Wild Dream (Paperback)

by Alice Duncan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Adelaide Blewitt lives in the southeastern New Mexico territory with her Aunt Ivy. Addie is quite a fanciful young woman, spinning all sorts of wild tales and fantasies to liven up her rather dull life. Then one starlit night, her Prince Charming comes riding up, wounded and in need of her assistance. It turns out that her prince is a musician in a brass band-- and a southerner, too! Why, it's as if he stepped right out of her dreams... and Addie doesn't intend to let him go. Charley Wilde is no southern gentleman. Sure, he's from Georgia, he's a carpenter and the director of the brass band, but his intentions are hardly noble. Charley's ragtag group depends on him and they've had to resort to theft to keep from starving to death. They once served the confederacy proudly and vowed to stay together after the war. But Georgia is a burned out shell overrun by carpetbaggers, so the America City Brass Band went west hoping to find jobs. When Charley hears about the Blewitt family rubies, he formulates a plan to relieve the Blewitt ladies of their jewels and rob the local bank. He figures that will be enough to help the band get settled somewhere. What Charley doesn't count on is falling in love with Addie. Wild Dream is a nice, lighthearted tale. Addie is at times annoying rather than endearing with her constant prattle and wild imagination. In fact, many of the characters seem to be playing with less than a full deck which makes for humorous scenes but not a lot of reader empathy. However, Ms. Duncan does a nice job with developing the romance between Addie and Charley into something sweet and meaningful.Take a lighthearted romp through the old west with Alice Duncan. Quirky characters and a satisfying love story make Wild Dream a fun read! A sweet summer treat! Alice Duncan has a talent for combining humor and history to create a one-of-a-kind romantic tale!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Description
A hopeless romantic, Addie Blewitt dreams of southern heroes and brave knights as she works her farm and cares for her spinster aunt Ivy, but when Charley Wilde, a dashing artisan/thief spends time on her farm, he falls head over heels for innocent Addie. Original."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044022361X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440223610
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,435,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My most favorite book of Alice Duncan's, a/k/a Emma Craig an, June 27, 2000

By A Customer

Wild Dream is Alice's first published book and my very favorite. It is funny, historical, romantic, educational (I never had heard of the Americus Brass Band!) and there's even a bit of mystery thrown in. If you're a New Mexican and especially a southeastern one(!), you will enjoy reading the names of the towns used in the story - Rothwell for Roswell and Arleta for Artesia! All of us who have read this delightful story feel it should be made into a movie - any takers out there!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and heart-warming!, July 2, 1997

By A Customer

Addie Blewitt dreams of a knight in shining armor to come and rescue her--and then one comes riding right onto her New Mexico Territory farm! Mr. Charley Wilde turns out to be a real Georgia gentleman, and Addie takes him right into her home to tend to his gunshot wound that she figures must have come from some of those miserable varmit men who roam the desert.

Charley Wilde does his best to keep his brass band--the only one to have made it through the entire civil war together--intact. But playing music doesn't make money, and jobs are hard to come by. His men aren't very good at stealing either, and Charley takes a bullet while trying to rob a mercantile. Now this dreamy-eyed young lady wants to make a hero of him!

WILD DREAM is a delightful, heart-warming read. Addie is charming and funny in her own trying-to-be-a-real-lady-while-farming way; resolute in her habit of dreaming and the thinking the best of all situations and people. Charley is the perfect reluctant hero, and the balance that helps Addie see just enough of reality to enjoy life even more. It's a journey as glorious as the New Mexico sunset to see these two bring out the best in each other. Addie's Aunt Ivy, the men in in Charley's band, and the townspeople of Rothwell round out the story to make it a delicious slice of frontier life. Added bonuses are a great cover and author's historical notes. I can hardly wait to read more of Alice Duncan's Americana this summer!

Kimberly Borrowdale
Under the Covers Book Reviews
http://www.silcom.com/~manatee/utc.html

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

Charlie Wilde was born and raised in Georgia in a wealthy, genteel family. He and his friends were members of the prestigious America City Brass Band, which served as a Southern brigade band during the Civil War. As their leader, Charlie promised the surviving members that they would always stay together. No longer able to return to war-torn Georgia and their former jobs, they attempt to travel to Albuquerque to reestablish their band and gain employment. But en route, they find themselves near to starving and they have to resort to robbing for food. They bungle two robbery attempts, and while fleeing from the last attempt, they separate and Charlie is shot. He and his buddy Lester seek refuge at a farm belonging to Addie Blewitt and her Aunt Ivy.

Addie, raised on the frontier with no friends her age, grew up hearing Aunt Ivy's repeated tales of the genteel side of life. She is the queen of daydreamers, and when Charlie and Lester ride up, "Princess" Addie believes one of them must be her Prince Charming or White Knight coming to sweep her away. She greets them as though they are her heroes. Charlie agrees to accept Miss Addie's hospitality in return for his carpenter's skills while he recovers, but he feels guilty since he plans to rob her of the Blewitt rubies to help get his band established. Charlie tries to live up to the image of a gentleman, but he becomes so in lust with Addie that she drives him crazy. He is continually amazed at how effortlessly she runs the ranch and takes care of problems, and she has the entire town in awe of Charlie and his band-except for the bungling sheriff, who just knows they are crooks and repeatedly tries to prove it.

WILD DREAM is a light, fluffy, nonsensical kind of story. The hero and heroine are fun, but there are too many unbelievable characters, and the humor was too slapstick for my reading pleasure. Also, the author repeats some of the same thoughts over again, which is distracting. But the story covers such redeeming qualities as trust, forgiveness, and good family values, and it is a fun read. This would be a good reading choice when you need a break between darker, more serious stories. ~Carol Carter for Bookbug on the Web