The meet-cute at the book club. "We are both quirky and fine with being quirky together." The author's note at the beginning on neurodiversity. The artist talent of both as well as the insecurities. Loving the whole knight in shining armor after being screwed over by a douchebag and losing friends who chose sides. This is a very real thing. This book had me kicking my feet and screaming into my pillow. @hannahgrace please keep writing these feel-good books!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this ARC for an honest review. Loved!

I was SO HAPPY to be back in Maple Hills again. This book was just a simple, warm fuzzies all over feeling from cover to cover and it felt like hanging out with old friends. Henry's neurodivergence takes center stage, but he tries to acknowledge feelings and events to help those around him understand what's going on in his head. Halle, in that same vein, is the people-pleaser and helps recognize some of Henry's feelings before others can, giving him grace and space to explore emotions. The two are ultra-supportive of one another, and even their "bumps in the road" are just minor moments in the story that their happily ever after is never in question for even a second.

It's nice to see the cast of characters we know and love rally around these two. (I'd still love to read a JJ book.) It was a relatively straight-forward story. The "spice" was pretty turned down, especially compared to the previous installments. It was a little longer than maybe necessary, but no where near as long as Icebreaker felt.

Now... how long do we have to wait for book 4?!? ;0)

Overall: 5 stars (I loved it)

**Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I don't read much new adult because it's often hard for me to related to characters who are just in such a different phase of life (I'm in my 40s, these characters are 20). But, I've read the first two books in the Maple Hills series and I definitely wanted to read Henry's book since he's been such an interesting character in the series, and when I saw that he was being paired with a cute nerd who loves reading and writing romance, I was like, "yeah, I have to." The author's note at the start of the book was really interesting - she explains that readers of the series really wanted a book in which Henry's assumed neurodiversity is acknowledged and/or officially diagnosed, but chose not to make this a book focused on a diagnosis. Henry definitely reads as neurodiverse, maybe with some combo of ADHD and ASD, but I respect the author's choice not to make the book about that. While he's certainly one of two leads in this novel, it actually felt more like Halle's book to me, maybe because I found her so relatable, and maybe because her growth over the course of the story is so significant. I think Hannah Grace is a great writer and I would love to see her do a non-new adult romance, because I feel like she could really knock it out of the park for me with a millennial main character.

I really enjoyed Halle and Henry’s story! It was a sweet budding romance, I liked the friends to lovers. I enjoyed Icebreaker more than Wildfire. But I liked Daydream more than both of those. I found both Halle and Henry to be relatable and loveable characters!

The way I genuinely shrieked when this book hit my kindle app was truly something. This book was one of the most anticipated books of the year for me and it truly did not disappoint. I loved returning to Maple Hill and being with the gang again. I loved how Henry, precious sweet Henry, finally got his own book. I loved Halle as well because I see a lot of myself in her especially with being an overthinker and severe people pleaser. This book was overall what I wanted from it and it never had a dull moment for me.

This book was so sweet and full of so much heart! I loved watching the progression of Henry's and Halle's relationship and how the entire time, they communicated with one another about their wants/needs. I loved the slight banter between the two and how Henry found comfort being around Halle and she knew exactly what he needed in certain scenarios.

This book touches a lot on neurodivergent tendencies and characteristics and even though Henry isn't officially diagnosed in this book (which Hannah Grace notes is intentional), it dives into the challenges that he faces when his brain process certain information and/or scenarios differently than those around him. It was great to see the support that he got from both Halle and his friends, even if at times his friends didn't always know how to support him.

I also really related to Halle's character in this story. Like Halle, I'm a people pleaser and while my people pleasing isn't as severe as Halle's, I get her tendency to want to put others before herself. It was great to see Henry and her friends encourage her to put herself first and also have them jump in to help when she over committed to doing things for others.

So, if you're looking for a fun, slower burn romance with amazing main characters and side characters, be sure to put this one up on release day!

