After reading the first two in the Maple Hills series, I was so looking forward to Henry's book. Both Halle and Henry were great, loveable and well-developed characters. However, the story itself was lacking. The plot moves slowly and primarily laterally for the first 70% of the book. It was a slow burn, but I feel like it didn't pay off how I hoped it would. Overall, "Daydream" is a lackluster, but enjoyable slow burn.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A huge thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of Daydream by Hannah Grace!

I had already pre-ordered the book, but when presented with an option to read it in advance I simply HAD to take the opportunity! I loved Icebreaker and Wildfire, and in both books Henry was a huge favorite of mine, so I was so excited for his love story!

However, I can't help feeling unfortunately a little bit disappointed with this book. Don't get me wrong, Halle and Henry's love story was a 10/10, but it felt like there were aspects of their romance that we missed out on, unlike the two other books in the Maple Hills series. With Halle being the first time we see a plus-sized FMC and love interest, I had an especially vested interest in seeing how it would be written. It's no surprise that plus-size women don't often get the love stories they deserve (*cough cough* Penelope Featherington being SNUBBED in my opinion in the newest Bridgerton season), so I was slightly disappointed with this when it felt like she was not given the same attention physically as Stassie and Rory have been in their respective books.

While I feel like Hannah Grace respected the portion of the story line dedicated to Halle wanting to take her time being intimate with Henry, I can't help but feel like their intimate scenes together were rushed and not given nearly as much attention as previous couples. I'm hoping that when I get my copy in September after release and do a re-read, some of these scenes are a bit more fleshed out and I feel like Halle is a bit more appreciated. The scenes just kind of happened, I blinked and they were done, which left me slightly disappointed. I also feel disappointed that we never saw true consequences or karma to Will for being a shitty person, but maybe the point was he wasn't worth the energy.

Also, I hope that Henry gets a diagnosis in the next book or sometime between now and then. She leaves a note in the beginning of the book about this and that she did not feel it was necessary because plenty of neurodivergent people go throughout their lives and learn coping mechanisms without a formal diagnosis, but I would still like to see him get one so he can advocate for himself a little bit more.

Yall This book, just wow I love Henry so much and you get so much more of him in this book and understanding of his thoughts and feelings but and halle was such a fun MFC she really had helped Henry with so much and got him and understood his ADHD and it made their friends to lovers trope even better

I really enjoyed this book. I have been a fan of the Maple Hills series since I first read them earlier this year, but Daydream has got to be my favourite. Halle and Henry were compelling main characters and I was eager to explore their world and relationship. I thought that the portrayal of mental health and neurodiversity was very realistic and really added to the story. My favourite thing about Daydream and the rest of the Maple Hills series is how comfortable and lived in the world feels. The friendships between the protagonists and the supporting characters are so positive and natural, and I enjoyed how Daydream continued to flesh out characters introduced in previous novels. Overall, a wonderful read and I so hope that there will be more to come in this series!

One of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was not disappointed. Halle is so lovable and relatable, Henry is so heart melting and equally relatable. While I adored Icebreaker and Wildfire they felt too long and drawn out. And I was admittedly worried Daydream would be too. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was long but the plot was not drawn out. Perfect all around! I hope Hannah grave never stops writing!

What a beautiful story. As an AuDHD adult who went undiagnosed for a long time (AND an eldest daughter), this book was incredible. Hannah Grace did such a good job with Henry and Halle's story. I loved the caution and easy love of these two. Words cannot express how much I love this book.

Hannah grace has me giggling and kicking my feet. Henry was such a stand out in Icebreaker I just couldn’t wait for his story and she did not disappoint. I loved Halle and Henry’s chemistry and the build up to the spice. Halle finding herself and Henry starting to work through his mental blocks was a great read. I could not put it down. Well done!!!!

Daydream, the third book in Hannah Grace's Maple Hills series, blends academic challenges, unexpected friendships, and the magnetic pull of romance. This novel follows Henry Turner, a college junior who finds himself grappling with an intimidating class and an unwelcome captaincy of the hockey team. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow student whose love for books and academic prowess offer Henry a lifeline.
Henry and Halle's worlds collide when he stumbles into her book club, leading to an alliance that promises to tackle their respective struggles.
While I absolutely loved Icebreaker, and thought Wildfire was pretty good, this one just didn’t hit home for me. The first 70% was quite repetitive and a bit boring, but I will say it picked up in the last 30% and I did enjoy the ending!

This was a slog. While it's a stand-alone, there are so many characters that it's hard to keep track of them all. Perhaps if I'd read the first two books in the series, I could keep them straight, but as a stand-alone, it made it difficult to read and I found myself skipping over sections when I couldn't remember who was who. I also didn't find the writing to be clear. Several times, I had to reread a passage to understand what was going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Anyone that knows me knows that I had a lot of big feelings the first time I read Icebreaker… and then even bigger (more positive) ones when I read Wildfire and truly felt that Hannah Grace was finally upping her writing game. I am so happy to report that she continues to improve because Daydream continued to raise my personal bar.

Daydream follows Henry, the new captain of UCMH’s hockey team, who I already had a soft spot for from the very beginning. But from chapter one, I found myself really attached to Halle. Eldest sister syndrome? Doubts about the confidence of who she is? A big ball of anxiety that despite it all is still witty and sweet? Works in a bookstore and runs a book club? Taylor Swift fan? Literally LOOKS like me? It truly felt like Hannah Grace peaked into my life and created Halle out of ME. But in all seriousness, Halle and Henry could not be more opposite from outside appearances (he, the tough, somewhat aloof hockey jock that gets all the girls, and she, the shy, sweet, and introverted wallflower), but put those two together, and you find yourself reading about the most wholesome pair you will ever meet.

Daydream has such great demonstrations of love, friendship, positive, healthy boundaries and mental health representation. I loved the vulnerability of the characters and how ultimately the story is about finding joy in what makes you your own authentic self and the importance of prioritizing yourself and the relationships that help you thrive. Just overall very nice and cute. When a friends to lovers is done well, i WILL eat it up.

Really this book is a 4.5 for me, but there isn't a .5 option, so I'm doing the full 5. Is it perfect? No. am I going to reread it at some point? Yep.

Taylor Swift's Paper Rings says it best for Daydream, "I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this." Halle and Henry go from friends to 'this' and do so spectacularly. What begins as a FWB/situationship blooms into a loving, caring relationship that they can only call 'this' because they don't want to put a label on it. Henry's never seen the need for them because he didn't date seriously, and Halle because the last relationship she put a label on blew up and exposed how little she really had in her life by way of friendships and people willing to put her first.

After Nate graduated at the end of Icebreaker, he tapped Henry to be the next Hockey Captain with Coach Faulkner. The secret truth is that he hates it and wishes that he hadn't given into the peer pressure to do so because he feels like he's failing. Now that he's landed himself in a class that he doesn't know how to handle and risks failing, he doubly regrets accepting the captaincy. He needs help figuring out how to pass this class to even stay on the team, let alone be captain.

Halle's boyfriend Will has broken up with her and it has shifted the foundations of her world. Their friends were really his friends, Their families are close and (mostly) love the idea of them together, so telling them about the breakup is off the table, and Halle agrees to not go home for Thanksgiving 'for everyone's sake.' Halle is the eldest daughter of a blended family and as such is the 'Family Manager,' more often than not shifting her life to accommodate and help everyone else's needs despite them living in Arizona while she's at school in LA. All she wants is friends of her own, a relationship that makes her heart flutter, and a chance to become an author.

The two meet at Halle's Book Club and eventually end up in a mutual arrangement: Halle will help Henry pass his class, and he'll help her have the experiences she feels she's missing out on to write her book. What follows is two people deciding that they enjoy being in one another's company, blooming friendships, love expressed through thoughtful actions, and Henry's love of Halle's cat.

What I really love about this book is the evolution of Halle's friendships with her new female friend group, most of them being girls we've met in the two previous Maple Hills books. While all of these women have had ties to Henry first through hockey, they are there for Halle through and through, and it's a beautiful thing to see. The same goes for the way that the guys in the Hockey house take in Halle, first as a way to meet girls, but definitely take up for Halle when it comes down to it.

This book is dedicated to the eldest daughters and damn if Halle's struggles with her family insisting on putting everyone and everything before her needs doesn't hit hard. Her family is a true case of the squeaky wheel gets the grease and poor, dear, Halle has never squeaked, not even a little, and when she finally does, her mother brushes it off at first. Henry helping Halle learn how to put herself first, even if he needs her, is so sweet and loving, it's just adorable.

I greatly appreciate that the third act breakup is 'soft,' in that they kind of have to take time to themselves and work things out, only to realize that they hate being separate more than a hard breakup where they need to re-establish love for one another.

I really wish that the story ended in the further future like the other two stories do, with the characters as full-fledged graduated adults having worked towards and achieving their aspirations, especially since Halle is alluded to but not mentioned by name in the Wildfire epilogue. Which, Ms. Grace, having met Halle, there is NO WAY she would have missed Aurora's store opening. Please give us a Julia Quinn style second epilogue now that Daydream is in the world. Daydream ends at the current class' graduation and while it's definitely going to be an HEA, I would have loved to see them settled down the road.

