Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for this eARC of Dream On, Ramona Riley! I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review ahead of release!

I am a longtime fan of Ashley Herring Blake, and after hearing her speak about this upcoming book at a book event for Make the Season Bright, I was really excited to see this concept play out. She had said that she enjoys writing characters that are a bit of a mess, that most likely could benefit from therapy, etc because there's room for growth. I got excited because I agree that seeing character growth in a romance book is one of my favorite things. This book is what she promised- a romance between childhood crushes that reunite years later, one a small-town waitress that put her dreams on hold to raise her sister and the other the "wild" messy child of famous 90s rockstars pursuing an acting career -but even knowing these insider bits and enjoying the general world building / cast of characters, some aspects of this book sadly fell too flat for me.

To start with what I did enjoy:
I really love this new pocket of our same Bright Falls universe! The small town of Clover Lake with its gossip-hub diner, nosy newsletter writer, the tattoo studio run by our FMC Ramona's best friend April, you name it. I loved Ramona's sister Olive and her journey over the course of the story so much that I almost wished that the book had focused on her instead.

I really enjoyed Ramona overall too - as an eldest sister, I always connect with these "eldest daughter learns to prioritize herself" stories, and I love that we're seeing more of them in the world. Ramona's story and world felt very fleshed out. I loved that no one tried to hold her back, that everyone in her life wanted her to reach for the stars - It's rare that someone in a caretaker role like that would have such unconditional support, and it was healing to see. I also deeply appreciated that Ramona was curvy/plus sized, and still was noted immediately as having great taste in fashion by a handful of other characters. Plus sized women often have to work harder to be seen as fashionable or put together, so this rep was very meaningful.

I really loved the childhood memory that brought Dylan and Ramona together. These two 13 year olds both going through things children shouldn't have to go through, and their first kiss being the go-to happy memory for them both as they grew up, made my heart ache (in the best way). It was such a great foundation, and I wish that there had been more moments with that earnestness and level of romance throughout the story.

Some things that fell flat for me:
Dylan, overall. I felt like the concept of this traumatized child of 90s rockstars was so great, but the balance in Dylan's flaws and morals was a bit out of whack. Even a character intended to be an unlikeable mess should have a line in the sand that they refuse to cross - seeing Dylan use Ramona for her gain secretly (when she could have just warned her what her publicity team was up to, or asked her to participate) after spending half the book upset at how her exes have used her for their gain really didn't sit right with me. It wasn't just that it was a moment of blindness from a self-centered character, it just felt deeply at odds with the genuinely thoughtful Dylan we DO see at points.

I also found myself wishing for more "down time" for the couple to really get to know each other - it felt like with the pacing of the story, we were glossing over their alone time to focus on outings that were inevitably interrupted by press or cameras. It almost felt like they were constantly on the run, literally, anytime they were out of the house, and anytime they were in private they'd have sex instead of talking. It started to feel cyclical!

Overall I rated this story a 3.5/5, rounded down to a 3 for Goodreads and Netgalley. Dream On, Ramona Riley had great potential, but it didn't have the same emotional depth or romance that I have come to expect after reading this author's previous work. I do still intend to read the next book in the Clover Lake series, and if you're a longtime fan of Ashley Herring Blake I do think this book is worth reading more in the grand scheme of the Bright Falls universe. I just likely won't be rereading this one!

I! LOVE! THEM! I almost always enjoy AHB's adult romances and this one did not disappoint. Is it maybe a little cheesy and far-fetched? Sure. And that's why I love it. (Also, aren't all celebrity romances far-fetched?) I read this quickly, mostly because I didn't want to put it down, and I already love Clover Lake and can't wait to go back!

As a huge fan of Ashley Herring Blake, I was beyond excited for a new book! This didn't work quite as well for me as the Bright Falls series, but I still really loved it. Some of the tropes in this one aren't my favorite and it was pretty clear early on what the main conflict would be. I really loved all the characters though and I can't wait for more books about the rest of them!

