Dream Fever

by Katherine Sutcliffe

NICHOLAS

A proud and gallant aristocrat, he was exiled to New Zealand for a crime committed in defense of a woman's honor. Now disgraced and disowned, he lives as a simple sheep farmer—nursing his bitterness in silence...and solitude.

SUMMER

The lovely and spirited daughter of an English courtesan, she flees the dire consequences of a tragic, impetuous act to seek sanctuary in Nicholas' lonely world—only to be surprised by the handsome, secretive stranger who spurns the healing powers of her giving heart.

DREAM FEVER

A ruined nobleman and a beautiful child of the streets, their dreams would unite them in an untamed paradise—inflaming their souls with passion's fire ...awakening within them both a raging fever of sensuous desire and rapturous love.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Marriage Of Convenience, Historical Fiction, Enemies To Lovers, Victorian

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1991

About the author

Katherine Sutcliffe was born an only child in East Texas. After working for a time at an oil company and as a headhunter for a computer personnel company, Sutcliffe decided in 1982 to quit her job and attempt to write a novel. Three years later she sold her first book, Desire and Surrender to Avon Books. She works eight hours a day, five to seven months a year. Sutcliffe also attempts to find a single CD that will provide inspiration during the writing of each book. In the past, she has used the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time and Kitarō's Silk Road.

In 1995 and 1996, Sutcliffe worked as the Consultant Head Writer for the soap operas As The World Turns and Another World. Sutcliffe was offered the job after Bill Graham, who searched for writers for Proctor and Gamble, mentioned to his wife that they wanted to refocus the soap opera stories on romance. His wife, who loved Sutcliffe's book, insisted that he contact her. During her time as a soap opera writer, she concentrated on developing the six-month story lines, which the breakdown writers would then develop into dialogue and individual scenes for the show. During this time frame, Sutcliffe also made a guest appearance on Another World, playing herself. She resigned from her position after the networks began to insist that she move to New York City to be more accessible.

Her historical romance, Notorious, sold out its first printing in a mere four days.

Sutcliffe lives near Dallas, Texas. She met her husband, an English geologist, while they worked for the same oil company. They have three children, Bryan, Rachel, and Lauren. Sutcliffe also raises and shows Arabian horses.

Reviews

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC!

~FULL REVIEW~

Well, well, well. Who would have guessed a romance set in New Zealand about the feuds of sheep farmers would be so good?

Nicholas, after killing a man in a duel for a woman who was simply using him to make the other man jealous and offer marriage, disappears off to New Zealand to be a loner sheep farmer. His father has basically washed his hands of him as the duel was the straw that broke papa's back. Needless to say, Nicholas is essentially waiting for the clock to run out. He has no friends, barely goes to town, but on the occasion that he does, drinks himself blind.

On this occasion, one of the locals bravely offers him the advice to get himself a mail-order bride from England like he's getting the rest of the lonely men to do as New Zealand has more men than women.

Nicholas, drunk out of his mind, signs the thing because all he knows is that it'll get the local out of his face and he can go back to his drink.

Summer O'Neile, meanwhile, has embarked on a half-baked revenge plot against the nobleman responsible for her mother's death. Her mother, a courtesan, hid her away in the country but after her death, Summer is kicked out, and with nothing else to do, secures a job as a maid to her mom's protector. What does she plan to do with her employment? She hasn't really thought that far ahead when things go awry, and Summer exchanges place with one of the mail-order brides...

First off, this is a wonderfully nonsensical plot that makes a lot of sense when you are reading it. Ahh I was anticipating the explosion when they meet each other and I got it! I love when plots go from A to C, and it's so easy to suspend your disbelief and simply go along for the ride.

Katherine Sutcliffe’s writing style, the strength of her secondary characters, and the compelling dialogue between the feisty Summer and the crabby and morose Nicholes really help to pull it off.

I wasn't sure what tone Dream Fever would strike. The beginning leaves you to believe this will be a morose tale, but then there are flashes of lightheartedness (the most vanilla moment was when Nicholas buys Summer the dress and grouses about attending a social gathering on her behalf). And the great dialogue full of fun defiance. Great dialogue meaning the heroine and hero both don't pull any punches and tells it like it is.

Summer, in particular, won my respect. She had snap and backbone, but she also was so real with the despair. She tries to make the best of it, and has a hash trying to be a good wife in scenes of cooking that really reminded me of when Meg in Little Women cooks dinner for John's friend and messes it up. Summer had her temper and willpower, but also moments of worry and hopelessness.

