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A review by bookwyrm_lark
Dreamweaver Trail: An Eternity Springs Novel by Emily March
4.0
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Dreamweaver Trail takes this series in a new and different direction. Before this book, the main setting has always been Eternity Springs, a small, picturesque Colorado Mountain town that contributes a great deal to the series' charm. This book changes that dynamic: about half of Dreamweaver Trail is set on an idyllic island in the Caribbean, where Gabi Romano is house- and puppy-sitting while she tries to find healing and a new direction for her life. She finds both in working with glass, apprenticing herself to a local glass artist to begin learning the craft. She also embarks on a holiday romance with the sexy "pool boy" and caretaker of the neighboring estate, a relationship that goes a long way toward healing the emotional scars left by a cheating fiance.
But Flynn isn't a pool boy or caretaker. Nor is he who he says he is -- or rather, there's another part of his identity he keeps hidden. Flynn, like Gabi, is trying to heal from a devastating betrayal -- and a lot worse. Gabi's appearance next door is an unexpected gift, bringing happiness into his life after a dark and difficult time.
I expected the truth about Flynn to come out eventually. After all, what's a romance without a few bumps in the road? But what occurs first is more terrifying and totally unexpected, and divides the book into two halves: the summery Caribbean idyll, and a darker winter in Eternity Springs. Once I got over my shock, however, I realized that Ms. March has actually done a good job of balancing the two halves of the book.
She handles the POV transitions between Gabi and Flynn equally well. Both characters are interesting and well-drawn, and the changes they undergo as a result of their relationship and of what happens to them only serve to make them more human. Gabi is likable from the start; fans of the series already know her as Mac and Lucca's sister and Mac's former deputy. One of the traumas Gabi is still dealing with at the start of the novel is the fact that she killed someone in the line of duty -- hence her search for a new career, her desire to find and pursue her passion in life. Gabi is quite taken with Flynn's movie-star good looks at first, but she's not a superficial person, and she has plenty of opportunities to show both her grit and her caring heart over the course of the novel.
When we first meet him, Flynn's emotional scars are probably even worse than Gabi's, though we don't learn his entire backstory for quite a while. Those issues aside, though, he's an attractive and sympathetic character, and not just on the surface. Hang on to that, because something happens to send him into a very dark place, emotionally. Just trust that Eternity Springs will eventually work its healing magic on both Flynn and Gabi.
I always enjoy the Eternity Springs novels, but I couldn't put this one down. Once I hit the middle, I had to know how things would work out. "Page-turner" is not a label I usually apply to a romance (much as I love them), but this one merits it. Despite (or perhaps because of) its unexpected turn, I found Dreamweaver Trail a compelling read that held my attention from start to finish.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are entirely my own.
Dreamweaver Trail takes this series in a new and different direction. Before this book, the main setting has always been Eternity Springs, a small, picturesque Colorado Mountain town that contributes a great deal to the series' charm. This book changes that dynamic: about half of Dreamweaver Trail is set on an idyllic island in the Caribbean, where Gabi Romano is house- and puppy-sitting while she tries to find healing and a new direction for her life. She finds both in working with glass, apprenticing herself to a local glass artist to begin learning the craft. She also embarks on a holiday romance with the sexy "pool boy" and caretaker of the neighboring estate, a relationship that goes a long way toward healing the emotional scars left by a cheating fiance.
But Flynn isn't a pool boy or caretaker. Nor is he who he says he is -- or rather, there's another part of his identity he keeps hidden. Flynn, like Gabi, is trying to heal from a devastating betrayal -- and a lot worse. Gabi's appearance next door is an unexpected gift, bringing happiness into his life after a dark and difficult time.
I expected the truth about Flynn to come out eventually. After all, what's a romance without a few bumps in the road? But what occurs first is more terrifying and totally unexpected, and divides the book into two halves: the summery Caribbean idyll, and a darker winter in Eternity Springs. Once I got over my shock, however, I realized that Ms. March has actually done a good job of balancing the two halves of the book.
She handles the POV transitions between Gabi and Flynn equally well. Both characters are interesting and well-drawn, and the changes they undergo as a result of their relationship and of what happens to them only serve to make them more human. Gabi is likable from the start; fans of the series already know her as Mac and Lucca's sister and Mac's former deputy. One of the traumas Gabi is still dealing with at the start of the novel is the fact that she killed someone in the line of duty -- hence her search for a new career, her desire to find and pursue her passion in life. Gabi is quite taken with Flynn's movie-star good looks at first, but she's not a superficial person, and she has plenty of opportunities to show both her grit and her caring heart over the course of the novel.
When we first meet him, Flynn's emotional scars are probably even worse than Gabi's, though we don't learn his entire backstory for quite a while. Those issues aside, though, he's an attractive and sympathetic character, and not just on the surface. Hang on to that, because something happens to send him into a very dark place, emotionally. Just trust that Eternity Springs will eventually work its healing magic on both Flynn and Gabi.
I always enjoy the Eternity Springs novels, but I couldn't put this one down. Once I hit the middle, I had to know how things would work out. "Page-turner" is not a label I usually apply to a romance (much as I love them), but this one merits it. Despite (or perhaps because of) its unexpected turn, I found Dreamweaver Trail a compelling read that held my attention from start to finish.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are entirely my own.