What do you think?
Rate this book
Dreamspinner
Debutante Juliet Carleton defies her family to marry the enigmatic Duke of Radcliffe, despite his first wife's mysterious death, but she meets danger when he gives her a reputedly cursed necklace
392 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
17 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Dawson Smith
27 books97 followersFrom http://www.barbaradawsonsmith.com/bio...
A member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, Barbara Dawson Smith sold her first historical romance two weeks after sending it to a publisher. Her books have won the Golden Heart Award from RWA, and Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has been a finalist for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Romance of the Year by Affaire de Coeur magazine, the Golden Quill, and the Booksellers' Best Award. She has also been a five-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, and realized a lifetime dream in 2002 when she won the award for TEMPT ME TWICE. Barbara also writes romance as Olivia Drake.
Barbara lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and who knows how many neighbor children running up and down the stairs. When she's not finishing a chapter or teaching a seminar on writing, she enjoys browsing in her collection of over a thousand research books.
A member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, Barbara Dawson Smith sold her first historical romance two weeks after sending it to a publisher. Her books have won the Golden Heart Award from RWA, and Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has been a finalist for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Romance of the Year by Affaire de Coeur magazine, the Golden Quill, and the Booksellers' Best Award. She has also been a five-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, and realized a lifetime dream in 2002 when she won the award for TEMPT ME TWICE. Barbara also writes romance as Olivia Drake.
Barbara lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and who knows how many neighbor children running up and down the stairs. When she's not finishing a chapter or teaching a seminar on writing, she enjoys browsing in her collection of over a thousand research books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 25, 2018
A gripping melodramatic Victorian romance story with a tinge of eerie gothic intrigue, that revolves around a generational family feud, a murder mystery and a H who is out for vengeance. This novel has a sad beginning because the H's first wife Emily dies; she was 6 months pregnant at the time and it was believed that she committed suicide by jumping from one of the towers of the H's castle. Later on in the novel it's revealed that she was murdered but the H thinks that she killed herself because her biological father Emmett Carleton ( who's also the father of the heroine Juliet ) had stressed her out after a huge argument. Emily was the illegitimate daughter of the heroine's dad but the heroine doesn't discover this information until the very end of the story. At the centre of the mystery is the H's family's priceless necklace called
Dreamspinner.
This was the only word that Emily had spoken to the H before she died and that's why he thinks that her father Emmett had something to do with her death. Emmett Carleton had been feuding with the H's dead father ever since those 2 men had been at Harrow as students. The H's father had hated Emmett because the latter was a working class scholarship student and this hatred had started a rivalry that span decades. Both men kept trying to destroy each other financially and even competed for the attentions of the same women.
I wanted to hate the H's first wife Emily but she was such a sweet and tragic character who only wanted to be loved and acknowledged publicly by her biological dad Emmett. It seemed like the waste of a beautiful life and the H had cared about her in a very fond manner but he wasn't in love with her the way he grew to love the heroine. That's why my heart ached for the poor tragic Emily. She ended up being dead and second best to her half sister Juliet because the heroine was both the legitimate daughter of Emmett and the grand love of the H's life. The H is Kent Deverell, the Duke of Radcliffe and he's having financial difficulties because his late father had wasted a lot of money in bad investments during the peak years of the former duke's feud with Emmett Carleton. Kent meets Juliet for the first time in 1888, 3 yrs after Emily's death. The H is filled with the need for revenge and his plan is to seduce and "ruin" Juliet because this will derail her father's ambitious plans to marry her off to a horse faced, bumbling and braying marquess. Emmett Carleton is a man obsessed with money and he will do anything to make Queen Victoria grant him a knighthood - even pander to the snobbish aristocrats and force his 19 yr old daughter to marry a man she despises.
Emmett came across as the worst type of snobbish nouveau riche wannabe. He's ashamed of his working class background and wants to be embraced into the world of the aristocracy. He loves his daughter Juliet but he treats her like a pawn and there's even a horrible scene where he slaps her after she tells him that she's in love with the H. He also treats his passive wife as a doormat and has no consideration for her feelings.
This was my initial impression of Emmett Carleton:
The H's plan for revenge via seduction and ruination starts out with much success because Juliet is attracted to him and, in spite of her bullying father's warnings, she sneaks out many times to meet him. But Kent, at the very final minute during a passionate love scene with Juliet, discovers that he cares about her and cannot seduce her and dump her. He marries her instead and gets a little bit of revenge because her father disowns her. Their marriage is plagued with lots of issues:
1. Interfering relatives of the hero's, like the opium addicted cousin and his interfering ( but philanthropic ) wife Augusta.
2. The H's guilt because he hates himself for having stronger feelings for Juliet than for his late wife Emily.
3. The heroine's heartbreak and torment because she thinks he loved Emily more than he'll ever care for her.
4. Attempts made to murder the heroine.
The biggest conundrum, for me, was the wacky soap opera type of family relations and weird family tree in this story:
Juliet and the H's late wife Emily were half sisters because they shared the same father, Emmett Carleton.
