Book Review: Dreaming About Daran By Jessica Redland

Over the past few months I have been reading books from the Whitsborough Bay series by Jessica Redland and today I’m sharing my review of Dreamin About Daran, the final book in the trilogy. I have previously reviewed Searching For Steven and Getting Over Gary on the blog already if you’d like to check them out too! Many thanks once again to Jessica for sending me her wonderful books to read, it’s been an absolute pleasure.

Synopsis

Where do you go when it’s your own past you’re running from?

Sometimes, you can run from the past, but you can’t hide. Since the age of sixteen, Clare O’Connell has lived her life by four strict rules:
1. Don’t talk about Ireland
2. Don’t think about Ireland
3. Don’t go to Ireland
4. Don’t let anyone in

And so far, it’s worked well. She’s got a great career, some amazing friends, and she’s really happy. The future’s all that counts, isn’t it?

When her boss insists she travels to Ireland to repair a damaged relationship with a key client. Clare finds herself drawn back to the village of Ballykielty where she comes face to face with the one person she’d hoped never, ever to see again.

With the door to her past now wide open, the first three rules have gone out of the window. Can Clare stick to rule number four?

Review

Dreaming About Daran is the third book in the Whitsborough Bay Trilogy and this time focuses on Claire. the third member of the central friendship group. Having read the previous books I must say Claire came across as a completely closed book so I was thrilled to be able to fill in the gaps in her back story with this last novel.

Claire is a single, career minded woman whose strong persona left me previously marking her character as aloof. She has definitely kept everyone, including even her closest friends, at arms length and until reading Dreaming About Daran her reasons weren’t clear. Having left Ireland at 16, never to return she has kept her past firmly locked away, however an unscheduled work trip back to her home turf changes everything. Her life begins to come apart at the seams, unravelling faster than she ever thought possible.

I can’t say too much about the story line of this novel as I don’t want to spoil it, but it is most certainly the most explosive of the trilogy and readers are in for a bumpy roller coaster ride. The twists, turns and revelations just keep coming thick and fast throughout the book leaving me flabbergasted at the components that make up Claire’s puzzle. Compared to the previous books in the series this one has significantly less romance and much more drama which for me made it a really compulsive read. One things for sure you will laugh and most certainly cry so I strongly advise to have a box of tissues to hand for those emotionally charged sections, of which there are plenty.

Although this book can be read as a standalone story I would recommend reading the whole trilogy to really get the most out of it – I am a bit of a stickler for reading things in order! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the Whitsborough Bay series and I’m kind of sad that it has come to an end, however I felt Jessica wrapped everything up perfectly in this final book, tying up loose ends and giving it a feeling of completion. There is a novella length prequel to the series,Raving About Rhys* , that is next on my list so that I can say I have completed them all so it’s thankfully not quite over!

Unlike other series I have read where the story struggles to get to the finish line and peters out, Dreaming Of Daran is actually my favourite of the three books. I cannot recommend this series highly enough it’s entertaining, thought-provoking and fun, perfect to devour in front of the fire this Winter to wile away the dark evenings!

About The Author

Jessica had never considered writing as a career until a former manager kept telling her that her business reports read more like stories and she should write a book. She loved writing but had no plot ideas. Then something happened to her that prompted the premise for her debut novel, Searching for Steven. She put fingers to keyboard and soon realised she had a trilogy and a novella!

She lives on the stunning North Yorkshire Coast – the inspiration for the settings in her books – with her husband, daughter, cat, Sprocker Spaniel, and an ever-growing collection of collectible teddy bears. Although if the dog has her way, the collection will be reduced to a pile of stuffing and chewed limbs!

Jessica tries to balance her time – usually unsuccessfully – between being an HR tutor and writing.

To read more about Jessica you can visit her website or why not check out her social media; Twitter and Facebook

Dreaming About Daran is available to purchase from Amazon* along with Searching for Steven* and Getting over Gary*

*This post contains affiliate links

** I was gifted a copy of his book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own