The Dallergut Dream Department Store beckons readers into a world brimming with potential, but unfortunately falls short of its promising premise. While the exploration of trauma and loss within dreams offers glimpses of depth, the story ultimately veers into a more mundane direction, leaving behind the complexity it initially hints at. The lack of plot and character development may leave some feeling unsatisfied, as the narrative fails to fully capitalize on its intriguing concept. Despite its captivating beginning and occasional moments of charm, the execution ultimately falls flat, resulting in a read that may leave readers longing for more substance. While "The Dallergut Dream Department Store" offers an interesting concept, its potential remains untapped, leaving it to be a cozy yet ultimately forgettable read for some.

This books feels very....ethereal? It's really vibey and dreamlike, which I definitely think some people will get a kick out of. Personally, I don't like that style. For me, it's very reminiscent of purple prose, but in a tonal/atmospheric way. I tend to really enjoy translated literature, because I like how the prose usually translates very simply, for lack of a better word, without a ton of extra fluff--and this was no exception to that. However, I do think that there were some continuity problems with this story, and at times I would stumble upon a sentence that made very little sense/was confusing, or lacked anchoring from the surrounding context. The concept of this story was really compelling, but I think the dreamlike atmosphere coupled with the slightly confusing translation made this a story that just was not for me.
If you're a fan of very floaty and dreamlike prose, and you're better at following sentences/translated works than I am, then you'll definitely get a kick out of this. Also, that cover was stunning, I'm sad that I didn't love it but I know there are some folks who will.

this was a nice read. i loved the atmosphere and characters. super cozy and comforting! Although sometimes i did have a bit of trouble following along, overall i understood the story well and enjoyed reading it.

You definitely read this one for the vibes. I sat down to read this book and I'm sorry I was so distracted by the fact I was daydreaming while reading that I can't recall what I read. The point I'm making is this book feels like you are dreaming.

This quaint book is a cozy, slice-of-life, speculative fiction story that consists of short interactions with little overarching plot. Penny works for the Dallergut Dream Department Store, a store that sells…dreams. Over the course of the book we get to meet her, her colleagues and her customers - both human and animal.

This is an English translation, from the Korean original, and I thought the writing (translation?) was very basic - middlegrade even at times. I found the verb tense occasionally jarring, descriptions and characters lacked depth, and prose often tells instead of shows. Perhaps this was because I read an ARC, but I also noticed occasional continuity and grammatical errors. Overall, I found the writing to be frustrating and I almost stopped reading this altogether, but the concept is imaginative and I was curious what would happen next.

In the end, the whimsical concept was worth a quick read, but the writing was not for me. I don’t think I’d pick up the intended sequel, but do think someone should adapt this into a tv show!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for letting read an ARC of this heartwarming story!! This is perfect for fans of “Before the coffee gets cold”. Similar concept. Similar vibes. A little more *magical*. I actually liked this one more, I thought there was a little more substance here. Just an all around cozy read!

Dallergut Dream Department Store is like a fine meal in an expensive restaurant where the courses are at the whim of the chef. Dream starts slow, and slowly builds, with beautiful small stories about the need to dream and the power of dreams. Mr. Dallergut owns the eponymous store that sells sleepers, including animals, the dreams they want. Sometimes Mr. Dallergut sells customers not what they want but what they need, and those stories are so satisfying. The lead is a young woman, Penny, who we follow through her first year as an employee as she becomes a valued assistant to Dallergut and the staff. I fell for her curiosity, intelligence, and sensitivity.
This is a beautiful translation from the Korean best-selling novel. Thank you to NatGalley for the ARC. The review is my own.

Welcome to the Dallergut Dream Department Store! Opened 24 hours around-the-clock, it’s the only place where you’ll find patrons in their pajamas adding to cart the newest in-demand dream blockbuster. Here you will find 5 floors packed with every concoction imaginable boxed and sold for both animal and human consumption. You name it, they got it: dreams of achievement, memories of your childhood, futuristic dreams, foodie dreams, and even nightmares are sold! Some opt to revisit their lost loved ones while others may seek travel. And if your premade purchase isn’t doing the trick, a specialized dream can be created and made-to-order just for you! Follow along with our protagonist Penny and meet all the others staffs on board as she navigates her first day on the job at Dallergut’s. As for method of payment? Why, you’ll have to read the book in order to find out ALL its quirks and whimsies.

