It won't be at all obvious how the two storylines will finally meet in this latest from Sparks. Beverly is on the run with her young son T0mmie- her story is tense and emotional. Colby meets Morgan when he gets a chance to play music again after giving it up to care for his sister and the family farm. I have to admit that I found Beverly's story more compelling than the Colby/Morgan romance and that I kept questioning why these two plots? It does, however, ultimately work (no spoilers). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fans of Sparks will be pleased with this one.

This was my first Nicholas Sparks book and enjoyed the story and found the characters to be engaging enough to start and finish. I felt that i had "read it before" and felt really true to what Nicholas Sparks is know for, feels like it has been a movie but still enjoyed the time I spent within the pages.

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks is a great story about Colby Mills and Morgan Lee, who meet while they are in St. Pete Beach Florida. They are both musically inclined and find themselves helping each other with their music as they become romantically involved. There is another storyline about a young mother, Beverly who has fled her abusive husband with her six year old son and the dream of having a better life. Both stories draw you in and I couldn’t stop reading because I had to know how things turned out for everyone. I was a bit confused because the stories were so different, but near the end of the book you find that they are all connected. There is love and adventure, fear and anxiety, romance and understanding. I really enjoyed this book.

Nicholas Sparks has proven himself time and again why he is one of the best selling authors!! Dreamland is my new favorite by this author. The storyline of Dreamland was something totally unexpected. It has two parallel story building which beautifully comes together at the end.

It’s not a Nicholas Sparks book if there is no heart shattering love story! This book is a beautifully woven love story where the characters are fully developed and very relatable!

Thank you Penguin Random-house for the gifted galley. I highly recommend Dreamland when it hits the shelves on September 20, 2022

Robin's Rave Reviews - 2022

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks gets a strong 4 1/2 stars!

Readers enjoy guessing how two storylines in a novel will cross. Not so easy with this one! Sparks doesn't reveal it until a long way into the book. I kept guessing, and the anticipation kept me reading. I figured it out, but later than I'd like to admit. ; )

Beverly's story: She is on the run with her young son. I wanted her to successfully get away from an abusive husband and father, but to make the situation harder, he works for Homeland Security. That means he has access to many tools to try to locate them. I got involved in her story, but I was annoyed that some of the details in Beverly's story felt like clips from Safe Haven. (That's the only reason I didn't give the book a full five stars.)

Colby's story: Colby gave up his dream of writing music and singing when the aunt who raised him needed his help to save the family farm. After a few years of getting the farm running smoothly, it was time for Colby to take a break. He takes a working vacation as a musician when he lands a short-term gig in Florida. He meets Morgan who is vacationing with friends before her big move to Nashville. She is about to chase her dream of a music career. Colby and Morgan fall in love as they bond over writing songs, but Nashville calls to Morgan while Colby has obligations back at the farm. Is it possible to continue a summer romance as a long-distance relationship?

Readers will be doubting that these two very different stories could possibly match up, but they will. It's worth the wait. That's the best part of the book. It's what makes it stand out.

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks comes out Sept. 20, 2022, but you can pre-order a copy today! If Dreamland sounds like a book you'd like, check out my past reviews on these Nicholas Sparks novels: The Wish, Every Breath (and a feature on the Kindred Spirits mailbox), and Two By Two.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this novel. The opinions are my honest thoughts.

Yet again, Nicholas Sparks does what he does with the absolute skill I've come to expect. Going into one of his books, you can't hope to keep your heart intact and this one was no different in that regard. Watching how two seemingly separate stories wound up coming together in the end was just incredible. I often found myself watching this movie play in my head and truly believe it could lend itself to becoming a movie quite well. So, so good.

Colby and Morgan find themselves quickly falling into a vacation romance in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, connected by a passion for making music. Meanwhile, Beverly is on the run from an abusive husband with her young son. Their two stories tie together in an unbelievable way that will leave you in love with yet another Nicholas Sparks novel.

