Nicholas Sparks is one of my all-time favorite authors and I love all of his books. I have been reading his books since high school and I was beyond thrilled that I was approved to read a galley of his newest book “Dreamland”. I finished this book in 2 days! He is the master at weaving incredible stories where you feel you are right there with the characters. The details were so developed that I could completely visualize every scene along the way. The characters were likable and relatable. I really enjoyed Colby and Morgan’s love story. Colby meets Morgan at the beach, while on vacation from his real life, a farm in North Carolina. They both share a love of music and quickly fall in love. Morgan is just starting her life with a move to Nashville to try her hand at a career in music, while Colby has an established life in NC farming with his aunt and sister. They both know there will be challenges if they want to be together. But, neither know just how big those challenges will be. It does deal with some heavy topics (death and mental illness) so it is not to be considered a fun, beachy read. However, it is a good book that flows nicely and handles the hard topics well. It’s told from a couple different perspectives (Colby/Morgan and Beverly) and the storylines converge at the end. Through most of the book, I thought I was reading two totally separate stories and I couldn’t see how they were in any way related. Once I figured things out, it was mind blowing. I was not expecting that twist. I found the whole read to be well paced, expertly written and up to the standards we have come to know and love from Nicholas Sparks. Just be warned it will grab you and you won't be able to put it down. I do wish there was more of an epilogue. Without spoiling too much, I wanted to know more of where the characters ended up. I can definitely see this being adapted for the big screen. If you love a great love story with a whirlwind of a twisted ending, this is the book for you! Thanks to Netgalley, Nicholas Sparks and Random House Publishing for an advanced e-arc in exchange for my thoughts.

A quick, easy read with a lot of heart. The two story lines were very interesting and the connection surprising. The characters were complex, well developed, and very relatable.

Thanks NetGalley, Random House, and Nicholas Sparks for this enjoyable ARC.

I absolutely was delighted to receive this ARC. Nicholas Sparks is such a comfort read author for me and someone I have read for 2 decades and never gets old. I love his stories and this was no exception.

Books written by Nicholas Sparks are automatic reads for me. Dreamland is written with dual timelines that do not appear to be related until much later in the book. We first learn about Colby, a young, musically-talented farmer from North Carolina, vacationing and performing in Florida. We then learn about Beverly, an abused mother of Tommie, on the run from her husband. When Beverly’s story begins, it seems very similar to the story of the main character in one of Sparks’ earlier books, Safe Haven, although this time the woman is on the run with a young child. As Beverly’s story progresses, these similarities end, and you begin to piece together what is happening with Beverly and the two timelines converge.

Although not one of my favorite Sparks’ novels, it is easy to picture this one also being made into a movie. It is full of the factors that make Sparks’ novels loved my many: loss, grief, illness, happiness and joy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

Nicholas Sparks once again spun a tale so beautiful and moving. Could I put it down? No. Did it make me cry? Yes.

Meet Colby and Morgan. Two from vastly different backgrounds who still managed to fall in love. Every love story has a happy ending - well maybe. NOT giving anything away at all.

I love the characters, the storyline - EVERYTHING about this book. He did it again.....

This was an interesting novel. I'm nos ture how i feel about it. It does cover the very difficult topic of bi-polar and how it impacts everyone in the family. I must admit I figured out the twist very early on in the story. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #Dreamland

Nicholas Sparks has always been one of favorite Authors. I’ve read so many of his books over the years and have so many of them. While I didn’t dislike Dreamland, it definitely wasn’t a favorite. The story jumps between two point of views - Colby and Beverly. I’ve actually come to like books in this style quite a bit, but it didn’t completely work for this story. I felt like I was reading two different books until the last 1/4. Dreamland kept me interested enough, but I felt like it lacked the usual Sparks magic. There was some kind of disconnect and I couldn’t really form much of an attachment to any of the characters. Again, not a bad read, but I guess I just expected more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Great story. I love Nicholas Sparks books and this was no exception. The book was broken into two people Colby and Beverly. It told the story of one and then the other and back and forth. I was trying to figure out what they had to do with one another. Then it hit me. It was a book that was hard to put down. I enjoyed it very much. It was a subject that you hear about but you do not see it written about in many books. Sad but beautiful.

While I enjoyed this book, it doesn't fit the high standards of the other Nicholas Sparks novels I've read.

