When the email came through that I got this ARC, I screamed. After already having torn apart Icebreaker and Wildfire in a “bookmarks are for quitters” binge, I was SO excited to get my hands on Hannah Grace’s latest novel, so thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley!

Henry, being a beloved friend at Maple Hills, finally got his main character moment! I think the author did an excellent job writing his point of view and making the story truly fit him and our leading lady, Halle. The book definitely wasn’t as spicy as the first two in the series, but it fit perfectly with the characters and what it felt like they needed, so don’t let that stop you from checking it out!

Halle’s character growth through the book was very well written, especially for her being introduced as an entirely new character in the series.

The only other thing I feel like I really need to say is - Will, I hope you run out of hot water every time you take a shower.

This book has exceeded my expectations. I know they was a lot of hype around her other books so I was skeptical going into this but I’m so glad I read it. I loved the representation of Halle being a midsized girly. Growing up as someone who is not skinny and feels the weight of the world on her who I know exactly what Halle was going through. It made me feel so understood and loved. I think Grace did an amazing job with this book and I’m really glad I was given the opportunity to read it.

Halle is your stereotypical eldest daughter - a chronic people pleaser, the family manager, and the one constantly lost in stories. Henry is the quiet, artistic, hockey star that has no trouble at all with girls. Halle and Henry's relationship first blooms when Henry needs help studying, and in exchange Henry will give Halle the romantic experiences that have evaded her for years.

Watching Halle and Henry's relationship unfold was truly a joy in every sense of the word. Their communication was what everyone strives for in a romantic relationship. Their personal boundaries not only helped protect their personal mental health, but they also strengthened their relationship. On top of a very healthy relationship, the romance in this book made me swoon. Henry's blunt and upfront admission of his attraction to Halle is what every girl dreams of. This might just be my favorite book of Hannah Grace's so far!

I loved this book! Halle and Henry might be my favourite of the couples. I really related to Halle and her need to always be helpful and have everything under control, and I admired the lengths she went to. Henry was also done very well in my opinion, he is definitely on the neurodiverse spectrum, but I appreciate that Hannah doesn't define it at any point. He is learning to work through it and it felt more accurate as many people don't get diagnosed early.

I don't know if it was because of the neurodiversity rep, but I did find Henry to sometimes be really inconsistent as a character. I can't think of a single moment, but I know it was something I was thinking of while reading. The focus on his story would shift in strange ways and it stood out to me, but again, the best word I can think of for it is 'inconsistent'. I do appreciate how much he tried to look after Halle too, and his big romance gesture at the end was incredibly sweet. I will continue to read Hannah Grace books for sure!

Every book in this series just keeps getting better. I liked Icebreaker and wasn’t sure if I would read Wildfire, but I did and loved it. And Daydream was even better. I wasn’t expecting to love Henry’s book as much as I did although I’ve always loved his character, but him and Halle are just so sweet and perfect together.

In this third installment of the Maple Hills series, which started with viral BookTok “Icebreaker”, this next installment is the story of everyone’s favorite side character Henry and shy cardigan-wearing, book-club running tutor Halle. Clearly Henry’s has been the perfect guy who knows how to treat a woman with respect and effortlessly says all the right things, even when he doesn’t mean to. I read the forward by author #hannahgrace helping to describe how she purposely left out an official Autism spectrum diagnosis in the story, but clearly she spent a lot of time researching and identifying strategies and traits to keep Henry’s character true to his identity.

In this way, the romance story is pretty different than the others. There’s definitely some spice with some art-related romance scenes that was giving Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze “Ghost” vibes. However, it felt pretty wholesome throughout and took awhile for the sparks to fly. With Halle a diehard people pleaser and family manager who just got out of one-sided relationship with he her ex, the author did a good job be sensitive to both needs….especially as a self-proclaimed virgin. Their story was much more cerebral and while there was attraction, it was more a look into consent and friendship and true support that was the sexiest part of the story. Especially when juxtaposed to her trash ex, Henry shines and is the perfect guy with some quirks.

