Customer Reviews

In My Wildest Dreams

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Weighing in on the whole issue of whether or not it is worth reading Christina Dodd's latest romance novel in the Governess series, "In My Wildest Dreams," and without sounding incredibly wishy-washy about it, I'd have to say that everything is going to boil down to whether or not you are a fan of Ms Dodd's. Because, barring the few glaring instances where she suddenly reverts to modern day colloquialisms, this novel is rather well written, and is a quite interesting take on the original "Sabrina" movie. Here again, whether or not you enjoy this book, is going to depend on how sacrosanct the Audrey Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart movie is to you. However, there are enough differences between the two, to make reading this book rather enjoyable.

To begin with the Sabrina-like character in "In My Wildest Dreams" (Celeste) is not the sweetly single-minded and rather naive and romantic waif that we remember from the movie, but rather, is a very single-minded and feisty young woman, who butts heads with Linus-like character, Garrick Throckmorton (who turned out to be the FIRST hero in the entire Governess series that I actually liked), from the very beginning of the novel. Another difference, and one that I liked, was that the role of the 'other woman,' Celeste's rival for Ellery Throckmorton's affections, Lady Hyacinth, was greatly enlarged. And Lady Hyacinth wasn't portrayed as colourless wet blanket!! I liked that Christina Dodd allowed for a friendship to develop between Celeste and Lady Hyacinth. It made the novel a lot more interesting.

Only a few things detracted a little from my overall enjoyment of the novel: 1) here and there, Ms Dodd reverted to modern day language. Why, oh why aren't these mistakes caught before the novel gets published? 2) the character of Ellery Throckmorton is for nearly three quarters of the novel portrayed as a very handsome but rather dim, frivious and careless man, suddenly in the last quarter, he becomes very intelligent and observant. Garrick Throckmorton was not the only person thrown by the depths his younger brother suddenly displayed. I was rather flabbergasted too. And 3) the entire espionage motif is a muted strain that weaves itself in and out of the entire novel. And I for one do wish that more had been made of this subplot.

Eventhough the movie "Sabrina" is one of my all time favourites, I found myself enjoying "In My Wildest Dreams," and thought that this novel is the most successful of the entire Governess series. The novel is not a bad read, and I would recommend reading it.

Sabrina is one of my all-time favorite contemporary love stories. Seeing it turned into a historical novel was wonderful. All the great plotting by business-like Garrick Throckmorten was there. And Celeste Milford - what a heroine - our little gardener's daughter all grown up. Determined to get her man (youngest brother Ellery Throckmorten), she has returned from being educated and polished after serving in the household of the Russian ambassador. She has been hired to serve as governess to Garrick's daughter Penelope and Ellery's illegitimate daughter Kiki.

Ellery in all his roguish glory is ready to abandon his fiancé for Celeste. But Garrick wants to preserve his careful plans for a marriage between Ellery and powerful Lord Longshaw's daughter Hyacinth. So Garrick sets out to seduce Celeste himself or at least keep her occupied and away from Ellery. Throw in a subplot of spying and a couple of mischievous and charming children to round out the storyline. This also made it different than the original contemporary Sabrina.

There is lots of fun, mayhem and laughter within these pages. Also the physical attraction between Garrick and Celeste is acted on. I found those scenes tender and tasteful. Secondary characters such as Celeste's gardener father, the cook, all the other servants and the children are well fleshed out with stories of their own to tell. The villain is nasty and gets his due. It touches your heart in the end.

I believe Garrick's and Celeste's personalities were kept too hidden which made it a little unbelievable they would have fallen in love so deeply. That is why I did not give it a 5. In all, this is a wonderful feel-good book. Not to be missed.

Yes, the story is Sabrina, but since I love that story, I don't care. The characters are likable and the dialogue is funny. I especially loved the conversation Throckmorton has with his mother half way through the book. I laughed outloud.

I read this book twice because it was so much fun.

I was about four pages in when I realized that this book was a blatant, note for note rip-off of the Billy Wilder movie "Sabrina", with Bogart and Hepburn. While the story is one that I absolutly love, I found that by knowing exactly how the book was going to turn out (and every turn along the way) made for a more than predictable read. I am used to Dodd captivating us with strong heroines and alpha heros that, while we know all will be well in the end, take us on a ride that is funny,touching,and suprising, leaving us unable to put the book down. I only finished this book by force, hoping that she would somehow put in a suprise "whammy" somewhere along the way. Alas, no whammy. I look foward to her next book but I wish I had left this one on the shelf. (If you have never seen or heard of "Sabrina", disregard this entire review!)