Sexy and joyful, Dream On, Ramona Riley is a terrific start to a new series from Ashley Herring Blake.

A new series by Ashley Herring Blake? Yes, please! I am such a total fan of her books. I simply cannot get enough. And I am happy to report this story lives up to her stellar reputation. It is everything I love about her books - wonderful character development, realistic relationships I can buy into, and so much heart.

There is a lot to love about both the MCs in this book. Ramona was my favourite. She’s just so sweet and caring. And she’s talented too. She has a real way with clothes and styling, and although she had to drop out of college to help raise her little sister, that spark of a dream to work on movies is still there deep inside her. The relationship between her and her little sister Olive is really heartwarming. I loved watching them together. Olive is about to go off to college herself, and Ramona isn’t quite sure what to do with herself. She’s put herself and her dreams last for a really long time. Meanwhile, Dylan is a bit of a mess. She’s been in the spotlight all her life growing up with famous parents (bonus points that they were both in 90’s grunge bands- I appreciated the reference). Let’s just say they weren’t the best parents; she has complicated feelings about it. Dylan is known to blow up at the media or cause scenes at parties, but she longs to be someone different. Someone more normal. When she gets the chance to play a normal waitress in a new rom-com, she leaps at the chance. To research her role, she tries working at the local cafe, where she is assigned Ramona to show her the ropes.

The connection between Dylan and Ramona is pretty instant, but they start off slow. I liked this; it felt more realistic. Dylan asks Ramona to help her experience some normal activities around town, and as they spend more time together, they cannot deny their attraction. Their chemistry is great, and I love them together. They really take the time to have some deeper conversations and get to know each other. Once the flame is lit, it is fireworks! This one is spicy, folks. Super spicy. At the same time, though, they both have ulterior motives in the background that create the conflict they’ll have to overcome.

Longtime fans of Ashley’s work will appreciate a cameo appearance by Iris Kelly of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date fame. It’s her book that is being adapted into the movie Dylan is in. Ang big bonus points for excellent secondary character April, Ramona’s best friend. I absolutely loved her and she provided some great comedic moments.

One of my favourite reads of the year so far, Dream On, Ramona Riley, is simply delicious. I already can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series - Get Real, April Evans.

Let me say this: the spicy scenes in this book were immaculate. 10/10 no notes, perfection. However, my problem with this book is the main characters are way too quick to tear each other's clothes off instead of actually speaking to each other. All of the conflicts in this book could have been easily resolved if they had both just been a little more honest with each other. Instead, the first sign of trouble constantly had them blowing things out of proportion, and it just became more and more messy. I also just personally despise any "second chance" sort of romance where the characters met/dated/kissed between the ages of 12 and 14. This is the second or third book I've read lately that has that trope, and it's just unrealistic to me, like that's the most awkward years of life, you aren't meeting your soulmate! I'm. Also, I'm realizing I'm just not a fan of famous people in books, lol. Still, I liked the bones of this story, and I really loved the side characters on Ramona's side, like April and her sister, Olive. I loved the small town setting, so I am very excited for April's book, I could see that one really working for me.

This was a fun read, but compared to the Bright Falls trilogy, the characters didn't have near the same level of personal growth or even on-page chemistry. I wanted more banter alongside the boinking... The setting and bones of the story were there, but I just wanted MORE, and I know AHB is capable of it.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

There’s an elemental human yearning at the heart of every second chance romance: What if you could have a second chance? A do-over? Another shot? That universal longing is at the heart of Ashley Herring Blake’s adult romances. It isn’t always a second chance at love. The animating emotional arc of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is a second chance at being sisters. In Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, it’s a second chance at—well, literally everything about being Astrid Parker, basically. And in Dream On, Ramona Riley, the second chance that looms largest is professional. Both Dylan and Ramona are trying to win a second chance at a fulfilling career. Their romance enables and hinders that process of growth and risk, as they go through what I’ve come to see as the defining character arc of the contemporary queer romance novel: the struggle, as a human being, to live life honestly and without fear.

Because Ashley Herring Blake understands—both intuitively and explicitly, I imagine—the emotional machinery that makes the romance plot tick, her novels are sort of weirdly way better than they seem like they’re going to be. On the surface, this novel is really nothing special. It’s certainly not winning points for originality. The sex scenes are pretty hot (ymmv) but also a bit inartful. There’s a telling-not-showing quality to how Blake writes small-town queer community, and the town itself is very movie-set (which in this case is sort of ironic in a fun way). But like Delilah Green, like Make the Season Bright, this is a special book nonetheless. Which is why I will continue to read everything Ashley Herring Blake writes forever.

Blake understands that a new relationship isn’t just a chance to be with someone new, it’s also a chance to be someone new. That the real fantasy here isn’t the incredible person you could be with, it’s the incredible person they could be with. That is, the incredible person you could be.

It pains me deeply to say it, but this was kind of a miss for me. I’m such a big fan of Ashley Herring Blake—as a person who doesn’t really enjoy a lot of romance, I’m totally drawn in by how messy and imperfect, yet likable and real, she manages to make her characters and the situations they’re pulled into. And while this latest offering of hers, which looks to be the start of at least a duology, had much about it that was likable, it fell short in a few significant ways.

First, this book was convoluted in ways I felt it didn’t need to be, as well as overly reliant on that dreaded miscommunication trope. The central conflict stems from the fact that Ramona and Dylan are effectively both lying to each other: Ramona about her dreams for her career (she longs to work in costume design, but doesn’t want Dylan, who’s been burned by previous lovers, to know this lest she think Ramona’s merely using her to advance her career), and Dylan about the fact that she’s being encouraged to “fake date” Ramona by her PR team (who think that dating a small-town sweetheart like Ramona is good image rehab for wild-child Dylan, I guess?). Ramona’s lies make sense, but by the time Dylan’s PR team suggests fake dating, Ramona and Dylan are already real dating. Why the intrigue? Why couldn’t Dylan just be forthright from the start that her PR team was encouraging the relationship, and that it had nothing to do with how she actually felt about Ramona?

I also was disappointed by how much of this book happens off-page and is given to us in summary. A few pivotal conversations—Ramona and Dylan opening up to each other about their childhoods, Dylan and her parents having an honest conversation with each other for the first time ever—are simply not for our viewing, summarized in a few paragraphs. Meantime, a ton of time and space is carved out for lengthy sex scenes that do little in terms of moving forward the plot or characterization. I know that these things aren’t necessarily the point of sex scenes in books, but I also know that Herring Blake is an experienced author who writes plot well. It’s a shame, in this current publishing moment where it often feels like “how good is this book” is a secondary question to “how much sex is in this book and how crazy does that sex get” (at least in the popular culture), to see interesting scenes like these, which would give us a deeper understanding of the characters we’re supposed to be rooting for to have sex, just not present. (And this is not a dig at sex scenes in books—I like them fine. In this particular book, it just felt like there were a lot of them, and less character development than I wanted.)

This book still gets three stars from me because Herring Blake’s writing is fun and accessible, and there was much to like here. The small-town setting was adorable, the idea of people who had a chance meeting years ago meeting again was compelling, and Ramona herself was just such an easy character to love. She’s in her early thirties having to figure out what her dreams are all over again, after putting them on hold for messy, sympathetic reasons—her mother abandoned the family and her father got in an accident that temporarily physically incapacitated him, leaving Ramona with no choice but to quit school, come home, and help raise her much-younger sister—and, at the start of the book, has no idea where to even begin. It’s a great setup that takes her on a great journey with a great payoff, and I honestly think she’s landed a place as one of my favorite Herring Blake heroines. The book was just lacking significantly for me in other ways.

