I enjoyed this book way more than I was expecting. The way Zac loves Melody is everything and more! The way Zac acted towards her was swoon worthy, he had it bad for her and showed it and I loved the black cat x golden retriever. This was a nice easy read, and I loved the banter between all of the characters!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Small town, brothers best friend, and sports romance??? Count me in!!! Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this early!
I really enjoyed this book!

This was my first foray into Ellie K Wilde's books - and I actually loved it! I would give this a solid 3.5/5, and here's why...

I loved the returning to your first love aspect, however I do wish there was more healing for Mel between her breakup and her reuniting with her first love. It was a little hard for me to suspend my disbelief in that aspect, but I know how difficult it would be to pace that. I also felt like Zac holding on to her for that many years was a little wild, and unhealthy. And holy cow - the spice in this book! Well written and just enough of it.

This just wasn’t well developed enough for me. I liked the premise a lot but it felt like the storyline and the characters need a little more work. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but I felt like the being was very rush and did not fully flesh out what has happening in the rest of the book. It just seem like a really basic, middle of the line book.

oof. this one was a hot mess… so let me start with the one redeeming quality, there was no third act breakup!!! slay.

now let’s move on, this book is an absolute rollercoaster. the first 20% is full of every single trope under the sun that she could squeeze in. so much so, it genuinely did not make any sense. it felt like i was reading someone’s sporadic notes on a book they had hoped to write one day and were just writing down a million ideas. speaking of the first 20%, it felt like i was reading a completely different book. genuinely, the whole first section could be removed and you’d miss absolutely nothing.
the plot became mindless, and a bit redundant. which made getting through this book quickly, difficult for me. while i felt like i was reading the same thing over and over again, i also felt like i couldn’t process a single word because the writing felt a bit messy to me.
i think there are times that authors will fixate on certain phrases or words, and it becomes such extreme overkill. so much so, that it will actually ruin a book for me. IN FACT, the words brat, p*ssy, and cl*t are now traumatizing to me. so read at your own risk.
and FINALLY. melody was supposed to be running from a toxic ex, but respectfully, zac had SO MANY red flags…. miss girl needs to travel abroad, experience life, and just be single. 😵‍💫

A sweet, finally-getting-together story between Mel and her brother's best friend Zac. While the two pined after one another when they were younger, now is their chance to finally try a relationship. Zac is quite obsessive with Mel which was a bit disconcerting, but otherwise they were an easy couple to root for.

This book was fun! It was a very easy, quick read. I also really appreciated the way the author incorporated Melody’s recovery from her abusive relationship.
It was clear that Melody and Zac really cared for eachother, and I really loved their dynamic together. I think I would have appreciated their relationship even more if I didn’t find some of Zac’s pining a bit extreme, and that I’m not sure his grovelling/apologies necessarily matched their initial miscommunication.

Overall, it was a very good read, and I was definitely engaged and will for sure read the rest of this series.

I REALLY wanted to like this but I didn’t :((( idk the second chance trope didn’t make sense to me since they were never together before. Not really a second chance. I reread the first chapter over and over & it took me forever to get through this book.

This was a fun book I really liked. The story was cute, I enjoyed seeing Melody and Zac reconnect. After getting out of a manipulative relationship it was great to see Melody’s confidence grow over the course of the book as she bounced back and worked on herself. I especially loved seeing how Zac worked to quietly support Melody as she was getting out of her relationship and working to regain her confidence and independence- he was patient and ready to meet her where she was at, while still showing her how much he cared about her.

This was a fun small town sports romance, I really enjoyed getting to meet all the characters and seeing them grow, and getting to know the side characters- I’m excited to see what comes next for them.

there is nothing i love more than a sports, slow burn, second chance romance baby!!!

this was my first book of ellie’s and it certainly wont be my last. i adored every minute of zac and melody 🤭

brb gotta go find me a man as down bad and obsessed with me as zac is for her

This is a small town second chance romance with a little bit of sports thrown in. I really liked all of the characters Ellie created. Zac and Melody made the cutest couple and I enjoyed rooting them on as the reconnected after ten years. One of my favorite parts was the relationship they built looking out for Noah, the college quarterback who came from a rough family life. He helped add an extra dimension to their relationship. At the beginning of the book, Melody had recently gotten out of a 6-year relationship with Connor who had spent most of their relationship manipulating her and I loved watching Melody's character grow as she gained her confidence back and re-discovered herself. I wanted to be upset with her brother Parker for the chain of events he helped set in motion back in their high school years, but the twist at the end helped redeem his character for me. Summer and Brooks where both excellent supporting characters as well I can't wait to read Brooks' book which will be the next in the series!

