Nicholas Sparks has long been an author whose books I look forward to being released. I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of Dreamland.

This book is told in two POVs—

COLBY is a 25-year old who was raised by his aunt and uncle. After his uncle’s death, he takes over running his family’s farm with his aunt & sister. His long held dream has been to be in the music industry, but he knows he’s needed on the farm. When presented with a 3-week opportunity to play music in Florida, his aunt & sister encourage him to take time off and take advantage of this opportunity. While in Florida, he meets Morgan, a recent college grad on vacation with her three friends. In typical Sparks fashion, Morgan & Colby fall fast and hard for each other.

BEVERLY is a young mom on the run from her abusive husband (who works for the Department of Homeland Security). She is determined to break free from his abuse and start a new, safer life with her son. After finding a new place to start over, she starts to become suspicious of things she finds in the house and the people who stop by the house.

So, the question is…how do these two story lines come together? I can assure you that they do, but it also takes awhile to get there.

My initial thoughts—
💭 I liked each individual story lines of both Colby and Beverly. It allowed the story to flow and move quickly. That said, the story lines didn’t come together soon enough.
💭 The book/story line was easy to fall into. I easily read this in less than 24 hours.
💭 Sparks has done Beverly’s story line before. I know many authors recycle story lines or tell the same story in a different way, but it bothered me a little that he wrote about a woman on the run from her abusive husband who works for the government/police. I know it all comes together at the end, but I also felt he could’ve told this story with different circumstances for Beverly that he hasn’t used in one of his previous books.
💭 Because the dual POVs took so long to merge (around the 80% mark), the stories seemed to lack some depth. I would’ve preferred to have their stories woven together sooner. It felt like I was reading two different books. While I saw and guessed the twist pretty early on, it still didn’t help bring the two separate story lines together.
💭 Sparks addresses mental health issues in here, so if this is a trigger for you, please read carefully. He does a good job navigating it, but I will say that it did feel a little rushed when it was addressed. The characters in the story handled it beautifully, though.
💭 Sparks handles the romantic story line beautifully. Not too many details & done in a clean way.
💭 I appreciated that Sparks stepped away from his beloved North Carolina settings. I like that his books are usually set there, but I also liked that the setting of this one was primarily somewhere else, with “home” still being in NC.


All in all, I enjoyed it, but craved a little more at the end.

This book was a typical Nicholas Sparks book. I enjoyed it and knew it would have a happy ending. It wasn't too sappy just a nice feel good book.

Colby embarks on an evolution as he wants to become the person he is meant to be rather than whom he perceived he is as a farmer stagnant in emotion and action. It is only through his guitar coupled by Morgan that he becomes alive. It is hard to see why Beverly albeit Paige becomes intertwined in the story as clearly she cannot separate the present from the past. An absolute wonderful novel as to why you need to grow through multiple outlets to become the person you are meant to be.

Nicholas Sparks’s Dreamland is a story that follows two storylines that are woven together in the end. The first and main story follows Colby Mills, a farmer from North Carolina, who is on a “working vacation” performing a mix of popular music and his own original songs in St. Pete Beach, FL. While there, he meets Morgan who is on a trip with friends before she is off to Nashville to pursue a career in music.
The second storyline centers around Beverly and her son Tommie. They are on the run from their husband/father Gary. Beverly finds a small house to rent, a new school for Tommie and she is beginning to feels safe with their new fresh start.
I have read many of Sparks’s novels in the past and this one will not disappoint his core fan base. The way the two storylines come together is well written and surprising. The part of the story that fell flat for me was the love story between Colby and Morgan. I didn’t really feel the chemistry as much as past Nicholas Sparks characters and for that I’m going with a 3.5 ⭐️ rating.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 31,2022

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4734727123

Nicholas Sparks' books are typically hit or miss. After reading The Wish this past November, I felt like he was back to writing stories like he used to. I STILL think about that book frequently.

Dreamland, however, is probably my least favorite Nicholas Sparks book I have read (and I have read most, if not all, of them). The book is almost all inner monologue for the first 80% of the book. The connection between Morgan and Colby simple wasn't there. Beverly and Tommy's story was interesting, and I could tell something was up. The way that they were all connected was the only redeeming quality in the book (other than that for once we get a happily ever after). This did not start happening until Colby leaves Florida.

