Category: review

The Dream Lover is a historical novel based on the sensuous Parisian life of the nineteenth century writer, George Sand.

About The Dream Lover

At the beginning of this novel we meet Aurore Dupin as she prepares to leave her estranged husband, a loveless marriage and her family’s estate in the French countryside to start a new life in Paris. To celebrate this change she gives herself a new name, George Sand and pursues her dream of becoming a writer and embraces a unconvential and sometimes scandalous lifestyle.

Aurore as George Sand defies the confines of society. As Sand welcomes fame and friendship, she must overcome heartbreak, prejudice, failure and loss. She must work to reconcile the pain of her childhood and the relationships with her Mother and daughters as well as her relationships with men and women.

My Thoughts

An extremely interesting and vivid read of a young woman in the confines of the nineteenth century. This was my first time being introduced to Aurore Dupin better known as George Sand (I know, I am cringing myself too! Especially with all the fantastic work she had done!). I was amazed at all the things she managed to accomplish, goals that she did for herself in a time period where this was not common for a woman. She stood her ground and followed her dreams regardless of who it hurt at times (her children – more specifically her daughter).

We are witness to her childhood, her role as a Mother and finally as she breaks free to follow a career not available to women. We witness her experiment with gender transition, have love affairs and lead a life that was then deemed unacceptable to a female and quite scandalous.

While slow in the beginning as we are introduced to the past that made George Sand who she was, the novel really picks up halfway through making it hard to put down. This is my first time reading a novel by Elizabeth Berg and I can’t wait to read more. She has a lovely way of writing that will keep me coming back for more!

Rating: 4/5

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

How many of you are Star Wars fans?

For me, my obsession with these movies started as a child and I have passed this on to my children. How can you not love this movie saga?

With the newest installment in this series coming out this year, get your child ready with Star Wars Rebels series from DK Canada.

The Star Wars Rebels comes in the ever popular DK Readers set. My children were able to read through Meet the Rebels (level two) and Fight the Empire (level three). Level two books are designed to suit readers that are just beginning to read alone with occasional adult help. Level three books are suited for the child that is confident in reading alone.

Both books have beautiful, large illustrations that help draw your child into the book. The font in each of the two books was large and bold, allowing our son to confidently read the book to his brother. Which for us as parents was one of the best parts, to watch our eldest son read to his younger brother. Each page was examined closely by our boys to see the illustrations up close. Both books had a quiz and glossary at the end of book to help them out with terms they may not have understood throughout the book.

We also had the pleasure of viewing Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide. This guide features the beginning of the epic struggle against the Empire with new heroes, villains, new vehicles, weapons and worlds. The guide contains a foreword from Dave Filoni, how cool is that?! The full-page images in this book are stunning, truly bringing the series to life. The colours are bright and the pages are set up with the images to follow them across the page. The accompanying info will be helpful for new and old fans alike.

Make sure to check out DK Canada’s Star Wars Boutique to get your fill of all things Star Wars.

Which Star Wars movie is your personal favourite?

disclosure: I received the above mentioned books free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.