Read if you like:
- Friends to Lovers
- Fake Dating
- Opposites Attract
- Inexperienced FMC
- Neurodivergent Rep

I have been waiting for this one! I absolutely adored getting to be in Henry’s head and learn more about Halle. I think they are such relatable characters and I loved them so so so much. I was wondering if there will be a epilogue, because Icebreaker and Wildfire had epilogue’s and honestly I just want more of Halle and Henry

this was... okay. I thoroughly enjoyed Henry's ADHD representation and thought that was done well. Halle was a people-pleaser and had an eldest-daughter curse so she said yes to everyone and everything and didn't know how to say no or put herself first. By the end, I loved seeing her yell and argue and stand up for herself.

➳Their relationship was cute. They were both there to support each other and they had really sweet moments. Was it worth the length of this book? No.

➳Side characters are there but everyone seems to be in distress. Nate is away, Stassie is stressing; Aurora is weird and Russ is a teddybear; Kris, Robbie, Bobbie and whoeevr the fuck else exist and I still don't even know who they are three books later (Robbie is in a wheelchair? I never knew this?)

➳The biggest downfall was how BORING this was. Oh my god. I was seventy percent through and the book should have finished then. I want you to be mindful of this: the book starts at the beginning of a fall semester. AND WE NEED TO GET THROUGH TO MARCH for Halle's character arc to be complete. When I read Icebreaker (5/5 stars for me), I didn't notice and/or mind how long it was. Wildfire was a bit of a slog, and I noticed it was unnecesarily long. But this one? Holy moly. SO unnecessarily long. And i love long books! I've read a 700-page fantasy in one day. But please. It took me a week to read this and this was the one release this year I was so looking forward to, and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I dreaded the fact that I had to pick this up and read it because I was so bored.

Since I really did love Icebreaker and even Wildfire, I was so esctatic to get this. But I think my tolerance for the way this author writes has worn thin, between the choppy sentences or weird paragraphs that have no place or rhyme or reason to be there. I kept thinking to myself as I was reading, "This paragraph could have been deleted and nothing would have changed" or "This could have been the leading chapter paragraph and we wouldn't have missed anything." Because why are you trying to waste my time with these unnecessary, dragging details? There are so many redundant conversations between EVERYBODY.
➳Russ and Henry—him essentially telling him over and over again that he doesn't need to stress about being a good captain, etc. There's at least forty pages covered on this.
➳Henry and Halle—I love good communication. not when they are communciating the same point over and over again and getting nowhere. I feel like they went in circles. I don't like labels? You don't either? Cool! You need space? I'll give you space, but I'll be sad about it. Pout pout. Like get a grip.
➳Halle couldn't stand up for herself to save her life. Like seriously grow a spine.

Going into this, you think it's going to be a jock x tutor dynamic and while that is true, it's not the way you think it will be. They essentially befriend each other first, then just spend all of their time together, and then they decide to help each other out. And henry is great—he has a care kit for girls, let's not forget!!—but I wish there was more tension. I felt no butterflies. No fuzzies. Nothing. Because they seamlessly just... fit.

Halle lives in her grandmother's house. Yes, you heard that right. Homegirl has a whole ass house to herself that her mother pays for. Unrealistic for a twenty year old, but okay. On the topic of unrealistic things, I truly do not believe Halle had time to do half of the things she always said she had to, nevertheless all of them. And adding onto more unrealistic things, Henry asks his friends (Russ, aurora, etc) to literally help Halle through her laundry list of never ending people-pleasing tasks by grocery shopping for her or buying christmas presents for her relatives. I dont care how good of a friend group you say you have—aint nobody doing all that.

Another trope is the virgin trope. Our heroine, Halle, is a virgin. I will reiterate since I think it's important that I do so that I LOVED ICEBREAKER AND WILDFIRE!!!—I thought their spice level was pretty good. The spice in this book is nearly nonexistent. It's also a slow burn, since halle is a virgin. Obviously. And it wasn't even good. Like... Henry. I thought you had more game than this babygirl. I was lowkey embarrassed for the both of them LMAO.

There's also this other subplot for Halle submitting a writing prompt for... whatever reason, hence why she needs Henry's help with getting "experience" to write something good. This is the backdrop for the whole book—her trying to get material for her own book (which the premise sucks, by the way, more secondhand embarrassment)—and by the end, it doesn't even get chosen. So all of that for what? Literally everyone dropped their entire lives to help her finish this and it didn't even get picked. Girl don't quit your day job!!! keep daydreaming!!!

