Dream Houseby Valerie Laken
Kate always had an eye for the broken and unwanted. That was what made this house her dream house: it's potential to be more than it appeared. And maybe it was a symbol of her marriage that had turned out to be not all that she thought it would. Maybe fixing up this old place would fix something at the heart of her and Stuart. Until they hear about the brutal murder that took place in their home 15 years prior.
Walker also views this house symbolically, as a place of happiness before the incident that would lock him away in prison for so long. This house was part of himself, a vital part that he cannot ignore.
*shiver*
Each character is struggling with where they belong. Each person is bumping abrasively into everyone else, all in a search for completeness. All are looking for it in this one inanimate object that can grant no peace and can return no love. I read with a sense of doom. Where is this going to end? How bad is the damage going to be?
I had a strong remembrance of House of Sand and Fog while I was reading. I don't think it was executed at effectively, which is good in this case since I thoroughly detested House of Fog. In Dream House, I liked the characters. I wanted them to find a resolution that would leave them as little torn up as possible. It lost some depth but that was fine with me. I always wanted to continue on to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed the process of following the story. It was a good story with not too much tension. I'd certainly recommend it.
Thank you TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of Dream House for review. Once again it has been a pleasure to work with you. And readers can visit Valerie Laken's web site for more info. about Dream House.
6 comments:
I never read House of Fog - but Dream House sounds interesting. I love it in books when authors are able to convey the importance to the characters of inanimate objects, so the reader acquires an emotional stake in those objects as well.
That sounds so good and I think the cover is fabulous too!
I've seen some mixed reviews of this one. It seems a tad flat to me from the synopsis alone although I haven't actually read any of its pages.
I'm glad you qualified your statement that you liked this book MORE than House of Sand and Fog, because I really didn't like that book. But the comparison definitely gives me an idea of what the book is like, the ominous presence of something about to happen.
Thanks for being on the tour!
My review of this is up tomorrow. It's funny that you should mention The House of Sand and Fog, because while I didn't write it in my post, Dream House reminded me of that book as well. It was more about our hopes/dreams/disappointments to me, than about a house.
I didn't like The House of Sand and Fog either, but it sounds like I would fare much better with this book. I am glad you liked it and am thinking about checking it out from the library. Thanks for the great review!
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