Customer Reviews

Dreams of Stardust

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
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Ms. Kurland is one of those rare authors that manages to pen a romance in such a way that you remember the read years later. This is just such a read.

Jake Kilchurn travels the world in search of unique gems for his little side business when he is not involved in the family holdings. An errand that should have been...simple ends up being an errand that will change his life in ways he never imagined. Upon looking at a picture of Artane Castle, Jake feels an undeniable pull. He is much to grounded to believe any kind of nonesense of mystical pull and what have you. But when the deal that his father is trying to make with none other than Gideon de Piaget rests on his agreement to travel to Artane and see what is there he must agree. Or at least he feels he does. So said he packs his car and heads North. One skidding car later he wakes up in 1200's Scotland and rescued by the most beautiful woman ever...

Amanda of Artane knows that she must marry. What she doesn't want is a husband that only sees what she can bring to his coffers. She wants a man that will love her for her. When she finds the weary traveller Jake she can't help but be drawn to his handsome visage. To bad he seems to be a lackwit incapable of communicating, and lacking proper cloths. Or is Jake more than he seems. Despite knowing that she can never love him she still finds herself drawn to him. He is kind to her brothers, kind to her...but more importantly he is not impressed with the material things she represents. He sees her. But can there growing love for each other be enough to span the problems that lay ahead of them? Or will there love be strong enough to span time?

Ms. Kurland has again written a very romantic story that left me both laughing and crying. Every single one of her characters touched me. From our handsome hero Jake, and Amanda one young lady way ahead of her time, to younger brother Montgomery. But best of all we get to re-visit with Kendrick and Gen! I love how she has brought back one of my all time favorite romance couples! This is a story that stands alone so if you have never picked up a Kurland read...well, you'll fix that after this one. Her stories always offer wonderful, dynamic characters, moving storylines, and just a little bit of magic. In any event you won't be sorry for picking up this read...accept until you come to the end of it that is.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Amanda diPiaget loves her family but now she has reached the age to marry and they are driving her nuts. She doesn't want to be traded for a piece of land or honor or to cement relations along the scottish border. So she decides she has to leave home without any of her interfearing brothers knowledge. She loves them but they just don't understand. Amanda can't sew or cook but she can fight. In 1227 women are not allowed out of the castle very much. Her brothers have traveled alot and her greatest wish is to travel and see all the wonderful sites she has heard about.

Jackson Alexander Kilchurn IV (Jake) is a famous jewelry designer, the year is 2005, he travels the world hunting exquisite gems to use in his marvelous jewelry. Gideon de Piaget is a friend and convinces him to visit Artane, his castle. Jake's father wants him to go to Artane with some business papers. Gideon is CEO of Artane Enterprises. To kill two birds with one stone, Jake flies to England and heads for Artane.

While on the way to Artane he looses his way and winds up at Seakirk. Although Kendrick and Genevieve are not there, Worthington makes him comfortable. Later he wanders around and finds a portrait of a beautiful woman. While standing there he overhears some ghosts argueing over who was the more beautiful, Gwen or Anne, when Robert and Colin enter the conversation and announce that Amanda was the most beautiful he has to agree, because that is the name under the portrait. Jake is alittle unnerved to hear ghosts speak, but he has had quite a few adventures with the supernatural while on his treks hunting for famous gems. The next morning as he leaves Seakirk he looses control of his car and it crashes and burns, but they can find no sign of Jake.

Jake awakes in 1227 at Artane and now he finds the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Amanda finds she is drawn to this quiet, handsome man and even her brothers like him, EVEN Robin. But how is a merchant to win the hand of the rich young lady, who has turned down so many other noble suitors.

Lynn Kurland has again brought us a wonderful love story with a timeless hero and heroine. All of our favorite characters from other books are here. Kendrick, Miles, Robin, Rhys, Alexander, and their wonderful ladies. She brings us once again into the stardust of her imagination. What a wonderful experience. IF you have read other books by her you will be delighted. If not you will begin a wonderful adventure and I'm sure be forced to find all of her other books. A Great Read.