Henry is a POC and I appreciated some descriptions of racial discrimination issues in healthcare for black women. But, there wasn’t really focus on Halle and Henry as an interracial couple or a description of Henry as a black man with special needs. With such a melting pot of supporting characters, the story was mainly about Halle and Henry as individuals, which is pretty on brand with the series. But, I felt that an opportunity was missed to address that part of Henry’s identity and their relationship that could have take the story a little deeper.

Either way, it’s a must-read! It would be hard to read as a stand alone because of the sheer size of the character list after the first 2 books. But, so glad everyone’s fave gentleman Henry got his own story with his kind and loving match Halle.

Thanks to #simonandschuster and #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The two main characters really make this book shine. Henry was a delightful character in Icebreaker and he can definitely carry his own story as shown by this book. Halle is a fantastic character as well and their relationship is so sweet. This is a joy to read.

I won't lie to you, I was harsh with Wildfire. The conflict seemed flimsy at best and I didn't love the lack of getting to know the side characters/kids at the camp. Anyway. This one was back to the charm of Icebreaker, and I really enjoyed it! I very much connected with Halle (not an eldest daughter but an only child) and while my parents were never as demanding as hers, I understand the weight that comes with being responsible for certain members of the family. Her and Henry are such an adorable pair, and I really enjoyed reading from his point of view when it came to his ADHD and what it's like to struggle with serious procrastination. One small problem for me was trying to understand why everyone kept telling him what an amazing job he was doing when he clearly hated it? Or maybe that's just because we had his internal dialogue. Either way, this was a very cozy, cute read and I'm looking forward to the next one!

(Weird side note: does anyone else get British vibes from some of the phrasing? "Properly" is used a bit more than I'd think for some American college kids.)

I absolutely loved this book. I have loved Henry from the beginning of the series, so I was stoked when I learned this was his book. And I related to Halle so much it was almost insane. This book kept me reading until the very last page, and then left me sad that it was over. I can't get over it and I am fairly certain that my friends are sick of hearing me talk about how good it is. I cannot wait to recommend this book to customers so they can love it as much as I do.

hallehenry the icons that you both are. their friends to lovers romance was so sweet and made my heart swell. and as the eldest daughter in my own family halle was much too relatable.

i adore this little found family hannah has created in maple hills. i love how interconnected the side characters are to the story and i hope to see more of them in the future.

Not school age however it was a good book. I have read the others by Hannah grace and this Was a slow burn in comparison. I wish it had some more spice

I really enjoyed reading this book. I actually think its been my favorite out of the 3 in this series. I really could relate to henry and his neurodivergence. I saw myself a lot in him and his mental health struggles. It did feel like a slow start but really ramped up the 2/3 of the book. A little weird part at the end with Anastasia showing up at Halle’s door. Just felt out of place and thrown in there. But overall, I really enjoyed the book!

Henry + Halle both need something from each other: Henry needs Halle to help him pass a class so he can remain hockey captain; Halle needs Henry to give her dating experience so that she can write her first novel. The more time they spend together, the more they realize how strong their connection is.

I loved both books in the Maple Hills series so Daydream was my most anticipated book of 2024. I don't want to say I was disappointed because that is strong, but I think my hype just made it impossible to live up to Icebreaker + Wildfire. Nothing was missing from this book, it was just too long and drawn out and I didn't find myself as interested in these characters as I thought I would be. I really liked Halle and Henry, but their romance fell a little flat for me. I will still recommend this book to romance readers!

This book was just okay for me! It was a quick read which I enjoyed to a certain extent. I found myself kind of annoyed by some of the characters and felt like it was rather predictable. It also felt entirely too long, I think a lot of it could have been cut. I also have only read the first maple hills book so that might explain why I was not super familiar with a lot of the characters. Overall not bad at all, but enjoyed the first novel in the series much more.

I’m a big Hannah Grace fan, but this one was missing something. I feel like it wasn’t as spicy as previous books, and I didn’t fall in love or really connect with these characters. I’ll still read the next books, but I definitely like the first two more.

I have not read any of the Maple Hills books before Daydream, so I wasn't familiar with the characters. Regardless, this was a book that you could just pick up and read without having read prior books in the series.