There are 2 absolutely delightful moments of humour that I have to point out! When Summer summarizes the story of Jane Eyre when Nicholas asks her about her childhood growing up and oof the scene where he has to win her back.

Give this man Best Physical Grovel EVER.

I reread that scene like 5x laughing out loud but also aw-ing.

Summer decides to leave New Zealand after a a climactic misunderstanding, and Nicholas, again, does his whole "see if I care" schtick. Except this time, he realizes he's going to make the biggest mistake of his life if he doesn't communicate with Summer about how he really feels.

And in a dreamlike sequence, he decides to travel to the dock on the same day her ship is setting sail. Everything that could go wrong does. His horse has an inflamed hoof, so he runs. He trips, looks like a mess, comes into a field of flowers, decides to pick a bouquet for Summer, but ends up gouging his hands on the thorns, bleeding. He's now sprinting to the docks, and just makes it but sees the ship has set sail...

And the best part. He literally starts taking off his shoe to try to swim for it!! Bless him!

Heroes, please take note of his total abandonment of the notion of shame and propriety.

Also, this was extra poignant because even as a sheep farmer, he was described as being incredibly put together. Now here he is, sweating, muddy, bleeding with a shoe in one of his hands...

Dream Fever is worth reading if only to feel all the feels of this ending! A writer who can write an ending deserves so much applause.

Big smile on my face, big sigh out. This was a cozy read to tug on the heartstrings.

[Crista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmm.....where do I even begin?

This book has EVERYTHING that I love in a great romance. A mail-order bride, characters with difficult pasts, a beautiful setting, incredible secondary characers, and most importantly...a truly believable love story.

To quickly summarize....Nicholas Sabre is a woman hater thanks to his mother and his former love interest. He doesn't trust or believe in love. Summer O'Neil is an illegitimate child of an Earl and his mistress. She longs for stability and a family of her own. Summer, through fate, becomes the unwanted mail order bride to Nicholas, a "shephard" in New Zealand.

Here's why I LOVE this book:
1. I love a book that is so hard to put down that you'll sacrifice anything...sleep, food, "whatever" to finish it. This is one of those books.
2. I love a strong heroine. Summer is one of those. Although only eighteen, she shows a determination and maturity well beyond her years and isn't afraid to stand up for what, or who, she wants.
3. I love a tortured hero. Nicholas is definitely one of those. He is so isolated and alone. It takes the love of a great woman to bring this one around.
4. I love a strong cast of characters. This book has plenty of them, From Frank, the pseudo-father figure to both Summer and Nicholas, to Sean O'Connell, the enemy neighbor who cares about Summer, this book is filled with characters that you come to care about.
5. I love a book with humor. Summer is a horrible cook and housekeeper and this quirk has the reader laughing throughout the book.
6. I love a great ending. I won't spoil it, but this book comes "full circle" in such a sweet and powerful way...the ending is truly memorable.

Those are just a few reasons, but the most important reason that this book will go on my keeper shelf is that it is romantic in a "real sense". This relationship is slow to mature. It takes time for Nicholas to learn how to love and trust. It is painful to watch, and he doesn't always treat Summer with kindness, but watching the gradual "thawing" of his heart is heartwarming. I will not forget this book. I will definitely read this one again........and probably again and again.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this one here is a true ‘tortured past’ and ‘emotionally damaged and embittered' H if ever - resulting from his own actions, his family’s desertion and his beloved’s betrayal.
A nobleman transported to the Antipodes as punishment for killing an innocent man in an unnecessary and unlawful duel. A man so used to privilege and living life on his terms, is suddenly thrown penniless and powerless into a hard and unforgiving new world. And all he has now to live on are his wits and his hands.

*With spoilers*The book opens some six years later as our h sails as a mail order bride to the H. Only, for one he never really ordered one (at least he wasn’t sober when he signed some papers) and secondly she’s not the original woman intended to sail. She’s the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and has lived her life hidden away in a village where her mother (Irish mistress of this nobleman) sent money for her upkeep to a grudging and mean spirited woman. But the h was kept illiterate and as nothing more than a servant by this woman. On her mother’s death, she arrives at her protector’s home to exact revenge for her mother’s ill-treatment.
There in a series of events, the man stabs another maid and makes a move at the h who pushes him down the stairs killing him. The maid before dying tells her to take up her identity and sail as a mail order bride to New Zealand and save herself from the authorities for the murder of a nobleman.