My initial thoughts were: this would be a cute, fanciful, and highly imaginative read into a world of dreams based alone on its cover. There is a heap of magical realism with fairytale elements that requires a jolt of the imagination when you first dive in. It immediately gives off Before the Coffee Gets Cold vibes, which I’m a fan. I didn’t realize this was a duology and although it lacked a central plot line and is nil on action/tension, the dream-like themes and creative inner workings of the store along with the animated casts made it a fairly entertaining read and a cozy escape at the end of the day. You will either love it or snooze on this one.

Thank you Hanover Square Press and HTP for my advance e-readers copy of this book.

Where do I start?
I wanted to love this book. I was excited to read it based off the premise and the beautiful cover design. But I could hardly get through it.
This book felt completely disjointed. Main characters weren't given enough weight, while side characters were talked about for too long. There was hardly a consistent plot through the entire story. It was abruptly sectioned, although that didn't feel like the intention.
My biggest gripe is how amateur the writing felt. I know it was a debut for the author, but I wasn't allowed to think anything for myself because she overly explained every little thing she could've. Some characters had ridiculous names, some had normal names that felt like they belonged to a different world. The world building started off strong, but quickly fell apart with too many inexplainable loopholes. This was a whimsical world, yet familiar faces like Santa Claus and Paul McCartney showed up.
I just wasn't a fan. The premise was so intriguing, but it was too lost on me with how poorly this was written.

I am so happy this book was translated into English. A department store full of dreams? such an interesting concept and it was executed perfectly. It was such a comfort read and see these characters and world interacting with one another was so much fun. I had a lot of fun reading this book

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Dallergut Dream Department Store was, if an experience, similar to floating in a gentle and warm ocean. It was calming and explored ideas about a world where dreams are sold without any driving action or apparent intention, and that was as perfect as meditating through book form.

Penny is the main character, but really it’s more that she’s the vessel through which we meet her coworkers, dream designers, the owner of the store and the patrons of it. I loved the idea behind designed dreams and what would cause a person to look for any specific one, as well as pets (this storyline was so cute). We also are introduced to the idea of those on their deathbeds designing custom dreams for their loved ones and this was so bittersweet.

If you’re drawn to the ideas this book introduces then I’d recommend picking it up. If, on the other hand, you want a lot of action and conflict this may not be for you. But, even as a bit of a palate cleanser, this is well done and refreshing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a translation of a popular Korean novel. The concept is unique and creative. The story takes place in a parallel reality which is the world people travel to when they are sleeping. We follow a new employee from that world, Penny, as she starts her new job at a dream department store, where people (and animals) go to buy dreams for themselves as they sleep. All the customers are walking around in the pajamas they went to sleep in, and they won’t remember purchasing the dreams, or most of the dreams themselves, after they wake up. Each floor of the store deals with a different type of dream.

The story is very breezy and cute, for the most part. Each chapter deals with a different type of dream or type of customer that Penny, the new employee, is trying to help. As she learns the workings of the dream store, so do we. It reminded very much of Before the Coffee Gets Cold in that way, with each chapter dealing with one contained event or story. The tone is cozy and reassuring, and while there are some sad or troubling issues that come up over the course of the book, it all is handled with a light touch. This would be the perfect book to read a chapter of before bed each night. It reads quickly and easily.

Although it’s cute and creative, it’s so light that I can’t really justify giving it more than three stars. I liked a lot of the concepts in the story, in particular the reasoning behind why nightmares exist, but it felt like less of a story and more of a series of ideas of how dreams could work. There isn’t much plot or character depth, so I didn’t get too invested in the characters. I usually need to fall in love with the characters and/or plot in order to fall in love with the book, and this didn’t have much of either. That said, it was an easy, diverting read that served as a nice break between some darker, heavier stories I was reading at the time. If you need a quick, fun break for more serious books, this is a perfect fit.

