Amazon.in:Customer reviews: Dreaming of You

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 21 February 2018

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I gifted this to one of my friend, she loved it

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Swati

Three Stars

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 24 September 2015

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It's a an entertaining book , but not the one I would pick up again to read.

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Hollee

One of my favourites from Lisa Kleypas!

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 28 February 2023

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Loved it!

MG

Cockney Craven

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 14 August 2019

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Derek Craven has everything a man could want: women falling at his feet, riches beyond measure, the goods on every man in London, and no attachments. But underneath the facade, he is deeply lonely. His best friend is now married to an earl as she should (since Derek felt he was not good enough for her and pushed her away to avoid falling in love with someone he could never have), and while he enjoys being Uncle Derek, he still has an emptiness that he doesn't feel he can ever escape. He was abandoned in a drainpipe when he was born, raised by prostitutes, worked nearly to death as a chimney boy, and did anything and everything to scrape his way up from the Rookery to where he is today. No one can ever love a man like him, and he has no love to give to anyone anyway.

Sarah Fielding is a writer -- her most successful story was about a prostitute named Mathilda, and she is working on a new story, but she needs to be in the thick of the action in London, not in her small and safe town in the country. As she settles in the background behind a gaming hell to observe and take notes, she hears a loud scuffle and scream of pain. Though she knows she shouldn't get involved, she cannot ignore someone in need, so she rushes towards the commotion to discover a man being attacked by two men holding him down and cutting a deep gash in his face. She scares them off but is left to wonder if she was too late as the very still man laying on the ground's face is covered in blood. When she discovers he is alive, she assists him back to Craven's, the gaming hell she was lurking behind, and she soon learns that he is none of than Derek Craven! A stroke of luck as she was hoping to gain some insight from the sources themselves. Derek has no time for a spinster woman wandering his club, but he feels some obligation as she did rescue him, so he allows her to interview his staff, but he wants her kept away from him. There is something about her that makes him feel things he does not want to feel. Not only does he have no use for love, he knows that someone like Sarah could never give her heart to man who has done the unthinkable things he has to make his way in life. And a lady as plain and unworldly as Sarah could never attract a man like Derek... right?

What I liked:
--- Definitely an opposites attract story with some interesting twists along the way
--- Derek was very flawed as an H, and Sarah was a straight-laced h, but they addressed their issues and didn't gloss over anything, so it felt more genuine
---Steamy goodness!
--- A few plot turns and some danger added in for good measure

What I didn't like as much:
--- The villain situation was a little over-the-top (her revenge plot at the house party was way out there - no way the accomplice would have just gone along with it)
--- Some of the aspects of the story felt a little rushed

Overall, a very enjoyable opposites attract romance with some steamy goodness and interesting plot twists to keep the reader hooked until the last page.

Plot --- 4/5
Main Characters --- 4/5
Supporting Cast --- 4/5
Steam Level* --- 3.5/5
Violence --- not overly graphic (Derek is attacked & there are references to abuses he suffered as a child)
Language --- it's a gaming hell run by a cockney bastard, so there's some language but not egregious under those circumstances, imo
POV --- 3rd

*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! ; 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all

35 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

10/10

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on 14 August 2022

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Livro ótimo, exatamente como descrito.

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Vivian

My first historical romance book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 15 November 2022

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4.25/5 ⭐️ This is my first time ever reading a historial romance and I loved it! Sara has become one of my favorite heroines. She was so sweet and such a nice person. It was new getting used to the historical terms but it was very easy to read.

I didn’t like how Derek pushed Sara away at times but I understood his reasoning for not wanting to get too close to anyone. Derek definitely grew on me towards the end though and I ended up loving him!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read more books by this author and more historical romance in general 😊

Imogen W.

Flawless

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 6 February 2023

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One of the best books I’ve ever read. This is my no. 1 romance book recommendation and I adore it.

NM Mama

Liked it despite other reviewers' concerns.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 4 March 2011

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This is the sequel to Then Came You and tells the story of Derek Craven, the Cockney gutter rat who fought his way to open the most sought-after gambling club in England. He was also the best friend of Lawless Lily, who's story was featured in the previous book.

I'll try to give my opinion without spoilers, but be forewarned. Spoilers still might happen.

After reading several other reviews for this book, I was hesitant to purchase it & put it off for a while. After I read Then Came You, I decided I really wanted to know who the heck could possibly infiltrate Derek's world. I was concerned I was going to hate this book, but all of my concerns were alleviated thanks to Kleypas' amazing dialogue & character insight. She's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book & Derek's evolution into an emotionally-stable & fulfilled man.

Aw, skip it. I'm giving spoilers. Sorry, but I've just gotta address the main reason I was hesitant to buy this book.

SPOILER/RANT:

YES, Derek sleeps with another woman, a prostitute who works in his club & resembles Sarah. Several reviewers were upset about this, & understandably so, b/c who wants a hero who sleeps with anyone but the heroine? But honestly, Derek is the EXACT kind of guy one would expect to do this. The action completely fits his character. Had I not been forewarned, I might've been surprised, but I don't think I'd have been any more or less upset by it, b/c it just fits him. And perhaps it means little, but Derek & Sarah hadn't slept together yet, & there'd been no mention of love or promises. It's not like he broke a vow to her.