For those readers who did not like this book, they are not wrong in their opinion-after all, Jake and Amanda WERE only in a handful of scenes together throughout the entire book, (and this author does not write love scenes, although she was a bit bolder when she wrote the fabulous novel, "A Dance Through Time," Jamie and Elizabeth's story).
This book is almost entirely about all of the other characters, which, if you're familiar with any of them, Kendrick, Gideon, or Robin, for example, you will find this book to your liking. In fact, I think you'll find it wonderfully entertaining. It was a very intricate tale of past and present centuries, using many characters and the author never made it confusing; it was great for me because I was very interested in all the characters. A first time reader will find that difficult to believe, however, because their interest is in Jake & Amanda, as well it should be. The author probably should have focused a bit more on them.

Jackson "Jake" Kilchurn IV has not had the best of days, starting with getting mugged on his way to deliver papers as a favor for his father to Gideon dePiaget. While sitting in Gideon's office Jake has the weirdest sense of déjà vu while gazing at a pastoral scene with a castle (Artane) in the background. Later he is coerced into driving to Artane to get a needed signature from Gideon's father. Along the way, Jake gets lost in the fog and winds up some miles away at Seakirk, the home of Kendrick and Genevieve dePiaget, where Worthington, their butler makes him comfortable in offering the stranded traveler a bed for the night.

Joking with the butler over the lack of security, Worthington assures Jake with a cryptic nod that `the lads' were ample enough security. Later Jake realizes that `the lads' were actually ghosts complete with swords and medieval armor who not only appeared to him but carried on conversations arguing over who was the most beautiful woman of their acquaintance and thought Jake nuts that he didn't know!!

The following day, Jake, again on the road to Artane, lost control of his car and the next thing he remembered was waking up in a medieval castle, minus most of his clothes, and seeing the most beautiful woman in his life, Amanda dePiaget, and the year is 1227.

Amanda feels an undeniable pull towards the stranger in spite of the fact that he, cannot speak their language, ride a horse or wield a sword. As time goes by Jake wins over her brothers, even Robin her most beastly and oldest brother, and though attracted, knows that her father would never hand her over to a mere merchant. Jake is aware that he must find a way back to his own time to convert his wealth into something medieval that can buy him a title and be able to offer for the woman who has stolen his heart.

*** Lynn Kurland in my estimation is a fabulous author who makes the time travel genre her very own! Over the years, she has written several tales of the dePiaget and MacLeod families and they just seem to get better and better every time. I was so thrilled to re-visit all the old `haunts' especially Kendrick and Genevieve from one of my personal favorites, STARDUST OF YESTERDAY, to find that this ties right in with that tale though both are completely stand-alone reads. In this latest, while Amanda dePiaget is beautiful as the lead heroine, it truly is Jake's story. It is emotional, it is funny and it is so fabulously romantic - this being no small feat when you consider that there were virtually no sexual `encounters' between the protagonists until..... and you will have to read this to find out! This is an absolutely MARVELOUS read that will be generating a host of new fans scurrying around trying to locate Kurland's backlists! --- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Doing his cheap father a favor was the first mistake, but Jackson Kilchurn IV delivers the papers to Gideon Piaget of Artane Enterprises, but not before being mugged in the parking lot. Jake's bad day turns worse when Gideon informs him he will need to obtain the signature of his father at Artane. Already feeling a weird deja vu pull by the castle and somewhat excited that he will see a jewelry vault as he designs and creates jewelry, Jake reluctantly agrees. Near Artane Castle, Jake has an accident.

Jake regains consciousness in a dungeon. Adjusting to his circumstances, he persuades his hosts, the dePiagets that he was mugged, but gets a bigger shock to learn that somehow he was knocked out in 2005 but awakened in 1227. Meanwhile Amanda dePiaget must select a spouse. She finds Jake whose fashion is odd and his beliefs weird refreshing especially since he seems oblivious to her wealth. Jake falls in love with Amanda, but realizes he offers nothing to her unless he returns to the twenty-first century to pick up his gold and then somehow comes back to his beloved.

DREAMS OF STARDUST is a terrific time travel romance that readers will appreciate due to the likable lead couple. The story line insures fans will believe that Jake went back in time because of his struggles to adjust to the era yet his ability to accept his lot. Having the hero wearing strange modern clothing and spouting odd social and philosophical notions stun his hosts and excite his beloved add to the feel that he is out of time (literally and figuratively). Lynn Kurland provides a fine tale that proves she is a skilled timekeeper.

