Somewhere To Dream by Genevieve Graham
Series: The MacDonnells #3
Published by Berkeley Trade
Publish Date: November 5, 2013
336 Pages
Source: Publisher
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N
The Cherokee call her Shadow Girl. A white woman adopted by Indians, Adelaide is haunted by the dark dreams she hides—of her murdered family, of the men she fears, and most of all, of the ones that foretell the future. After her visions cause her to make a terrible mistake, she renounces her power and buries her dreams deep in her soul.
Until Jesse Black is captured by the tribe. His life is spared because the Cherokee believe his warrior spirit belongs to their fallen brother. Though he hates all Indians, Adelaide illuminates their way of life for him, just as he shines light into her shadowed heart. But when her dreams return, Jesse must help her face them…or die trying… (from Goodreads)
Somewhere To Dream by Genevieve Graham
My Thoughts: I’ve read both of Genevieve Graham’s previous books in this series and been properly schooled in and swooned over the MacDonnell family. I’ve loved both of the previous stories LIKE WHOA and I’ve waited patiently for the chance to read about sweet Adelaide, sister of Maggie. Every time Author Genevieve Graham publishes, I wonder if I can possibly love a book as much as the one before it (I say that all the time, but that feeling started with this series) and every time I hold my breath while I’m reading. Then, when I finish, I exhale and realize that YES, YES I CAN love a book as much as the previous one.
I basically just love the whole MacDonnell family and the people they fall in love with. That is all.
(You can read my thoughts on Under the Same Sky HERE.)
(You can read my thoughts on Sound of the Heart HERE.)
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Somewhere To Dream by Genevieve Graham is the story of Adelaide, sister to Maggie and the “white girl” member of the Cherokee people in the Carolinas. Adelaide is a quiet girl, one with secrets and fears and some demons that she can’t shake, but she finds comfort and acceptance among the people that she once thought were savages. While she doesn’t always love their ways, she loves them and she has learned to live among them and speak their language. She has learned some of their healing techniques and she has learned a great deal about their culture, and more than anything else Adelaide has come to realize that the Cherokee people are not any more savage than the white people that live beyond. When her sister Maggie left the Cherokee a while back to make a family of her own, Adelaide was not yet ready to leave and so she remains, still learning, still protected, still a part of this group. Still the white girl, the odd one among them.
And it stays this way until the men bring Jesse Black back after a fight. Suddenly Adelaide isn’t the only white person in the village anymore.
Jesse Black was captured by the Cherokee men and brought back to the village because he was believed to carry the soul of one of their fallen brothers. Trying not to appear afraid, Jesse was not only disgusted to be among this group of savages – he’d rather have died than be a part of their group. He has no idea what their plans are and he understands exactly nothing that they are saying. He is badly injured, and Adelaide is brought in to heal him. He is shocked to see another white person among them and assumes she was captured as well. Adelaide works to treat his injuries while trying to talk his anger down, as she is pretty much the only person around that can communicate with him. Eventually, over time, Jesse learns that he was brought back to live among the Cherokee as one of them because of his ‘soul’ and while this doesn’t make him happy at all, he learns to cope. As he learns to open himself up to the Cherokee, he too learns that they aren’t as savage as he once thought – they teach him hunting, things like that. He also learns that Adelaide chooses to stay there.
The interesting thing in all of this is that Adelaide has similar visions that Maggie had in her previous story – visions of things to come. These visions are things that have always kept her afraid because of being called a witch – she never embraced these dreams or visions like her sister had. One part of her visions that had been recurring, it turns out, was Jesse. And suddenly, here he is.
Certainly there is a romance that will bloom here. But along with that, Adelaide has to confront her absolute and paralyzing fear of white men (due to an attack years ago) and Jesse needs to confront his hatred of “Injuns” because of the role they played in the death of his family. And of course, there will be obstacles.