What upset me more was that Sarah wasn't completely ticked off with him when she found out...& that she didn't want to rip the face off of the prostitute (who had the cajones to approach her & tell all). I mean, c'mon! She was a virgin, & she didn't have a problem with sex being treated so cavalierly by the man she was falling in love with? Not sure I buy that, no matter how "progressive" she was. Honestly? I was kind of hoping she would give her virginity to Perry (her almost-fiance) just so that Derek wouldn't get it...b/c he didn't deserve it. (I know, that sounds so terrible, but what can I say?) In actuality, though, her remaining a virgin & only being with Derek (& not hating him for the whole prostitute thing) helped set her apart from everything else Derek had ever known & reinforced the purity & longevity of her love. So fine.

I also didn't completely buy that Derek would've made himself as vulnerable to the prostitute as he did (you'll see). It was too risky of him, & it's not something he would've done. But tumbling b/t the sheets with the chick? Yep, he'd absolutely do that.

END SPOILER (mostly)

Despite everything, the story is still excellently presented. The characters are defined & believable. The dialogue drew me in, & the thoughts & emotions of the characters was written nearly perfectly. I enjoyed the book, & I'd read it again.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 b/c I didn't LOVE the book (realistic or not, I wish he hadn't slept with someone else), & b/c there were occasional times the characters did or said something that was obviously only to move the story along & not b/c the character would actually have said or done so (like the way Derek was with the prostitute...which the reader learns b/c the prostitute tells Sarah in order to convince her that Derek loves her).

So yes, I'd recommend the book, but the issue above will be a sticking point for some readers. Beware!

4 people found this helpful

ChristiReadsALot

Derek Craven!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 16 November 2021

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What hasn’t already been said about Derek Craven and this book? Derek Craven is a legend for a reason, one of - if not the first working class heroes in historical romances back when this dropped in 1994. And I think it’s safe to say it shook the genre up, we love us some self-made men heroes and Lisa Kleypas is just a queen as usual for bringing us the deliciousness that is Derek Craven. Sooo I was super excited to finally read Dreaming of You.

And I totally get now why Derek is a fav Lisa Kleypas hero, he is absolutely my kind of hero. The epitome of a damaged, scarred, came from nothing and built himself up, but still emotionally-broken, kind of hero. I love that he’s a self-made man and while he seems to have it all now (a successful club, wealth, homes, arts, lands, etc), he is still missing something in his life, and the heroine Sara makes him aware of what that is. Derek has the roughest of backstories: born in a drainpipe to a mother who left him there, didn’t have a name, doesn’t even know his real age, lived on the streets for years, and fought for everything he has accomplished since. Now he is one of the wealthiest men in London with the success of his gaming club Craven’s and Sara is an author who is trying to do research for her next story when she meets him.

“Derek didn’t think he would be able to take his hands from her when the waltz ended. He couldn’t risk letting go of her, the one gift Providence had ever seen fit to bestow on him. Everything else he’d had to work, suffer, steal, and cheat for. It had all required effort. But she had simply appeared, like a perfect fruit dropping from a tree into his outstretched hands. He was almost light-headed with desire.”

I love how Derek will legit do anything for Sara, he is so taken with her and I loved every minute. When he sneaks away her extra pair of glasses because he had to have them as he wanted a little piece of her, all the sigh & swoon. And the epilogue, omg and all the wow.

2 people found this helpful

ambersaxon696

An outstanding Regency romance

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 30 September 2002

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"Dreaming of You" is one of the best historical romances I've read. The storyline is excellent and very original set in Regency London. Sara Fielding an innocent country girl arrives in London to thoroughly research her next novel. She is a succesful novelist writing about the hard life of the low classes of society, prostitutes and gamblers. One night she rescues a handsome men from the hands of two ruffians. He is bleeding but he is still able to shout orders at her in his strong Cockney accent. Sara is terrified and excited at the same time when she finds out that the victim is Derek Craven the owner of London's most exclusive gambling club.She wants to tour his club and take notes for her new novel. Derek is against it and he wants to send her packing immediately back to her little village in the country. He feels from the beginning that she is trouble and he wants to save her from everything especially from himself.He is a handsome ( even with a scar ) hard and very cynical young man who has more money than he can count and he knows everything about everybody. Women are throwing themselves at him hoping that they will be the one to make him fall in love. He's had a very hard and painful childhood, he survived in the rookeries of London and he succeeded in building a powerful empire. He thinks he has no heart and he is indifferent to every woman. His reaction to Sara terrifies him. He gets more and more attracted to her and he is scared because he can't control his desire and feelings for her. Sara feels the attraction too. She has always thought of herself as a practical country girl who will marry Perry in the village and live happily ever after.
But meeting Derek awakens her heart and her passion.They have many passionate and witty confrontations. Sara in her innocence doesn't understand Derek's behaviour. They learn a lot about each other and about their mutual needs and expectations from life.Derek fights his feelings until the end. He thinks Sara is too good for a Cockney scoundrel like him even if he is a millionaire.Their finding the way to each other is very emotional, very touching and memorable.The reader feels with them and it is hard to put the book down before the end.
The characterization of these two wonderful people is very powerful.Ms. Kleypas has a rare talent to make her characters alive and very realistic.Some characters from the author's other book "Then Came You" appear in this one too.You will find Lily and Alex Raiton as interesting as in the previous novel.
DREAMING OF YOU is a beautifully written historical romance which will touch your heart. The story is full of realism, romance and soul. The author lets us have some interesting glimpses into the world of gambling, prostitutes and the careless life of the ton in Regency London.The author's writing style is brilliant and her research of the era is satisfying.
This is a beautiful historical romance which clearly stands out of the masses of other similar books.

69 people found this helpful

5 star		62%
4 star		26%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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