I don’t annotate a lot in books I read, but it’s possible this is the most I’ve ever highlighted a book ever.

Zac, you stupid, simpy, sappy man, I love you so much. Someone please find me a man like this because I simply cannot exist in a world without him.

Melody is feisty and snarky, and everything I wish that I could be defending the people that I love.

I had to knock a star off because if there is one thing I hate more than anything about a brother’s best friend trope it’s the “no one is allowed to touch my sister, including my best friend who is obviously madly in love with her but I’m an ignorant child and I know what’s best for her” brother, followed by the “I am angry at the world, including with the woman I love, because I can’t have her and so I will refuse to speak with her for X+ years, leaving her to wonder what the duck she did wrong” MMC.

Really steams my clams.

A lot of fun!! It was written really well too.

In the beginning, I did feel like the pace was a little quick - they seemed to get together pretty quickly but by 50% I thought that everything progressed at the right time, so it ended up being perfect.
I loved Noah - little baby - he was probably my favorite character. I wish we had more of him in the end, maybe staying in touch with Zac and Melody. I also loved Melody’s nickname, I thought it was super cute but not too cheesy.

The house <333

I hope we get a book for Brooks or Noah!

Overall, I had a good time and will definitely read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Ellie K Wilde for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in 24 hours. This was a smiling as I read, stay up way too late to read “one more chapter” and love the tension kind of book.

Book #1 in a series. Very much looking forward to the next book!

Melody is in rough shape. Dumped by her boyfriend of 6 years, broke, with no where to live and no friends in the city she is forced to move home and live with her brother. She has avoided coming home after her heart was broken by her brother’s best friend (Zac) 10 years ago.

Melody is hoping to save some money and return to the city without interacting with Zac.

Zac has spent the last 10 years regretting how he handled things and has shut himself off as a result. Suddenly he’s faced with Melody and all the feelings he’s been trying to ignore only grow, even as she tries to avoid him.

I liked how thoughtfully the storyline of manipulation and the toxic relationship was handled. It was really interesting to watch Melody recognize it at the same time as her hometown friends and see how it impacted her in future relationships.

There was plenty of tension and sexy parts but I appreciated how they got to know each other again without jumping right to sex. The restraint Zac had was impressive, waiting until it was more than just physical.

The sassy relationship Melody had with Zac and how he adored that feisty side of her was just so satisfying. Melody had a really neat growth story - figuring out after so long of going with someone else’s plan - what she wanted and liked.

Tropes:
Small town
Second chance
Slow burn but also not?
Forced proximity
Brothers best friend

I felt like too much was happening on the pages with both the main characters lives
And I get the author was trying to build each person background
But it just left like sooooo much for a rom com
Both main characters felt really immature to me
🙈🙈🙈

4 stars 🌟 thank you netgalley for the Arc of Only In Your Dreams by Ellie K Wilde.

I read this book in 1 1/2 days, once I started I could not put it down. It kept me intrigued throughout the whole thing. Zac and Melody have a very special place in my heart.

✨ Tropes ✨

🤍 Second Chance
🤍 Brothers Best friend
🤍 Forced Proximity
🤍 Small-town romance
🤍 “it’s alway been you”
🤍 Sneaking around
🤍 Fake dating (not what you probably think)
🤍 Protective MMC

Zac broke my heart at times, the fact he PINED hard for her for 10 years makes him the best book boyfriend for me. Mel is a strong willed woman and it hurt me to see her come to terms with how the guy she had been with wasn’t at all who she thought. But when she finally gives in to Zac, to what they could be, lord the tears turned to happy. I loved the way Zac supported her without pushing her. I also happened to fall in love with the side characters especially Brooks. I would recommend this book 1000 times.

⭐⭐ 2.5/5

This book is fine. There are some good parts, but I think that there is too much stuff going on and not enough character development. Melody is a pretty flat character, and she does learn about her previous relationship as she goes, but it seems unhealthy that she's jumping into a relationship right as she recovers from such manipulation. Especially considering that Zac is a little.. over the top. He is possessive and obsessive. Even in romcom terms, building her dream house, getting a tattoo every year for her, and not ever attempting to move on- it's a lot. We're talking 14 years here. There is also just a lot of miscommunication considering they should be in their 30's. Let's start addressing and explaining the past issue within the first five chapters, guys!

I think that this could have benefitted from just being set at the campsite. It was a strong start and I really enjoyed that part of the story. Going back to the normal day-to-day, having sleepovers and such as they fake date (somebody else), is where it started losing me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC copy!

This was a DNF for me at 45%.

I really struggled with a lot of the book. The biggest thing for me was the lack of knowledge with the college football/coaching world. A college head coach/assistant coach would never have an entire Labor Day weekend off. There were other inconsistencies that just are not realistic within the world of coaching and it made it really difficult to finish the book, considering it’s marketed as a sports romance.

