Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I wanted to love this—best friend's sibling + second chance romance? I love these generally! But unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. The start was fun, with good tension, but things escalated way too quickly. By the halfway point, Melody was already hooking up with Zac, and the “brother’s best friend” trope felt tired. The romance lost its spark fast, and the book felt too long. :(

Despite all that, the writing was quick and easy, and the ending was sweet. It’s a cute, light romcom with a bit of emotional punch, but it just didn’t hit for me. I wanted more connection with the characters and depth.

But the spice? Excellent. :)

5⭐️

✨Brother’s Best Friend
✨Fake Dating
✨Second Chance Romance
✨High School Love
✨Sports Romance
✨He has a nickname for her
✨Pining/Yearning/Groveling
✨Small Town Romance
✨Grumpy FMC/Cinnamon Roll MMC

Wow. This book was wonderful! It made me giggle, it made me cry, the spice was delicious and they BOTH had a grand gesture planned?! 🥹🥹🥹

“It’s not like I’m perpetually upset, I just don’t see why I have to walk around with a beauty queen smile if I don’t particularly feel like it.”

“I loved him, and I lost him, and I have no idea how. I thought I’d been doing everything right to make him happy.”

“I have been desperately, pathetically, feel-nothing-unless-she’s-in-the-room in love with Melody Woods for fourteen years.”

“You know those people who peak in high school? Zac isn’t one of them.”

“This woman is hell-bent on destroying me today.”

“For the record, Mel? I haven’t stopped being sorry. I’d do anything to get us back to what we were that night.”

“How does he look in even better shape now than when he played football? It’s offensive. I feel personally victimized.”

“You aren’t moody, Mel. Your discerning. You’re playful in a different way, and that’s beside the point. You’re allowed to be angry.”

“It wasn’t the clovers that did it for me. It was her. She was my four-leaf clover.”

“Thing is, stressed Zac is my weakness.”

“I’m not crazed. I want you to forgive me. I want us to be good again. I’ll get you to trust me if it’s the last thing I do. You’ll see.”

“It takes everything I have not to break into a smile at the sight of her scowl. She’s sweet when she’s grumpy. And she’s especially grumpy when sleep-deprived.”

“Just so you’re aware, it’s not required that you preface your feelings by calling yourself names. It’s not your job to keep my ego intact, least of all, by minimizing the way you feel.”

“I’ll give this woman whatever she needs to trust me again.”

“You realize you’re encouraging me to come up with a plan to meet a guy, right?” “Nah, I’m just waiting for you to realize you can check that off your list at any time. You’ve got one sitting right here.”

“I love that he remembers. That I’m not alone in greedily hoarding memories of him, and the way he made me feel back then- worthwhile, and tingly from head to toe whenever he’d look at me.”

“I want everyone here to witness it, to recognize us for what we are, even though Mel can’t see it for herself yet.”

“You realize you’re being possessive over nothing, right? I’m not actually interested in dating her.”

“I will never, ever, fall out of love with this woman. It’ll never happen.”

“This woman is as slow burn as they come.”

“I don’t understand how you’re single.” “I’ve never been single. I’ve been yours.”

“I’m gonna marry that girl one day. There’s no other way about it.”

“This might be my favorite thing, ever. The nose kisses, the seeing right through me.”

“You make me feel so full, I can’t even breathe, sometimes. Like my lungs are screaming at me that I don’t need anything but you to survive. I am so far gone for you, Melody.”

“If you won’t let me come to you, then come to me.”

“I won’t ever be sappy. But I’ll always be willing to throw punches for you, in all my tiny-fisted glory.”

“I’ve loved you since we were kids. I’ve wanted you since I figured out what it meant to want someone.”

“I’m sorry for letting you believe for a second that I didn’t love you. I’m sorry that I hurt you badly enough that you pulled away from your life here, and I wasn’t there for you for ten years, in whichever capacity you needed me to be.”

“I’ve spent months fighting him at every turn, only to fall flat-on-my-face-in-love with him anyway.”

“You told me that, one day, I’d realize you’re exactly what I need in my life. And you were right.”

