Book Review: The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason

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What is this book about?

Quinten Aspinall is determined to fulfill a promise he made to his deceased father to keep his family together. To do so, he must travel to Canada to find his younger siblings, who were sent there as indentured workers while Quinn was away at war. But before he leaves, his employer offers him a deal. If Quinn can find the man’s wayward niece, who ran off with a Canadian soldier, and bring her back, then he will receive his own tenant farm, enabling him to provide his ailing mother and siblings.

Julia Holloway’s decision to come to Toronto has been met with one disaster after another. When her uncle’s employee rescues her from a bad situation, she fears she can never repay Quinn’s kindness. So when he asks for her help to find his sister, she agrees. The quest draws the two of them together, but soon afterward, Julia receives devastating news that will change her life forever.

Torn between reuniting his family and protecting Julia, will Quinn have to sacrifice his chance at happiness to finally keep his promise?

My review:

I absolutely loved this story. Where do I begin? First of all, I just loved the romance that developed between Quinn and Julia. They start as friends and a mutual affection grows. Then there was the story of Quinn’s siblings who were sent to Canada as indentured workers. It was a part of Canadian history that I did not know but found very interesting and sad.

Quinn is such a great character. He was a servant before he went to war. His mannerisms and attitude depicted a humbleness and loyalty that drew me to him. No wonder Julia was drawn to him as well.

I wasn’t sure if Julia would turn out to be flighty based on the descriptions of her before I met her, but I was happy to see that she was not. Kind, sweet, and trusting, yes, but flighty was not in her personality. Poor Julia – she had so much trouble heaped on her narrow shoulders. I liked her feistiness and determination. Just like Quinn, she was loyal to those she loved. They were a great match.

This story brought back the main characters from the other two books in this series, joined by the secondary characters of the boardinghouse owner and the local reverend. Their addition to the story line could have been a nice story by itself, but it really rounded out the plot in this one.

What I enjoyed most about this book: 

The great characters and informative historical setting.

What I didn’t like about this book:

Nothing. I really liked this one.

Would I recommend this book to others? Absolutely. If you haven’t read this author’s historical work, you should. I love her deeply developed characters and rich historical settings This is the third book in this series. It can be read as a standalone, but why would you want to?

Note: I received this book complimentary as a member of the author’s launch team. I was not required to give a positive review. All of the opinions I have expressed her are my own.

Where can I learn more about this author and their books?

Susan Anne Mason, author website

-Loraine Nunley

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