Holding the Dream

"Holding the Dream" is book #2 in Nora Roberts' "Dream" trilogy, and if it's possible I think this book is even better than the first. Kate Powell, Laura Templeton's cousin, was orphaned as a child and has been raised by the Templetons as one of their own. Now, as an adult, Kate is an obsessive over-achiever, determined to succeed in business to "pay back" the Templetons for their generosity towards her. Just as everything is looking up and she believes she's about to get promoted to partner, Kate's life falls apart. She gets ill with a stomach ulcer, discovers that her father died during the middle of a messy scandal, and suddenly finds herself caught in a scandal of her own. Someone has set Kate up to make it look like she's been stealing from her company, and Kate must prove her innocence.Kate isn't alone in this, however, as Southern gentleman Byron DeWitt has come into her life and is quite taken with this determined woman. Byron's support and faith in Kate help her get through these tough times. Laura and Margo, Kate's two best friends, show her unwavering loyalty, and the friendship these three share is the foundation of this entire trilogy. Kate's romance with Byron is exciting and realistic. Kate is a wonderfully strong and independent heroine, and the tale Nora Roberts weaves is completely absorbing. I enjoyed Kate's story immensely and I know you will too, so read this book today!

This is the book that introduced me to Nora Roberts, and I've been a big fan ever since. This is the second in the Dream series (and I recommend all of the titles -- it's my favorite series to date) and it's my favorite of the Dream series. Whenever Nora Roberts makes a series, the formula is typically one sibling who is very cautious, who has been hurt before, one sibling who is on the wild side with a voracious sexual appetite, and one is sensible and a tad shy. This one is about the sibling who is very cautious; smart in business, not so daft with her emotions. It's this sibling who I always like best.In sum, read the series. But start with Margo ("Daring to Dream") so you don't go out of order.

Nora Roberts continues what she started in "Daring to Dream" in this wonderful second book of the trilogy. Kate Powell, cousin to the Templeton children who was raised as one of their own after the death of her own parents when she was a child, has spent her whole life trying to be the best at everything she does so that she can "pay them back" for their generosity. Close to her goal of becoming partner in an accounting firm, her world is rocked by not one but two revelations -- the first, that her father had a cloud of scandal hanging over him at the time of his death, and the second, that she suddenly finds herself facing a similar scandal. In addition stress and worry make her ill, and she is forced to re-evaluate her life and her goals.Kate is a wonderful heroine. She's strong, independent, smart, and far easier to relate to than the glamorous Margo of the first book. Her independent streak and desire to stand on her own take some getting used to for Byron De Witt, a southern gentleman through and through who is surprised to find himself falling in love with a woman so completely not his "type".As wonderful as it is to watch Kate's relationship with Byron develop, the best part of this book (like the first) is the relationship between Kate, Margo, and Laura -- three women who grew up as sisters and whose bond is stronger than blood.

This is the best of the triology. Kate is truely an over achiever, and got exactly what over achievers get - sick with an ulcer! Her life is working for her, she is an accountant and working her way up the corporate ladder. Just when she thinks she has climbed the last rung, the ladder comes crashing down around her. After getting sick, facing federal criminal charges, and being forced to work full time in the shop her and her sisters started up, does she find her dream and she holds on tight to it at the end, and not only becomes happy and content in her business world, but of course in her love life also! This is truely the best of the triology, but you have to read them in order to truely appreciate the sisters and the family they came from.

Nora Roberts has won me over with her ability to romance her readers. Her characters become become part of your reading life, full of struggles and sucesses. Her trilogies grip you so that you the reader anxiously jump forward to the next saga.This trilogy regarding the lives of three beauiful women is complete entertainment. I highly recommend the reader starts with "Daring to Dream" , book one of the trilogy, then goes on to "Holding the Dream" and the concludes with "Finding the Dream" You'll be cheering these heroines on through out the trilogy,feeling their emotions, and the love they cherish between them