WILDEST DREAMS (Thunder Point #9) by Robyn Carr-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository / BAM

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 25, 2015

Blake Smiley searched the country for just the right place to call home. The professional triathlete has traveled the world, but Thunder Point has what he needs to put down the roots he’s never had. In the quiet coastal town he can focus on his training without distractions. Until he meets his new neighbors and everything changes.

Lin Su Simmons and her teenage son, Charlie, are fixtures at Winnie Banks’ house as Lin Su nurses Winnie through the realities of ALS. A single mother, Lin Su is proud of taking charge and never showing weakness. But she has her hands full coping with a job, debt and Charlie’s health issues. And Charlie is asking questions about his family history—questions she doesn’t want to answer.

When Charlie enlists Blake’s help to escape his overprotective mother, Lin Su resents the interference in her life. But Blake is certain he can break through her barriers and be the man she and Charlie need. When faced with a terrible situation, Blake comes to the rescue, and Lin Su realizes he just might be the man of her dreams. Together, they recognize that family is who you choose it to be.

••••••••••••

REVIEW: WILDEST DREAMS is the ninth installment in Robyn Carr’s contemporary, adult Thunder Point romance series focusing on the people in and around Thunder Point. This is triathlete Blake Smiley, and single mother/home care nurse Lin Su Simmons’s storyline. WILDEST DREAMS can be read as a standalone; any important information from previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

Told from third person point of view WILDEST DREAMS is an ensemble storyline that focuses on Lin Su Simmons and her relationship with the people of Thunder Point-and more specifically Winnie, Grace and Winnie’s new neighbor Blake Smiley. Lin Su is Winnie’s nurse; a health care worker who tends to Winnie’s needs as her symptoms of ALS begins to worsen. With the arrival of Winnie’s new neighbor-triathlete Blake Smiley-Lin Su’s son Charlie begins a complicated friendship with the newest resident of Thunder Point. As Charlie’s friendship with Blake deepens, Lin Su finds herself oddly attracted to the first man in her life in close to fourteen years.

Lin Su is an over protective single mother whose only child has some issues with asthma and breathing difficulties. As Charlie begins to assert his independence as any fourteen year old wants to assert, Lin Su is reluctant to give up control of her son to anyone including Blake Smiley who assigns himself Charlie’s mentor and trainer. Lin Su, like many heroines, has a past clouded in betrayal and heartbreak, and with it comes the inability to trust or open her heart to new possibilities. Lin Su’s acerbic and vitriol attitude towards Blake was off putting and a big negative to my overall enjoyment of this storyline.

The relationship, and thusly the storyline, was very, very slow to develop. Blake’s attraction to Lin Su is immediate but our heroine is less than receptive to Blake’s smile and charms. As a character, Blake felt more like a secondary or supporting character rather than the storyline hero as the majority of the focus was on Lin Su’s relationship with Charlie, Winnie and the people of Thunder Point. The limited love scene is mostly implied.

WILDEST DREAMS is an ensemble storyline that also looks at several continuing stories from previous installments; there are three impending births, and Winnie’s health continues to deteriorate over time. If you are a fan of the Thunder Point series you will enjoy revisiting the cast of characters; if you are new to the series, there may be some confusion as to the ‘relationships’ and connections but Robyn reveals some of the background and history of these other characters.

I did have some issues with this particular storyline. The ending felt a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the book; there was a big reveal and a promise for the future that basically leaves the reader hanging wondering what will happen next. The conflict between Lin Su, Blake and Charlie, once again, revealed a caustic side to the storyline heroine that was troublesome and problematic. The ‘physical descriptions’ of Blake and Lin Su were limited; the character development was interesting but I need a starting point from which to ‘imagine’ my storyline characters. I had a difficult time picturing Blake from the start.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy