Melody returns to her small hometown after her boyfriend of six years breaks up with her out of the blue. She's adrift and devoid of feelings until she's confronted again with the man who broke her heart ten years ago. Slowly but surely, she begins to piece together the trauma her previous boyfriend inflicted on her while working through if she can ever heal enough to trust her own judgment again.

*****

I did not expect to love these characters as much as I did. I'm not normally one for a heavily cheesy man, but somehow, the dialogue raked through some incredibly sweet and sappy sentiments without making me want to toss my phone at a wall. Zac was soft, endlessly devoted, and hopessly optimistic in regards to her. Melody contrasted that by being dry, sarcastic, pessimistic and overly cautious around him. It was the perfect blend to ensure even the softer scenes didn't end up feeling saccharine, and ample levity was brought into heavier moments.

Their slow, slow burn was enjoyable and didn't affect the overall pacing as we got so much growth for Melody. Watching her recover from the mental agony she'd lived through, and seeing Zac do it in such a way that always put her first was satisfying to no end.

The only real area that stuttered a bit for me was the entire decade of silence. I couldn't help wishing the author had tightened up those timelines or had moments where they crossed paths inbetween to bring up tension or missed opportunities. It felt too unrealistic to have that huge gap, that it did pull me out of the story at times.

Still, this was such a warm read, and I'll absolutely be grabbing anything this author writes in the future. If you're looking for The Notebook vibes with a steady, devoted MMC, and mouthy FMC, grab this one ASAP!

*****

Thank you, NetGalley, and Atria Books for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was full of my favorite romance tropes
🌟brothers best friends
🌟 childhood crush
🌟 second chance romance
🌟 froced proximity
🌟"fake dating"

Melody moves back to her hometown after being dumped by her boyfriend of 6 years to get her life back together.
Zac who made made a big mistake 10 years ago, is the last person she wants to see. But once she is back in town, will do everything to win her over. Told in dual pov, this was a cute spicy sports romance. While it wasn't my favorite, I didn't hate it.

3.75 stars

Thank you to netgalley and Atria for the opportunity to ready a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I was kindly provided with the ARC of this book by NetGalley and the editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ✨

5⭐️

Oh my…. Zac Porter THE MAN YOU ARE!!❤️‍🩹😮‍💨🛐

I went blindly to this book and is also the first book I read from the author and my oh my… I was kicking and giggling and blushing all the way!! I also aaa tearing up because, uugghhh!!! I usually don’t like the trope of second chance romance, but this one was just so well written, Melody and Zac’s story became in one of my favorites.
The way she healed from her past relationship, (Connor I HATE YOU 🙂) how sad and hurt she felt when she realized how much she suffered on that toxic relationship without her noticing, how Zac was there for her even when she still had rough feelings for him, and how he was just so committed to gain her again, and show her he was THE one for her🥹

I just love them! And all the other characters were equally amazing, Noah just stole my heart ❤️‍🩹

This book was definitely a very good surprise ✨

Adored this one. This is a beautiful second chance, brothers best friend romance! I just flew through reading this one, eating it up. The characters made me smile and I can't wait to read more from this author!

LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH, EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS WAS SO GOOD. THE BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND WAS PERFECTION]. THE CLOVERS🥹 I NEED TO FINISH THIS SERIES ASAP, ITS SO SWEET AND IT WAS A FAST READ

I'm devastated to report back that after several attempts to read this books, I ultimately just could not get into the story, the pacing was off for me and it felt very insta love for my liking. Maybe in the future I will give this one another go but as of right now, it's a dnf for me. Thank you Atria and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Had such a good time with this book! Rooting for the characters within the first couple of chapters. Melody and Zac at times made me want to scream especially Melody but it was in a good way. I will admit there were moments that was like girl what are you doing? are you blind? I can't wait for book 2!!

I really enjoyed this take on what I would call a childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde releases on January 21st.

This was such a fun read!!

You should read this book if you love:
- Brothers’ best friend + childhood friends 🫶🏻
- “It’s always been you” 💖
- Second-chance romance with a ton of pining ❤️‍🔥
- Small-town vibes with a cute friend group 🏡
- Found family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
- Banter and steamy moments 🔥

"I’m thinking about never realizing just how lonely I’ve been until the very moment I felt full."

