Customer Reviews

Shared Dream

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

 

 

This is a good book, but not one of Jayne Ann Krentz's best. Also, it's not readily apparent that it is a reprint until you check out the copyright page. I bought it in 1988 and again under the new title unknowingly. I wish I had seen these comments first.

Vintage Krentz has businesswoman, Diana, spending a summer vacation deciding what to do since her promotion was denied by the male dominated executives. In the small town she meets Colby Savagar, a horror novelist, who is also trying to come to terms with his past as the bad boy of Fulbrook Corners, Oregon. Woven into the plot is the legend of the Chained Lady. The two lovers are haunted by the same dreams of the beautiful Indian princess and the warrior who keeps her prisoner. If typos and sloppy editing don't bother you, this will be a riveting story.

Please be advised that this is an anthology which includes a couple of reprints of earlier Jayne Ann Krentz's books from the 1980's (Dreamscape). Yes I did enjoy those books even though I can't remember the exact titles without looking them up but I did ask at the JAK web site and found out that this is a reprint. For those of you who don't own JAK's older books you'll enjoy them. But for those with JAKs beware.

The warrior died at her feet, his blood running out of the cave entrance and mingling with the waterfall. With his last breath he cursed the woman -- told her that her spirit would remain chained in the cave forever until a child was created and born there . . .

OK, so this doesn't sound like the best way to start a romance but really, it works out. However, you must keep something in the back of your mind: this book first came out in the 80's, and the character's behavior is time sensitive. She, Diana, is burnout due to sexual discrimination. While today's Diana would have successfully sued, those of us old enough to remember the 80's know at that time she would have lost. He, Colby, an author of horror stories has a firm aversion to marriage and in-laws, but with a strong commitment to his now grown son. The are both in the middle of nowhere for the summer. She to re-group and he to finish his next book (there is no mention of a laptop once, I told you: time sensitive).

To make this simple: Diana and Colby have the same dreams or past life memories. To end this and fulfil the legend of "Chained Lady Falls" a baby must be both conceived and born in cave behind the falls. As soon as I got to the legend, I was filled with dread: I just knew this was going to be hokey as death. I was dreading the next page. But, she did it, honestly! I recommend reading this book just to see how Ms. Krentz pulled it off. I was so sure it would be a sappy ending-but is was good! It is a love story, so they are, of course, happy ever after, but the story makes sense and is logical! The fact that the romance and sex are really good helps too, but for me that fact she got away with ending the story without huge jumps into silly is worth the price of the book alone.

I will say it up-front - Jayne Ann Krentz is one of my all-time favorite authors. Whenever I need a pick-me-up (and a laugh), I turn to one of her stories. So I was pretty dissapointed when I had an incredibly difficult time finishing this particular book. This is the first of her stories to put me to sleep. It was slow, the ghosts were sad, and the characters plodded. Just not one of her best efforts. However, it hasn't kept me from buying up her latest!

This is a 1988 book that orginally came out as 'Dreams Part I' & 'Dreams Part II'. It was an ok read. Spectors personality & coflict of interest with Colby was fun through out the book.
The situations with teenagers I could totally relate to (having 3 raised & 1 to go!). Colby really screwed up in Ch 10 & I think Diana should have held out a little longer to get his attention to his very one-sided attitude. For being the "amazon business woman" that she was suppose to be, she sure let up on the fact that he was still blaming her for something she didn't set up.
The father-son chat at the wedding was really a crack-up! Brandon definitely got some points in there! I loved that.
However, the book goes over & over & over the same problems - mainly about Diana's personality hang ups. The book was overly long due to this. I found myself skimming thru a lot of it about 2/3 of the way through, wishing they would just get on with it. The story itself was pretty ok, it was just too drawn out.

I see here on the site that this is a reissue of Jayne Ann Krentz's earlier books, thank goodness, because I thought it was awful. The "fairy tale" was revolting, Colby was way, way, way too controlling and macho, and instead of both characters changing and growing together, as usually happens in her other books, Diana seemed to be the only one whose lifestyle had to change. I did like Brandon, and his subplot interested me. I actually bought this book to read on a trip, and disliked it so much, I left it on the airplane.

Actually, if anyone else had written this book, I probably would have given it two or three stars, but since I've read one or two of Ms. Krentz's other books, I know how good she can be! For those of you who, unlike me, prefer more traditional romances, this could be your cup of tea. It wasn't mine, alas.

this is a reissue of Dreams Part 1 and Dreams Part 2.

It was nice to see a romance that progressed past the initial "I love you" stage. Yes, they realized they loved each other but had to learn to live with each other. Both characters learn and grow. This was a very good book.

If you like stories that transcend time, you'll love "A Shared Dream". Colby and Diana are star-crossed lovers from a time past who must meet again, and correct the relationship that once went wrong. Unfortunately for them, they still have many of the traits that kept them apart the first time. Those of us that have jobs that are traditionally in a man's world can really relate to Diana, who is confident, aggressive and very good at her career but has been denied a promotion becase she's not a man. Colby was a bit strong, but that may have been necessary given Diana's personality. I really enjoyed the book