Between the flat characters and the slow plot, three stars is generous. I'll of course still read his next book, but this one was a really big let down.

I went into this book completely blind. I didn’t read what it was about, and I wasn’t sure if I was even going to like it. I was unsure for the entire first part, but then I met Beverly, and I felt connected to her. Something about her spoke volumes, and I loved when the story shifted to her POV. I wasn’t sure how Sparks was going to properly execute this story in a way that made sense. It was two completely different stories happening simultaneously. But then came the twist, and everything fell into place.
I never saw it coming, which is usually rare for me. You can’t even watch movies with me, because I’ll usually have it all figured out within the first fifteen minutes. When the twist showed up in this story, I was surprised, and slightly devastated. I suddenly knew why I felt connected to Beverly, and warmed up to Colby like sixty percent more than I was before. Suddenly I liked his character too.
This story was pretty good, for a fade to black, slow-burn, angsty, contemporary romance. I would definitely recommend it to my friends. You leave satisfied, and without questions. This book has a HEA, too, which isn’t necessarily a requirement for me, but it’s definitely the me for a lot of other readers. A great comfort read, fore sure.

This story had an interesting premise and it was a quick, easy read, but I felt like it could've been a few hundred pages shorter. The first half of the book seemed like it was all background stories, and nothing exciting happened until at least the 50% mark. There was a small twist at the end, but it was predictable so not surprising. And if you're looking for a classic Nicholas Sparks love story, this is not it (sadly, I think those ended when his marriage did). Just an ok read for me.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Another winner by Nicholas Sparks!!!
Colby loved his music and hope to pursue it but life didn't happen that way. H ended up working the family farm.
He decides to take a break and play in a bar in Florida. There he meets Morgan and the sparks fly. She hopes to go to Nashville for her musical career. How can this couple who love each other and their music make it work long distance?

Not going to lie, I was disappointed by this one. I think he spoiled us with The Wish though, taking us back to early Sparks. This one... I enjoyed the story but I spent more time trying to figure out how Colby and Beverly were connected than immersed in the actual story. I found myself skimming Colby's story to hurry back to figure out Beverly's.

Please note this review contains references to mental illness*. This book is told from two different points of view; Beverly and Colby. Beverly and her son Timmie are running away from her husband, Gary. They are on The run seeking a new life. Eventually, Beverly is sure her husband has found her. She sees strange cars around her home. Beverly questions why people are working in the fields across from her home. She finds strange things in her home that she’s sure were left by the previous tenants. When she finds her home trashed, she is sure her husband has seen her. The story moves to Colby. Colby is a singer-songwriter performing in Tampa, Florida. He meets a young woman, Morgan. Morgan is impressed with Colby’s talent. Morgan is also a singer and songwriter. She has hopes of making it big in Nashville. Colby and Morgan develop a relationship as the relationship deepens. Morgan and Colby work on songwriting and singing. Colby realizes how talented ad special Morgan is. Things are going well until Colby receives a call that his aunt had a stroke. Colby knows he must go home to check on his aunt and the farm.

Morgan asks Colby to go with her to Nashville. He knows he must tell her the truth about his family. Colby reveals that his sister Paige is bipolar; she experiences periods of mania and depression. Because o his aunt and sister, Colby cannot leave his responsibilities at the farm and join Morgan.

Morgan heads to Nashville to follow her dreams. Colby goes home.


The story comes together, and the story about Beverly and Timmie begins to make sense. What James Patterson was able to do, is take the reader into the mind of someone with bipolar disorder. This story was told both creativity and with sensitivity.