“You didn’t have to do that you know.” “Yeah, I did. No one talks about you like that. Ever.” “ You don’t fight.” “I’d burn everything to the ground for you and walk away without another look.”

“I’m still not convinced I haven’t been in a deep sleep since the day she showed up in town.”

“This is the moment that can’t be topped. Or maybe it can be. Maybe that’s the point. Because as long as I have her, my four-leaf clover, we’ll have a lifetime of topping the last moment.”

This book is really good, I love a second chance and brother best friend trope! The spice amount was really good, and Zak ahhh he is the perfect book boyfriend, I was really happy that he and Melody got back together after so many years right after she was dumped by her narcissistic boyfriend. She definitely deserved to be treated well and who else better than Zack to show her real love.

This was a decent read overall, but honestly? Not super memorable. It hits the beats you’d expect from a small-town, brother’s best friend, second-chance romance—with a little spice and some sweet moments sprinkled in—but it didn’t really stand out for me in a crowded genre.

I liked the setup: Melody returns home after a breakup, ends up on a camping trip with Zac (her brother’s best friend and the one that got away), and suddenly they’re navigating ten years of unresolved feelings and mistakes. It had potential! Zac was likable, the angst was mild, and the chemistry had its moments. I just didn’t feel as emotionally invested as I wanted to be. The story played it safe and leaned a little too heavily on tropes without giving me something fresh or deeply compelling to hold onto.

That said, if you’re in the mood for a quick, easy, tropey romance with some heat and a familiar formula, this might scratch the itch. It just didn’t leave much of a lasting impression for me personally.

I absolutely LOVED this book, and I think the main reason I did, was Zac. UGH he was what book boyfriends are made of.

Sprinkle in some second chance romance, slow burn, he falls first and HARD, and my gosh, this was a recipe for a great sports romance.

Mel and Zac missed their chance at a happy ending after high school ends, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a second chance in their future. While Mel has been burned a time or two, and she is super reluctant to let herself fall for a man again, Zac is persistent and patient and ready to do whatever it takes to get his girl back.

The spice to plot ratio in this book was PERFECTION! And the spice itself was top tier.
I loved Zac and Mels slow burn relationship, I found myself rooting for both of them throughout the story not only for their relationship, but for their individual success and journeys as well.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series !

This was so good. Like a true second chance romance. I loved the character development of Melody. It was really great to see her grow in a positive way and not just be stuck after getting out of her abusive relationship. And Zac is def a book boyfriend. He LOVED HER for FOURTEEN YEARS. I am weak. That’s king behavior knowing she’s it for him.

Rating: 4.5 stars but I rounded up to 5
Spice: 3

**4.5-stars**

Don't be fooled by this cutesy cover, Only in Your Dreams is hot, hot, hot, and lucky me, it's just my kind of spice!

In this book, we are following Melody Woods and Zac Porter. Melody has just returned to her hometown of Oakwood Bay, after a decade away, following a painful breakup. She's moved in with her twin brother, Parker, and is trying to process everything. In an effort to encourage her out of her funk, Parker has been pushing her to take his spot on an upcoming camping trip with his friends. To be fair, some of them used to be Melody's friends, including Zac, Parker's best friend, and the boy who broke her heart 10-years ago. Whatever. She's so disconnected with all things Oakwood Bay at this point.

Parker's best friend, Zac, a college football coach, is reeling Melody is back in town. He messed things up with her 10-years ago, and has never truly forgiven himself for it. When she shows up at the campsite in Parker's place, he can hardly believe it. Maybe this is his chance to win her back?

But with Melody focused on getting back on her feet and returning to the city, and with Zac stressing over his team's lack of wins, will he be able to put the proper time into winning back Melody's affections? Adding complication to the matter, they have to keep any sort of relationship they have a total secret from Melody's brother, Parker, who Zac knows would flip his top if he thought they were getting involved.

There were so many aspects of this that I absolutely adored. I loved the small town feel and all the characters that we got to meet over the course of the story. I'm excited to find out what other characters we're going to follow in this series of companion novels. There's so many options!

The chemistry between Melody and Zac was off the charts. I loved the banter, and getting both perspectives, to know what they were thinking along the way, was so fun. I know Wilde will be delivering more of that in the next books. I've never actually read a Sports Romance before. Football is my sport and apparently, this is the Romance I didn't know I needed; following a College Football Coach?