So at long last, our h arrives at the H’s doorstep - only to be churlishly turned right back without a drop of water or a minute of rest. Later, the H grudgingly brings her home (a small shack, no more) as the papers turn out be legal and she's staying with an 'enemy' of his and that didn’t sit well with him.

This Katherine Sutcliffe H is more bitter and heartless than most of her others. He’s wrapped up in his own seething and surly world and has no place or sentiment for a wife - certainly not an unrefined brogue-speaking maid turned wife. But, the h’s as hardy as she’s sweet and quite prepared to overlook and ignore his meanness as she takes roots in this tough and unforgiving land, helping out at her husband’s small sheep station. She cannot cook to save her life. (Now that seemed odd to me as how else did she help at her foster mother’s place if not by cooking and cleaning?)

The h makes friends with neighbors which he’d never bothered with in the past. She tries to make peace in the volatile and often violent local politics. She ensures that the local farm kids get schooling - one thing dear to her heart as she was denied an education.
All through this, the H unbends very minimally. The marriage gets consummated but the distance and disconnect remains, even as the sweetly open and loving h tries to thaw out her stony and silent husband. So, the relationship progresses slowly if at all with glitches galore but that's what makes this love story nuanced and bittersweet.

The groveling at the end may not seem enough in the verbal way but the impassive H shows his desperation by unraveling completely when the h leaves him - after he pushes her away.
I cannot help but love this very disparate odd couple and the way they find love and home in each other.
4.25*

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!
RTC

[Elizajane40 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish more HR’s being written now took risks like this

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicholas is the younger son of an earl, and he's had a lot of butt-hurt in his young life, watching both of his parents having multiple affairs, plus his mother finally ran-off to India with an officer (they were offed in the rebellion). He's spent his youth drinking and gambling (a poor gambler at that, he needed pops to bail him out), but he's finally found true love with a pure woman (fool!), and he calls out the man who questions the woman's virtue.

Nicholas is the better shot, his opponent is dead, and worse yet it turns out the woman was just using him to get back at the man she loved. His family cuts him off, and Nicholas has the choice of time in gaol or banishment to the wilds of New Zealand to raise sheep. FF about 5-6 years and he's a bit too drunk and signs off on an agreement to enter into a proxy marriage to one of a several women being brought from England to NZ.

Summer is an Irish lass brought up in England (her mother was a mistress to some peer or another). Mum was finally dumped on the street, died and to make a long story short, Summer finds herself in a compromising position. She thinks she's murdered mum's lover and needs to get out of Dodge quick. The friend who holds the proxy marriage to Nicholas is dying and asks Summer to go in her place instead of facing gaol.

Phew, this is getting too long. Nicholas is surprised at finding a wife at his doorstep, plus he's carrying so much bitterness and butt hurt there's no room in his heart to love anyone but his dog. Can Summer break through that barrier and heal the emotional baggage?

I did like this a lot, but Nicholas is a very dark, wounded man and there are some things he does in the story that are not going to work well for every reader - YMMV it wasn't rape, but it was pretty darn close. What did come as a pleasant surprise was the humor - Summer's attempts as cooking and sewing were laugh out loud funny at times, and really brought a light touch to a darker story.

"Darlin', that ain't salt, it's washin' soda."

So much for that pot of soup :P

While there isn't enough cray-cray and stuff to shelve this in the old-skool category, there are enough darker moments that I wouldn't recommend it for readers of today's more PC romances. There's plenty of sex, and for my tastes a bit heavy handed and TMI, but tastes vary. This is the second novel I've read by this author, and will be hunting down more.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways DREAM FEVER reminded me of a bodice ripper. First published in 1991, this was past the days when this genre was so popular. Our hero, Nicholas, was a young man who grew up under privileged circumstances. Because of his parents sexual liaisons with others, he had a very angry childhood. By the time he was twenty-one, he gambled, drank and whored his way through his father's money and his parent had enough. To make matters worse, Nick thought he had fallen in love. He dueled with another man who turned out to be his woman's lover, killed him, and was sent to New Zealand to live. Now a sheep farmer, he is miserable and filled with wrath. His dog and one other shepherd are his only friends and that is fine with him.

