Borrowed Dreams

by Debbie Macomber

As the new assistant manager of an Alaskan freight company, Carly Grieves had a lot to get used to - especially with a man like Brand St. Clair around to keep her on her toes.

The rugged daredevil pilot had an uncanny knack for unsettling her completely. But the memory of Brand's first wife was competition she just didn't need, and Carly had vowed never to take second best in anything. Yet how could they be just friends when his touch left her wanting so much more? Carly had always loved a challenge - but when it came to Brand, holding fast to her heart was going to take all the strength she had. And then some!

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Audiobook, Ebooks

253 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contained one of the most annoying main characters I've read. Carly knows she has issues but does nothing about them her entire adult life. Her choice but then don't drag other people into your stupidity. She chose to marry Brand and then flaked on him time and again; either you're in or your out. And her reasons for being scared were just ridiculous - if you want to be a man's first wife then simply don't marry a widow esp one with children. There was essentially nothing more to the book then Carly being full in w Brand and his children then not and then in then out. Awful.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally love this author, but I can't even finish this. The heroine of our story was in foster care and always got hand-me-downs in everything. So now, as an adult, she can only deal with new things. Shunning anything used. All her furniture is new. Her "used" apartment is okay for now, but she plans on buying a "new" condo. The man she just met and likes, is a widower. So I'm sure you can see where this is going.... he's "used". I'm sorry, this is so ridiculous that I can't even continue reading this.

[HippieWitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet love story where both main characters have issues they have to work together to get through.

[Reham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aughhhh both the main character need major therapy! This is by turns toxic and shallow! I just couldn’t with the drama. Got to chapter 12 and decided life’s too short!

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot describe how disappointed I am.

[Gigi (imaginingbetweenthepages) · Rating 1 out of 5]

ugh the constant back and forth...I can't but I want to bluh thank god that terrible book is over

[Hallie (Hallie Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Rodeo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this story at all. Too much flesh, sappy and laborious. So glad Debbie has grown in her writing! I couldn't really read it.

[Sm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carly and Brand - was there ever a name better suited for romance hero than Brand St. Clair?
anyway, Carly ends up in Anchorage grew up as a foster kid and is quite independent, thank you very much. I thought the subplot about her and the woman in prison, who painted an image that evoked Carly’s foster days, was much more compelling than her relationship with Brand …
it was weird that Brand mentioned his dead wife, but not his living kids … did not endear him to me as a hero, and after such a great, name start!
although, good for him for being upfront about his feelings early on … later on, not so much …
Carly, understandably, feels like the dead wife stands in the way of their HEA (after a childhood spent in foster care, she does not want any more hand-me-downs or to come in second to anything, even the ghost of feelings for a dead wife) and he gets a little pissy. ultimately, she has to decide to move forward with him, but that whole pissy attitude made me not like Brand that much and amazing that Carly just steps right into her stepmother role and that the kids are so accepting. then again, Macomber does show that the kids weren’t allowed to act like kids with their grandmother, so guess anyone that gives them their childhood back is a win in their eyes?

[Leticia Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

More angst than I was prepared for or expecting from this genre. It was so emotionally exhausting that I hesitated giving this more than a 2.5 star rating. The writing was good and deserves 4 stars, but I just personally found Carly's personal demons were too much (too heavy) for the page. I kept reading because I had faith that a happy ending would be waiting at the end. Happily I was not disappointed at the resolution. But if I had known this story would be riddled with angst, I may have put off reading it.

[Lucifer "Argyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Book is well written, but the protagonists inner demons were too much for me and I find myself rolling my eyes at how she was supposed to 25 (if I remember right) yet she was pure and innocent because she was virginal. It's not the book's fault that I hate that trope, but honestly it just kept bothering me, and I didn't want to continue reading due to that. it was well written, I just had my own personal issues with a few tropes in the book and old fashioned boredom while reading.

I DNF'd at p. 156.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Brand and Carly

I had a bit of mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, this felt a little bit like classic Diana Palmer, who is one favorite romance authors of all time, and she was the reason why I got into reading romance in the first place. So I really appreciated when I got such vibes from reading this.

On the other hand, I felt the pacing of the story was off in both the beginning and the end of the story. I felt that the relationship between Brand and Carly was a bit rushed in the beginning. I thought there would have been a bit more build up between these two as the story progressed. I thought more of a friendship would develop between them first and then deeper feelings would have developed over more time. I thought there was going to be more of an issue with Brand being a widow and dealing with those such issues of falling in love again the more time he spent with Carly, but that was really not the case in this story. In fact, Carly had more of an issue with him being a widower, which caused a bunch of issues between the two of them. Even though there was some hesitant to get involved with one another, it didn’t last long, and they kissed a lot earlier than I thought they were going to. So therefore the build up and the anticipation wasn’t quite there for me because of the quickness of the development of their relationship. It was almost too soon for them to get involved.