Yes, please!!!

I really appreciated that too. That we were following the coaching staff, as opposed to the players. There's nothing wrong, of course, with following the players, it's just when you think of a coaching staff, and the men and women in those positions, they are usually people who are of a certain age, or maturity level.

Zac is DEFINITELY young for a head coach, but it's a smaller school and he's a local guy, so that does make sense. Zac did have a maturity level about him though that was respectable. Particularly, in regards to how focused he was on making Melody know how special, and loved, she was.
This does explore some emotional abuse and gaslighting from Melody's previous relationship, and I felt that was handled fairly well. She was definitely on a journey, and I liked that it took her some time to process it all, as opposed to just hanging out with another guy and being over it.

Overall, I had an absolute blast with this one. Look, we all have our things. Romance, particularly Steamy Romance is very subjective. We all have our likes, dislikes, turn-ons and offs, and yeah, let's be honest, kinks. Read this if you are into Alpha Male Energy: protective, yet supportive, tats, and aggressive dirty talk. Don't read if you don't like these things, cause there's a lot of them.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I have a copy of the next book, Only Between Us, and I'm hoping to pick it up soon!

This was such an easy read, I felt like the first half of the book especially flew by. High school friends who secretly both loved each other and what happens when they are thrown back together 10 years later. I liked the characters Melody and Zac, easy to like. Overall, it was a fun, spicy, sweet read. I'll definitely continue with the series!
*arc provided by netgalley for honest review

I wanted to enjoy it more than I did because of the tropes. The tropes included: small town, brother's best friend, one bed, forced proximity and sports romance.

I just felt like the characters were written very immaturely. I felt like I was reading a YA or about teenagers instead of mature almost 30 year olds.

The story itself was interesting but I just couldn't get fully invested because of the characters unfortunately.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me this ARC!

Maddie is back in home town and sees Zac in a new light, but will she trust him again after he broke her heart last time round? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

A cutesy second chance, brothers best friend, fake dating, AND small town romance! Ok, so this novel felt quite cookie-cutter and tropey... but I still enjoyed it! The emotional aspect and depth was not totally there. It was a bit shallow and almost superficial. Bless there was no third-act breakup and the neither of the main characters were annoying! Honestly it was just the lack of emotional depth and the unnecessary length of the book that made me like the book and not LOVE it. I see this is supposed to be book one to a series... I hope we get books for some of the side characters, they're super interesting!

I really enjoyed the beginning of this second chance romance. Zac and Melody trapped together while camping is the perfect forced proximity. I wanted more chemistry from the characters, especially given they had supposedly pined after each other for years. Being in your 30s and scared of dating someone since high school because of your brother was a little overdone. I was. hoping for more growth and maturity from the characters.

That being said, this was still a good romance and I appreciate that it bucked the trend of the third act breakup in a way.

I'm really glad this is a series. I enjoyed this group of friends a lot and can't wait to see what else is in store for them.
<i>Only in Your Dreams</i> started off strong with Mel coming back home to the small town she grew up in with her tail between her legs because her boyfriend dumped her. She immediately gets thrown back into her old life when he takes the place of her twin brother on a group camping trip. Then gets stranded with the former love of her teenage life who broke her heart into pieces. The main reason why she was ok living the small town in the first place.
The relationship between Mel and Zac was so much fun to read. They are instantly likable, even when they are completely awkward around easy other. The tension is palpable but they didn't play games which made this such an enjoyable story.

The way this man was gone for her - be still my heart. I loved how obsessed Zac was, and the way he championed Melody without holding her back in any way.

I felt the reasoning for the ten years apart was really weak, but 18 year olds can be pretty stupid, so I’ll let it go.

I really enjoyed the side characters and I hope they all get books of their own!

DNF at 21%
Personally I just don’t think this book was for me. The language and spice were a little more vulgar than I prefer. I did like the two main characters for the most part and I liked their banter and seeing how Zac still felt for her. The spice was just too much for me and some of the language was just a bit much for me and kinda took away from my enjoyment. However I know several people who really enjoyed this one so it’s definitely a not for me book. I would recommend this to someone if I know their likes and know that they don’t mind spicier spice.