This story is told from two points of view that do eventually tie together with a somewhat predicatble twist at the end. I was more invested in the story of Beverly, who escapes an abusive relationship with her son than the somewhat unlikely love story that develops between Colby, the other main character and Morgan, who he meets during a summer job. Sparks is well known for his romantic love stories but this is where Dreamland didn't hit the mark for me. The relationship seemed underdeveloped and to be honest, Morgan's character was a little flat. I couldn't help but imagine she was attracted to him for his musical connections in order to gain fame. Not to mention, the multiple ways Sparks comments on Morgan's "small" body is tone deaf.

If you're looking for a simple beach read with hints of music, romance and relationship struggles this may be the book for you.

I was drawn to this book because I have historically liked Nicholas Sparks books. However I really struggled to get into this story, because of the narration style and the young age of the characters. I ultimately did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Nicholas Sparks book in a long time! He is such a classic! I fell in love with reading and love stories through his books. Readers are in for a beautiful treat this fall with his latest novel, Dreamland.

Told in two POV’s, this book, at first, started to two feel like two stories in one, and I wasn’t sure how the story would come together until it finally did with quite the jaw-drop to go with it. We meet Colby, an aspiring musician who takes a trip to FL to sing at a bar, where he meets Morgan, another aspiring musician headed to Nashville to kick start her music career. Meanwhile, we also are introduced to Beverley while she flees from an abusive marriage with her son. In typical Sparks fashion, we are taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride filled with young love & heartbreak. I couldn’t help but compare this story to his earlier books, Safe Haven and The Last Song. I loved this one just as much!

This book is out September 20th! Do yourself a favor and pre-order now!

Most Nicholas Sparks novels follow a pattern: someone in distress, meets a man/woman, fall in love, and there's a happy ending. Dreamland offers us 2 great storylines, Colby's and Beverly's. The entire time I was reading I kept wondering how they will entwine but I could not figure it out...Once I did and all the layers started to unfold, I kept repeating 'just one more chapter'...next thing I know, I'm reading the epilogue. I loved it!

Thanks NetGalley, Random House, and Nicholas Sparks for this ARC. I truly enjoyed it!

Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors. His books are deep poignant stories that always draw me in while pulling at my heartstrings and this one was no exception. The book bounces back a forth between 2 stories - Colby and Beverly. Colby is a farmer/part time musician who finally takes a vacation to Florida where he meets and falls for Morgan. Beverly is young woman who is running from an abusive husband with her young son. I loved the characters and couldn't put this down because I wanted to see how their respective stories would be resolved. At the same time, I was trying to figure out how they could possibly be related and/or come together at the end. Mr. Sparks does a wonderful job of bringing them together as well as touching on some tough mental health issues. I also liked how he brought in some current event topics through the story. I am gladly giving this 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for giving me an ACR of this book.

Colby is on his first vacation in forever, taking time for himself to do the thing he loves more than anything - play his music - while leaving all responsibility behind. Morgan is on her last girls getaway after graduating college before she moves to Nashville to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. Beverly is on the run with her son from an abusive husband but no matter how hard she tries, danger seems to be everywhere. Three very different people whose lives are about to cross in ways none of them thought possible.

I’d like to start out by saying that 87% of the time when I read a book by Nicholas Sparks, there’s a certain format that seems to be followed and an ending that is predictable but still draws you in. Dreamland was no exception but the place where it stood out from all of his other books, in my opinion, is the way that it addressed mental health issues. A lot of times when authors write about anything related to mental health, there’s a disconnect between what they’re writing and what the reality of the situation is for both the person struggling and the people that support them; however, that was not the case for Dreamland. Sparks was able to take a very serious illness and not only accurately explain what it’s like for those people but also what it’s like for those closest to them. While this is clearly a work for fiction, Sparks without a doubt did his research and made sure that the way he portrayed mental illness was not offensive nor overly dramatized for the sake of the story.

My reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is basically because I felt that once the twist in the book was revealed everything went by lightening quick. I feel like there could have been less in some of the other areas in order to give more to that part of the story line. With that being said, overall I really enjoy reading this and as usual love the fact that Sparks writes in such a way where even if you are someone with a limited imagination, you would still be able to visualize the scenes and the places that he is writing about. #dreamland

Thank you #netgalley and Random House for an ARC of this book for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Nicolas Sparks new book Dreamland.