Summer O'Neile is the daughter of a paramour. She spent her lonely childhood waiting on her mother's love. Feisty in temperament, she wasn't afraid to let others know when they crossed the line. After her mother died she got herself into a predicament and found herself fleeing to New Zealand under the guise of another woman. This woman was married by proxy to none other than Nicholas. Summer believes that she has finally found a new life that will lead to happiness.

When these two first meet, Nicholas doesn't remember signing any papers (he was drunk at the time) and boots her from his tiny home. Literally. Over the next few months these two argue, bicker, quarrel, wrangle... Okay, so you get the meaning. At the same time a spark develops between the two.

New Zealand as the setting was refreshing. It wasn't like either of them could take off when things weren't working. A secondary story between the sheep farmers and the cattle ranchers gave the storyline an edgy bite. The plot itself was not that unusual. For this reason I am giving it three stars though I would say it deserves closer to 3.5. I read quite a few romances. If you don't, you may enjoy this more than I did.

[Suzy Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream Fever by Katherine Sutcliffe (1991) is a totally engaging story of two proud and stubborn people brought together by a twist of fate. The author has written a sharply drawn tormented hero who comes across as larger than life. He steals the show! Until…

🐏 First few chapters are in England then the rest of the story takes place in New Zealand, late 1860s.

🐏 Nicholas Sabre, son of an earl has been transported to New Zealand for killing a man in a duel. He’s haughty beyond belief, dislikable and arrogant despite his sorry circumstances, and recklessly handsome. After five years thru hard work and determination, he owns a remote sheep station. It’s barely surviving.

🐏 Summer O’Neile flees London after a fateful accident that may cause her to be imprisoned or worse. She lands in New Zealand as a bride wed by proxy with her own secrets. She’s 18… Irish with a temper to match her fiery red hair.

🐏 Against the backdrop of the violent clashes between two different factions of settlers, both Summer and Nick have their own battles… he never wanted a bride, and keeps trying to get rid of her… she’s hurt and vacillates between wanting to stay or leave. A slow burn romance but the sparks fly early on.

🐏 The author’s paints a vivid picture of the English settlers on the sheep stations near Christchurch …, fascinating because I’ve been to NZ, and there really are millions of sheep everywhere. The story does not include any Māori characters or interactions with the indigenous people which is perhaps a shortcoming of the story.

🐏 Overall, Dream Fever has superb well rounded characters, a painful tragedy, bits of subtitle humor, a heartwarming romance, plus a splendid ending where the hero does a major grovel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

Ebook not available tho a used paperback can be purchased for approx $5 from online used book dealers like Abe Books.

Cover and gorgeous stepback art by Victor Gadino.

[Deniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

ıf you you like to read Mail Order Brides stroies
you shoul read this one.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Поредното боклуче с добра история, което обаче пак е out of print. Както авторката недотам тактично напомня, Нова Зеландия е държава, основана от осъдени престъпници и бегълци от закона. Добра основа за стабилност и ред.

Един такъв заточеник изпада в бяс, когато на прага му цъфва булка, поръчана по пощата. Той няма конкретни спомени за поръчката си поради пиянска невменяемост. Тя пък съвсем не е поръчаната булка… В крайна сметка бивш английски аристократ и ирландска бегълка свиват буреносно гнездо насред пустошта.

Хумор и драма са в добри пропорции, на фона на много овце.

***
”there's nothing better to start a conversation than a baby. Everyone has an opinion on babies.”

“I often wonder where Adam might've ended up had Eve not tempted him with that bloody piece of fruit. If she'd just learned to mind her own damned business, we'd all be livin' in paradise by now.”

[Naksed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Katherine Sutcliffe's Dream Fever is the story of an English aristocrat transported to New Zealand for having killed someone in a duel, and a lowborn English girl who travels to New Zealand under an assumed name, that of a dead woman who had contracted to be a mail-order bride to said aristocrat.

This was a good premise to a historical romance and I always like it when authors go outside the typical European locations to explore some other continents and give their story a different flavor.

My problem with this book was the writing style. There are a lot of info dumps in the form of awkward dialogues. For example, in the beginning of the story, we have the duel scene that would send the protagonist off to New Zealand. Instead of tension, the scene mostly consists of a lengthy dialogue between the protagonist and his brother, who is attempting to dissuade him from the duel.