Another sweet love story by Nicholas Sparks that’s certain to leave you feeling emotional in all of the best ways. While the storyline of Colby and Morgan felt unrealistic at times, I found myself at the edge of my seat and attached to Beverly. The ending left me close to tears. A great read for all sentimental book lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

The story goes between two storylines. One story is about Colby, a farmer/musician on a trip to Florida where he plays music at a local joint for 3 weeks. He meets Morgan and they have a whirlwind romance bonding over their love for music and storytelling. The other story is about Beverly and her son Tommie that are on the run from her abusive husband, Gary. The two stories collide in a very unexpected way.

I usually love Sparks, but his last 2 books haven’t been my favorite. This one seemed a lot more like his earlier work that I really enjoyed. I was invested in both storylines and I knew they were going to cross at some point, but for the life of me couldn’t figure out how until I was well over halfway through the book. I loved the examination of relationships and what keeps us where we are. I highly recommend this book!

A really great Nicholas Sparks novel. With two stories going at once - comes to an great ending. You will love this book!

Well this was okay. Don't get me wrong, if this wasn't a Sparks novel and I could manage to separate it from everything else of his I have read, it probably would have been better. But, alas, I have read way too many of his phenomenal books to make that distinction.

This novel follows two POVs and I found myself way more interested in Colby's than in Beverly's. In true sparks fashion, I did not see how these were going to intertwine until we were almost to the end. I think I have been on such a romance kick lately that I was more in the mood for Colby's story and found myself rushing through Beverly's. With all of that being said, this just did not have the emotional impact on me that I have come to expect from Nicholas Sparks, and while that might not be completely fair to have that kind of expectation going into a book, I can't help how I feel.

This was good, it was sweet and it had some moments, but it was not a rip your heart out romance.

Overall: this was really enjoyable! I’ve read most of Sparks’s books, so it wasn’t anything new or groundbreaking. But it was good and kept my attention! The romance was sweet and quick and relatively drama-free

- The audio narration for Colby is pretty good! He’s got a solid southern drawl. I had to listen to it on 1.7 speed because it was so slow, but it fit the story really well. The narrator for Beverly kind of annoyed me because she was really breathy, but it fit Beverly’s story well since she’s paranoid and afraid and always breathless
- This was pretty much Safe Haven meets The Longest Ride
- I liked Colby and Morgan’s story much better than Beverly’s. I like sweet and easy love stories.
- Beverly’s chapters had me too on edge and the paranoia and repetitiveness were too much for me. However, I adored Beverly and Tommy’s mother/son bond. Tommy is precious and so sweet and too good for this world
- The timeline was a little confusing. It seemed like the arcs took wayyy longer than a week
- Nicholas Sparks is the king of intertwining stories that seemingly have no connection. I never have any clue how they’re going to connect until BAM, there they are together. I was completely shook by this one
- This would make a really sweet movie

I can understand some of the negative reviews and some dislike on the same kind of Sparks storylines of unrequited love. or love lost to be found again OR also some repetitive storylines from book to book. Yes, there is a little bit of a repetitive storyline in this book, but I liked it in this book and felt it work. It kept me interested. I also like the very different storylines even if some of it was not very believable. Again, it is different opinions. I felt this worked even if the two storylines did not merge did not merge until close to the end.

This book still gives me all the feels that are accustomed to a Nicholas Sparks book. I could see this becoming a movie in the near future too. I was so emotional reading this!

Recommended for anyone who loves a great Nicholas Sparks book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Nicholoas Sparks and Random House Publishing Group Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/20/22

Nicholas Sparks has always had a way of telling a story or multiple stories that weave together in an unexpected way. As he tells a story, you can connect and understand the characters. I have always loved that about his writing! It is what first drew me into romance reads as a young adult.

This story follows the same Nicholas Sparks formula. Two POVs, likable main characters, unresolved/hidden trauma, and insta-lust/love. This story was a good quick read. I was intrigued by the characters and even though I guessed the connection rather early on, I still had investment in finishing to find out the ending.

