hasn't the heart to do what he should, cast her into the ocean or deliver her to her enemies in desperation to preserve the cruel image of Akora.
Joanna finds herself in a world of legend. Descending from Greek origin, the anciently isolated land of Akora is both old and new. Their knowledge, information, and society is a mixture like Joanna has never seen. Lord Alex, Prince of Akora, is unlike any man she has met.
She has an instant attraction, and he feels the same way, but neither want to let the other interfere with their business, but when a growing political enemy of the leader of Akora threatens Alex's beloved Joanna, he won't let them get away. It doesn't help that Joanna is anything but naive and thrusts herself into the greatest evil in a desperate attempt to save her brother, he must take action.
Another twist to the book is Joanna's odd but exciting power thats orgins are traced to Akora. This is a book that is no stranger to action, love, and excitement. Don't miss the sequel in which Kassandra, Alex's brother, and Royce, Joanna's brother, meet in a dreadfully challenging time in England.
The only downfall in the book would be its confusing revelations about the orgin of Akora and the evolution of the Akorans. Everything else is mostly exciting, although it would have been funner if Joanna played more hard-to-get, but overall, it was enjoyable.

I'll admit it, I had high hopes for this book. I love the Atlantis idea and as I really enjoyed Josie Litton's first three books, I couldn't wait to read this one. I liked it alot but something seemed missing. Maybe the sensual tension was off? It just seemed slower moving than previous books. I didn't feel all that close to the characters but I did enjoy the story. I'm looking forward to KINGDOM OF MOONLIGHT.

This is the best romance novel I've read since Kathleen E Woodiwiss' "Shanna" (which if you haven't read, you should!). I haven't yet read any of Josie Litton's other books, but I really enjoyed this one. I've read it three times, so far.

I was a bit wary initially of a book with a "mythic kingdom" but the author really brought Akora alive to the reader. The "another time, another place" aspect was fun and the customs and court intrigue on Akora were interesting.

And Alex - half English, half Akoran - Lord Darcourt in England; Prince Alexandros on Akora was absolutely fabulous! I really loved his character. Sweet, charming, arrogant, smart, strong, sexy - mmm, mmm!

Lady Joanna Hawkforte was fun and feisty. Stowing away on a ship bound to the foreign land of Akora which doesn't welcome strangers. Her brother went there months before and has yet to return, and Lady Joanna, unable to get any assistance to find her brother from either the British government or from the arrogant Lord Darcourt, sets off to find him herself.

She is discovered in the hold of the Akoran ship by Alex and he allows her to remain on board and go on to Akora. He's not convinced that her brother is there, but he doesn't dismiss the idea either. He tells Joanna that he will look into her brother's situation once they arrive in Akora.

From there, romance, adventure, intrigue and assasination attempts ensue. The action moves between England and Akora. We meet Alex's half-brother Atreus, leader of Akora, Alex's sister Kassandra and Joanna's brother Royce setting up the characters for a trilogy of "Akora" stories. Lots of fun, a sweet love story, characters that you can care about and wild adventures. What more can you ask for?

I've read all of her books so far, and I have to say, this is the best. The other ones are fantastic, but this one has such attention to detail, that Litton's talent really shines through. Definitely worth buying this one new.

I havent read any other of Josie Litton's books, but I will say that the writing syle is phenomenal in this one and enough to carry the reader through any other flaws the book may have.

the pluses: Its cute, it is like an adorable fairy tale and definitely takes you away from daily drudgery, again the writing is very good. When I say very good, I dont mean better than most romance novels good- I mean New England's answer to Chekov good. This lady really knows how to put a descriptive phrase together.

the minuses- Akora is not a believable place. Some characters have hokey psychic powers which sort of conveniently saves Litton the trouble of writing a really sensible plot. Joanna, the main character is overly competent at everything to the point where she isnt believable. The character development is limited and the characters are sort of flat "good" or "evil" types with very few internal struggles if any.

This book reads like Nathaniel Hawthorne was reincarnated as a 12 yr old girl who wanted to write the story of a disney cartoon. Well, maybe a precocious 12 yr old girl, but still.

Overall, I did rate this book highly and would think that it is enjoyable for any woman that likes romances and many women that dont. I generally despise romance novels, but this one had enough elements of historical glamour, imaginative spark and good writing to make it worth my while.

I've read the other books written by Josie Litton: Come Back to Me, Dream of Me, and Believe In Me was a true winner. This book here? JUNK!! OK it has a decent plot and a good setting, but come on, the characters hardly spoke! The book was filled with so much unnecessary detail that it had me falling asleep on the 3rd chapter. Since I'm a reader of her books, I'd thought that the book would get better, unfortunately it didn't. I scanned throughout the whole book the way it was written still wasn't able to capture my attention. Finally returning to my reading on Chapter 3 I read again up until page 100 before I had enough of it and quit reading. After 3 attempts, I figured it wasn't worth continuing. But if you're the kind of person that doesn't like to read dialogues, this is definitely the book for you...

I read this years ago in paperback. I've slowly been replacing my favorites on the Kindle. It's nice to re-read those books that I got rid of years ago at yard sales!