That’s not to say things were smooth sailing between the pair. There was a lot a back and forth between them of whether they should be together or not. A lot of it had to do with Carly and her issues of them getting together then later fall in love. At times it got too much, and a little repetitive sometimes. I wanted to shake Carly quite a few times especially when it was abundantly clear that Brand was in it for the long hall with her. He never gave her any reason to doubt his feeling for her, nor did he make her feel like she was replacement for his dead wife. He wanted to be with her for her and no other reason. It was just all in her head, which caused massive problems for them in the process. That was a majority of the issues and conflicts between them and got in the way of their relationship.

I did like them together. I enjoyed seeing them interact with one another. I liked how those interactions ranged from sweet and tender to sensual and passionate. I enjoyed when they had those moments where there wasn’t tension between them due to Carly’s issues that caused her to question whether to be with him or not. I loved those simple moments between them especially on their wedding night. Those were some great moments of the story that I really enjoyed.

I thought to the story got a lot better when Brand’s children and mother came onto the scene. It added another level of conflict that just wasn’t about Carly’s insecurities, though they did compound them. It was sweet to see the interaction between the kids and Carly and how they completely fell in love with her. In contrast the interaction with Brand’s mother was the complete opposite full of tension and conflict as she didn’t approve of the sudden marriage of Carly and Brand. That was a very interesting dynamic in the story, and I kind of wished that was played out a bit more in the story and had more of resolution than there actually was.

The ending was slightly disappointing because it ended abruptly. Carly and Brand never had a heart to heart conversation concerning their reconciliation. It was just like they were back together without any question or any explanation of anything especially Carly’s resolution of her feelings and issues and how she overcome them. Brand deserved that. In fact he deserved some groveling from Carly because she had more than enough to make up for and she just didn’t. There was no apology. No nothing. It just ended, and they were together again despite they didn’t talk and that was it. It was not a satisfying ending after everything they went through or more accurately that Carly put them through.

Overall I did like the story, but there were also things that I didn’t quite care for either. For one I thought there was going to be a lot more build up and development between Carly and Brand because their relationship just happened way too fast for my liking. It felt rushed. I thought their first kiss happened a lot sooner than I would liked. I would have liked to have seen Brand fight his attraction for her a little bit more than just jumping in and basically going after her right away. I wish that had happened after they development more of friendship between them first then went on from there. The pacing in the beginning was just really weird for me and way too quick. I did like them together though, and enjoy when they interact with one another especially when Carly’s insecurities didn’t come into play. They had a nice rapport and speak between them that I did like see play out even if I thought it happened way too soon. Even though this was on the tamer side for me, I did like seeing all the passionate moments between them, showing of their sizzling attraction with one another. I was even surprised how many of those type of scene were in the story. They had some quite a few sensual going on between them, which I really enjoyed seeing. I liked that this reminded me of a Diana Palmer book with some very similar elements to the story so that I really appreciated too. So, there were good and bad things about this one, but I didn’t hate this one, and I did appreciate it for what it was.

[Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the Alaskan setting and one of the lead characters is a pilot so I was looking forward to adventure. No luck. I felt like this book could have been so much more and just wasn't. Carly can't get over her hang-up of only having new things and Brand couldn't be open and honest about his kids. There were side stories, like Carly's developing friendship with an artistic prison inmate, that could have added depth but were glossed over. I know the story was updated for re-release but with Macomber's current experience and skill a re-write may have been better.

[Chascity-mae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Debbie Macomber is a well-known romance novel author so I thought I'd give her a shot. For some reason I was drawn to her more classic novels written some years ago. This being the first book I read. Definitely a story for older woman. The story line picked up rather fast and ended too soon. I'm sure Debbie has gotten better as a writer, but in her first few books, she ended the stories rather abruptly that left me hanging rather than satisfied.

[Cal]

i could not fully enjoy this book. the protagonist annoyed me, which i usually attribute to good writing- making loathed characters is a craft, however after a while it became more apparent that Carly was just a caricature- this amalgam of a bunch of dissimilar human attributes.

the romance felt like it started out of nothing and escalated into marriage for no reason (as the protagonist, Carly felt like old toast).

also Carly’s obsession with everything new/fix nothing as a coping mechanism for having been a foster child was ridiculous. hence the focus of drama in the book- she dates and falls for a widower. aka a “used” man, and then proceeds to be distraught by his status.

i did enjoy the grandmother character as she seemed a more honest facsimile of a human in her responses to the plot, but it was clear she was also made to be contrasted as the very stern, disciplined guardian so that Carly could shine as the new mom who is fun, etc.

i hate tension built up because of potential fatalities. it’s a trope used too often.

and the ending was abrupt and unsatisfactory - guy comes home safely, girl sees error of her ways through anticipated trauma, no explanations necessary, the end

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a Debbie Macomber book for all its enjoyable, comforting reads. I was anxious to try one of her earliest books after years of reading her more current ones.
This is a second chance at love story and having a common thread of romance novels of one or both of the couple being emotionally damaged. I try to look past the overly dramatic aspects and just enjoy the love and the happily ever afters. I get frustrated a lot with characters like Carly however. I understand her damage but not how she dealt with it. I also wish the ending had a little more resolution or explanation for the incident near the end of the book. We never got an explanation of what really happened.