Emily and the hero's half sister Rose were also half sisters because they shared the same mother: the actress Chantal Hutton.
Chantal Hutton sure did get around ! Lol. It was so ironic that this woman would have illegitimate daughters for the 2 men who were hated rivals. It was also a bit sad that neither Emmett nor the late duke ( H's dad ) had offered to marry her. Both men were very fond of her but felt that she was unworthy of the hallowed status as a prospective wife. Chantal had been involved with Emmett first and had given birth to Emily but then Emmett found it socially ambitious to marry an aristocrat's daughter ( Juliet's mother ). Then Chantal got involved with the H's late father and gave birth to Rose but that man ( who was a widower ) felt that it would be embarrassing for him to marry a former actress and the ex mistress of his enemy. Chantal was a bit annoying but she wasn't a bad person and she did get her happy ending with the H's Indian manservant Ravi.
This was an intense love story with passionate and likable MC's and a strong, intelligent heroine who not only loved the study of Botany, but also worked hard to help the lesser fortunate tenants and labourers on her husband's estate. It was almost like a mini saga type of novel because there was so much happening at all times and the generational backstories were always linked in with what was happening in the current plotline. At the end of it all, the MC's had a toddler whom they christened Emily ( after the H's late wife who was also the heroine's half sister ). Juliet was also pregnant again with a second child, in the epilogue. The H and his father in law ended the stupid feud and became business partners and the cursed Dreamspinner necklace was no longer a plague in the lives of these characters. I adored the way the H was obsessed with Juliet. He tried hard to fight it but he would always be filled with great inner man pain each time they argued and she threatened to leave him. He was one H who always kept repeating, to himself, that he wouldn't be able to bear if if the heroine ever left him. The heroine was finally content because she knew that Kent loved her more than he had cared for Emily:
He smiled, a slow, seductive gentling of his noble face. His hands found her waist and rubbed enticingly. “Perhaps tonight you’d be willing to demonstrate your gratitude.” “By candlelight?” she teased. “Or shall we make love in darkness, for nostalgia’s sake?” His eyes gleamed. “Whatever pleases my duchess. I intend to spend my life pleasing you.” His low-pitched voice made her stomach tighten deliriously. “And I,” she said, kissing him again, “intend to spend my life spinning dreams of our future.”
Olivia Drake - Dreamspinner. Dreamspinner (Kindle Locations 6330-6335). Avon. Kindle Edition.
There's no cheating in this novel.
The heroine, Juliet:
The H, Kent:
I wanted to hate the H's first wife Emily but she was such a sweet and tragic character who only wanted to be loved and acknowledged publicly by her biological dad Emmett. It seemed like the waste of a beautiful life and the H had cared about her in a very fond manner but he wasn't in love with her the way he grew to love the heroine. That's why my heart ached for the poor tragic Emily. She ended up being dead and second best to her half sister Juliet because the heroine was both the legitimate daughter of Emmett and the grand love of the H's life. The H is Kent Deverell, the Duke of Radcliffe and he's having financial difficulties because his late father had wasted a lot of money in bad investments during the peak years of the former duke's feud with Emmett Carleton. Kent meets Juliet for the first time in 1888, 3 yrs after Emily's death. The H is filled with the need for revenge and his plan is to seduce and "ruin" Juliet because this will derail her father's ambitious plans to marry her off to a horse faced, bumbling and braying marquess. Emmett Carleton is a man obsessed with money and he will do anything to make Queen Victoria grant him a knighthood - even pander to the snobbish aristocrats and force his 19 yr old daughter to marry a man she despises.
Emmett came across as the worst type of snobbish nouveau riche wannabe. He's ashamed of his working class background and wants to be embraced into the world of the aristocracy. He loves his daughter Juliet but he treats her like a pawn and there's even a horrible scene where he slaps her after she tells him that she's in love with the H. He also treats his passive wife as a doormat and has no consideration for her feelings.
This was my initial impression of Emmett Carleton:
The H's plan for revenge via seduction and ruination starts out with much success because Juliet is attracted to him and, in spite of her bullying father's warnings, she sneaks out many times to meet him. But Kent, at the very final minute during a passionate love scene with Juliet, discovers that he cares about her and cannot seduce her and dump her. He marries her instead and gets a little bit of revenge because her father disowns her. Their marriage is plagued with lots of issues:
1. Interfering relatives of the hero's, like the opium addicted cousin and his interfering ( but philanthropic ) wife Augusta.
2. The H's guilt because he hates himself for having stronger feelings for Juliet than for his late wife Emily.
3. The heroine's heartbreak and torment because she thinks he loved Emily more than he'll ever care for her.
4. Attempts made to murder the heroine.
The biggest conundrum, for me, was the wacky soap opera type of family relations and weird family tree in this story:
Juliet and the H's late wife Emily were half sisters because they shared the same father, Emmett Carleton.
Emily and the hero's half sister Rose were also half sisters because they shared the same mother: the actress Chantal Hutton.
