Ramona Riley is stuck. She put her life on hold over a decade ago to come back to the tiny town of Clover Lake and help raise her baby sister but now that baby sister is all grown up and off to have the college experience that Ramona never got to have. Enter Dylan Monroe.

Dylan is a mess. The wild child daughter of world-famous rockstars, Dylan hasn't totally reckoned with her tumultuous childhood but strives to make a name for herself distinct from her parents.

Dylan and Ramona are characters you can root for. They are flawed and real, and struggle to move past childhood hurt. As much as I was rooting for them though, I wasn't entirely invested in their romance. The stage is laid for their third act breakup in the first few chapters and I spent too much of their romance waiting for the dam to break where they would unearth the lies they had told to each other. It didn't help that I just didn't see these lies as something that couldn't be solved with a single conversation. As a die-hard Bright Falls fan, I'm bummed that this didn't totally work for me but excited to see where April's story goes.

Of all the queer romances I've read, this one is one of my new favorites. Realistically written, classic romance tropes, and seamy romance scenes gives Dream On, Ramona Riley a high rating in my book. I can't wait for the start of a new series from Ashley Herring Blake.

Once again, Ashley has knocked it out of the park.

I am truly in awe at how she can create characters that are so real and relatable. Ramona is so many of us. While the reason for your dreams being put on hold may be different I think that feeling is one alot of us can relate to.

The connections between these characters were absolutely lovely. Olive & Ramonas was truly beautiful. The chemistry between Ramona & Dylan, off the charts.

Cannot wait for Aprils story.

Ashley Herring Blake kicks off a new small town series with the second chance story of Ramona and Dylan, who met years ago and shared an evening of fireworks, but haven’t seen each other since. Now actor Dylan is in town to film a movie, and waitress Ramona is supposed to help her prep for the role. Sparks fly immediately but each of them is hiding some important truths, so the flame may go out before they even have a chance.

I really enjoyed this but I still have some questions. Ramona is really hurt that Dylan doesn’t recognize her immediately, but they were thirteen, in the dark, and didn’t share their real names. Would you recognize someone you spent only a few hours with, 18 years later, after they’ve grown up??

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Another super cute romance from Ashley Herring Blake! It had me from the dedication and the romance was incredibly cute in and of itself, but my favorite parts were the cameos from Bright Falls characters. The world of this new set of stories was lovely and I'll definitely be picking up the others in the series to find out more about some of the secondary characters who built this world.

5*

Ashley Herring Blake is an instant read author for me. Her worlds are rich with nuanced characters, relatable stories, heartache and tenderness.

She flavours this all with perfectly spicy scenes.

I recommend this read to anyone looking for their next queer romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of Dream On, Ramona Riley.

I enjoyed the first in this new small town series. It was fun seeing a cameo from Iris Kelly of the Bright Falls series. Ashley Herring Blake is lightly dipping into the world of kink and I'm here for it. The character chemistry was great, but I would have liked a little more character development. It also felt like a slow build to the inevitable drama between the leads, and then a very fast resolution. I would have liked that section to be fleshed out a bit more. Overall, though, the only real issue I had is that I wanted more time with the characters. They're well written and relatable. I can't wait for the next book focusing on April!

I’m like 98% sure that Ashley Herring Blake writes specifically for me to love and enjoy. THEY NEVER STEER ME WRONG AND I HAVE LOVED EVERY SINGLE ONE KF THEIR BOOKS.

You deserve a million dollars. ILY.
Thank you thank you

i wanted to love this SO BAD but going into this blindly, i realize the famous trope is simply not my cup of tea and i really truly thought this book could use a little more depth as well as developing the romance a little more so as to make it more believable and worth investing in. her writing is so easy to get into but i wanted more from the story itself and when their “romance” began with deceit on both ends i knew immediately where the third act conflict was headed. i will for sure check out the next book though, im excited to see where aprils story goes!