Review: Only In Dreams
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2014
Oh man, this book was so great! It was hard to read because I connected SO MUCH with Paige, the main character, and I could feel her pain. She is caught between two men: the man she used to be in love with that broke her heart, and the man who she loves now who helped her heal her broken heart.Christian is her past. Her childhood friend that grew into her first real love. She left him when his drinking became out of control and she couldn't take it anymore. Henry is the new man in her life, and he treats her like a princess. He loves her unconditionally and makes her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. They are engaged, and their wedding is coming up fast, but Paige is feeling overwhelmed between trying to plan the wedding and trying to get her new clothing line ready for an upcoming fashion show. Henry, being the sensitive, supportive man that he is, suggests that Paige takes a break from New York, where they live, and head to Texas where her best friend Emmie and her husband Colt live. This way Emmie can help her plan the wedding and Paige can have the peace and quiet she needs to complete her line.However, when Paige arrives in Texas, she comes face to face with someone from her past. Christian (who is Colt's brother) has set up a woodworking shop right next to Emmie and Colt, and unbeknownst to Paige practically lives with them. Paige has thought for the last four years that she is totally over Christian, but being thrown back into his proximity, she quickly realizes that that may not be the truth. Plus, Christian has quit drinking and matured into a respectable hardworking man, who makes it clear pretty quickly that he wants Paige back in his life. At first, he seems content for them to just be friends again. After all, they were best friends as children before they ever became a couple. Paige reluctantly agrees to give it a chance, but before long it becomes clear to both of them that there are still very passionate feelings between them.My heart hurt so much for Paige! She tried so hard to do the right thing by Henry. She really was in love with him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but Christian just made everything so confusing. I respect her for not giving in to her physical attraction to Christian, and besides two stolen kisses, she remains faithful to Henry. And to give her credit, she feels horribly guilty about letting it even go that far with Christian. To top it all off, Henry has been distant and standoffish while back in New York, and Paige isn't sure what is going on with him. Christian has put on the full court press and made his intentions clear that he wants Paige back. And poor Paige doesn't know what to do. She knows that she loves Henry, but she eventually has to admit to herself that she still loves Christian - that she has never stopped loving him. It is a love triangle that is done so well that even I didn't know who she should pick.Paige's time in Texas comes to an end, and she returns to New York to follow through on the decision she has made. But no sooner has she walked in to her and Henry's apartment, a bombshell is dropped in her lap. (I totally knew something like that was coming, but I still wasn't emotionally prepared for it. Wow.)I'm not going to give away the ending, and I'm not going to tell you who she ends up with, but I will say that I think everything happened the absolute way that it needed to happen. The end of the book was heartbreaking, and gut wrenching, and achingly sweet. I can't even tell you how much I cried when Henry wrote his letter. And Christian....oh, he was so amazing! And Henry....well, he was in fact the perfect man that he seemed to be. I don't envy Paige one little bit for having to make that choice.Overall, this book was amazing. While it did have a couple of steamy moments, the story focused more on the emotional connection between the characters rather than the physical - and that was a nice change of pace. If this is a genre that you enjoy, I definitely encourage you to read this book!