Through this implausible dialogue, the author dumps on the reader the entire back story of the hero (he hates his mother because she abandoned him to run off with her lover and he was glad she got killed off in the Sepoy rebellion; he resents his father, a very important English nobleman despairing of his son's antics; he has become a gambling, whoring, rake of infamy at the tender young age of 21; he is in love with a woman who is the subject of this duel; the man he is dueling is his former best friend; etc.).

Same with the female protagonist. We meet her as she eavesdrops on villagers gossiping about her mother who, unbeknownst to her, has never actually been married to the English Lord who took her away from her daughter but was merely his mistress, and is now dead. Through her conversations with her guardian and with a servant at the
Lord's manor, we find out her whole sob story and lickedy-split, also get through the contrivance that puts her on a ship destined to take her to hero's doorstep.

The story did not get any better after that. It was just very wooden. I didn't understand how or why she went from hating him to being secretly in love, nor how he went from his rage and hate at all womankind to accepting her as his wife. The background of a bunch of New Zealand cattle ranchers getting into an increasingly violent land dispute with some sheep farming squatters was not all that interesting for me either.

This is probably an adequate historical romance that many fans of the genre would enjoy but it just wasn't for me.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book!! This is a MOC book with a STRONG heroine and a tortured hero, the story just sucks you right in and I read the entire book in 1 sitting! I laughed, smiled, and shed tears reading it.

there is no cheating in this book, but there is an angst scene where the h walks into their hotel room to see him looking disheveled and smelling like whore's perfume. He admits that he went out with every intention of sleeping with the whores at the alehouse but he couldn't go through with it (at this point in the book, he was refusing to admit his feelings for the h). He said that their look and "taste" disgusted him. I guess although he didn't cheat, he did neck with them.

[ToriLovesHea’s · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a bit since I’ve read an absolutely bonkers old school romance and I need to read one more regularly like I used to. The bodices? Ripped. The MMC? An asshole. The consent? Dubious. The plot? Zero to 100 real quick.

Sutcliffe truly is a talented writer and I’m sad she isn’t active anymore. She’s one of maybe five authors that can make me enjoy a romance as wild as this. I mean in the first FIFTY pages, the MMC had murdered someone in a duel and gets shipped to New Zealand to escape Newgate prison and drunkenly signs a proxy marriage document. Meanwhile the FMC finds out her mother, who was an aristocrat’s mistress, has died, moves into said aristocrat’s house as a maid, accidentally ends up pushing him down a flight of stairs after he maybe murders her friend, and then takes her friend’s identity and hops on the ship to New Zealand to meet her new proxy husband. Because her friend was proxy married to the MMC OBVIOUSLY.

And it just went from there. There’s guess between farmers and sheep station owners. There’s school house burning. There’s an ongoing battle between MCs because he wants to ship her back to England and she’s determined to put her foot down and stay. The party didn’t stop until page 405 of 406 and EVEN THEN there was another plot twist!

I loved every second of it. Of course. It’s who I am.

But honestly, there’s some real emotion in this one and some heavy content that really made my heart hurt. Sutcliffe brought the punch and I wasn’t prepared. Ouch.

This was a ‘91 release and a few things didn’t age well, but if you’re a fan of older historical romance, this is truly a delight! A bonkers bananas delight.


CW: violence, murder, suicide/suicidal ideation, miscarriage due to violence, dubious consent between MCs, handsy/grabby old school dude aggression, animal cruelty (not by MCs), savage/savages used to refer to indigenous peoples

[Jultri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. Nicholas Sabre, the estranged son of an English Earl, was transported to New Zealand after he killed a man during a duel, in a misguided attempt to defend his duplicitous fiancee's honour. Angry and bitter he chose to live a simple and isolated existence as a sheep farmer. Tricked into signing a marital contract by proxy while inebriated, he did not bargain on a young feisty Irish lass, Summer, knocking on the door of his humble tiny abode claiming to be his mail-order bride. Unusual setting and sub-plot provided some interest but Summer is too young and childish at times and her feelings for Nick thus appear more like a school girl infatuation. There were undertones of a bodice ripper story at times with her youthful age and his brutish treatment of her only it wasn't rape as she in her blind adulation of him was more than happy to oblige him regardless of his borderline violent tendencies.

[Lynsey A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a book ny Katherine Sutcliffe that lived up to my favorites book of hers, A Fire in the Heart. I still like that one better but definitely enjoyed this one more than her others I most recently read.

This was a sweet love story with a bit of sadness thrown in as well.

This one is a keeper.

