The Brightest of Dreams

Author: Susan Anne Mason
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Canadian Crossings #3
Release Date: February 4, 2020

​Quinten Aspinall is determined to fulfill a promise he made to his deceased father to keep his family together. To do so, he must travel to Canada to find his younger siblings, who were sent there as indentured workers while Quinn was away at war. He is also solicited by his employer to look for the man's niece who ran off with a Canadian soldier. If Quinn can bring Julia back, he will receive his own tenant farm, enabling him to provide a home for his ailing mother and siblings.

Julia Holloway's decision to come to Toronto has been met with disaster. When her uncle's employee rescues her from a bad situation, she fears she can never repay Quinn's kindness. So when he asks her to help find his sister, she agrees. Soon after, however, Julia receives some devastating news that changes everything.

Torn between reuniting his family and protecting Julia, will Quinn have to sacrifice his chance at happiness to finally keep his promise?

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Reviewer: Winnie Thomas

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is the third book in her Canadian Crossings series and another fantastic read. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful cover and the description of the story. Having read the first two books in the series, I knew I was in for a great tale.

The settings in England and Canada in 1919 after the close of WWI are vividly drawn, and the subject matter involving British Home Children was obviously very well-researched. Mason is a master at creating interesting, realistic, and endearing characters and placing them in fascinating situations. I was immediately intrigued and drawn to Quinten Aspinall as a person. He was compassionate, honorable, and a wonderful hero, charged with finding his siblings in Canada and also his employer’s niece, Julia, who had gone to Canada to care for a wounded soldier. Finding Julia in a desperate situation, Quinten becomes involved in trying to help her as well as his siblings. With a stellar cast of secondary characters, this story really comes alive.

Mason has seamlessly woven themes of faith, love of family, forgiveness, and mercy into the story, which give it added depth and dimension. History, suspense, inspiration, and a dose of romance all combine to make this a remarkable and enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy well-written and well-researched historical fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers. All opinions are my own.

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Reviewer: Mindy Houng

Ah, such a sweet conclusion to The Canadian Crossings series. Susan Anne Mason writes another fluidly moving story filled with hope, love, romance, and faith. This is book 3 in the series but can be read as a stand-alone; the three books are not sequential but simultaneous in timeline. 

I really enjoyed getting to know Julia and Quinn. Julia is a strong but broken woman, trying her best to survive even when her circumstances are terrible. Quinn is a determined, loyal, and tender man who crosses the ocean to Canada to find his siblings who were sent over from England as indentured servants during WWI. The mistreatment and abuse of those children sent to Canada are real and heart-breaking, the love of Quinn for his younger siblings powerful and heart-warming. Some gentle twists and turns in the plot heighten the emotion in the second half of the book. 

If you like historical romance, you will love this book and the entire series.

I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason is the third book in the Canadian Crossings series and quite possibly my favourite book in this series. With returning characters from the first two books, and a closer look at the wonderful Mrs. "C" I am yearning for this series to continue as I don't want to let the characters go. 

This story is very moving as Quinten Aspinall sets out to find his brothers and sister. All three were placed in the infamous Dr. Barnardo Homes that brought thousands of children from England to Canada to be adopted. Instead, many of them suffered horrible abuses at the hands of their new "families" who treated them no better than slaves. In The Brightest of Dreams, Quinten has to go through the complicated process of finding his siblings and bringing them home. Not an easy thing to do when those in charge keep telling him, he has no legal right to know about them.

Quinten was also charged with bringing back his employer's niece, Julia. Her story, and how Quinten rushes in to save her, provided a sweet romance.

I did have one problem while I was reading this book. Keeping my stories straight! I kept getting the characters mixed up with the ones in No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky. Her story of siblings being sent to the Barnardo Homes after a parent fell ill, was eerily similar to Quinten's siblings. Probably because in real life, it happened all too often. In both cases, the mother had not relinquished her children for adoption. And I found myself wondering at the end of the book why it felt like I had read about these children before. Of course, I hadn't, and the names were different, even the sexes were different, but the experiences of the children were similar. 

Despite my brain glitch, I loved this story! Susan Anne Mason did an excellent job on her research of the Barnardo Homes. While the topic was a sad one, the faith of Quinten and Julia as they work together to help each other, left me wanting to read more. I will miss these characters.

I was provided a copy of this book courtesy of Bethany House Publishers, through NetGalley for my honest review.

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