Finding the Dream

"Finding the Dream" is the final instalment in Nora Roberts' "Dream" trilogy and it is just as wonderful as the previous two books. The story is touching and completely absorbing.This book focuses on Laura Templeton, although her two "sisters of the heart" Kate and Margo play an important part in the story. Laura has recently ended her marriage to the selfish and cruel Peter, and has been left with two young children and no self-esteem. She is too proud to use her rich family to fall back on for help with her financial problems and is determined to prove that she can make it on her own. Laura is a wonderful, sympathetic heroine with plenty of steel underneath her gentle exterior.Bad-boy Michael Fury, a childhood friend of Laura's brother Josh, moves into the apartment above the stables while his home is being repaired after a landslide. Laura has always felt uncomfortable around this dangerously handsome man and he stirs strange and unwelcome feelings inside her. As time passes, however, Laura and Michael find it hard to deny the attraction they feel for each other. Laura is moved by how wonderful Michael is with her two daughters and begins her fall into love. Michael is concerned that he is becoming too attached to Laura and her daughters, because he feels that he isn't good enough for them and can't possibly keep them in his life. As Michael romances Laura, he shows her feelings and desires she didn't even know she had. As their relationship grows, Laura's self-confidence returns. Michael and Laura are a wonderful couple and NR does a fabulous job of writing a realistic, touching and sexy romance.But before Laura's dreams of love and a family with Michael can come true, Michael must accept himself and realize that Laura loves him for who he is. Because Michael's misplaced self-doubt may cause him to step back from Laura and destroy the happiness they have found.This is an absolutely first-class book and I highly recommend the entire trilogy. In "Finding the Dream" the friendship that Laura, Margo, and Kate share continues to be the one of the very best elements and blends seamlessly with the romance. This book does a great job of wrapping up the trilogy and will leave you sated and satisfied!

This whole series is wonderful. It is about strong women doing what they have to do to make their place in the world. It is about three strong women who are basically starting over. This book in particularly is about Laura Templeton. She is a divorced mother of two children. She is proud and strong. She won't cash in on her family name and instead works hard to make time for her children, take care of herself and make a living. Gradually, she gets to know Michael Fury, an old friend of her brother. As they get to know each other, true love blossoms. This is not just true love in an easy sence, but a love based on respect and common interests and strong wills. Wonderful. This is a great series. Although each book can stand alone, why not start with the first book in this series and read all three in order. I find that the characters build on themselves and grow as you read the books in order.

Two years after her loveless 10-year marriage to Peter Ridgeway has ended, Laura Templeton is immersed in working two part-time jobs, raising her two daughters, and running the Templeton estate in Monterey. Peter managed to wipe out most of Laura's considerable assets, but she still has the home and a job working in one of the Templeton hotels. Her life is hectic and overscheduled, but basically lonely.Enter the dark, mysterious, brooding Michael Fury. Raised nearby but on the "wrong side of the tracks", Michael had been a good friend of Laura's brother, Josh, but had left the area right after high school to live a life of danger and adventure. Michael is back in the area, raising and breeding horses, but his stables and home were destroyed in a mudslide and Josh convinces Laura to let Michael rent her unused stables until he can rebuild. Having married Peter at 18, Laura has little experience with dating or flirtation, and has compartmentalized and organized her life, leaving no room for dating or passion. When Michael strikes her a spark in her, she is confused and in denial, but he pursues her relentlessly. He is charming, sexy, good with animals and wonderful with her two daughters. The usual misunderstandings, protective family, meddling friends, and circumstances attempt to thwart their romance, but after all this is a romance novel, so you know the guy gets the girl in the end. I didn't realize that the book was part of a trilogy, but the characters and scene are so captivating that the book stands alone and is a quick, entertaining, satisfying read.

I really enjoyed this book. Usually the first in the trilogies is the best but not in this case, at least not for me. There is something about men who don't think they're good enough for their love interest that captures my heart. Michael Fury friend to Josh, Laura's brother is renting a place with stables at the Templetons. Laura who was mistreated by her first husband is in my opinion, the sweetest of the three friends. I love the connection they make. The entire story was interesting and heartwarming as Laura's daughters connect with this father figure. I only wish that not all of Ms. Robert's stories have the couple realizing they are both in love until the last page of the book. I would rather enjoy reading a little of the happiness in the marriage for at least one chapter rather than the last page of the story. Neverthless, a great read, and in my opinion, the best in the Dream trilogy.

This series wasn't as good as either the Born In trilogy or the Maryland Eastern Shore trilogy, but it was great in its own right. (Which tells you just how wonderful the other trilogies are as well.)I loved this book because it really developed not just the romance between Laura and Michael but also the family. Over the course of the novels, we've seen Laura face adultery, divorce, and the heartbreak of her children. In this novel, Ms. Roberts brings it all together and shows not only Laura learning to love again, but Michael forging father/daughter relationships with Laura's children.Wonderful, Ms. Roberts. Simply marvelous. I can hardly wait for the next trilogy (which I hear will return us to Ireland!). No one does trilogies -- especially about families -- like Nora Roberts.