A woman discovers an impossible connection that transcends time and place in this stirring, unforgettable novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Thief.“A splendid mix of time travel, romantic yearning, and moving on after grief.”—Publishers Weekly Isabel Griffin has done her best to move on since her boyfriend, Max Adair, vanished without a trace eight years ago, leaving … Adair, vanished without a trace eight years ago, leaving her heartbroken—and pregnant. Eerily enough, this isn’t the first time someone Isabel loves has gone missing. When she was sixteen, her mother disappeared, and her father became obsessed with finding his long-lost wife—at the expense of parenting Isabel.
Determined not to repeat her father’s mistakes, Isabel works hard to become a respected archaeologist and a loving mother to her daughter, Finn, a little girl with very unusual abilities. But while Isabel is on a dig in Barbados, she receives a disturbing phone call. The hauntingly familiar voice on the other end speaks just four words—“Isabel. Keep her safe.”—before they’re disconnected.
Isabel tries to convince herself that the caller can’t possibly be Max. But what if it is, and Finn is in danger? As one mysterious event after another occurs, she can’t shake the feeling that, despite what everyone else believes, Finn’s father is alive—and he’s desperately trying to reach her.
Advance praise for The Dream Keeper’s Daughter
“Moving effortlessly between modern-day South Carolina and nineteenth-century Barbados, Emily Colin takes her readers on a passionate and sweeping tale of a woman haunted by a loss she can’t explain, and a future she can’t yet choose. Lavishly plotted and expertly paced, with characters as richly drawn as their settings, The Dream Keeper’s Daughter explores what it means to follow our hearts—even at the risk of losing what we hold most dear. I was captured from the first page and, like Colin’s lovers who are fighting time and space to be reunited, came up for air only after the remarkable journey was complete.”—Erika Marks, author of The Last Treasure
“In The Dream Keeper’s Daughter, Emily Colin thins out the line between present and past, dream and reality, and allows you to cross over into a haunting world that will make your heart race, weep, and celebrate things that are lost and found. This story immerses you in a time that should not be forgotten and explores the infinite rippling effect of decisions, guilt, accountability, and love.”—Samantha Sotto, author of Love and Gravity
Praise for Emily Colin’s The Memory Thief
“Mesmerizing . . . dazzlingly original and as haunting as a dream.”—Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You
“[A] richly emotional tale . . . a writer to watch.”—Joshilyn Jackson, author of A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
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Time travel, romance and grief – this story will remain with you long after you close the book. Single mother Isabel is raising her daughter alone. Finn’s father, Max, vanished without a trace before they could marry yet Isabel is haunted by mysterious messages from Max and Finn swears she communicates with her dad.
Kickbutt female character? Yes. Historical fiction spin? Yes, please! Long Lost Love? Yep! Time travel – You Bet! Twists? Most definitely! Swoon-worthy, shut off from love, boy best friend – CHECK!
Isabel is trying to move on after her boyfriend, Max, vanishes 8 years ago leaving her alone and pregnant. Through her daughter, Finn’s, dreams and other odd coincidences she gets the feeling that Max is still alive. Little does she know, Max has time slipped into 1816 Barbados the night before the Slave Rebellion. Will Max find his way home? Will they pick up where they left off?
Emily Colin lends her characters immense believability and relatability. She has created a strong and unpredictable plot line. Her vivid detailing and description leads me to believe she took careful care in researching for this novel. I was hooked from page one and I enjoyed the ride immensely.
I would recommend this novel to fans of TimeSlip, Mystery, Women’s Fiction, and Historical fiction.
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“I never wanted one human being to matter to me so much that if I lost them, I’d lose myself too.”
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What a lovely story this was – full of love and magic and sacrifice and, above all, the delight and devastation of chance… Isabel is a charming protagonist, and she is surrounded on all sides by a diverse group of supporting characters who lend depth and warmth to her story. That story did not proceed as I thought it would based on the book’s description, but for once that was a surprisingly good thing – there is a twist that is not even alluded to there, and it becomes the basis for the majority of the story. I liked that; it was a pleasant surprise and happened to bring in an element that I love reading about.
There were a few points where I felt like the story floundered a bit. Finn (Isabel’s daughter) is a delight, but we don’t get nearly enough of her. Her role in the story is HUGE, but her character is not fleshed out as much as that role would suggest (or, to my mind, as much as it required). The end got surprisingly TV-MA – it wasn’t necessarily inappropriate, but it felt a bit gratuitous and very unexpected, given the tone and tenor of the previous majority of the book (and the guarded and emotionally withdrawn nature of the characters to that point). I appreciate that this may have been the point, but it still felt rather surprisingly graphic. And finally, the actual ending was a little open-ended. That may have been intentional – this is, after all, the era of the sequel. Still, the reader is left with a pretty wide-open set of possibilities, particularly for Finn and Max. I might have liked to see a little more about where their relationship was going…
All in all though, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I would definitely look for the author again.