There’s so much I loved about this book. The main characters were super likeable. Zac is so sweet and thoughtful—his love language is definitely acts of service. Melody, coming out of a toxic relationship (poor baby 😭😭), had such a beautiful and relatable healing journey. The chemistry between her and Zac was incredible. I also adored their bond with Noah. The found-family vibes were heartwarming, and after everything Noah’s been through, I just wanted to give him a big hug. Honestly, I’d be down for Noah to get his own book someday 👀. Brooks was another great side character, and I saw he’s getting his own book—eeep, so exciting!

This book was super easy to binge, with a perfect balance of good spice, funny moments, and wholesomeness.


A few things I enjoyed less:
- The miscommunication and the reason they didn’t talk for ten years. I definitely feel like Zac could’ve reached out to Melody earlier, but I get that it was necessary for the plot.
- The nickname during sex. I thought it was cute when Zac called her Clover, but calling her “Clo” during intimate moments (short for Clover) when her name is Melody felt a little off to me.
- I wish we’d seen more of Summer because I loved her, and I wanted more friendship moments with her.
- I wasn’t a fan of Parker (Melody’s twin). Maybe I’d warm up to him if he got his own book, but I found him pretty annoying in this one.

At the beginning, I was a little bit skeptical due to all these thropes:
🏈 sports romance
🏙 small town
🏕 forced proximity
👫 friends to lovers
👦 brothers best friend
🥈second change
😠🌞 grumpy-sunshine

But let me tell you one thing: Ellie K. Wilde did it! She made it all happen, and I was hooked since the first chapter.

I liked that the main characters were in their late 20s and didn't act like emotional teenagers. They talked about things even if it took them time and understanding of each other even if feelings got hurt in the past or on the way to recover their relationship. Things weren't blown out of proportion just because.

I loved the banter and caring for one another. The side characters were so relatable, and I can't wait to continue this series to see where their stories take them.

I got so many emotions and butterflies while reading this.

The only negative side was a little too much adult activities at the end and one particular scene: the sex scene in the bar bathroom. It was just a little bit too gross and gave me ickys😂 just knowing how dirty and nasty the bathrooms are.


Thank you, @atriabooks and @netgalley, for the ARC

4⭐️3.75🌶️

Contemporary romance
Dual POV
Small Town Romance
Friends to Lovers
Brothers Best Friend
Self Discovery
Forced Proximity
Football obsessed college town

Tw: gaslighting ex, emotional manipulation, toxic relationships, off page domestic violence and alcoholism

In this emotional and captivating story, Melody returns to her hometown after a breakup, only to come face-to-face with Zach, her first love, sparking unresolved feelings between them. The book’s epilogue is sweet, establishing both their friendship and the underlying romantic tension from the start, while the beginning effectively ignites those sparks between the characters.

The characters are well-developed and dynamic, with the female main character (FMC) going through a powerful journey of self-discovery, particularly as she comes to terms with the toxic, long-term relationship she’s leaving behind. It’s a heartbreaking and unique approach to her growth.

The male main character (MMC) is a perfect balance of stoic and tortured, but he never falls into the trap of being a doormat. His strong, individual personality adds depth to the story, especially in a “he falls hard” narrative, which I absolutely love.

The side characters were enjoyable, and I’m hopeful they’ll get their own stories in the future. My only wish would be for a bit more diversity among the characters, which would have added a richer layer to the story.

As for the romance, the spice level is high with many open-door scenes. While these moments are steamy, they did start to take a bit too much focus away from the overall plot at times, which was a minor drawback.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book. A small town. Football. And torn apart time and distance.