This book will not rate as a favorite, but it was still enjoyable and I recommend it to readers that appreciate the writing style that Sparks offers us all.

Nicholas Sparks’ books are fairly predictable but I can always count on a quick, engaging re@d. A “farmer” musician and a recent college graduate ready to find fame in the music world meet on a beach and, as they say, the rest us history. Another story intertwines which gives the book more interest.

Nicholas Sparks has done it again. He is a master at weaving together stories and Dreamland is no exception. I will state that at first I didn’t think that I was really going to enjoy this book. I was loving the first narrative and story but then Beverly starts to tell her story. Her story just seemed like such a 360 from where the book was originally going. It broke everything up and it caused me to feel awkward reading her tale. I just wanted to get back to Colby and Morgan. Yet as Beverly’s tale continues I became more and more invested in it to the point where both stories had my attention and I knew they were tied together, and I was just waiting to see how. The eventual tie in is handled well. As the reader I realized that some things were not as they seemed earlier in the book, yet the reveal was not spoiled for me. I just truly enjoyed this book. It was laid out beautifully in the end and I know that readers are going to just dive on in and fall in love with this book.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Dreamland is told as two separate stories alternating throughout which come together at the end. Colby is a farmer who accepts a week long job playing music at a bar in Florida. All he does is work the farm so his family urged him to take this week deserved break. During this trip he meets and falls in love with Morgan who is a TikTok star filming dance videos with her friends while on vacation. While that sounds incredibly cheesy, and it is, I still enjoyed watching their relationship! And plus, I love Nicholas Sparks so this was an easy choice.

Beverly is a mother on the run with her 6 year old son. They have fled an abusive household and Beverly will do anything not to be caught by her homeland security husband. Being a mother to a young boy, this story line wrecked me. The things she went without for her son was something I think every mother would do, but can't imagine doing.

Throughout the book both storylines are being told every few chapters or so, which always left one story on a cliff hanger to get back into the other one. I enjoyed that though because I couldn't decide which storyline I wanted to read more.

Admittedly, I did figure out the twist about half way through but Nicolas Sparks has such a way with his storytelling that it still felt like the air was sucked out of me when everything was revealed.

Ending was pretty abrupt, especially after all of the build up, but all in all this was such a fast paced read that kept me wanting more. I kept putting of real life errands to read this!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC.

I always eagerly anticipate a new book by Nicholas Sparks and this one is no exception. This book definitely pulls on the heart strings in more ways than one. It highlights some very important themes, humanizing people that struggle in ways that we might not always understand. This was a page turner for me. Two stories colliding as one!

4.5 stars

I read this book in less than 12 hours. It was just so good that I didn't want to put it down.

There were two different storylines. First, you have Colby, who is on work/vacation and meets someone. This was such a cute and fun romance, and I loved every minute of Colby's story. The second story was a little bit darker and heavier. This was Beverly's story who was on the run with her 6-year-old, trying to get away from her abusive husband.

The entire book, I was questioning how these two stories would come together. I just didn't understand how they could intertwine with each other. I was buddy reading this with @whatsalexreading and it was so fun to talk about our different theories together. This honestly made the entire book so much more enjoyable for me.

If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, then this book will not disappoint you! It was the perfect combination of a light and easy read with a more heavier read. While I did enjoy Colby's parts more then Beverly's parts, I still loved the story overall.

I've always loved and appreciated Nicholas spark's styles of writing, this book is no exception. Filled with music, tension, passion and a decent pacing, this story was expertly weaved and presented. I enjoyed reading this and did not find any parts of his story to be unbelievable or out of place.

Sparks really writes the most incredible stories. This takes you back and forth between two very unconnected stories that come together in the end in the most UNEXPECTED way. I LOVED IT. I will forever remember this back and forth and then how it all so creatively came together. This book was magic!