I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started out questioning how the story of Beverly fit in with Colby and Morgan. But it was such a creative and unique way to tell the story. I was rooting for the characters.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Nicholas Sparks for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I enjoyed this one, but it wasn't my favorite. I really liked Beverly's story, which follows her running with her child from her abusive husband, and it reminded me a lot of some of my favorite thriller novels. I thought that the author wrote this part really well and I flew through those chapters. However, I wasn't a big fan of Colby and Morgan's story because it seemed too rushed. I thought some of their scenes were incredibly sweet and romantic, but once it got closer to the end I stopped caring as much about their relationship. I also thought Colby's descriptions of Morgan were a bit weird as well because they seemed to focus on her weight and appearance a lot instead of her personality. Despite this, I was hooked until the ending and the end totally shocked me! I usually can tell what's going to happen in a story, but not with this one. That pleasantly surprised me and I was happy with how things ended. I think fans of Nicholas Sparks will enjoy this one, especially readers who like thrillers as well as romances, but it wasn't perfect in my opinion.

I love Nicholas Sparks' writing and I enjoyed reading this book, but unfortunately it was definitely not my favorite.

There are two main POVs and I loved the one that focused around Beverly, a lady who is fleeing an abusive husband. Her chapters were filled with heart and suspense and I felt very connected to the character and her journey. I couldn't put the book down when I was reading her chapters. I also really enjoyed the ending and of course it wouldn't be a Nicholas Sparks book if I didn't end in tears.

Now for the other POV, I really just didn't buy the relationship between Morgan and Colby at all; it seemed very shallow and was just missing something that made me believe it. It really seeemd to focus on how physically beautiful Morgan was. The whole what would a "beautiful" on the outside girl like her want with a guy like me thing went on for way too long. He kept being shocked by how smart or sophisticated she was even though she was really pretty and totally surprised that she was more than just a pretty face. He was always commenting on how tiny she is. Twice in less than five pages he says how she doesn't weigh enough to tip the kayak and asked her "you eat cookies? You don't look like you eat cookies." And that for breakfast she only eats green tea and green juice. Is that something to admire? I mean it's fine if that is your thing, but he seemed to be proud of how tiny she was and how little she ate. It also had the typical cheesy romance scenes like getting caught in a downpour or rubbing sunscreen on my back type stuff. I really feel that the descriptions of Morgan could use some major editing to make her more relatable. It would change the book for me entirely as the overall premise and plot line was very good!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and Randomhouse publishing for my advanced eARC copy for an honest review.
I am a huge Nicholas Sparks fan but I have to honestly say this one was not my favorite. Just because it was not my favorite does not mean it was a bad read. For me, it just feel a little short I felt the romance between Colby and Morgan was lacking the true “spark” I usually see in a Nicholas Sparks book.
The two separate story lines seemed disjointed and seemed to drag on. It is not until you are about ¾ of the way through the book that the two stories merged together, and this is the best part of the book. Beverly was by far my favorite character.
If you want a quick easy to read romance and enjoy Nicholas Sparks, you might consider giving this one a read in September when it hits the shelves.

It pains me to say that I didn’t love this book. Sparks is an auto-buy author for me, but this one just missed the mark for me. It felt like a combination of Safe Haven and The Longest Ride, but it’s unclear for a long time why two stories very similar to those two books are combined. The insta-love between Colby and Morgan also wasn’t really believable to me. Normally, at least for me, Sparks creates swoon-worthy insta-love romances, but I just didn’t feel the sparks (ha, sorry) in this one. There were also a few parts that reminded me of The Last Song, so I kept wondering if this book was a patchwork of pieces of a few other books that didn’t make it through the final editing stage.
Sparks will continue to be an auto-buy author for me in the future, but this one just didn’t click for me. Just because it wasn’t a favorite of mine, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a favorite for others! Of course, I recommend this book for fans of his others books—Safe Haven, The Longest Ride, and The Last Song.

I really enjoy Nicholas Sparks books even though they somehow always break your heart. I’ve read every one of his books and look forward to his new releases every fall.

This one is no different from any of his others, but I still really enjoyed it. I loved the characters right away and could not put this one down. Colby is a farmer who takes a week off for vacation, falls in love and his whole world falls apart while he is gone. I wasn’t shocked by his choices but was pleasantly surprised how it ended.

Please note, this book has references to mental illness and domestic violence.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, so I could read this one early.

