Student Sarah makes some extra money as a babysitter for Jason, a wealthy widower with a three-year-old daughter who has Down's syndrome. Sarah is fond of little Emily but she has a crush on Jason, who she thinks is way beyond her reach. Sarah's a virgin, and though she's excited by the idea of sex she's also nervous. It doesn't help that she doesn't have a mother to talk to, and her father is a drunken layabout and her three brothers are more interested in themselves than in her problems.

Sarah's delighted when Gary, a popular student, invites her to a party. She's dreaming about him when she next goes to babysit Emily, but then she realises her thoughts are all of Jason. It's soon obvious that Jason wants Sarah, too, but he thinks he's coming on too strong and he blows his chance with her. Upset, Sarah goes to the party and is almost raped by Gary. In the aftermath, Jason calls to beg her to look after Emily while he goes to London-but when Emily becomes sick, Jason blames Sarah. Will the two star-crossed lovers ever find their happy ending?

Daring to Dream started out well and I was quite enjoying it, especially the tension between Sarah and Jason, and the contrast between Jason's wealthy lifestyle and Sarah's life at college. But then one thing after another started happening in the plot-an attempted rape, Emily's illness, the return of Jason's wife-and it just got too dramatic to be believable, especially in a short novella. Perhaps if this had been a full-length novel, the drama would have been less obvious but because of the short length, it was like a soap opera, especially with the ending. Grace Cox has potential but this wasn't the best book to show off her talents.

Reviewed by: Maija