Now listen. There were good parts. Halle found a group of girl friends which is hard as a girl in your 20s when you're introverted and had your entire life grown around a man. Her and henry's relationship really was sweet, even if emotionally codependent. But it was just so long, so boring, at parts icky and cringey. To say i'm not disappointed by this would be a lie. And it's a 3.5, which is not a horrible rating, but I was really expecting something spectacular. And sure, that can be on me, but when I rated both other books 4 stars and higher, excuse me for having expectations. It's possible I've outgrown this juvenile, college-life style of books. Maybe I don't care about twenty-year old's problems when they're this stupid. The writing is not the best (you don't "have a shower" you "take a shower") and I might just prefer something with a little more... intellect.


thank you netgalley for the arc!!!

--

Daydream was a cute follow up to Wildfire. I liked it but not as much as Hannah Graces other two novels. Henry was sweet and caring, Halle was incredibly relatable. However, there were times where the story felt drawn out and repetitive. 3.5 ⭐️

This book was everything I could have hoped for and more! Henry has always been my favorite character like many other people and so I was very excited when I saw that the next book was going to be about him, and it did not disappoint! I loved learning more about Henry and how he thinks and reacts to different scenarios. It was so refreshing to see everyone around him just wanting the best for him, "whatever that looks like". Seeing the relationship progress between Halle and Henry was so fun to see. They were so good for each other and I loved how the not pressuring each other went both ways, even if its not as apparent with Halle not pressuring Henry. She lets him work things out how he needs to without needing an answer right away.

I also LOVED Halle as a character. I saw so much of myself in her in her insecurities and experiences. I loved seeing her represented in a book and having the other characters around her validate her feelings and help her with moving on from what she felt and being more comfortable with where she is now. Another thing I was super grateful for is that Halle was a plus sized character and yet her entire personality did not revolve around her being insecure in her body. It was so nice to see a plus size character who was comfortable in their body and loved their body and wore whatever they wanted without mentioning that they are bigger every two lines.

The friendship relationships in this book were phenomenal. Everyone was so supportive of each other and validated their feelings and helped them when they needed help. They were constantly showing up for each other even when the characters didn't think they would. This book is about friendship as much as it is about relationships. And once again Hannah Grace kills it with the healthy communication and making sure to talk about the things that are bothering the characters instead of just hiding away from it.

Thank you Atria Books for approving my Netgalley request! (I was so excited when I saw the notification pop up that I dropped my phone on my face)

Before I started Daydream, I was a bit nervous to read this one. I loved the past two books, but I always get worried when a sequel comes out that it won’t live up to the previous books. Obviously I was incredibly wrong since I loved Henry and Halle so much that I couldn’t stand to put this book down.

Without spoiling anything, this book portrays what a healthy relationship can look like. It also depicts mental health in a way that could at times feel relatable, but never felt forced. Both of these things are something that I could appreciate. I loved the build up in this book as they worked towards things together, never making Halle OR the reader feel like things were rushed.

I have nothing but positive things to say about this book. If you liked Icebreaker and Wildfire, you’re going to love Daydream. Hannah Grace ate and left no crumbs with this one!

I don’t think I’ve ever connected to a book as much as I connected to this one. I saw my ADHD in Henry and my eldest-daughter syndrome in Halle and I felt so many emotion throughout this whole book.

I loved the communication between Henry and Halle. They set boundaries and rules for their relationship that helped them to understand each other better. They voiced their emotions almost every step of the way and it helped them build a trustworthy friendship and romantic relationship. Their communication was present during their spicy times as well and it’s so fantastic and important that they didn’t lose the communication during those moments. It is so important for neurospicy people to voice their feelings and the things they need from others and we really get to see Henry’s struggles with that. His constant battle with himself of not knowing why he can’t do certain things and finally finding ways to help himself succeed was amazing to read about. It’s extremely relatable for me (and will be for so many others that will read this book).

