Child's Play: Dublin Dreams

This book touched me. Perhaps the prior reviewer had not read the first two books in this series set in Ireland. This series is about 4 women who are broght together by a mysterious benefactor named Devon Avondale. Avondale's first wife, who died of a lung ailment, left a diary, in which she chronicled her friendships with the four women in the series, none of whom Avondale knew before his wife's death. By means of an innovative plot, these characters are brought together. The overiding theme in this series is the conflict that exists when a person must overcome his or her past and learn both to forgive and love again. Harris poignantly weaves her narrative around these issues that all of us have had to learn to understand. Her characters have depth and complexity. Whilst some readers may feel that Avondale's memories of his wife border on obsession, to many people who have lost their love in the bloom of their youth, this "obsession" makes Avondale more heroic in the romance novel sense of the word.Having read the series, and other books by Harris, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a page-turning tear-jerker. Harris deals with serious issues, and some of her love scenes are graphic, which I find make the books all that more interesting and compelling. Not for the faint of heart.