Harriet Klausner

This is the first book that I have read by Lynn Kurland, and I agree with other reviewers who state that "Dreams of Stardust" works as a stand-alone book (although it is littered with characters who are obviously the heroes and/or heroines of other books in her interlocking series of the de Piaget and MacLeod families.) I found "Dreams of Stardust" to be an entertaining medieval time-travel romance, although a bit light on the romance and historical accuracy for my taste.

The hero of the story is Jake Kilchurn, the son of a wealthy 21st century businessman, who has largely rejected his father's money and business dealings to pursue a lucrative career of his own in gem acquisition and jewelry design. As a grudging favor to his father, Jake travels to Artane Castle (despite his strange sense of deja vu about the place) with some business papers for its owner, Lord Edward di Piaget. On the way there he is in a car wreck and is transported back to the 13th century where he is rescued from a group of robbers by the beautiful Lady Amanda di Piaget and her younger brothers. Jake falls almost instantly in love with Amanda and visa versa. Amanda is 21 years old (that is *ancient* in medieval terms) but unmarried because she believes that all her suitors are just after her money. She is an anachronism in other ways as well--she spends time sparring with her brothers in the lists, jogging around the lists, and planning solo escapes from the protection of her family. She is spunky enough but frequently in a way which is idiotically reckless. She chafes at the contingent of guards that follow her everywhere but seems to be able to elude them without too much difficulty when she wants to do so--*twice* she disguises herself and leaves the castle unchallenged.

Jake and Amanda are a charming enough hero and heroine, but a bit underdeveloped (IMO). They are both gorgeous and seem to fall in love with each other initially based on their good looks. Jake later comes to admire Amanda's spirit and intelligence and Amanda likes the fact that Jake seems to love *her* and not her money. There are class obstacles to overcome (Amanda is nobility and Jake a mere impoverished "merchant")--solved in a rather mundane manner by Jake returning to the future to get his money from Swiss bank accounts.

The book is just chock *full* of characters--from Amanda's delightful family in medieval Artane to all the modern di Piaget and MacLeod relatives. Amanda's brothers are particularly fun, but so many characters tend to steal the limelight from the main hero and heroine. Jake spends a lot of time (and I mean *a lot* of time) training at swordfighting and Amanda spends a lot of time worrying about whether things will work out with Jake. The passion between the main couple is very restrained. Some of the main action of the book is recounted by the characters in past tense after the fact, which I found perplexing.

In summary, this is an entertaining medieval time-travel romance with a *very* large cast of engaging characters. Devotees of Lynn Kurland's previous books will likely be *thrilled* to see so much of the heroes and heroines of previous books and their growing families (i.e. Robin and Anne, Kendrick and Genevieve, Gideon and Megan, Rhys and Gwennelyn.)

Before I was even finished reading this book I went out and bought another of her titles. It was a very fun read that I had a very hard time putting down. I only wish that I would have known about the family tree in the back of the book that shows which of her books go with the different characters and familys. I would recomend to someone who has not yet had the pleasure of reading one of her books, to look at the family tree, and start at the top!

I won't re-tell the story, as so many other reviewers have already taken care of that. It's true that the romance between Jake and Amanda isn't as well developed as most of Lynn Kurland's stories. They don't spend all that much time together... they fall in love more with the character traits that they observe from a distance.

That said, it's still a wonderful, well-written book that tells the story of Jake's finding a family in the 13th century. He really becomes a part of the de Piaget family. This book is much better as part of the family series, than it is a stand-alone book. Read it... but read Another Chance To Dream and If I Had You first.

Dreams of Stardust failed to adequately develop the romance between the two main characters. Family relationships were developed and explored more than the romance. Not the best Kurland novel, but certainly not a terrible one, either. Just sort of lackluster.

There isn't nearly as much danger or adventure in this one as many of her others, but she does go into the characters lives enough to still make it an engaging read (I was up 'til 3am). I loved being able to catch up with the lead couples from several of her other books, too. I've wondered how long it would take to get the De Piaget branches to meet, and the results are pretty amusing. This may not be the best introduction to Kurland's families, but it won't give anything crucial away to first-timers. All around, it's a fun, light read.