Seeing Halle evolve from a people-pleaser to a boundary-setter is amazing. I am also the oldest daughter and related to so many things Halle struggled with. Like her, I am working on setting boundaries and I think Halle will be relatable to so many eldest daughters. I like that the friends Halle and Henry surround themselves with are understanding and loving and work to help them when they can’t help themselves. It’s so important to have healthy relationship with friends and family when you deal with personal struggles. They are there for you when you aren’t there for yourself.

I laughed, cried, swooned, and stressed alongside these characters and I absolutely loved every second of it. This is for sure a new favourite romance. This one releases August 27, 2024!

I don’t think I’ve ever connected to a book as much as I connected to this one. I saw my ADHD in Henry and my eldest-daughter syndrome in Halle and I felt so many emotion throughout this whole book.

I loved the communication between Henry and Halle. They set boundaries and rules for their relationship that helped them to understand each other better. They voiced their emotions almost every step of the way and it helped them build a trustworthy friendship and romantic relationship. Their communication was present during their spicy times as well and it’s so fantastic and important that they didn’t lose the communication during those moments. It is so important for neurospicy people to voice their feelings and the things they need from others and we really get to see Henry’s struggles with that. His constant battle with himself of not knowing why he can’t do certain things and finally finding ways to help himself succeed was amazing to read about. It’s extremely relatable for me (and will be for so many others that will read this book).

Seeing Halle evolve from a people-pleaser to a boundary-setter is amazing. I am also the oldest daughter and related to so many things Halle struggled with. Like her, I am working on setting boundaries and I think Halle will be relatable to so many eldest daughters. I like that the friends Halle and Henry surround themselves with are understanding and loving and work to help them when they can’t help themselves. It’s so important to have healthy relationship with friends and family when you deal with personal struggles. They are there for you when you aren’t there for yourself.

I laughed, cried, swooned, and stressed alongside these characters and I absolutely loved every second of it. This is for sure a new favourite romance. This one releases August 27, 2024!

Another smashing success in my book from Hannah Grace. The next installment of Maple Hills follows Halle, an eldest daughter family manager type, and heart throb Henry we've all been falling in love with for the past two books. Hannah Grace didn't hold back at all in her ability to craft emotionally driven stories with lovable characters that make mistakes sometimes. Three books in and I cannot get over how authentic these characters come across. The way Halle and Henry are burdened by the responsibility that has been placed on them despite their support systems was so consuming. I felt like their biggest cheerleader as they navigated all the obstacles in their way, and truly admired their ownership when things started breaking down.
Overall, this is my favorite in the series by far. I already cannot wait for the next book!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I’ll be daydreaming about this book for a while! This book was fun and lighthearted but also tackled some important mental health issues with the seriousness it deserves. The support and love hit home and reiterated that everyone handles things differently and that is okay. Great read!

I LOVED this book. I liked the first two books in the series and thought they were cute; but this book was next level. The characters felt real and the issues they dealt with felt so real. I was very impressed with the ability to discuss difficult topics and create relationships that honored the reality of living with self doubt, stress, family expectations, and responsibility to yourself and others.

I honestly can't wait to read it again.

this was one of the sweetest romance books ive read in a long time🥹🥹 the AuDHD rep made me feel SO SEEN and the way these two take care of each other was so tender !!! also the FMC is a writer !!! a perfect book five fucking stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4ish stars rounded down.

I REALLY enjoyed this book, I think this is my favourite of Grace’s so far.

There was just something about it that just filled my heart up. It felt relatable and sweet and funny, and I loved all the characters, but especially Halle. I think the way she’s written feels very relatable, and easy to connect with.

I’m was so happy to get to read Hannah Grace’s new work with Wildfire, and that hold true here. Can’t wait to continue to see what she comes up with, as she’s a definite must read romance author for me

Thanks for the eARC.

Thank you Netgallery for this opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Where do I start? I love reading Daydream. The wait was worth it! I wanted Henry to receive his own book from the moment I met him in Ice Breaker.

Halle and Henry’s friendship was everything. I love how supportive Henry was of Halle and her growth throughout the story. I can’t wait to receive my physical book on publishing day.

hannah grace does it again! such a fantastic book with an amazing story line! very different than her other 2 books in the maple hills series but adorable and
perfect in its own ways! i loved the dynamic between halee and henry from the start and adored all the friendships throughout the story!