I was so so excited for this one, Delilah green doesn’t care is one of my favourite series so when I found out about this new series Ashley was writing. I was ecstatic!! Unfortunately, this one was a let down and I’m so so sad about it. I felt no connection between the two characters, they met for a few hours when they were 13 and that’s it? They kept going back to that initial meet cute and I just couldn’t get behind that!! How do they have a connection or keep thinking about that time when it was 18 years ago. I don’t know I didn’t really like that part. I wish the characters were more fleshed out. The plot I didn’t care that much for. I did love the writing though, and some of the scenes were well done.

I really enjoyed this book and the way it introduces a new series from Ashley Herring Blake. The characters were fun, and I appreciated that both Ramona and Dylan went on emotional journeys that involved not just accepting their pasts but figuring out how to move forward when things felt difficult. I also loved the small cameo from a character in her previous series—it was such a nice touch. And April, Ramona’s best friend, was hilarious and added the perfect lightness to the story while also nudging Ramona to start living more fully. Over great book and would easily recommend to others.

I really wanted to love this one and, while Ramona Riley is my favorite AHB protagonist, I was pretty let down with how little we saw of our leads being a couple. Their chemistry was great and the steamy scenes were well written but besides that and their one date, I just couldn’t get the sense that the characters know enough about each other to have romantic feelings yet. I did love how Blake incorporated elements from her previous series and I’m excited to see what she has in store for the rest of this series.

I loved this book for the second-chance romance and the cozy small-town vibes. Ramona and Dylan’s reunion was everything I wanted—sweet, emotional, and full of chemistry. The small-town setting of Clover Lake felt like the perfect backdrop for their story, and it really made me root for them to find their own happy ending. If you’re a fan of second chances, Hollywood stars, and heartwarming small-town romance, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

I really enjoyed this new book by Ashley Herring Blake. I loved the representation. The romance was sweet, and this book felt very cozy. This is my fourth novel by Ashley Blake, and I am happy to say she definitely one of my favorites!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

In Dream On, Ramona Riley, Ashley Herring Blake delivers a layered story following two complex women, Ramona and Dylan, whose pasts have shaped how they move through the world and into each other's orbit.

Ramona’s relationship with her sister, Olive, stood out to me the most. The dynamic between the pair dances between sisterhood and a mother-daughter bond, blurring the emotional boundaries in their relationship. Siblings raising siblings is not a common dynamic in the romantic literature, despite not being uncommon in the reality, and I enjoyed this portrayal. Ashley Herring Blake perfectly depicts the beauty and nuance in their unique relationship dynamic and how Ramona willingly sacrificed her own dreams to help raise her sister.

Dylan is the daughter of two celebrities. Her privilege made her a bit difficulty to connect with at first. However, like Ramona, I found myself softening toward Dylan as she slowly lowered her defenses and her true character was revealed.

Although Dylan and Ramona briefly met one another as teens, they are reunited as adults when Dylan job shadows Ramona to prepare for her upcoming role a film. After shadowing Ramona for one day, Ramona agrees to show Dylan around town, and the pair make a list of things to do in town (i.e. things that everyday people who are not famous enjoy). There are a few memorable scenes of the Ramona and Dylan tackling this list, but this part of the plot quickly fizzles out as they become romantically involved and much of their time together becomes focused on Dylan’s role in the film and their intimate relationship. I would have liked to see more of their emotional connection unfold through time spent beyond the bedroom and outside of the film set.

Dream on, Ramona Riley is a compelling story about letting go of the past in order to chase your dreams. Full of small-town charm and dynamic characters, this novel offers an enjoyable and heartwarming read. However, certain plot threads are quickly sidelined, which unfortunately weakens the development of the romance at the story's core.

This was such a fun cozy read, and a perfect one to start my spring with.

