Dream Chaser

by Angie Stanton

[Raven]

Read this and other reviews at my blog.

After a fall in cheerleading practice that almost takes her life, Willow does what she does best when things get to heavy, she runs. She quits cheerleading instead of trying to deal with the problem. When it becomes known that she has extra time on her hands, people start pushing her back into dance and theater when they talk her into auditioning for a musical that is to be held in her town. When things start looking up, she finds out that she will be performing opposite of her former best friend Eli, whom she had run from three years before. Eli hasn't forgiven her from running from him, making things between them very tense. To make matters worse, her singing is horrible, the other kids in the musical can't stand her, and her dog is dying. Just when things start to look better, a new challenge faces her, and she must decide if she will run like she usually does and let everyone down, or if she will face it.

This book was better than I thought it would be, and yet disappointing at the same time. Typically, these types of stories you can predict. I had expected, after reading about them being entwined in the backseat of his car, that the challenge would be a pregnancy.
It was the obvious direction in my mind. I think that built up the drama in my mind, so when the drama didn't deliver and ended up being far more gentle, it through me off, leaving me disappointed.

This was by no means a bad book though. The characters were good. I liked them all for what they were. Willow and Eli really hold the most screentime in the book, so it is a good thing that they are quite likeable. I didn't find myself wanting to strangle either of them or anything, so that is good.

The plot is really simple, especially after you get past the fact that the challenge wasn't anything like I thought it would be. The challenge given makes more sense, but I guess the official summary for the book was misleading. The plot is played out and cleaned up very nicely.

While this wasn't an amazing book, it was a really good contemporary romance, and I did enjoy it very much. If you are looking for a good contemporary romance that is light and easy to handle, this is a good choice.