I honestly don't understand the ruckus over the Sabrina theme. There are no new stories; the differences come in the details & the telling. And Christina Dodd has done a fabulous job of rewriting the "Sabrina" storyline, which is itself a variation of the Cinderella story. Personally, I enjoyed the correlation.

Garrick is my favorite of the Governess heroes; he's strong, intelligent, and interesting, but not overly macho. Responsible almost to a fault, but not at all "high in the instep," Garrick starts out seducing Celeste to keep her away from younger brother Ellery, but winds up falling for her. Celeste, meanwhile, comes to admire & then love the inigmatic older brother, although she'd had her heart set on Ellery, who is newly betrothed in an important family alliance. Ellery is a self-centered adult boy, much like the younger brother in "Sabrina." Garrick is a widower who desperately needs a governness for his daughter and...another girl. Celeste, the head gardener's daughter, is the perfect fit; the girls love her instantly.

The chemistry & sensuality are there; Celeste & Garrick are a thoroughly believeable couple. The spy storyline worked for me; it was just enough for the tone of the book. I considered giving it 5 stars, but 4 & 1/2 is more accurate.

I am a fan of Christina Dodd's previous works and was excited to read this. I was slightly disappointed that this book SO closely mirrored the story line to Sabrina and it was somewhat jarring, as you could predict the story line. However, about halfway she moves away from the step-by-step retelling of the Sabrina tale and the book really takes off. Overall, it's another excellent book by Dodd - very enjoyable and the characters are lively and very real. Celeste is a strong, non-whiny heroine and highly enjoyable to read; Garrick is an excellent counterpart to her. If you can get beyond the "Sabrina" storyline, it's a highly enjoyable book.

Did the author write this book while watching the movie Sabrina (1954 & 1995)? I could not believe the similarities!

By 1843 all seventeen years old Celeste wanted was the love of Ellery Throckmorton, but the handsome noble never noticed the gardener's daughter. However his older brother Garrick sends Celeste to the highly respected Distinguished Academy of Governesses and after that to Paris.

Four years later, Ellery is betrothed to marry Hyacinth though he prefers to remain a bachelor, but sees Celeste and wants her. Garrick intercedes to insure that Celeste does not remain a distraction and thwart the wedding plans he has for his younger brother. However, he soon finds himself falling in love with the full of life Celeste, but she apparently loves his sibling.

IN MY WILDEST DREAMS, this reviewer never expected anyone to rewrite the classic Sabrina especially when the movie remake so paled in comparison to Hepburn-Bogart. However, the incomparable Christina Dodd provides her audience with a pleasant Victorian era rendition of Sabrina that sub-genre fans will enjoy. The story line is fun when Garrick's plan backfires and he falls in love with his target. Though a subplot involving espionage adds suspense, some readers will find it unnecessarily takes the reader away from a lovely historical romance that shows why Ms. Dodd is so highly regarded by fans.

Harriet Klausner

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I read it in two days! I haven't been into the Governess series since the Rules of Surrender (which is Dodd's best by far) and picked this book up cos it was on sale. I'm so glad I did! The story is a bit droll at first, but still filled with humour and semi-realistic plot development. Garrick is a strong character and not at all romantic in the conventional way, but still desirable.

And the love scene(s), steamy! The best I've read by Dodd, delicious and had me fanning my face!! I rather like a brooding, responsible, muscular male, more so then the dandies. Garrick is just the perfect mate for Celeste, who honestly ticked me off in her obsession of Ellery. Speaking of Ellery, I wanted to slap him whenever I read about Kiki, but as the story progressed I sort of imagines he feels something like most young fathers feel these days, at a lost.

I'll stop here, since this is pretty long. The only reason I held back on the fifth star is because I could have done without the whole espionage bit.

This is my first time reading a novel by Christina Dodd and I enjoyed it very much. I thought the story was good, though with the espionage subplot it was also unnecessarily busy, and there were lots of interesting characters. Celeste is the daughter of Blythe hall's gardener, sent off to learn to be a governess partly to keep her away from the younger son, Ellery, who she has a crush on. When Celeste returns after four years to be governess to the manor's children, she is determined to capture Ellery, and she has a good chance, given her beauty and the polish she acquires in Paris. Ellery's older brother is determined that the roguish Ellery will go through with his marriage to the rich and titled Hyacinth, so he decides to seduce Celeste himself. THAT'S when things begin to go wrong!

This is a fun read with interesting characters doing believable things, and I would read another book by this author.