Portobello Book Blog

I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first in Jessica Redland’s Whitsborough Bay trilogy Searching for Steven a few months ago. (You can read my review here). Dreaming About Daran is actually the third in the series – somehow I have missed out the second but I’ll get back to it sometime.

This book focuses on Clare, a career woman who very reluctantly has to return to Ireland, her homeland, for work. She left under something of a cloud some years previously and has had no contact with most of her family ever since. Returning brings back all kinds of painful memories and leads her to try to find out a bit about what happened after she left.

Gosh, this is going to be a hard book to review without giving away anything. I can’t even tell you who Daran is really! Part of the appeal of this book is discovering the surprises along with Clare. And my goodness what a lot of surprises she had in the course of the story. I’m not sure how I would have reacted in her position. What I really liked about her was the way she reacted to everything that happened and rose to the challenge of coping with whatever life threw at her. She had plenty support from her friend Sarah’s brother Ben. Sarah and her other good friend Elise both had their own issues to deal with. It was lovely to catch up with some of these characters from the first book and find out what had happened to them in the intervening time. A whole host of new characters from Clare’s past are introduced to the story too, some truly unlikable and others who really valued Clare’s support.

Dreaming About Daran is an enjoyable, warm-hearted book which was just what I was needing. Like the first in the series, this visit to Whitsborough Bay focuses firmly on friendship and love and is both engaging and uplifting.

Dreaming About Daran is published by Little Bear Books and available now as an ebook. You can order a Kindle copy online here: Dreaming About Daran

From the back of the book

Where do you go when it’s your own past you’re running from?

Sometimes, you can run from the past, but you can’t hide. Since the age of sixteen, Clare O’Connell has lived her life by four strict rules:
1. Don’t talk about Ireland
2. Don’t think about Ireland
3. Don’t go to Ireland
4. Don’t let anyone in

And so far, it’s worked well. She’s got a great career, some amazing friends, and she’s really happy. The future’s all that counts, isn’t it?

When her boss insists she travels to Ireland to repair a damaged relationship with a key client. Clare finds herself drawn back to the village of Ballykielty where she comes face to face with the one person she’d hoped never, ever to see again.

With the door to her past now wide open, the first three rules have gone out of the window. Can Clare stick to rule number four?

About the author

Jessica Redland is the author of heartwarming contemporary romances set on the stunning #northyorkshirecoast She loves stationery, bears and chocolate.