Dreamland s divided into parts which alternate between two stories. The first, third and fifth part tell the story of Colby, a twenty-five year old farmer and aspiring musician who helps run and manage his aunt and uncle's farm with his sister Paige. During a vacation in Florida where he performs at some bars and open mic nights he meets Morgan, a young college grad who performs tiktok dances with a group of dancers but is also an aspiring singer. Colby's sections are told in the first person and meet the typical expectations of a Nicholas Sparks Romance; a rapid-fire romance that can't possible work because of life choices and geography, some secret that needs to be hidden but yet is not a deal-breaker, lots of lovely dates like sunset walks on the beach. Essentially, the Colby sections (with the exception of part 5) are a little dull.

Parts 2 & 4 are written in the third person and tell the story of Beverly, a young woman who is fleeing her abusive relationship with her 6-year-old-son Tommie. Beverly plans a very complex escape from her husband who is extremely controlling, abusive to her and Tommie and has the connections and resources to track and find her no matter how hard she tries. With wigs, chest constricting bandages, and several bus and hitchhiking tactics she manages to escape and start fresh in a new town, but she is very paranoid that her husband will find her. These sections are thrilling and suspenseful and very reminiscent of Safe Haven, another of Nicholas Sparks' books that also involves a woman fleeing domestic violence. Beverly's sections are basically a different book within a book and while there is a connection between the two stories that is explained in Part 5 through Colby, it very much feels like a different type of book.

I almost gave up on this book but decided to at least get to the second part (about Beverly) before making my decision and I was quickly hooked. The contrast between the two stories feels weird at first, and if you aren't in the mood for a slightly hum-drum romance, then you may feel a bit put off by the first section of the book. I think my advice for a reader would be to give it at least until the end of part 2 before deciding whether you love or hate this book because it does get better and in the end it all wraps up with a carefully-constructed bow.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. It may not have been my favourite Nicholas Sparks book, but it also was a book I'll remember and it was definitely worth giving it a fair chance!

This book fell a bit flat for me. I have read quite a few books from this author and have always been drawn to both characters in the romance. Morgan was just not a good character. The reader is supposed to be drawn to the life that Colby wanted. This was not enough. She seemed to have her life served on a platter with no difficulties. Colby has had a lot of hardship. Beverly's story really did not make sense and would have fit better if there had been some sort of mention of a brother, or a family for her. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley. This one was just not up to par for this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

This book is told from the POVs of Colby and Beverly. Colby is a 25 yr old farmer from NC who runs the farm with his aunt and older sister. His story takes place mostly in Florida, where he goes on a vacation to follow his dream of playing music for a crowd. While there, he meets Morgan Lee, a 21-year-old on her way to Nashville to become the next big pop-country star. Beverly is a young mother on the run with her small son, looking for refuge. She finds herself in a small town and begins the work of starting a new life for her and Tommie, her son.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I felt like the two stories being told were so disjointed that it was hard to see how they meshed together. It clicked for me before the big reveal, but honestly, I felt like Beverly's story was far more compelling than Colby's. It felt like two different books warring for space and not enough to tie them together. It eventually made sense, but the pieces felt forced. As a reader, you know the two stories must be connected, but it is not until 80% of the book is done that you find the connection.

Dreamland was a solid Nicholas Sparks book. I’ll admit that I haven’t enjoyed his newer novels; they didn’t feel like his original ones. This one, however, felt like the classic Nicholas Sparks book in the best way possible. I loved how the two storylines connected in the end, as well. Highly recommend for any Nicholas Sparks lover!

I am a long time reader or Nicolas Sparks and from the first page I knew this book would be one of his that I wouldn’t be able to put down. The story switches views every few chapters between young farmer/songwriter Coty and Beverly, a mom on the run with her young son from a troubled marriage. I knew there had to be a way that Coty and Beverly’s stories connected so while reading I kept trying to piece that part together. While I enjoyed Coty’s chapters, I found myself trying to speed read through Beverly’s chapters. Her story was darker and there seemed to be something unclear with her troubled young son.
I read this book in one day and although I had been looking for the connection between the two narrators and had figured out pieces of it, I was surprised at the whole story that finally came out.
I would say Dreamland is a very Nicolas Sparkesque book. It was a fast read with engaging characters.