Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for thid arc. I could not resist it. I love friends to lovers abd instant love. This was made perfectly. Ups and downs are just part of our lives and this was a wonderful distraction.

The premise of Double-Decker Dreams sounded like something I would love, but unfortunately I couldn't connect and did not like the writing style whatsoever

3/5 stars

Double Decker Dreams is a slow-burn, cute romcom.

Kat, a workaholic from America, moves to London for a six-month project and she finds her charming prince.

Even though the plot was good, at the beginning the book was a bit boring and the female protagonist was annoying.

I liked the trope insta love.

Overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

:I received a copy of this book via Netgalley Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own
Pinapple Street is is not my usual type of book choice, but I rather enjoyed it.

I was looking forward to reading a lighter book between all the WWII books I have been reading.

Although the book was light-hearted the writting style was not to my taste. I could not finish the book sadly

From the time she was seven years old Kat knew she wanted to be a CEO. She has been singularly focused on that goal since then. Now she’s a senior consultant, working on a long term assignment in London. While a partnership, the next rung on the ladder that is her career plan is in sight, she’s beginning to feel the effects of her single minded pursuit. One morning, while working from her flat, she glances out the window to catch the eye of a good looking guy sitting on the upper level of the double decker bus stopped on the corner. In her mind, he becomes the worldly, sophisticated noble who is going to steal her away and introduce her to a whole new life. Each morning she watches for him on the bus, creating a longed for fantasy romance.

Encouraged by her friend and neighbor, Kat finally gets up the nerve to introduce herself to her dream man. Those dreams are crushed when she takes a seat beside him and discovers he’s not anything like she imagined. Instead, she discovers he’s an American named Rory from the same Michigan town where she grew up, the one she’s done her best to run away from. Though she’s greatly disappointed, she reluctantly agrees to meet Rory for a coffee date.

Rory is a teacher, spending a year teaching second grade in the UK, while he and his girlfriend are on a break (at her request). For Kat, that’s perfect. She and Rory can be buddies as neither of them has had the chance to make many friends since they’ve come to London. Rory is down to earth, not like the high powered, go getters Kat is used to dealing with. He’s content to be a teacher, enjoying the light he sees in his students’ eyes as they learn something new.

Spending time with Rory begins to change Kat’s attitude. When she hits a bit of a set back at work, she decides to head back to her parents home in Michigan for the winter holiday. Centered on her career as she has been, Kat hasn’t been home in years. Thanks to Rory Kat sees her hometown in a different light. She finds she’s enjoying the slow pace of the town, even with the craziness of the holidays, but when it’s over Kat jumps right back on the treadmill that is her life. Only, the continuing need to complete and get ahead just doesn’t hold the same appeal it once did. She begins to believe it might be time to give up the life that fills her back account but drains her soul.

Kat is a strong character, but working toward her long held goal leads her to compromise her principals, the bane of many women working their way up the male dominated corporate ladder. I think meeting Rory was the best thing that could happen to her. I loved his character from the start. He’s Kat’s exact opposite. He lives his life to the fullest, drinking up the experience of living and working in London. I also loved that he was a second grade teacher, not an age male teachers often choose to work with. His energy, his excitement and his joy simply jumped off the page. His attitude is infectious and Kat couldn’t help being affected by it. Though somewhat predictable, this is an enjoyable story and one I plan to read again as it offers everyone some life lessons we would all be wise to listen to.

This book just wasn't for me - I requested it on the basis that it looked and sounded like a cute romantic read but the storyline was too far-fetched and the characters didn't capture my heart at all.

This was such a cute read.

I stuck with it because of all the Taylor Swift references, because the beginning, I have to admit, wasn't great.

Kat seemed to complain too much, although she didn't do anything to improve her situation. But man, I started this book in a similar situation, work-wise, and I could totally relate to her struggle.

Plus, I really understood her daydreaming about Alexander, her made-up British prince. How many times have I not created full relationships in my head with people that don't exist? However, her Prince Charming wasn't real.

But man, Rory was such a great book boyfriend. All relaxed, chill, reliable, and overall nice. Too nice, maybe.

I am a sucker for the friends-to-lover trope, and this one was almost perfectly executed. There were some pacing issues, the beginning seemed kind of dragged and it took forever to get to the good part, some accent issues (especially her friend Jules from London), but other than that... I loved it. Loved the feminist turn it took, loved her professional struggles, and her romantic ones.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a free arc in exchange for an honest review. Real rating: 3.5 stars.

If I hadn’t gotten this as an ARC, I would have abandoned it very quickly as the first few chapters are pretty painful. It’s rare that I actually come to like a book after such a rocky start, so Double-Decker Dreams at least has that going for it.

The plot feels straight out of a rom-com - an American consultant living in London falls in love with a handsome man she sees riding the bus every day past her window. The problem with this one was that the FMC was so obnoxious and elitist and you really have a hard time rooting for her. Although she does eventually get redeemed, it takes a long time and you find yourself wondering what the MMC sees in her at all.

I did eventually get into this book, especially towards the ¾ mark, but I can’t rate this book higher than a 2.5, rounded down to 2. While I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, I would discourage friends from purchasing it outright.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I am about 25% thru. I enjoyed the first 20% but now it's hard to read. One day in the future I may be able to read it, but my mental state can't handle Kat right now. It has an excellent first 20%, I loved it. While I can't handle it, I will get my sister to read it once it's published. She would enjoy the book.