Honestly, I can't do Daydream justice with my words. I've already told my adult services director to order the entire Maple Hills Series once we can get them as a box set, I feel like the series got better with each book, and I definitely hope that she writes more in the coming years. I definitely would like to see Russ' cabin-mate from Wildfire have a story of his own.

Now this had the crack that Icebreaker was infused with--so bingeable, impossible to be down, and extremely swoony. Henry was everything I could have asked for, and Halle was a great representation of the eldest daughter. This made my heart sing all throughout.

I would personally rate this at 4.5/5 as it’s not perfect but it’s pretty much there! I am so happy to see the progression that the author has had in their writing since their debut novel in this series! It has amazing representation of what it feels like to be neurospicy, as well as eldest child rep. I was a fan of the characters since page 1 and I cannot say there was a time where I was not invested in this book. Front to back I read it in one sitting and I would 100% do it again.
Also the F1 mentions in the book makes me wonder if the author is going to write an F1 book next? I would absolutely be down for a F1 book from Hannah Grace!

I’ve been waiting for Henry’s story for so long and it did not disappoint! What a great look at being neurospicy, and at a character who puts everyone else before themselves. Really enjoyed this one!

The long awaited Henry book!! Such a cute book that will have you smiling the whole time!!

Full review on my TT linked below

This might be my favorite of Hannah’s books. It’s so heartfelt and Henry & Halle’s friendship was so sweet and made me so incredibly happy. I suspected I would love their story since I’m already a fan of friends to lovers, but this exceeded my expectations by miles honestly. There are so many excellent quotes I can’t wait to highlight when I buy a physical copy of this! Halle really goes through this beautiful journey of finally standing up for herself, and Henry really helps her with this and y’all, it was so sweet.

Henry & Halle are absolutely adorable, and their book was well worth the wait.

*I received an arc from the publisher I exchange for my honest review*

I loved this book! It is one of my favorite Hannah Grace books! I love Halle and Henry so much! Grace's characters are always compelling and lovable but I really loved these two! They show so much growth by the end and I liked that they grew together. This one is a slow burn but the spicy scenes are just as hot as all of her other books. I loved the team aspect of Henry's book and all the boys are so great.

Words can not describe how much I loved this book. While I enjoyed Hannah’s other books this one is such a stand out. Her neurodivergent rep was excellent. And Halle and Henry were literally my everything. I have been a Henry girl since day one and he surpassed my expectations. Then there’s Halle a romance bookworm who wasted time on a guy who didn’t give a crap about her to the point she started to doubt romance. Someone who puts everyone before her and is the definition of a people pleaser but thinks nothing is ever enough and no one likes her. Halle is the most relatable character I have read all year. I could keep going and going but I seriously loved this book. It literally made me giggle and kick my feet so many times. I’m not a hugeeee friends to lovers person but Hannah wrote the trope so well. The perfect slow burn. I could go on forever but I will stop. Seriously go read this book.

I cannot state out much I adored this book! While Grace’s first two novels were sparky hits, this third one is a beautifully written nuerodivergent slow burn. As a reader with AuDHD I don’t know that I have ever felt so seen in a romance novel. Grace intricately weaves Henry’s personally struggles with shutting down in with the emotional upheaval that comes with falling in love for nuerodivergent people. It is both gutting and glorious! Some of the Halle showed she cared for him were so unique and yet so touching, and the same can be said in reverse.

Quirky and full of heart!

Halle starts the year off with her boyfriend breaking up with her and no real friends at her school because of all the time she’s spent trying to support her now ex. Henry is struggling with a class he didn’t even want to be in and with being team captain this year. Through a series of coincidences, they meet and form a close friendship. Henry needs help in his class and Halle needs to gain some dating experiences to write a book for a competition she’s entered. They become very close friends and maybe more?

I really loved the progression of this book and the friendship between Halle and Henry. They really became such good friends and were so good for each other. I adore how their relationship developed. We get to see some of favorites, from previous books, come back. This book wasn’t as spicy as Wildfire, but it was absolutely amazing in its own way. I love the insight we get into Henry’s mind and how he works and how Halle helps him through the book. These two were adorable and I can’t get them out of my mind! It also includes one of my fav mircro-tropes (what is the funny feeling in my chest when she’s near???). If you enjoyed Icebreaker and Wildfire, you will definitely enjoy Halle and Henry’s story!