This book is one of my fav reads of 2024 !!
It’s soo good
The world building and the characters are top notch
I love the creativity in this book it gave me all the emotions laughing and crying
Would 100% recommend

3.4 stars!

Thank you to Lee Mi-Ye and Hanover Square Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

I would like to preface this review with the hilarious fact that I read this amidst one of the worst insomnia episodes I've had in years. Currently wishing I had Dallergut's help to finally get some sleep.

This was interesting, my feelings are pretty mixed. First, the good stuff. The premise and world-building of this little novel are really fun, and especially at the beginning with the Noctiluca I was getting Spirited Away vibes. It is extremely quick and easy to read, which was perfect considering the limited brain cells I currently possess. The stories were very easy to follow, and particularly the dog one really got me teary.

Unfortunately, a lot of the rest of the book was lost on me. I know it's the nature of these cozy, slice-of-life books but this one just had literally no stakes so it was difficult to feel engaged. The characters are all pretty simplistic and don't experience any major character development over the course of the story. It might be a result of the translation, but I found the writing to be very basic. What I want from these types of cozy books are some really striking life lesson and occasionally beautiful writing, but I only have a few highlights because there just wasn't a lot there.

This is a cute, creative book, but in my opinion it's also missing a lot of the elements that would make it really striking and worth reading. I would have loved to just get more description of the world or to dive deeper into the characters. I think if you really love these simple, cozy books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold or What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, then this is worth a try. If you're like me and the genre has been pretty hit-or-miss for you, maybe skip this one.

Happy reading!

This book looked like something I would have enjoyed from what little I got to read of it before "the certificate for this book has expired", which was odd because it said I still had 28 days to read this title. I can't confidently recommend this book as I couldn't read the whole thing.
For now, I'll give it 2 stars. If I get to read the whole thing at some point, I'll update this review.

This was such an inventive and imaginative story. I really found myself wishing this could be real and it was very cozy.

This was a nice slice-of-life story about Penny, the newest employee at the Dallergut Dream Department Store where visitors can purchase dreams. It reminded me of Before the Coffee Gets Cold with its whimsy, magical realism, and heartwarming vignettes. I liked reading about how the department store operates, such as the payment system and what each floor offers; however, while the overall concept is great, it wasn't as well-developed as I had hoped.

Throughout the novel we get glimpses into the actual lives of visitors who purchase dreams, but these snippets felt shallow. We are also introduced to the store managers for each floor, the five legendary dream directors, and others, but I wish their characters had been explored in-depth. It felt like we met them briefly, learned what they do, and then the story moved on to introduce another character or element of the department store.

I wish there was a general theme or overarching narrative to connect all these characters, stories, and situations into something more cohesive. As it stands, this was an easy and imaginative read but it left me wanting more.

This was my first arc read and I absolutely loved this story! It really made me think about why we dream and I love the world they built around this concept!! Highly recommend

Very interesting book, reminded of Clpud Atlas had a baby with the Goonies. Fun, smart, and interesting ending.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dallergut Dream Department Store follows Penny, a new employee at a store where customers come when they fall asleep to purchase dreams. We follow Penny as she encounters different customers and dream makers and realizes the impact dreams have on the lives of customers.
Stories like that are usually hit or miss for me. The idea was interesting but I feel like the execution could have been better, especially with dreams being at the center of the story. I had trouble connecting with the characters, maybe because the story felt too short or because they lacked depth, or both. I don’t know if it’s because of the translation or if the author’s writing is this way but it felt bland and almost robotic at times.
Overall the book is still an easy read and is cut into several stories of people and the dream that suits them for the situation. I give it 3 stars because I still enjoyed it and the world the author created has potential. I don’t know if it will have a sequel or not, if it does, I might pick it up out of curiosity.