Dreams of Love is partly, as the title suggests, a collection of 13 short stories by Carla Golian. At the start of many of the stories, poems have been inserted. Altogether, this collection has 19 poems which sometimes have the effect of introducing particular stories to the reader.

There is no doubt that Dreams of Love is for adults as the content deals, mainly, with the sexual interaction between men and women. While it can be classified as erotica, the writing is not such that you cringe when reading the words. In fact, there is a delicate touch in the manner Golian’s handled this subject matter. What this means is that the reader doesn’t feel awkward; instead, it’s quite possible that one can find oneself dreaming about love and its endless possibilities.

Read about the author and you’ll see that Golian is a woman who has many talents – she’s an actress, dancer, writer and poet and spends much of her time outdoors, hiking and driving through winding roads. Indeed, Golian has travelled alone, ‘in search of God’ and visited some exotic places in her time. All this while being trained as a dental hygienist. From the story she tells about her life, it is patently obvious that she has an enormous respect for Paulo Coelho – there is no missing the deep influence he and his work have had on Golian and her work.

The best story in the entire collection has to be The Meeting. In this story, the protagonist travels to meet a person she’s been corresponding with for close to eight years. It’s their first meeting and the simplicity and honesty with which the two friends become lovers is very sweet. There is a tenderness in this story that leaves the reader feeling comforted.

One of the stories that remains long after the last word has been read is First Date. It’s a story that speaks of glamour where the couple travels to some exotic locations like Monaco and the promise of a ‘few months sailing the Mediterranean.’

By far, the more erotic text has to be the poetry. Read them and blush. For example, in Savor Every Word, the author writes lines like this:

… I need to feel you tender kisses adorning my body. I need to feel your touch caressing every part of my mind. I need your love inside me throbbing a pulse explosive! Oh Lover, Come to me and do me right.

What does spoil this work though are the few spelling errors. For example, in The Meeting, a story that is almost perfect in its structure, characterisation and feel, the author makes this error: They stay like that for a long while, taking in all they had missed in all those eight years; each other’s site [sic.], sound taste, smell, heart beats, essence, aura …

That said, one must remember that this is Golian’s first book and that it is self-published. Nevertheless, Dreams of Love remains a beautiful work and without doubt, one must look forward to more from this author.

Reviewed by Jacinta Rao

(15 May 2013)