Unfortunately, I felt Zac was a just a little too over the top for me. Overall it was a cute story but his character felt cheesy and over exaggerated for most of the book and that's all I could think about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ellie for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

3.5 stars

I would like to preface this by saying Nicholas Sparks did it first and well, but Ellie Wilde did it and I didn't cringe (IYKYK). This was a great second-chance romance to kick the year off with, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fix. The balance of spice and emotion reminds me of Tessa Bailey; there's a lot of spice, it's good spice, but there's a lot of plot and emotion to support it. Melody's humor and sarcasm is spot on and I love the supporting characters.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

I really struggled with the impetus of their separation and conflict, both in how it happened and how it took ten years to resolve, especially if the brother was "aware" (for lack of a better word) since it occurred, ESPECIALLY since he didn't like Connor. I just couldn't fully grasp that and I had to shorten the timeline/suspend my disbelief a little too much to get past this.

I LOVED the "they don't know that we know they know we know" bit at the end. Between that and the house, this book was the perfect balance of squealy-cute and funny. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the re-published version. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

She’s been dumped and defeated and Melody moves back home to take stock of her life and runs into her childhood crush, college football coach Zac.

YES YES YES. This book was lovely. The banter was top notch with a torturous slow burn. Zac the MMC is my favorite type of guy, the cinnamon roll golden retriever. Melody is reeling from her breakup and is realizing how much of a d-bag he was. Zac is hell bent on winning her over. The dialogue is hilarious and the spice is SPICING 🔥. The college town vibe was a great addition to the setting. I think I need more football romances in my life.

3.5 stars!
formulaic but cute! loved the banter/chemistry between Zac and Melody and I love a good sports romance! a pining grump and a snarky sunshine always hits

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely fell HEAD over HEELS for Zach and Melody the first time I read them. They’re hot and sweet and banter-y. The second chance romance hits so hard here, especially with how much pining and tension these two have. And this book has one of my absolute favorite microtropes: they can’t sleep well unless they’re sleeping with the other. Chef’s kiss!

Zac is sunshine at his core, but the 14 years of pining have made him a little more moody. He was the definition of doting from a distance - constantly doing little things for Melody to make her feel safe and comfortable, and never taking the spotlight off her. THE PINING, the tattoos, hiding her lip balm for her so she always has it on hand, the absolute hold Melody had on him.

Melody was so perfectly snarky and grumpy - I loved her character and the depth she had. Coming off a long relationship with her narcissist ex, she was in that haze of not knowing if she could trust her own judgement or those around her. It took a while for her to let Zac in after she’d been burned by him in the past, but once she did the two were electric.

Also, “get her happy, keep her happy” has to be one of the sweetest, best, most down-bad-crying-at-the-gym lines of this book and I think about it often.

How, HOW have I never read Ellie K Wilde before?!

This was my last read of 2024 and it was so good! Looking at the page count, I thought it was going to be too long. But I was actually really happy with the length and how it was used. We really got to see the little ways Melody and Zac grew while they were apart and how that growth affects them now. It's poignant and a little heartbreaking, with a gritty realism that's refreshing. I loved every moment.

It's also a really cool twist on a sports romance. Zac being a first-time college head coach is not something I've seen before. And I ADORED how much Melody loves football, too. It all made me smile so much.

Finally, Zac Porter is the stuff of dreams.

I've been pushing this on all of my friends!

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A fun quick read! Athlete romances are a guilty pleasure in between my scary murder thriller books and this one did not disappoint.

I was so lucky to find Ellie K Wilde when she was an indie author, and I have devoured everything she had written previously! Now I’m so so excited that “Only In Your Dreams” is being brought to print, especially since it’s been my favorite! Mel and Zac are just two people that are totally gone for each other, head over heels in love. And I adore that it’s “always been you” trope. It’s so delicious I just eat it up 🤭🥰
But they also have the *most* insane chemistry. I’m foaming at the mouth just thinking about a reread. 😍
I’m so excited for Ellie K Wilde and will pick up anything she writes in the future!

3.5 ⭐️

All those stars basically go to Zac Porter.
And his golden retriever, groveling, I’m going to win her back energy.

I didn’t love the fake dating here. Or the brother drama.

Melody, I liked her and then I didn’t and back and forth.
I liked the clovers.
Didn’t love her constant internal self drama.

College football coach
Recently dumper girl
Grumpy x sunshine
Second chance
Small town
Brothers best friend

And it was longer than felt necessary.