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Genevieve Graham has never failed to stun me with these stories. Somewhere to Dream is a little bit different because it can be read as a standalone (but please read them all!) and because there is a ton more of the Native American culture vs the Highlander culture this time around. This is well and good to me because I enjoyed it as much as the previous two books – maybe more? – because I have always loved that the “American” setting she uses is the Carolinas and I’m located here in the Carolinas. Graham writes this area perfectly and she also describes the time setting so well which really works for me because I’m such a huge fan of this time in American History. Also, I love any fiction story in which I can learn more about other cultures, and HELLO there is plenty of the Cherokee nation here with Adelaide and her Cherokee community. I loved that.
What gets me more than the place setting and the time setting, though, is the way the author writes her characters every time. I first met Adelaide way back in Under the Same Sky, which is the first book, and I loved that I’m finally getting a chance to get into her head and her heart and know her as more than a secondary character. Prior to the beginning of this book, Adelaide underwent something traumatizing at the hands of “white men” and she now has a fear of them that is pretty much crippling to her. While it is almost unheard of during this time period for white people to live among the natives, Adelaide has embraced her home with the Cherokee and she has warmed to them – she is still a quiet girl, not talking very much and very timid, but she feels protected and relatively comfortable among the people she once thought savage and dangerous. While she feels comfortable there, though, she still feels a little bit out of place because she is not Cherokee, she looks different, and she has that pesky little problem of her visions that just won’t go away. Unlike her sister Maggie, she doesn’t really like her ability.
It’s this ability that ends up partially responsible for the death of one of the men of the village – the one she was betrothed to – and this doesn’t do anything at all to make her embrace it or love it any more. In fact, she only feels guilt and pain because she actually acted on her vision, actually telling someone about it so they could intervene in what was a dangerous situation, and disaster occurred. This, friends, is also how Jesse Black came into the picture. When her betrothed died, he was not only the man she was to marry – he was a brother, a son, a friend. Jesse was believed to be his soul reincarnated (sort of) so he was simply…captured and brought back. Simple as that.
And Jesse – boy was he pretty angry about that! Jesse has spent his entire life hating the natives, no matter which tribe or group. To him, they are all evil and they all represent the ones that killed his family. So to be captured and brought back to their village was a fate worse than death. It was humiliating and enraging. He saw only red. When Adelaide treated his injuries, however, her kind and soothing words were able to calm him enough so he was able to think clearly – she told him that he could either accept this fate or be killed, and that’s the way it was. Jesse didn’t like it, and I loved his inner thoughts as he fought with himself over running and risking being caught and killed, or just staying and accepting this fate of being a white Cherokee person. Throughout his transition into a Cherokee – learning their ways, their language, their customs, etc – Adelaide was always there and always a welcome diversion. She was like a stress relief for him and he always was happy to see her. He found himself falling for her but it was also nice that he recognized that he had some issues or fears that she was dealing with where men were concerned. He was slow with her, never pushing her – even with communication and friendship – and I love how considerate he was for this.
This Jesse – he was a really nice guy. He just had some hate issues he had to deal with, you see.
I loved their romance – slow and lovely – just like Genevieve Graham writes them. And I love everything else about this book.
I recommend Somewhere To Dream by Genevieve Graham to fans of historical fiction/historical romances, books that are rich with setting and culture, fans of strong family ties, and character-driven stories. I am a hardcore fan of this series and am so happy to finally hear Adelaide’s story.
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Somewhere To Dream will appeal to fans of:
Historical Fiction/Historical Romance
with Paranormal
Slowly-Developing Romance with No Love Triangle
Multiple POV
Great Setting: America in the 1700’s
Rich Culture: Cherokee Nation
with Paranormal
Slowly-Developing Romance with No Love Triangle
Multiple POV
Great Setting: America in the 1700’s
Rich Culture: Cherokee Nation
Somewhere To Dream by Genevieve Graham
is currently available for purchase.
is currently available for purchase.
**I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion and review. I received no compensation for my thoughts and they are my own! Thank you Berkeley Trade!
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And now for the Giveaway!
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
I'm not too pride to say I would be selfish and keep it for myself! 🙂
amyc
This was my favorite in the series so far. Loved reading your review and seeing you liked it so much too.