Thank you though for this opportunity. No hate for the author, it isn't personal. I enjoyed it, up until the boss said those things, they triggered me. If I wasn't triggered, I would read it. Sorry for not being helpful.

I Did Not Finish this at 30 percent. I just threw in the towel. This was not a great read and the main character, Kat (or disgustingly called Kitten by her British colleagues and boss) had me about done before I got to the whole, put on some fire red lipstick she finds in a bathroom scene. At that point I read a little further to see if the book could swing me back to reading, but it never happened.

"Double-Decker Dreams" follows 30 something year old Kat, who relocates to London for 6 months. Kat hopes at the end of the trip she eventually makes partner and it will help her fulfill her dream of being a CEO one day. Small problem is that Kat really doesn't like London and it doesn't fit into her daydreams about what her life would be like after breaking up with her long term boyfriend to live in London. However, Kat ends up locking eyes with a guy on the bus (double-decker) she takes to work sometimes and realizes he may be the one. Kat apparently has the ability through eye-contact to determine who her next romance will be.

Man, I wish I had time to embed a gif here.

Anyway, the book just stays way too long in Kat's dreams about the man she doesn't meet or talk to who she imagines is the perfect English guy who is going to be the answer to her prayers. In between that she's dealing with her job not working out the way she thought it would.

Look, Kat's exhausting. She makes friends with two women who live across from her (same home, broken into flats). But I honestly don't see why one of them whose name is escaping me even talks to her. Kat doesn't do anything but work and daydream. She bitches about London, but she doesn't mention trying to do things and complains about the pizza shops and the London tube. Kat is 30 or 31 (I refuse to look this up) but she reads as so much younger. A woman who wants to be a CEO one day, her mindset and daydreaming and just immaturity at times didn't gibe with this image at all. Not that you need to be hard as nails, but she reads as way younger than she is.

The romance set-up wasn't enough for me to keep reading. I can guess what happens and don't really care.

The work aspects were gross to me. Spoiler warning about a....I don't even know what that was that I was reading. It wasn't a sexual assault, but there was something going on that made me very uncomfortable. I don't know if this will hit readers the same way or not.

This was a DNF for me, as an English person myself I felt like it was making fun and the way the British characters spoke was just annoying to me. I just didn't enjoy the plot it was not for me.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think this is a very light read bordering on DNF. I went back and forth and couldn't really decide.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for a copy of this ARC!

Kat, a workaholic from America, moves to London for a six-month project, with the hopes of making partner AND finding herself a Prince Charming.

This was tough to get into at first – the instalove trope just isn’t my favourite, and I found Kat rather annoying. I ended up being glad I persisted, and really enjoyed this novel from about 20% onward.

I absolutely loved Kat and Rory’s friendship. The comfortable companionship they gave each other, with no expectations.

Double Decker Dreams is a slow-burn, closed door romcom with exceptional character growth & development.

Thanks to Alcove Press and Netgalley for this ARC. I wanted to love this novel as it is an adorable storyline however this novel was not something I could get into. I DNF the novel around 28%. I could not get into the characters or plot.

A lovely laugh out loud romance that got me right out of my reading slump. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

This was exactly what I needed! I literally laughed out loud, I teared up at some moments and I was cheering at others. Super cute and fun. Quirky, multi-layers characters, a fun meet cute and nothing over the top that takes you out of the story.
Kat is an American whose career has brought her all over the world. She’s now located in England and loving it. Except she would love to find a British boyfriend like in all her favorite rom-coms. So while she’s on a zoom call one day, she happens to look out the window and sees the man of her dreams sitting on the double decker bus outside her window. She creates a persona and a whole life for them before she even knows his name or anything about him. How will she find him and when she does will he live up to her expectations?
Of course, it takes ages to finally meet, and what she goes through to get to him is fun to watch play out in itself, but then to see the discrepancy in who she dreamed him to be and who he really is is where the magic happens. Her Prince Charming isn’t a prince at all but can they overcome all the odds and fall in love anyway?
I adored this and will be reading everything and anything Lindsay writes. It was adorable without being cheesy and I couldn’t get enough.
Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

American consultant Kat is staffed on a six-month project in London and has two very small, very reasonable ambitions before returning home: get promoted to partner and fall in love with a handsome English aristocrat. No problem, right?

But work is a grind, and the British men she meets are a far cry from her royal ideal. Then one morning, she sees a man on a double-decker bus and just knows that he’s her person. But when Kat finally musters the courage to board the bus and introduce herself, he turns out to be very different from the Prince Charming she expected.

Can Kat open herself up to a love that’s not like the movies, or is she too imprisoned by her rom-com expectations? And just as importantly, will she be able to see that success isn’t about landing a C-suite job, but rather living a life that’s aligned with her soul?

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Look, it was fine. It’s probably not a reread for me, but it was pleasant enough. The FMC comes off as a little bit desperate at times, and the inner world building can be a little bit cringey. Contemporary romance is usually a favourite of mine, but this one (whilst certainly not bad) just didn’t live up to the fun I’ve had reading other books of the same genre.

Thank you to NetGallery the author and the publisher for this Advance Reader Copy. This book was overall okay. As I person who’s all about the sparks I can say I am a bit disappointed but I didn’t quite hate it. I understand what the author wanted to say but I’m a hopeless romantic. Either way I loved this one!!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It felt really slow. It started to pick up a little bit after that, but I never ended up loving the book.