First of all, thank you to Atria for sending me an e-arc of this book.

I found this book surprisingly enjoyable. At first I was worried I would hate it because it seemed like it was gonna focus a lot on the fmc's lack of confidence due to her ex boyfriend's manipulation but I think it did a good job of tackling it and showing her develop her confidence again while not dragging it out too much. The author also didn't make the mmc be the whole reason the fmc got her confidence back. He pushed and encouraged her but we saw it develop within herself as well.
The found family was absolutely adorable, and Zac's home becoming a home for Melody and his student was super sweet. I absolutely loved it. Zac was an absolute sweetheart and I just knew there had to be a reason he did what he did so im happy it got revealed.
Respectfully, I'm beefing w Parker and I don't forgive him.
Would recommend!

** spoiler alert **


all those years where they could've been together but maybe it just wasn't their time yet. Our MMC pined over FMC for so many years, even building her vision board dream house without even guaranteeing he would win her back?? then when he finally has her in his life again, he gives her everything and more. i absolutely loved their relationship as she finally gave into him.

when i told my bf all of this, he says im definitely delusional <3 but if he wanted to, he would

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

A spicy small town sports romance he tries to prove he has always loved her. College Football coach has always loves Melody and when she shows up unexpectly he has to decide what to do.

I really wanted to like this. The tropes were there (brother’s best friend, second chance, one bed/tent), but the delivery was lacking. Zac was down so bad it was pathetic and Melody was just too unlikeable for me.

Zac and Melody were childhood friends... he was best friend's with her twin brother but there was always something a little more with him and Melody. One night she asks him to kiss her... but he left and never came back.

Years later, Melody is back in town. Her toxic ex-boyfriend just broke up with her and now she is just trying to find herself. Find who she really is without his negative opinions. Once she gets back in town, her brother convinces her to take his spot on the camping trip they go on with their friends. She ends up going... only to find out she is sharing a tent with the one man who broke her heart years ago.

These two end up being stuck there for days and open up the old wounds of their relationship. After they get back they have to hide their relationship and end up making up the plan for her to fake date one of Zac's friends as the ploy to make Parker, Melody's brother, not suspicious of what they are really up to.

I loved this book so much, there are so many amazing microtropes I can't even name them all. Zac is literally the perfect man and I loved their story so much. I absolutely cannot WAIT for Brook's book!!

Tropes
-childhood friends to enemies to lovers
-secret relationship
-the four leaf clovers and red shoe strings *cries*
-only one tent
-he's a football coach
-he builds her dream house... *giggles*
-forced proximity

infinity/5 stars
2.5/5 spice

thank you ellie wilde, netgalley, & atria books for this arc!

i literally have no desire to spoil this for anyone because this book makes you FEEL. so many emotions !! love! happiness!! longing!! yearning!!! FULFILLMENT. this is an absolutely incredible book and I am so excited for this to come out and for the world to love zac & mel as much as I learned to!

This was an easy to read, brothers best friend sports romance. It had great representation when it came to toxic relationships and I liked the spin on the grumpy/sunshine book trope!

Thank you so much to Atria Books for my ARC, I appreciate it!

3.5/5

all the stars. this book was second chance, first love perfection.

Melody asks her brother's best friend, Zac, to kiss her on the last night before moving away for college. He tells her to wait and he'll be right back, except he never shows, and 10 years later she has yet to see or talk to him. After a break up she finds herself at back in her hometown and forced onto a friends camping trip. Here, hilarity ensues. She's stuck sharing a tent with Zac and they both somehow get left behind and have to survive each other and the rain for 3 days until someone realizes they are missing. While being stuck in the wilderness with no cell reception, they realize that connection is still there and also have to rely on one another until someone shows up and rescues them. And all of this in the first third of the book.

Back to reality they find themselves drawn to one another like magnets. Zac has never forgotten or stopped loving Melody, so he makes it his mission to win her over and finally have a real chance with her. Zac is so swoon worthy. The things he remembers, does, the way he cares for his team's players. Real book husband material.

Banter, tension, fake dating with a different friend, forced proximity, brother's best friend, meeting in secret, chemistry, spice, slow burn -- check triggers -- abusive ex: mentally/emotionally

This is my first introduction to Ellie K. Wilde and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I was a bit cheesy and cliche, but you know? Sometimes I need those things and this book delivered! I think in terms of “second chance romance”, Only in Your Dreams really knocked out of the park. I enjoyed how the romance developed between the two main characters, and I liked the side characters a lot.

However, I do have two gripes. Firstly, I wasn’t a fan of the smut - but please take this with a grain of salt because I’m not someone who enjoys smut. But I will say that sometimes I think authors use smut in their novels instead of taking time to write character development or the romance a slow burn - which I think makes it much more sweeter. Nonetheless, this is a personal opinion and preference.

Secondly, I felt that this was a bit too long - the back and forth between the characters just added to the length. However, I do think this is one of those instances where the length helped the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to reading other books from the author!

Thanks to Netgalley & Simon & Schuster for the
E-ARC! So cute! Loved the characters & all the hockey references. Will definitely read more from this author.

An A+ second-chance romance with characters who are easy to love. There's nothing necessarily original about this story, but if the tropes aren't broken, why fix them? I fell in love with these characters so quickly; this book pulls you in from the first page. I will 100% be recommending this one to all my romance girlies!

Content warning: emotional abuse

If there was a book boyfriend hall of fame, Zac Porter would be its first entrant. He is everything. This book is everything. I never wanted to it end.

I absolutely adore a childhood friends to lovers situation. But when the childhood friend in question is your twin brother's best friend who has absolutely pined away for you for ten years, who builds a house with you in mind without ever knowing if he would get to have you, who makes you breakfast and keeps you safe from wild animals on a camping trip, who supports you and builds you up and makes you feel safe and secure and all the things you haven't been for years? Well, I'm just completely gone.

I loved everything about this book. Zac and Melody are it's always been you personified. Their love doesn't come easy, but god, is it worth the ride. They work at it, build up their relationship slowly, learn to trust each other with their hearts, and when everything finally comes together? Well I just wanted to stand up and cheer.

Zac and Melody are perfect. Oakwood Bay is perfect. The cast of characters in the form of their best friends is perfect. Everything about the book is 10/10 no notes absolute perfection. I want to live in it forever and I'm so glad that this is the first in a series, because I never want to leave this place.

4 stars- I was excited to read this one because second chance is one of my favorite tropes! i flew through this book. I really liked the banter between Mel and Zac. I am excited to read more books in this series in the future!

this was one of the most heartwarming second chance romances I’ve read. I loved how much Zac cared about Melody and thought the word of her. Their connection and banter had me giggling and I really enjoyed this book! Also the spice was spicing!!

Mel is me, I am Mel. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book but I was blown away. Seeing myself in Mel made this book 1000 times better. There was laughing, crying, anger….as someone who has gone through what Mel did, this book healed me. I cannot wait to share this with my friends and fellow readers.

Thank you to Net Galley for the free advance copy.

I truly love a good romcom. And I love an MMC who’s just truly good??? Ya know, not just good for his woman but actually good. This was so cute. At times I felt like the story slowed down a little or was a little corny but it didn’t bother me too much. And the slow burn on the tension and the spice? Loved it. A nice little read.

Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde was a really fast and fun read - I stayed up way too late to finish it because I didn't want to go to sleep without them getting their happily ever after!

The story of Melody and Zac, who grew up together and had feelings for each other, that due to a spoiler incident I won't reveal had miscommunication and then went ten years before seeing each other again. After being dumped by her long-term boyfriend and with no place to go, Melody goes back to her hometown to stay with her twin brother while she gets her life together.

Right after she gets there, her brother tricks her into taking his place on an annual camping trip with her BFF Summer, a new friends Brooks, and she finds out after the fact, Zac - who she is forced to share a tent with. A sudden storm and flood, miscommunication and just plain bad lucks forces Mel and Zac to spend several days alone and in close quarters.

This book is their story of finding their way back to each other. I absolutely love a brother's best friend/enemy to lovers trope and this doesn't disappoint. I rooted for them and the supporting characters - who I hope each get their own book - were a hoot. I can't wait for Brooks, Summer, Parker, and especially Noah to hopefully get their books.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Only in your dreams was a captivating second chance and enemies to lovers that I couldn’t put down! Melody’s journey is both heart wrenching and empowering. After being ghosted by her brother’s best friend Zac, she moved away only to return years later when her long term relationship suddenly ends, leaving Melody blindsided. Melody unable to afford the apartment that she and her ex shared, is forced to move back to her hometown and live with her brother. Forced to confront her past on a camping trip orchestrated by her twin brother, Melody’s transformation is inspiring. She grows confident and learns to recognize the manipulation from her Ex. Zac, the first love that ghosted her, is a compelling character who supports Melody’s growth while also trying to win her back. I enjoyed the sneaking around and the fake dating to cover up the fact that Melody and Zac were seeing each other. I highly recommend this book!

Melody returns to her hometown to live with her brother after breaking up with her boyfriend of six years. She immediately has to go on a camping trip with Zac, the man she was trying to avoid. Zac broke her heart 10 years ago by standing her up and then never apologizing to her. Zac slowly works his way back into her heart.

Tropes: Forced proximity, friends to enemies to lives, brothers ex best friends

I enjoyed this one. My only issues was that it was too long. But it’s really steamy and ac is a dream book boyfriend. I loved the side story with Noah, one of Ac”s players who is having difficulties at home.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this digital ARC they provided me in exchange for an honest review.

Your average cheesy, lighthearted romance with a star quarterback turned coach and his best friends blonde twin sister. But that's exactly what I was in the mood for and why I picked this up, so I'm not hating at all. It was marketed well and delivered! There were times things were a bit much in the cringe department, but it also surprised me with side characters that felt full and lively in their own right. It was exactly the simple, empty headed read I needed. Solid overall.