I received an arc via netgalley.

I don’t think I ever got over the premise that the female main character, Melody, made a move on the male main character, Zac, the night before she left for college and he said he would be back but stood her up, and then they didn’t have meaningful interactions for 10 years. Second chance trope is hard to navigate because usually there’s an insurmountable reason the couple didn’t work out but in this case they never happened. I’m supposed to believe Zac has been pining for her this whole time and even given the opportunity he doesn’t immediately tell her what held him back that night? As if that wasn’t all bad enough the author also included a side trope and had Melody fake date Zac’s friend so her twin brother wouldn’t find out about her and Zac? So messy. Zac was very endearing as a golden retriever of a guy if I put aside my contempt for how he botched things.

Content warning for references to a past abusive relationship.

Really the only saving grace for this book was the MMC. He was so sweet and actually had some kind of character arc. The FMC? I cannot. The denial was absolutely killer from her.

Then the plot: confusing. There were so many layers; I couldn’t keep up with who was who and what was where and like half of the plot lines weren’t even cleared up in the third act, which I hate.

The was just overly-troped and too cliche for my taste!!!

I absolutely loved, loved, loved Only in Your Dreams! It's friends to enemies to lovers (one sided because Zac is IN LOVE with Mel and she just has no clue), brothers best friend, sports romance, one tent (!!!), and second chance romance!!
The emotions between Zac and Mel feel so real I got so wrapped up in their story. The way Ellie wrote this book is so smooth and well done. The spice is chef's kiss and
had me kicking my feet and giggling like a teenage girl. The supporting characters in this book are also so well written that I truly felt like I was part of the friend group. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you NetGalley and Ellie K. Wilde!!

Keep your warm and fuzzies to yourself, mam!

I’m rough and tough and full of the wham-a-roonies! You can’t bring heat to this cold cold heart.

Aright, I can’t keep lying to myself

I’m currently a puddle of mush and wagging my non existent tail.

Only in Your Dreams

Gosh dang it, hold my book, I need a tissue .

This book is filled to the brim with love, giggles, tears, and a little more love .

You got me, Ellie K Wilde, as you always do .

This book is exceeds all expectations and I’m literally left with the biggest book hangover .

Check out this teaser :

If he can prove he loved her then, and he loves her still, this time might be different.

Ten years after one of the most heartbreaking nights of her life, Melody Woods is back in her small hometown of Oakwood Bay, broke, jaded, and unceremoniously dumped by her big-city boyfriend. To top it all off, her twin brother, Parker, is pushing her to take his spot on a camping trip with the one guy she’s spent a decade avoiding.

For college football coach Zac Porter, his best friend’s twin sister, Melody, has always been off-limits. And after fumbling his chance ten years ago, a devastated Zac was sure he’d lost Melody for good. So, when Melody shows up at the campsite instead of Parker, Zac realizes that now is the time to prove to her that they were always meant to be, no matter how long it takes to make up for his teenage self’s mistake.

Reeling from the truth of her last relationship, Melody plans to stay in town just long enough to get back on her feet. Then, she’s gone again. Meanwhile, Zac is facing an uphill battle to coach his team to its first winning game in years, to show Melody how she deserves to be loved, and to keep Parker from ever finding out. Maybe then, being with her will be more than just a dream.

Only in Your Dreams is a small town, second chance, brother's best friend, sports romance.

I adored the cover of this book and it had really good potential. For being a sports romance, I felt that the author did her homework on football and I appreciated how that was incorporated into the story. The dynamic between Mel, Zac, and Noah was absolute perfection - I loved it and wanted so much more of it. I liked how completely gone Zac was for Mel, but I felt that if he loved her that much that he would have fought for her instead of just wallowing for ten years. This story really leans into the tropes and throws so many common things that are enjoyed in contemporary romance into one book and because of this the story is too long and loses focus. A bit too much repetition during the characters' inner monologuing and all of the conflict felt really silly and juvenile.

It was overall a sweet, fun story and I'm giving it 3.5 rounded down. I will be giving the sequel a shot!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.