[Lis Sigona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a few reviews were lower on this book and not very positive due to the female character’s personality. I found that to criticize the characterization of this lead player in this storyline as unfair and totally unjustified. If I say anything more I would be giving some of the storyline away, but to suffice it to say, not everyone grows up and lives in a rose colored world automatically, some of us struggle, some have trials and tribulations! The world is not always about happy, giggly even the most respectable individuals all have histories to share with use. Some more difficult than others. We all cannot live in a rose-tinted colored glasses world!

[Samantha (WLABB) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this knowing it was written in the 80s, and the melodrama of the time is alive and kicking in this story. Carly's reasoning for resisting allowing herself to be happy with Brand was kind of convoluted. It was tough to get on board with it all. But it was short and fulfilled my reading challenge.

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[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brand St. Clair, an Alaskan pilot, widower & father of 2 in the states. Carly Grieves is newly arrived in Alaska. Taken by the state from her mom, she's grown up with hand-me-downs and firmly believes that her future husband should never have loved before. She & Brand do fall in love, but Carly struggles with his previous marriage and children. They marry, but separate soon after because of her doubts. When his plan goes missing on the day the kids arrive from the states, she realizes her foolishness. All turns out okay.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a typical harlequin romance and it was a quick read. Carly Grieves was raised in foster homes and never had anything that belonged to her first and she didn’t want her marriage to be the same. She was not willing to be second wife, at least not until she met a widower by the name of Brand St. Clair at her new job in Alaska. Even after she fell in love with Brand, she was having trouble letting go of her dreams. Could she accept second place even though Brand had finally found his way after being lost after the death of his wife.

[Susan Anderson Misey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant read about a young woman who struggles with her past and tries to find her place in the world--one that seems especially confusing with Brand St. Clair walks into her new place of employment. This is a delightful Alaskan romance penned in the 1980's, but still worth a read all these years later. Who doesn't like a sexy hero--especially a widower with young children? On all those Alaskan cold nights, there are hot sparks between Carly and Brand.

[Lora Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional and beautiful!

As always a beautifully written story that pulls the reader inside. Every emotion is experienced as if you are there, I smiled and cried, I felt the hurt of the characters, the worry, fear and the happiness....I'm an emotional wreck in the best, most wonderful way possible!! I loved it!

[Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insecurities

This book was excellent, often we all have insecurities and beat ourselves up about them. We live our lives in our bubble and often forget others around us. This book was one to show you Carly’s and how no matter what her heart sent her to someone that would wait for her to find her way back home. There is always hope as we find out in this book.

[Nancy Higgs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carly moved to Anchorage Alaska to work with a shipping company. She meets Brand St Clair and feels a chemistry. However he has been married before. After her years in foster care, she wants new things, places and a future husband. They try first to get together as friends. She wants to learn how to fly a plane. Standard theme- boy meets girl, etc. light reading!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This one was a tearjerker.

The ups. The downs. The relief. This darn book made me leak random tears like no tomorrow. You can tell it’s a earlier work from this author, and her more recent ones are a little more polished, but I truly enjoyed reading this novel. You should give it a try. Bring tissues.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carly having been in foster homes, when on her own now wanted everything new. Nothing second hand, not even in romance, Brand’s wife has died two years ago and as friends they date. Wanting to try being with another woman. Agreeing to marry him, changed what she has been so obsessed with of having everything new. Can it work. An unusual love story and the beauty of Alaska .

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of Debbie Macomber. I love her books.

This story us abut Carly who goes to Alaska and starts a new job. She meets Brandon St. Clair
and there is an immediate attraction.

However, Carly was raised in foster homes and has issues. Brand is a widower and also has
issues.

The story evolves around their issues and how they solve them.

[Ker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prose is fine. But there were so many times of time jumps in the same paragraph that it was hard to actually follow the timeline of the story. I also felt they fell in love in about 2 days with zero reason. I didn't really see the spark between them, and Brand felt verrrryyyyy pushy. I should have dnf but I didn't.

[Christine Fitzmaurice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little unbelievable. A main character with insanely crazy thoughts & issues. Not a likable character and I apologize for saying this, if anyone reads this review has that same mental problems as the main character in the book. As this was one of Debbie’s early books, I think she was just getting her feet wet with this one. Her later works are much better!

[Diana Senn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very good read. .

Character were brought to life with a natural sence of being. You felt for each and everyone when things were going south. The problems were different, but with the history it made some sence. But thank God, family always wins