[h a y a ☽ (hayainshelves) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Do you know what cost me to come here?” He slid his hand around the back of her head. “Every vestige of pride that I owned, little as it was.”
“Then why did y’ do it?” she asked breathlessly.
“To see you smile again the way you smiled at me the morning you showed up on my doorstep.” Her eyelids drifted closed; she felt too mesmerised to open them..if only he could kiss her.

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S E T T I N G:

• England /New Zealand

• Regency Era / Mid 1800s

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T R O P E:

Mail Order Bride
Tortured Hero
Angsty
Virgin Heroine/Celibate Hero (6yrs)
Hero Labour
Heroine On the Run
Age Difference





Five wholesome shining stars because this is one my favourite books, forever and always…It’s got everything a great romance requires!




I don’t know what to say honestly. Robbed me off my breath, this book….Golly! I will leave my favourite food to savour this instead. That’s as far as compliments go.

Katherine Sutcliffe’s DreamFever is like my favourite food, honestly, it’s my go-to read and I think this Old School book might just be one of the best.

It’s about a reclusive aristocrat whose scorned by love, by defending a wronged woman (whose actually wrong, literally) he has himself exiled all the way to NewZealand. A good premise.

Now the scenery, the setting is what makes the book so profound and unique. Explaining old New Zealand must have been a hard task, I’ve read Teresa Medeiros ‘Once An Angel’ which is based in Australia and these two books are the only ones that transported me back in time to different countries. There are Kat, Amanda and others books that have Islands in them but no, they just don’t do justice to the setting. The location.

Nicholas has been in New Zealand for 6 years, he was once a rake, a playboy who mothers feared and every debutante secretly admired and sighed over. In the book, early on we get to know that Nicholas the infamous rake falls in love with a woman who plays him.

The best part about this book is that this wealthy man didn’t establish himself a big ranch when he left England for another country (as stated in most novels) This man had to work his ass off and even after 6 years, he still struggles and makes due with his tiny home. In historicals even though the hero is financially settled, he is still shown bitter when he shouldn’t be.

Nicholas has reason to turn into this brooding, scowling man because he left a life of luxury to only struggle enough to compensate for all those years he lived a good life. A MERE sheep farmer.

Enter Summer, our impetuous heroine. This woman and her character development is just hands down….admirable. She’s a illegitimate daughter of a woman and a fleeting solider, a courtesan’s daughter.

Lonely life, lonely childhood and a label such as ‘bastard’….she still pushes through. She fights back when a man makes advances she doesn’t appreciate, she rejects money and luxury unlike her mother. She makes the best of dire circumstances even though she’s just eighteen. Nicholas and Summer have a age gap of above nine years.

The whole mail order trope sets very weirdly because Nicholas doesn’t knows he’s getting a Mail Order Bride and rejects Summer on the spot. No, she’s beautiful but Nicholas is a 100% woman hater….she stirs nothing in him. The author shows his ‘thawing’ gradually, Summer has to move mountains to make a life for her. She’s tired of being lonely, being nobody, being afraid and scared. She wants a home but she also goes up and falls in love with the cold man that our hero is.

I think she has a choice to either leave him to his lonely hard life or change him…she chooses the latter. It shows her unselfishness, even though Nicholas is no big ‘catch’.

– Beautiful setting

– A good plot with a fast pace.

– A kind, brooding, sexy as hell and very cold hero.

– Angsty, tear-jerker

– Character Development

– Satisfying end.

This book is precious!


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A magnanimous YES! Because if you love romance, you’ll love this book.

“Swear it, Irish. Swear it on every one of your blessed Catholic saints in heaven — swear you won’t ever leave me!” – Saint Nicholas Sabre, Dream Fever

[Sometime · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This was a great book and I enjoyed reading about New Zealand and a different culture/place. I read a lot of romance so this was a nice change with fresh ideas and a fresh romance.

Nick really needs Summer and she has enough spunk to stand up for herself and what she wants. She is a great character who is able to impact everyone she comes in contact with. I loved how she stood up to the injustices she found on the island. Seems like she was the only one with the guts to do it.

Nick was a little too much of a "tortured hero" for a lot of the book. I find that books written in the 80s and 90s go a little heavy with the drama. And the ending bothered me a bit--I was waiting for the truth to come out but it all felt a little rushed.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, but there were a couple of times he said stuff that made me take a step back, like where she said if he didn't love her she'd leave and find someone who did, and he said "Over my dead body, Irish...and yours." Um...what?
A true bodice-ripper, with a bit of an asshole hero who, if you don't mind the occasional homicidal statement, grows on you.

