Another great book by Elizabeth Camden! The storyline was very interesting and I liked the characters personalities.
Anna is satisfied with her quiet life as a map Librarian for the Library of Congress. She comes across a mystery involving a ship that her father was on. Unable to get cooperation in her search, she turns to congressman Luke. He eagerly agrees to help her. It soon becomes obvious that the mystery ship has more questions than answers. In the midst of all this, they find themselves attracted to each other. Anna pushes her cause and Luke finds out what really happened to Anna's father. She is heartbroken and turns to Luke for solace. The put their lovenon hold as America decides whether or not to go to war against Spain. Luke decides love must win. They get married and live their lives in the capitol. ( )

Beyond All Dreams is an interesting story about politics in the United States in the late 1890s. Women were not allowed many professional careers because they would replace a man. The Library of Congress employed a handful of women on a probationary basis. The book is about one of the lucky women who got to be a map librarian. The story is based loosely on facts. Clearly the author did a lot of research in the process of writing this book. Four stars were awarded in this review. The book is highly recommended. ( )

After not being super thrilled with previous Camden books I have read, this one was a delightful treat!

The characters were absolutely fabulous and quirky and so unique. From Anna with her contrasting spunk and mousey voice to Luke, the arrogant but adorable congressman, to Neville, dear sweet Neville.

The historical aspect was very interesting and even taught me some interesting things about that time period that I didn't know - which is always a plus.

Also, can we talk about the coolness of Anna's job? Like, living in the Library of Congress as a librarian??? Sign me up!

Overall, a very enjoyable historical read! The romance was a bit over the top at times for my personal tastes and there were a few times the plot seemed to drag, hence the four stars.

Definitely recommended! ( )

This book was a little disappointing. I read Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden and loved it, so decided to try another one of Camden's books.
This book just moved at a slower pace. It repeated itself frequently. The characters were fine, but I felt like the plot just went around in circles for at least 3/4ths of he book. The big reveal was probably more exciting for the author because she is such a big history buff, and it was an actual event- but I was kind of underwhelmed.
I recommended it to someone before I finished it- and now I am going to have to tell them not to bother. ( )

"3 out of 5 stars! A young up-and-coming Congressman from Maine and a female Library of Congress map librarian's path cross. One dreams of things being peaceful everywhere and hopes to be the one to make it happen. The other hopes to uncover what truly happened to her father after finding a false report. Together they should be able to get through anything but will they be able to trust each other enough to see their dreams through to the end?

This novel is for Ancestry and Historical Romance lovers! Because it follows historical events really well, while throwing enough flirtation between Luke & Anna in the mix to keep you intrigued. In addition, because of Anna being a map librarian she is determined to get to the truth of everything no matter the consequences because she feels that the documents in the Library of Congress should be completely accurate as possible since you never know how future generations will look at that document and do with it later. Since Anna feels that way it made me really like her as a character, as I've been a genealogist for my family since 1999 and I completely understand where she was coming from. To top off my love for the characters I find out that Luke is a Congressman from Maine and I'm originally from Maine so yeah I found that pretty cool too."

Read more of my review and THREE teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2015/01/blog-tour-made-grade-beyond-al... ( )