Chantal Hutton sure did get around ! Lol. It was so ironic that this woman would have illegitimate daughters for the 2 men who were hated rivals. It was also a bit sad that neither Emmett nor the late duke ( H's dad ) had offered to marry her. Both men were very fond of her but felt that she was unworthy of the hallowed status as a prospective wife. Chantal had been involved with Emmett first and had given birth to Emily but then Emmett found it socially ambitious to marry an aristocrat's daughter ( Juliet's mother ). Then Chantal got involved with the H's late father and gave birth to Rose but that man ( who was a widower ) felt that it would be embarrassing for him to marry a former actress and the ex mistress of his enemy. Chantal was a bit annoying but she wasn't a bad person and she did get her happy ending with the H's Indian manservant Ravi.
This was an intense love story with passionate and likable MC's and a strong, intelligent heroine who not only loved the study of Botany, but also worked hard to help the lesser fortunate tenants and labourers on her husband's estate. It was almost like a mini saga type of novel because there was so much happening at all times and the generational backstories were always linked in with what was happening in the current plotline. At the end of it all, the MC's had a toddler whom they christened Emily ( after the H's late wife who was also the heroine's half sister ). Juliet was also pregnant again with a second child, in the epilogue. The H and his father in law ended the stupid feud and became business partners and the cursed Dreamspinner necklace was no longer a plague in the lives of these characters. I adored the way the H was obsessed with Juliet. He tried hard to fight it but he would always be filled with great inner man pain each time they argued and she threatened to leave him. He was one H who always kept repeating, to himself, that he wouldn't be able to bear if if the heroine ever left him. The heroine was finally content because she knew that Kent loved her more than he had cared for Emily:
He smiled, a slow, seductive gentling of his noble face. His hands found her waist and rubbed enticingly. “Perhaps tonight you’d be willing to demonstrate your gratitude.” “By candlelight?” she teased. “Or shall we make love in darkness, for nostalgia’s sake?” His eyes gleamed. “Whatever pleases my duchess. I intend to spend my life pleasing you.” His low-pitched voice made her stomach tighten deliriously. “And I,” she said, kissing him again, “intend to spend my life spinning dreams of our future.”
Olivia Drake - Dreamspinner. Dreamspinner (Kindle Locations 6330-6335). Avon. Kindle Edition.
There's no cheating in this novel.
The heroine, Juliet:
The H, Kent:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2021
Overall a typical 90’s romance novel. Historical fiction with romance and a twist of mystery, this book was an easy read and overall enjoyable.
March 6, 2018
Cute little read - although the hero is a little less alpha than I tend to prefer, and the heroine a bit too wrapped up in herself at times. Wow, did she need to mature! Juliet was like a teenager with her first serious boyfriend - must know what the guy is thinking/feeling/moody about at all times, or he just doesn't love me!
That said, the mystery added a fun aspect, and the author didn't drag too many red herrings into it. People were genuinely suspect, and for good reason.
I did have a problem with the "unconscious mother" - at both ends of the cast of characters. Yeah, I get that we're talking about the Victorian age, and the duality of that particular culture, but still - you bring the reader to the point of "secrets are bad" only to end up with "oh, but these secrets are really ok"? Unless that's the ultimate irony here. Sorry, I just don't buy that a romance novel is that subtle. So, I guess I'll accept it as a way to gloss over the ending a bit and make it all happy, happy, joy, joy.
OH, and I love it when a heroine goes through a betrayal and is an emotional basket-case, and then sits there and commends herself on how "rational" she's being by acting like a rabid harridan. Possibly, I'm becoming jaded, and prefer characters who have seen a little more of life, what can I say? Would love to read a book revolving around Chantal's life!
A quick read; easy plot-line if you've read mysteries before, or other semi-gothic romances.
That said, the mystery added a fun aspect, and the author didn't drag too many red herrings into it. People were genuinely suspect, and for good reason.
I did have a problem with the "unconscious mother" - at both ends of the cast of characters. Yeah, I get that we're talking about the Victorian age, and the duality of that particular culture, but still - you bring the reader to the point of "secrets are bad" only to end up with "oh, but these secrets are really ok"? Unless that's the ultimate irony here. Sorry, I just don't buy that a romance novel is that subtle. So, I guess I'll accept it as a way to gloss over the ending a bit and make it all happy, happy, joy, joy.
OH, and I love it when a heroine goes through a betrayal and is an emotional basket-case, and then sits there and commends herself on how "rational" she's being by acting like a rabid harridan. Possibly, I'm becoming jaded, and prefer characters who have seen a little more of life, what can I say? Would love to read a book revolving around Chantal's life!
A quick read; easy plot-line if you've read mysteries before, or other semi-gothic romances.
September 3, 2015
EXCELLENT MYSTERY. Drake does a brilliant job of giving each character an excellent reason to commit the various crimes and infractions in the story, and she builds a case for every one of them. I wasn't terribly surprised by the finale, but none of the main characters did anything idiotic to bring about the final reveal, and that, too, was refreshing.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews