I really, really enjoyed this romance book! I love that it had dual POV, an actual plot to it that it’s stuck to throughout the book, and was easy to get into and follow. The side characters in this book were really fun and I enjoyed the parts that had them in it. I really feel like we got to know each of the MC’s (Melody and Zac) individually as well as together as their friendship regrew. I loved the whole camping trip parts in the start and how it was a humorous and yet emotional rollercoaster for the two of them as it’s the first time they’ve been around each other since that fateful night occurred.

I did really appreciate that we got a prologue chapter of what happened initially to separate Zac and Melody instead of it being dragged out and us having to figure out what happened piece by piece. Also, Noah! I literally love that kid in the relationship he has with Parker and then how Melody gets added into that little family aspect. The fake dating part with Brooks was a little dumb to me at times but I understand why they felt it needed to happen and the point it made dealing with Zac and her twin brother Parker. Zac’s chapters were always so sweet and I loved how dedicated he was to making Melody happy and doing all these things for her behind the scenes. The whole thing with the clovers and the red shoelaces were adorable! I really liked the banter they had and how Melody wasn’t afraid to be snarky with him after how her ex treated her. I will definitely be reading future books in this series about the side characters because I love them (especially interested in Brooks story)!

Tropes:
- Brother’s best friend
- Childhood friends to lovers
- Second chance
- In secret
- Sports (coach)
- Protective MMC

I received a digital copy from NetGalley & the author of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Ellie K. Wilde for this novel!

Ellie Wilde is now a must read author for me because I absolutely love this book 🥹 How it is possible for a book to be this achingly sweet AND sexy, I’ll never know. Only in Your Dreams is a childhood best friends to strangers to lovers and it’s one of the best “guy falls first” stories I’ve read in a while. Zac is the epitome of thoughtful men; the lengths this guy goes to in order to make Melody happy! The way that Ellie wrote his character is so perfect because with every action and conversation, his adoration for Melody feels so…sincere. Their story is the perfect example of building a healthy relationship where you can be head over heels for someone, but not obligated to answer to or explain yourself to them. Not only was I completely engrossed in Melody and Zac’s love story, I also found myself laughing and smiling because of all of the shenanigans and side characters in this book. I really hope we get more books in the series! All of that said, my very favorite thing about this book is the range of human emotion experienced- lust, heartbreak, nostalgia, regret, mourning, elation, love. I was so invested in this book because these people felt real and raw. They were experiencing so many things that I could relate to and it makes this book truly special. ❤️

Thanks to Atria Books for the gifted book in exchange for my honest review.

This book took me awhile to finish it; it was painfully long. The plot was all over the place.
I felt like the characters in this book didn’t act like their age. I’ve read several romance novels (most of them being “college-aged”) and I thought this book leaned more on the college-aged side dialogue wise, even though they’re way older in this book. The chemistry between Zac and Melody didn’t convince me even though it’s a second chance romance novel. Zac’s been in love with Melody for FOURTEEN YEARS. The interaction between Melody and Zac felt one sided in some parts of this book.
I think some readers will enjoy the tropes in this book. I just felt like the storyline was kind of dull.

Thank you Netgalley + Atria for this ARC in exchange for a review!

(Actual: 3.5⭐) This was overall a pretty sweet (and spicy!) read, though I will say I personally had to hold a rather high suspension of disbelief when it came to the backstory of this romance. And by this I mean: SINCE HIGH SCHOOL?? A whole DECADE ago??? lol, I mean— on the one hand, I know that emotions truly can linger far longer within us than we may think, as well as that love stories like this can/do exist in reality..... but maybe, in this case, it just all felt a bit too cheesy? Regardless, this is a fast-paced, 2nd-chance romance that, despite my aforementioned critique(s), holds a good balance of plot and fluff. I did feel that Melody was far more developed as our FMC than Zac (our MMC) was, but both are still likeable characters that are easy to get behind (again, even if their story did feel a bit contrived at times). Still would recommend out to audiences, especially romcom lovers who may be looking for a quick, low-stakes read!

I thought this book would be a good second chance romance/brother’s best friend/small town romance cutesy tropey book that I would enjoy, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations.

The book starts out with the two main characters being abandoned on a camping trip (that felt like it lasted 3 years to me - it was never ending) and hooking up for the first time in a pile of mud. Literal mud. It doesn’t get much better from here.

Despite having been broken up with after a 6 year, toxic, controlling, love-bombing relationship, main character Mel immediately moves in with her twin brother and gets controlled by him as she is trying to heal from her abusive relationship. But because it’s her brother that cares about her, it’s okay. It’s fine.

I just really couldn’t connect to this book and was just waiting to be done with it. Which unfortunately took a while as it’s over 400 pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a cute story about a girl who loves her brother’s best friend but she can’t get past what he did to her in high school. There are some cute, funny moments that happen in between. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This was such a fun read! It immediately had me hooked and I devoured it in a night. I love a small town romance and a found family friend group, so this checked off al the boxes for me. I'm excited to read more from this universe and I would be interested in reading more from Ellie K Wilde.

Only in Your Dreams was a cute, sweet, and pretty steamy brother’s best friend, second chance romance. I enjoyed Mel and Zac and their relationship and how much Zac was willing to do for her to make up for the past but it did get to a point the story dragged when they wouldn’t just talk about what happened. Overall though it was enjoyable enough for me to want to continue the series after this one!

I loved this book! Such a fun contemporary read. This book had just enough football to make it a sports romance without having too much detail and confusing this non-sports girlie. Overall, I loved the second chance friends-to-lovers vibes. Melody and Zac were well rounded characters and had great chemistry on page. The sneaking around had me giggling and the spice had me swooning.

Absolutely loved this book!!!! I will forever love the secret relationship trope and brothers best friend. This book was a great start off to the year!

2.5 ✨

I thought this book was okay!

I think that it had some fun little plot points that made the story feel unique. Some examples: it’s a sports romance, but he’s a coach instead of a player. There’s fake dating, but it’s not exactly what you think! Brother’s best friend, but they guys aren’t as close as they used to be 👀 Those made for some interesting plot dynamics! This story also follows Melody after she has gotten out of a toxic and emotionally abusive relationship, and I appreciated the care in which this and some of the other themes of this book were written.

But I do think that there were some big plot points in the story that didn’t match the overall story. A few things kind of got rushed over, and unfortunately, it led to a romance that didn’t feel believable? I wish there would have just been a little more emotionally worked through and talked through, but that’s just how I feel!

You should definitely pick this book up if you’re looking for a second chance sports romance that navigates the complexity of finding love and making healthy future decisions in the aftermath of a manipulative relationship. This is also for you if you enjoy reading the brother’s best friend/secret relationship trope!

Thank you Atria and Ellie for this ARC of Only in Your Dreams in exchange for my honest review! :)

Zac Porter is my new #1!!! a football romance??? who am i??? i ate this book right up— literally devoured it in one day! the pining, the angst, the Notebook-esque vibes, the sappiness of it all!! this book had forced proximity, second chances, and brother’s best friend all wrapped up in a pretty bow. the spice was very much there and whew did they have chemistry. Mel was in love but she had to figure things out, Zac?? HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. amazing book. absolutely adored this. it was the perfect smutty romance after reading a thriller!

Melody returns home after a breakup
Her brother makes her go on a camping trip and it turns out her tent mate is her very first crush and also the person that's broke her heart the most.
Football coach, brothers friend

This was super cute! Zac is such a sweetie and is very much a “I’ll burn the world for you” MMC which I will always fawn over!

It felt like it dragged in a couple of spots but they were easy to get through in the end

A steamy, tension-filled second chance romance!

I could’ve melted at how cute this was! Zac’s love for Melody is so palpable and intense that it’s nearly impossible not to love him. The chemistry between them is WOW undeniable, and their slow-burn reconnection was perfectly executed! Watching Melody—who’s had a rough past when it comes to love—find her footing with Zac was heartwarming.

I swooned over the matching bracelets they had—especially the fact that they kept them even when they were no longer in each other’s lives! It was a beautiful, touching reminder of their past and their bond.

The dialogue, however, definitely got on my nerves here and there. Melody, despite being likable, occasionally frustrated me in ways I can’t even pinpoint. And Zac, he kind of gave me the ick at times. But the overall vibe of the story was cutesy regardless!

All in all, despite a few bumps in the road, this book delivered an exceptional steamy romance with tons of heart!

3.5 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. These opinions are my own.

This was my first read by Ellie K. Wilde, but it will not be my last. After a really bad break up, Melody returns to her home town. And she immediately ends up on a camping trip with none other than the guy who broke her heart in high school, Zac.

Zac is her brother's best friend and also the new coach of the local football team. He's under a lot of pressure to get his team to start winning games. And Melody is dealing with her own career struggles.

This has so many secrets, but it boils down to a lovely romance between two people who really need each other. I loved every moment of their relationship. And I enjoyed their interactions with their friends and neighbors, as they tried to keep everything quiet. I'm thrilled this is the start of a series because I want to return to Oakwood Bay.

CW: past abusive relationship

4.5 stars rounded up

This was a fun surprise of a romance. Melody returns home after her boyfriend of 6 years breaks up with her. Feeling like a failure after her dreams of success in the city don't work out as she had hoped, she only feels worse when she finds herself on a camping trip with her old high school friends, including her brother's best friend. The last time she saw Zac ten years ago he ghosted her and broke her heart. Now these two find themselves stuck together in a forced proximity situation. The camping trip at the start really got me. It was such a great way to see these two reconnect and begin to get to know one another again. The tension between them was great and carried through the following months as they become closer. The friend group was great. I loved how Melody's friends gently supported her and found Zac to be a sweetheart of a human being. This was a book that made me smile and want to keep reading. I'm hoping to read more in this series as the other characters were great and it would be a lot of fun to return to Oakwood Bay. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for a honest review. Ten years is how long it's been since Melody had her heartbroken by her friend (and her brother's best friend), Zac. Now back in town and staying with her brother, Melody and Zac share the same friend group so have to reconnect. Zac decides he'll try to win her over after pining over her for the last 10 years. All of this sounds fine, but it just doesn't fall into place or flow the way I would've imagined. Some of the dialogue is just very repetitive.
I feel like this story started off strong, but then it fell a little flat and just dragged on for me. It started off as more of a sweet story and then towards the end, it gets very spicy.

This has to be my favorite sports romance I’ve read so far. Can’t believe I waited way too long to start it. It has just the right amount of spice and I just loved the characters.

This was a wonderful read that had some funny moments and a happy ending. You could feel the chemistry and connection between the characters and I was rooting for them for the entire book!