I also didn’t love their whole relationship, it did not feel like 2 grown adults and more like they should still be in college with all the push and pull happening. Overall, it just wasn’t a great book for me.

this review will contain spoilers.

This book was a lot of fun. The spice was definitely spicy so I could have enjoyed it more toned down a bit, but others will love that. I love that it was pretty much grumpy and grumpy and he fell hard first. I also loved the interactions with the friend group and how they teased but obviously loved each other. Plus, the addition of Noah practically being a child was so sweet.

I loved this book and know others will as well.

I plan to share this title on my instagram on Monday, January 20th, just before release.

I picked up Only In Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde, hoping for a sweet, easy romance, and that’s exactly what I got. If you're into the "brother's best friend" trope, this one is definitely for you. The chemistry between the leads is fun, and I found myself rooting for them - I was obsesseddddd with Zac.

That said, there were a few things that kept me from loving it. The characters, while likeable, didn’t feel super fleshed out to me. Some of their decisions felt a bit predictable, and I wished there was more depth in their development. The pacing was also a little off—some parts moved too fast, and others dragged a bit.

Overall, it’s a solid read if you're just looking for a quick, feel-good romance. It’s not perfect, but if you enjoy a light story with a bit of spice, this book does the job.

I always adore a fun, easy-to-read, captivating rom-com and I found all that and more while reading, “Only in Your Dreams”. A favorite trope of mine! Brother’s best friend and brother’s sister falls in love with each other, but wrong timing didn’t lead them to pursue that romance until literally a decade later, fate gives them another chance. Experiencing their love rekindle as I read this book sure was a treat! I definitely recommend this book if you’re like me and love reading about a small town couple falling in love and in the sweetest and most charming way possible. And who doesn’t love a good ol’ camping trip in the woods! Haha, read this book!! So good!

Melody returns to her hometown to live with her twin brother after a major breakup. He sends her in his place on a camping trip, with the one that broke her heart. This book covers fun tropes while learning to overcome hurt and gain confidence.

Thank you NetGalley for an Arc of Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K Wilde

"Only in Your Dreams" is a second-chance romance between Zac and Melody who have feelings for one another in high school and one night they try to act on their feelings but it goes awry. 10 years later Melody finds herself back in their home town after a manipulative 6 year relationship and has lost her true self. Guess who she bumps into? Zac who she hasn't seen or spoken to since that night. Zac knows he messed up all those years ago and has never forgotten Melody and this is his chance.

From the first chapter you immediately feel the tension and chemistry between Melody and Zac and it leaves you wanting more. Zac is your typical strong, reliable, a little brooding MMC who deep down is a romantic and not to mention alluring. Melody is looking to find herself and Zac helps her gain her confidence back while also showing her that he has changed. This book was cute, swoon-worthy, had me smiling through their banter and we can't forget to mention the SPICE!

I would rate this a 3.5 as I wanted more plot and character development especially from Melody. I felt she lacked some depth and was falling a little back into the same pattern of being swept off her feet by a man. I was hoping she'd give Zac a little bit of a harder time before diving right in but who could blame her, he's a catch :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I wish we can do .5 cause this for me was a 3.5. After the follow of her breakup from a 6 year relationship, Melody goes back to her hometown to stay with her twin brother Parker until she can figure out her next steps. Melody had her whole life after college wrapped up in her boyfriend, same hobbies, he found her job, his friends became her friends. So for her the breakup really left her more in a daze of was it true love or was it a relationship with rose color glasses?

Melody runs into the one person she didnt want to see, the one who broke her heart at 18 before she want away to college, Zac. Zac has a secret about that night but Melody does not want to hear it. Will they reconnect?

This story was very cute had all the tropes many of us love: Dual POV, "Forbiddenish romance", one bed, second chance, fake dating, sports romance, NO 3 act breakup (already a win there!), and best friends brother.

I really enjoyed this fast paced read but sometimes certain parts were lacking in explanation or other parts dragged on. Also I would hate Parker as a brother lmao. But over all if you are looking for a fun read with a grumpy golden retriever then this is a great book to read. I think it would be perfect to read at the end of summer since that is more when the story also takes place. It was a fun and light hearted read that was fun. def recommend trying it.

Zac was the perfect patient partner for Melody after being in such a toxic relationship for so long. I think the way the Melody finally started to see Connor and their relationship for what it was what was don’t very well. It was nice to see Melody build her confidence back after that and Zac just quietly supported her and waited. But I guess that was nothing new since he had been waiting 10 years! It was frustrating that he put his life on hold for so long for her and never made any strides in that time to go after what he wanted. He was so good at pushing those around him to go after their dreams but it wasn’t until Melody fell into his tent that he had even talked to her after all that time. It was hard to reconcile that guy with the almost cocky guy who worked for Melody once she returned to town. At times, the book seemed to drag a little and to be honest I thought the camping weekend was going to be the whole book but it was much more of a slow burn. Overall, liked the characters and some good spice and HEA. I would recommend it!

