Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review...and while I hate to do it, I AM being honest when I say I didn't care for this one nearly as much as I was hoping to. In fact, I made notes in my phone so I would remember when the time came to review...here they are. I couldn't stand the characters (read that, COULD NOT STAND, not just didn't like), I didn't care for the writing style itself, I hated how they talked to each other, they were always calling women sluts, the woman was literally fixated on a boy who treated her so badly when she was younger, and I did not like how she talked about herself in the third person...needless to say, this took me longer to read than normal because I could only read about ten minutes at a time. Probably a good book but if you hit some of my pet peeves, you will know it. :(

Firstly to say that I loved the cover of this book, so beautiful. I enjoyed the book and very much liked the main character, ..who doesn't like a story based on a second chance of love, especially following an abusive marraige. I very much appreciate the chance to read and review the book

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Who doesn't love a love story? This one was 50 years in the making!

Annie and Mitch meet in 1968 but go their separate ways. Lives are lived, marriages begin and end...but what does the future hold?

My only complaint with this book is the lack of communication between the 2 main characters. Lots of missed messages led to unnecessary heartache!

1968, young Annie Martin falls head over heels in love with Mitch Brandon, their young love doesn't last, however.
2016, after a tumultuous marriage, a newly single Annie crosses paths with Mitch again and old feelings resurface but Mitch is tied up in an unhappy marriage of his own.
I wasn't crazy about this book. There were many elements of Annie's character that I didn't like. Her relationship with her best friend was a funny one. Her relationship with her adult children too just didn't ring true for me.
Just not for me.

In My Wildest Dreams by Jaye Burke is like a trip down memory lane for those of us women who grew up during the '60s and '70s. I enjoyed reading about the MC-- Annie's-- growth through the years up until she was in her 60's. Her predicament was common back then for those of us raised during those decades, when a wife was expected to sacrifice more than their husbands by balancing child care, careers, and taking care of the house and husbands too. Those were considered "women's work", not as much as demanded in the '50s but still more so than our current times.

Annie falls in love as a teen, but loses that chance at HEA, and marries another young man and they start a family together. Unfortunately the husband becomes emotionally and mentally abusive, as well as unfaithful as the years go on. But Annie feels trapped because she doesn't want her children to suffer through a divorced family. Finally in her older years can she try to put her wants and needs first and move on, possibly even welcoming love back into her heart.
This book would've made a good Lifetime tv movie, and I don't mean that sarcastically. Despite the heavy topics it was a quick read for me. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4/5 stars for sentimental reasons. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my read.

In My Wildest Dreams by author Jaye Burke is a story of romance but it’s also women’s fiction. It’s about Annie Martin, a 66 year old woman who after dealing with a lifetime of mental abuse and infidelity from her controlling husband Paul Blake, decides that now that her children are grown, it’s time to start living her life on her own terms and she divorces her husband. She buys herself a rundown little cottage, renovates it and has a beautiful garden in her backyard. One day while out at the local coffee shop she runs into Mitch Blake, who during her teenage years was the love of her life. And from there the story goes but it’s not without a lot of interruptions and misconceptions. This book made me smile and laugh but it also has heartbreak too. It brought back memories of things I had forgotten about my own youth such as laying out in the sun with baby oil and iodine while spraying Sun-In in my hair. And it referenced all the music I used to listen to back then. It was like taking a walk down memory lane for me. It was a very enjoyable read and a book I would recommend especially to those readers who were teenagers during the 70’s. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I obtained from the Read Now section to read, review and enjoy. I’m giving this a 4 star rating!

Fresh from a divorce from the man that made her marriage and life a living hell, Annie is not set on remarrying or even thinking of a relationship until she comes face to face with the man who broke her heart, twice; Mitch Brandon. They have a long history, but could a third chance at happily ever after be possible between these two?
I really enjoyed reading this story. It was somewhat based in the sixties and I haven’t really read any books based on that time era so it was nice to read. It was fast paced for me, kept me on my toes and excited for what came next.

I graciously received an advance e-copy from Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

A great nostalgic book for anyone who grew up in the 70s like I did. Annie is a good main character and you feel for her having spent so long in an abusive marriage and I loved the descriptions of her cottage and her chance to rebuild her life

The book starts out with Annie Martin starting out as a teenager, writing in her journal, she calls it my wildest dreams. The book tells us Annie's story as she grows up, becomes an adult and eventually a grandmother. Life usually isn't the way we plan it, and it is that way with Annie.
When she broke up with her first love, Mitch, she married Paul. The marriage started out very well, but soon he became abusive, but Annie stayed because she had two children and thought it was better for them to grow up with their father. Once the kids were grown and on their own, she divorced her husband.
She and Mitch ran into each other one day, and it brought up a lot of memories, but like life there is a lot of baggage to deal with. This is Annie's journey through her life, all that she had to deal with, the choices she made, and the life she lived.
I received an ARC from Vintage South Books through NetGalley.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review.

Firstly I must say how very pretty the cover to this book is, it's what drew me to this book. It's such a lovely, emotional story, in parts your heart will be breaking. One to read in a comfortable chair on a winter's day.

I loved this book about an older woman who leaves her abusive husband and retreats to a cottage. she finds a second chance at love. I will be looking for other books by this author.

In My Wildest Dreams. A Novel by Jaye Burke. Vintage South Books, 2022.

When high school sweethearts Annie and Paul married at twenty-one, she thought they would love each other forever. But people change. Two careers, two children, and over forty years later, Annie finally puts herself first, divorces Paul, and begins to search for herself.

This book may seem unrealistic to younger readers, but will resonate with many women who endure lives that turn out to be less than they expected. I liked Annie, though I wished she could more clearly communicate and assert herself. Paul was dislikable, perhaps a caricature of a bad husband and worse ex-husband. The book is well written, easy to read, I enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of In My Wildest Dreams for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #InMyWildestDreams #NetGalley.

First of all, thank you Net Galley for giving me a chance to have an ARC copy.

The cover really got my attention, it gives me a summer (Midsommar) vibe, and of course, as a Swiftie, "in my wildest dreamsss*.

I enjoyed this book, this is a fast-paced story. However, I found some of the moments dull and I'm having a love-hate relationship with the main character.

Overall, I still enjoy this book and romance books are my palate cleansers. ❤️

I liked the description of the book and the fact that the protagonist was around my age so i had high hopes for this book but unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally.

I’ll start with what i did like…. I enjoyed the mentions of all the 70s songs and had to chuckle at Annie setting her hair on orange juice cans because we did that when i was in high school. Quite a few things from the 70s that I hadn’t thought of in years.

What I didn’t care for was that it felt like it just scratched the surface of the story so it was hard to get a real feel for Annie and that made her seem juvenile to me. She got her feelings hurt at the club and instead of making a joke or shrugging it off, she got mad at the people and decided not to go back to the club. At one point she called her best friend a loudmouth and seemed to snark about her. She called others a slut and a toad. I really could not find it in me to like Annie.

Sorry but this just wasn’t my cup of tea. However, I thank NetGalley and Vintage South Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Love, love, loved it! The song references and the bittersweet love between Annie and Mitch brought back a multitude of memories and the tone of the times. Highly recommended!