Beautiful Dreamer - Softcover

Lowell, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060188049 ISBN 13: 9780060188047

Publisher: Avon, 2001

Synopsis

Whether she's creating intense passion or gripping suspense, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell knows how to enthrall readers as few others do. Now she writes a classic American love story of heartless nature and desperate need, raising the emotional stakes and proving once more why the name Elizabeth Lowell is synonymous with masterful storytelling.

Nevada is home to Hope Gardener, its rugged, majestic beauty a balm for the aches of her heart and spirit. But the cattle ranch she owns and loves is dying, thanks to the worst drought the area has ever seen. Hope needs a miracle, or she will lose the land that has been in her family for generations. And then, one day, the miracle appears on horseback.

Rio is the name of the stranger who rides into the Valley of the Sun. A loner, a gentler of horses, a cowboy out of time, an anachronism in the modern-day West, he brings finding water in any desert. As a woman alone in a harsh and unforgiving place, Hope knows the dangers of trusting such a free spirit. But now she has no choice.

A man who makes dreams real, who is as wild and unpredictable as the wind that propels him across the vast and open western landscape, Rio has never had a dream of his own to follow. Yet he finds something in this extraordinary lady whose passion tempts him to defy his own rules and stay. Suddenly two independent souls must confront the perils and the truths that reside in the deepest, most closely guarded corners of their hearts.

About this title

Review:

This Elizabeth Lowell novel is an expanded edition of her 1983 classic. Though the romance genre has shifted significantly since this was written, Beautiful Dreamer is a timeless treasure that relies on rock-solid character development and exquisitely descriptive language.

Hope Gardener's Nevada ranch is dying from an extended drought and a sinking water table. Rio is an intriguing stranger who offers his skills to help discover a hidden well that could save her ranch. As their symbolic search for a well progresses, so does their struggle to find hope in their developing relationship. Rio is a "brother to the wind" whose natural state is to travel and breathe life into other people's dreams. Hope, of course, is a ranch girl, whose own dreams tie her to her land.

Though plot devices come knocking on the door with the subtlety of the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes crew, it somehow doesn't seem that annoying. Hope is strong and optimistic without being an airhead, and Rio is just the right amount of tall, dark, handsome, and troubled without being emotionally stunted. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From the Back Cover:

New York Times bestselling author ELIZABETH LOWELL revisits a stirring tale of heartless nature and desperate need, deepening the emotional stakes of a classic American love story.

Nevada's rugged, majestic beauty is a balm for the aches of Hope Gardener's heart. But the ranch she loves is dying of thirst, thanks to the worst drought the area has ever seen. Hope needs a miracle -- and one day it comes to the Valley of the Sun.

A man out of time, Rio is an anachronism in the modern-day West, bringing with him a reputation for finding water in any desert. Hope has no choice but to trust this dark stranger who claims to make dreams real. And Rio, who has never had a dream of his own to follow, has found something in this extraordinary lady whose passion tempts him to defy his own rules.

In the midst of adversity, two free spirits must now explore the most closely guarded corners of their hearts . . . as they search for a beautiful dream big enough to hold them both.

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060188049
• ISBN 13: 9780060188047
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400