Brief overview:
Melody moves back to her hometown after a breakup to live with her twin, Parker. After a camping trip, she finds herself getting closer and closer to an old friend.

My thoughts:
I LOVED this book! It was so cute, almost as good as an Elle Kennedy novel, and that's pretty high praise from me! I read a lot of romance, about 60% of my reads in 2024 were romance, so I'd like to think I have a fairly good grasp on the genre. I do believe, in my opinion, this book is a great addition to the romance catalog. I was shocked and impressed with the way the author took typical romance novel tropes, like fake dating and one bed, and flipped them on their head. I don't want to say too much and give away the fun! It is absolutely worth a read, even if it is a bit long and maybe could've used a cut here or there (hence the 4 star and not 5 star rating).

I must’ve been craving something extra gooey, because Ellie Wilde delivered in ways I didn’t know I needed. Seriously, this book hit me at exactly the right time, because it has pretty much everything I usually roll my eyes at.

Only in Your Dreams is basically a checklist of every cliche you can imagine. And I mean every single one. There’s even a “Who did this to you?” moment.

The pacing? All over the place. There are times when it feels like we're just going in circles, and the book could have easily lost about 40 pages. But really..? I didn’t care. I was too busy giggling and at one point, I realized I was literally kicking my feet.

And don’t even get me started on how cheesy it gets. I’m talking eye-roll-inducing, so cheesy you can almost hear the ’90s rom-com soundtrack playing in the background.

Exhibit A:
"He's just an old friend of my brother's. We all went to high school together."
"She sleeps over every night."
"The key word there is sleep."
"In my bed. Every night. She can't stay away."
"It's completely platonic."
"Only because I politely declined her advances. Did I mention there's spooning?"

Gag me right? But guess what? I devoured it. Every cheesy, ridiculous, over-the-top line. I loved it. This could be a case of the right book at the right time?? IDK, but I had a heck of a good time.

So, yeah. This book is messy, the pacing is all over the place, and it might make you wonder if the author was just ticking off boxes on a “romance tropes you have to include” list. But honestly? I had an absolute blast. A complete and total joy ride. Giving this a 4.5

Sweetness overload: Zac is a golden retriever, and Mel is the golden retriever whisperer. They have chemistry, banter, longing, an easy to follow plot – just a really enjoyable escape with a little steam and low angst resolution. Very much enjoyed this world and can’t await to read the next one in this series, which is coincidentally about the most interesting side character from this installment. Although this is classified as sports romance, football was mercifully hardly ever mentioned, but the romance was on point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. Romance and football? My dream come true! I loved this golden retriever and grumpy girl couple. It was quite spicy when the heat hit so if that isn’t your thing, you can definitely skip those parts and there is still plenty to love. You’ll be rooting for Zac in no time! I can’t wait to read the next book in the Oakwood Bay series. Brooks!!!! Need I say more?

Publish date is 1/21/25
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ARC Review 5/5 🍀
Zac Porter is a dream. A second chance romance with a twin brothers best friend turned town grump that is only soft for her?? Are we joking? I did not highlight this book as I read it and I fully regret it because I could flip through quotes from him and fall over and over again. He was so attentive, protective, understanding, and direct with his feelings without overwhelming Mel. He knew how to pace his advances and choices to match her needs while giving her time to heal. I loved how she never fully denied him, even as she needed time to ease into their confessions. I was so proud of Mel for taking time to find herself and reflect on her past in order to grow and become the woman she wanted to be. She also never gave up on her dreams even when it might hurt to imagine them taking her away again.

This was truly such an amazing story. I laughed and fell right along with Mel & Zac. This book was the perfect mix of spicy and sweet to pull me out of my reading slump.

I can’t wait to read more from this author! 🥰

Tropes:
🍀 twin brothers best friend
🏈 second chance, 10 years later
🍀 golden retriever only for her
🏈 supports her dreams
🍀 wears his jersey
🏈 it was always you

I thought I would start reading this book and then finish it tomorrow but I absolutely could not put it down. Melody and Zac were friends in high school, until she asked him to kiss her, and he walked out of the room and never spoke to her again. Now, ten years later, she's moved in with her twin brother--who's Zac's best friend--after a breakup and being back home means avoiding Zac will be impossible. And when she and Zac get stranded in a storm on a camping trip, feelings from all those years ago come right back up to the surface. And listen. It's fucking delicious.