The Dream Lover combines two previous books of short stories: On the Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie 'X'.

[2] Writing in the Financial Times, Jerome de Groote said that Boyd's book "demonstrates both the broad range of his imagination and the development of his taut prose style".

[3] In a review for The Observer, Vanessa Thorpe said: "Boyd believes the short form has been key to his evolution as a writer.

Passive or accidental observers, [including] the title story of the collection, 'Dream Lover', are crucial to what Boyd does.

[4] Laurence Phelan, reviewing the book for The Independent on Sunday, said: "If there can be said to be a common thread, it's nothing more than the infinite vagaries of the human heart and the complexities of the mind... All that links them is their erudition, refined prose-style and precisely honed form".