[Copper78 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I enjoyed a HR this much! I loved the different setting and learning a little about the history of NZ. It's rare to find a HR with this much depth and angst. Actually had good character development too, particularly for Nick who is a totally swoon-worthy H. The book had a great balance of outside drama and relationship drama. The h behaved a bit unrealistically at times, but what is really expected of a historical romance heroine written during this time period? Or any other for that matter. I loved this book, it's definitely a keeper!

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it was going to be a "bodice ripper," so I wasn't sure about reading it. And while there was some of that, I really found the book enjoyable. I liked the different setting and I thought the author did a good job developing the conflicts in the story. The only issue I really had was that one plotline was somewhat rushed at the end and I thought more time could have been spent on it.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

How did I keep this for so many years? How did I ever get thru it the first time?

She has a horrible "Irish" accent that it takes him multiple minutes to hear and decide she is Irish.

I don't think I have words to describe her.

I pity whoever buys this at the library book sale which I am donating to only because I cannot throw a book away.

[Audrey]

OMG, I can't wait for this to get here in the mail!

[Nelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh... This book started out strong. Tortured hero and tortured heroine, he is bitter and she is optimistic. He rejected her at first then got her back in his ''house'' and then they started their live together. Typical case of hero not wanting the heroine but slowly warming up to her. Perfect plot right?
Well... the author just had to ruin it! With over-the-top angst and dragging the tension until the point where I couldn't care if they finally got together. They shared their 1st kiss around 50% and then they fought again and then back together and then she said she loved him but he wasn't ready to say the words so she became insecure and tried to force it out of his month. And then more angst, more craziness and drama!

What I really hated about this story was the poverty lool! When I read a romance, I like it when it is romantic. I'm not expecting richest of the riches, mansions, castles, nobles and all in my historical romances, but geez, I want my characters to be at least comfortable. I want to smile not to feel sad and depressed.
That book was awful. I didn't mind Sabre being shipped to NZ far away from his loved ones. He was lonely and miserable, that could have been enough. But in addition the guy was so poor living in a hovel, that was not romantic at all. When reading the blurb I was expecting a lonely guy in an isolated country, bitter and not ready for love. Not someone praying to stay alive for another year.
No, that story truly was heart-breaking!

2 stars because it was well written and the supporting cast was not bad.

[cherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tbh I just really didn't like either of the characters.

Summer was over the top and childish and Nick was a complete asshole. I just didn't like them together especially after he took her virginity in that awful way.

Like I don't really understand why either fell in love with the other past attraction. Like genuinely what about Nick did Summer even like, he treated her like garbage the whole book.

Those two spent 99% of the book fighting or not talking and it became a slog to get through and I really wasn't even rooting for them by like halfway.

And personally I also don't like books where the fmc is the one doing all the yearning. I need the man to be the one on his hands and knees kissing the ground the fmc walks on thanks. So yea really not for me these two sucked

[Esther Kozakevich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically despise the hero whose closed off and emotionless and the heroine who coaxes him to admitting his love by being patient trope. However I thought the book did a great job because the hero’s trauma was actually legit. The issue was they dragged out his waffling for too long and made him way too cruel. I also hate how long she said “i love you” for without him saying it back - they could’ve just had her know she was in love and not tell him

[Andreea Morariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sweet story. Although Nick was getting on my nerves quite a few times with his utter 'assholeness'..in the end I couldn't not fall in love with him and his emotional mess. Summer was a champion and did more than I would have done..but in the end everyone deserves a second chance..so who am I to judge.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, and even that's generous. This came so highly recommended, but it felt like a high schooler wrote it - not bad, but not seasoned. The dialogue drove me crazy. The hero was way too dramatic. The heroine verged on TSTL and eternal martyrdom. There was too much convenience in the plot, and almost no action. The pacing was strange. It wasn't awful, but it didn't enthrall me.

[Callie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked her writing style and the fact that the main characters weren’t your typical damsel and brute. And New Zealand was an interesting back drop. I wish there had been a little more excitement with the Clan and the Cockatoo storyline but I liked the conclusion of that.

[Heliga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half (except for how Summer's dialect was written in text), but I didn't really enjoy the second half as much. Especially in the last quarter I didn't find the way the resolution very convincing.

[BETH CLANCY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.