Daydream is a sweet story about Halle, who helps hockey star Henry with his schoolwork. They quickly bond and their relationship grows from a strong connection to something more romantic over time. Halle's journey from a difficult past with Will to becoming a strong, independent woman adds depth to the story. It's a heartwarming read about personal growth and the complexities of love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read Daydream!

I really loved how sex wasn't the main focus of the book. Sex scenes are wonderful and everything, but it was beautiful how their relationship blossomed even without sex. I also loved how it was natural for them to have a touchy friendship. It felt relatable as someone who loves touch.

thank you to netgalley and atria books for this eARC!

i loved this book. i was expecting to, but like i really loved it. i love henry! i loved henry in icebreaker, i loved him more in wildfire, and i loved him even more when i was inside his head. he’s just such a cutie pie sweetheart and he’s precious. something i really loved about this book (and wildfire tbf but its not about her rn) was the conflict. i REALLY hate when a romance novel’s entire conflict relies on miscommunication. i feel like if you’re whole conflict can be solved with one conversation, then it is not a solid conflict. and this book didn’t do that! it had a legitimate issue that existed beyond their relationship but still affected it. and i LOVED it.

*!minor spoiler!*

also beyond the writing i cannot tell you how amazing it is that there was a moment of halle flirting with ryan. like i think thats the best bit i’ve ever seen in a series and when i tell you i was begging for that to happen i’m not kidding (actual quote from my annotations “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET RYAN FLIRT WITH HALLE OR VISE VERSA PLEASEEEE”). i loved that so much, i’m a sucker for a good bit. i also just loved watching halle experience girlhood for what was essentially the first time in her life. it was so fun to read and it made me so happy for her.

*!minor spoiler over!*

anyways all in all, i love this book and i’m so glad i requested it. it really kicked me into gear about reading this series and i’ve really enjoyed it. i knew i was gonna love this book because, and i cannot emphasize this enough, i love henry, but it was a truly great read.

DAYDREAM is the third installment in the MAPLE HILLS series and follows henry turner, now captain of the hockey team, as he gets help with his studies from halle jacobs, an aspiring author who's working on her first novel but struggling with her lack of life experiences. they strike a deal where halle helps henry study, while henry helps halle have more experiences to help her writing.

i'm so sorry to the hg stans out there... this book was not for me.

i haven't read the other two books in this series, so there were a lot of characters i didn't know and context i was missing. i knew this would be the case going in, but i figured i would be okay since it's supposed to be interconnected standalones, right? wrong. i was so confused for the first 30% of the book because kept showing up and i was supposed to know all about them and it made it really hard to follow.

then, the length. oh my god. this book was about 150 pages longer than it needed to be, in part due to the excessive instances of telling instead of showing. there were so many parts of the book where i would be editing it as i read along, cutting entire paragraphs from scenes that didn't need to be there. redundant conversations, unnecessary details, etc., etc. the length and the pacing, where it felt like nothing happened for pages and pages on end, are the biggest issue with the book.

now, i didn't completely hate it and there were a lot of things that i did enjoy!! i loved halle and henry's relationship, the way they supported and understood each other, the way he respected her boundaries (which is bare minimum, but i appreciated the constant reinforcement of it considering how things had gone down with her ex), and the way she knew how to help him through his struggles with his undiagnosed ADHD. once i finally figured out everyone's names, i loved that halle got a friend group (even if i still know nothing about emilia and poppy, other than the fact that they're gay).

while this was not the book for me, i know there will be tons of people who will love it and i'm happy for them, especially because a lot of people will feel seen by halle's character as the people-pleasing eldest daughter and by henry's ADHD.

read if you like:
- slooooow burn
- tutor x jock
- taylor swift references

thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy! DAYDREAM comes out august 27.

I really enjoyed this one! The neurodivergent main character was so endearing if a bit hard to identify with. The trajectory of this book was entirely unexpected. Loved the steamy scenes that were slow and luxurious, and the attention to consent was beautiful. Ugh genius! Loved every second and can't wait to see which of the Maple Hills crew will be next :)