Review: Dreams of Falling by Karen White

Dreams of Falling

by Karen White

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 416

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It's been nine years since Larkin fled Georgetown, South Carolina, vowing never to go back. But when she finds out that her mother has disappeared, she knows she has no choice but to return to the place that she both loves and dreads--and to the family and friends who never stopped wishing for her to come home. Ivy, Larkin's mother, is discovered in the burned out wreckage of her family's ancestral rice plantation, badly injured and unconscious. No one knows why Ivy was there, but as Larkin digs for answers, she uncovers secrets kept for nearly 50 years. Secrets that lead back to the past, to the friendship between three girls on the brink of womanhood who swore that they would be friends forever, but who found that vow tested in heartbreaking ways.


Kritters Thoughts:  Karen White is one of those authors for me where I either love or just ehh her books.  This was the first time that I didn't enjoy a certain storyline, but adored others, it was a different kind of read for me.  

Let me start with the storyline that I would have cut.  Ivy is the middle generation in this story and she is in a coma after a fall.  While in her coma she is still able to narrate in the present and that was interesting.  The part that didn't add to the main storyline and instead just added pages was her storyline with Ellis.  It was just another character to add to the large cast and just didn't mean much to me throughout the book.

Now for what I loved.  I loved the Ceecee, Margaret, Bitty storyline in the 1950s.  It was so fun to go back to that time period and relive it.  The structure that women had to adhere to and the limitations on things, I loved taking it back to that moment in time.  I also loved the story that centered around Larkin in 2010.  I love when a character has to go back home after awhile and face things from the past and also learns something about themselves or their relatives.  I would love to come up with a catchy term, but these books are my jam!  The #prodigalson/daughter books!

So in all, I liked the book.  I would say it was quite a chunky read, so be prepared and there were some moments where the pacing was a bit slow, but in all it was a good read.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.