Nicholas Sparks is a favorite of many and mine so I never hesitate to pick up his new book each Fall. His last few books I have felt him shift as a writer and still keep true to his fans.
In Dreamland you can see Mr. Sparks trying to write his story and appeal to a new generation of readers. It was hard to read. So many authors are struggling with this more and more as they try and add pop culture references into their writing to keep current with readers ages 18-30.

I struggled with the narrative of Colby and Morgan. I mean the way I Love You within knowing each other for one week. Morgan was the hard sell in Colby’s narrative. It is with Morgan that Nicholas Sparks tries to anchor his story to being relative to readers as he adds elements of TikTok, influencers, influencers and young love. And yet you still love Colby and everything he is and becomes.
With that said, I was Captivated with Beverly and her storyline. I would find myself devouring her portion of the chapters and on edge as she l fights to protect herself and her son.
But in the end, Nicholas Sparks wins me over in this book with Beverly’s story and the culminating twists in the end.

Nicholas Sparks knows how to write a good romance novel. Dreamland definitely pulled me in with the country music singing Colby and Morgan -aka the next Taylor swift - I was really surprised to see bipolar disorder had a huge part in this book. It was awesome to see it represented in such a well known authors book. Usually there’s always someone with cancer in his books but this was a nice change and a really important topic that was brought into the story. It was also written just as beautifully as the romantic parts of the story and very realistic. As someone who had scoliosis it was neat to know Morgan had it as well. All the characters were like able and I found myself rooting for Colby the most in the end to get a happy ending because he was everyone’s rock. I’d definitely recommend it to other Nicholas Sparks fans but it’s not my absolute fav of his books.

Dang! I just obsessively read this in a day.

This is a brave story to write and I really appreciate his ability to bring empathy to the subject and tell this a story from such loving view.

I have to be honest, the only thing I know about Nicholas Spark is that he wrote The Notebook— I love that dang tearjerker. I was afraid to read any of his books because I didn’t want to get sucked into another tear jerker love story… I have no frame of reference for his other books.

This book though— Gah! As I said: I binge read it and appreciated so much of the topics.

The book starts with an undeniably lovable character, making you smile and enjoy the ride. And then it quickly gets a little intense. The book is broken into parts, going back and forth we between two characters. There’s no confusion and the story is laid out pretty well.

Sigh— Loved the book because this is such an important topic. I hope people read this and learn a little bit about love and empathy.

Thanks Netgalley! I’ll be looking for more Nicholas Spark books to read! ❤️

I was quickly invested in the characters in Nicholas Sparks' newest book Dreamland. Two stories are told in alternating chapters. The reader first meets Colby, a farmer and musician, who is in Florida for a working vacation. He meets Morgan, a singer, who just graduated from college and hopes to make it big in Nashville. The two quickly fall in love., but know that there time in Florida together is limited. I was rooting for Colby and Morgan's relationship, but did not like how much of an emphasis there was on physical appearance.
In the alternating chapters, there is the story of Beverly. She is escaping from her abusive husband with their young son. These chapters are intense and filling with anxiety. Beverly can't seem to catch a break as she tries to keep her son safe.
Eventually the two stories come together in a surprising twist.

Despite seeing a few movie adaptations, I had surprisingly never read a Nicholas Sparks book before BUT was delighted to learn I had been accepted to receive an ARC of Dreamland! What a wonderful place to start!

Colby and Morgan had a charming connection. My husband and I are both musicians, so I loved that their story began there.

This was a dual POV story, starting with several chapters by Colby. When Beverly’s first chapter was introduced, I was interested to see how these stories would cross and for what purpose. I would never wish to spoil anything, but while I wasn’t able 100% predict what would happen, one detail that was given in the beginning of the story nagged at me the whole time I was reading. I knew somehow it would be connected to Beverly. In the same breath, I felt like I wasn’t able to be fully invested into the romance element of this story until I understood where the stories crossed over.

Since I had only watched movies based on his books, I kept trying to picture how this story could be portrayed through film. It would definitely be interesting! At times, it had almost a suspense feel to it. I actually think it would be well suited for a fantastic TV/Netflix series!

I am a big fan of Nicholas Sparks and was looking forward to reading this book! There are two storylines: Colby, the farmer from North Carolina, who is in Florida on a trip and meets Morgan; and Beverly, who, with her young son, is on the run from an abusive partner. Nicholas Sparks always tells a good story! Recommended.