I have read all of Ashley Herring Blake's romcoms and the only one I didn't *love* I still gave a 3 star. So I think it's safe to say she is a favorite romance writer of mine. I will buy everything this woman writes. If she published her grocery list, I would pre-order it and ad it to my most anticipated releases.
Sapphic romance books always make me feel happy, and this was no exception. I especially loved that Ramona self-identified as fat. I feel like fat main characters are so rarely seen in books in general, let alone romance books. And the ones I do see are not queer. It felt so refreshing to see a woman be so confident and sure in her body and to have all of her curves be worshiped by another woman.

I didn't love the miscommunication, but it actually didn't even bother me in this one as much as it has in the past. I felt like it was handled fine and the 3rd act breakup, a trope I despise, actually kinda made sense in this book. Both characters were dealing with their own things
I had a great time reading this and I can't wait for my finished copy to come and to see what Ashley writes next!

Read This Book If…you love a messy bi4bi relationship!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake

Genre: Queer romance
Series: Clover Lake # 1
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: small town in New Hampshire
POV: dual, 3rd person, past tense
Tropes: celebrity, fake dating(ish), opposites attract, “good girl”

My Thoughts:
This was such a cute rom-com and an excellent start to AHB’s new series! I loved that these characters had a brief romantic history - each other’s first kiss?! Swooooon.

They are both messy in their own ways, which felt super relatable to me. I didn’t love how they kept secrets from each other, but it did make sense for both Ramona and Dylan. But if you hate a book where everything could be solved with a few conversations, this is not the book for you.

Howeverrrr, the chemistry was electric and the spice was spicing! We even got to dip a toe into the world of kink and I loved each scene.

AHB continues to be an auto-read author for me and I’m so excited to get April’s story next!

Memorable Quote: “I don’t think you have to regret something to still want more. To dream.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

If you loved the Bright Falls series, you’ll also love diving into Clover Lake! We even got a cameo from our favorite fictional romance author, Iris Kelly (you do not need to have read those books to dive into this).

We have reconciliation, celeb x normal, friends to lovers, and a little bit of fake dating, all sprinkled into an adorable couple. It was so fun to follow along with them, see the characters grow, and learn about Clover Lake (which I can’t wait to dig back into with the next book!).

There were also several spicy scenes - more than I remember from AHB’s previous books, but they all made sense and helped further the plot!

I definitely recommend this for anyone who’s looking for a cute small town celeb sapphic romance romance.

Ramona was a relatable character confronted with some interesting choices. I especially like Dylan, and would love to have more of her story!

I’m a big fan of AHB and while I will continue to wholeheartedly-heartedly love her books, this one just wasn’t quite if for me. There were a lot of pros to it - the small town setting and the general premise really drew me in, but I had a very hard time connecting with the characters. Ramona and Dylan just didn’t feel as developed as the characters in Ashley’s previous books and it felt like they had almost too much going on personally and with each other - it was just a lot.

I will definitely continue on with this series and all future books Ashley releases!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the advanced copy of this book!

quite honestly this was a DNF for me. but I got 62% of the way into it so I feel qualified to leave a review. I've enjoyed Ashley Herring Blake's other books but this fell flat for me. Dylan and Ramona didn't feel as fleshed out and real as many of the characters from other books and quite frankly I didn't care what happened between them. There was also just one too many layers of Stuff going on with their relationship - the remembering/not remembering their first kiss as teens, their reunion, their separate personal and professional struggles, Ramona covering up her interest in film costuming/the costumer on this film specifically, the real but also fake dating - any of these could carry the story on its own if done well (or maybe in groups of two) but all of it together was A Lot. I literally got as far as them having sex for the first time and realized I still didn't feel their connection or care about them staying together so I put the book down and moved on. disappointed, but I'll still pick up another book by AHB in the future!

This romance was super cute!☺️ I loved the banter and the discussion of finding your place and who you are. This was such a warm book full of laughter and love. Definitely add to your TBR!!!