ARC Review:

The FMC regrettably experiences the perfect example for why you should not “put all of your eggs into the same basket” and is grieving a breakup from a toxic ex.

Details: Second chance romance, brother’s best friend, fake dating, being sneaky, camping trip, waitress at a small town diner, number cruncher, dual POV, one tent 😆, “brat”, Friday night football lights, coaching, lip balm, WAG flag football, MUD, 🌶️ ☘️

I think the title of this book should be “The Playbook”. I experienced a lot of what this FMC experienced, personally, but I think a lot of her “problems” have easier solutions (no spoilers). I wish there was more character development through her spending more time with her best friend, Summer. I also really did not like the real reason to why it ended (never started) in the first place 😭

I really hope that there will be more books to come about the side characters in this story!!!

Only in Your Dreams has a lot of tropes, yet somehow makes them work together in a way that doesn’t make you feel like it’s everything but the kitchen sink. There’s brother’s best friend, childhood friends to lovers, sort of second chance romance, forced proximity, sports romance, and small-town romance to name a few. They work together quite well and made for a story I thoroughly enjoyed (and absolutely blew through).

Melody has been around Zac since he moved to her hometown to start high school. He quickly became best friends with Melody’s twin brother, Parker. While Zac is happy to attend their local university to play football, Melody always wanted to move to the city and try out a life there. The night before she leaves for college, Melody asks Zac to kiss her. When he doesn’t, she moves on and moves out, but his rejection followed her for years after. Ten years later, Melody finds herself reeling in the aftermath of a six-year relationship. Dumped and unable to afford her apartment in the city on her own, she moves home to crash with her brother until she can get back on her feet. Back in her hometown, she is quickly forced to confront Zac and her questionably resolved feelings about the last time she saw him.

This book flowed for me. It was hard to put down, and when I did, it was never for very long. I had fun reading it, and I’m hopeful that some of the side characters will get their own love stories in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

This slow burn was worth the read and I cant wait to get to read more by this author. Thank you so much for letting me read this book.

Ok I loved this book! I loved the absolute slow burn. The sweet man who waited and waited and waited.
I needed a wholesome yummy book and this one delivered!!

It wasn’t easy being the new kid in school, but Zac was lucky enough to form a lifelong friendship with Parker which carried over to Parker’s twin sister, Melody. The three were inseparable all throughout high school. The only problem? Zac was in love with Melody. But did Melody feel the same?

Fast forward 10 years and Melody is home healing from an emotionally abusive breakup. Zac never left their town, choosing to become the college football coach. But Melody is back and Zac wants another chance. The two find themselves thrown together for a camping trip, needing to work together to survive for a couple of days. When they return, Mel keeps gravitating back to Zac. Can she forgive him for leaving her alone 10 years ago with no explanation?

I loved, loved, LOVED Zac and Melody together. Their banter was hilarious, the chemistry was off the charts, and Zac was so patient with Mel to help her heal and become whole again. I did find parts of this storyline pretty far fetched, but that’s what a good book will do. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.

Only in Your Dreams is such a cute “unrequited love” romance novel out this February. Thank you Ellie Wilde, NetGalley, and Atria Books for the ARC of this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!
I really enjoyed this, it had top notch spicy scenes, and the two mains had sizzling chemistry. I was swooning over Zac not even halfway through the book.
It was a bit on the slower side, but that spice and overall relationship of the two mains made up for it.
I felt like Melody was super relatable, especially in the past relationship aspect, and I saw a bit of myself in her, so it kind of hit home for me.
Overall, I really liked this.

I really enjoyed this book. It is an easy read with characters that are very lovable. The spice is 10/10!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Navigating grief in a contemporary romance is not an easy task. PS: I Hate You takes on that challenge and delivers a beautiful story of second chances, taking risks, and saying goodbye while falling in love. I've seen so many five-star reviews for this one on Instagram; it is well-deserved! Please note the triggers/content warnings, especially the death of a family member (off-page) and parental neglect (continuous). The audiobook, narrated by Karissa Vicker, was beautifully produced and made me both laugh and cry for Maddie and Dominic. Thank you, PRH Audio, for the free audiobook copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.