DELICIOUS.

I went into this book having never read this author so I wasn’t at all sure what to expect. I’m not typically the nugget fan of second chance romance but MAN did this book change my opinion of the trope.

The pacing - perfect.
The banter - giggle inducing.

I read this book in one sitting. Highly recommend for the readers that love when MMC’s are down bad.

Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde is a second-chance romance that brings all the feels, with tropes galore, including forced proximity, small-town charm, and a protective, swoon-worthy MMC. Melody and Zac’s love story is full of banter, emotional growth, and scorching chemistry. Zac, a solid yet slightly cold "human fridge," supports Melody through her personal journey, making their reconnection a sweet and heartfelt one. The wilderness camping setup offers plenty of forced proximity moments, and while their ten-year silence is hard to swallow, the romance and chemistry more than make up for it.

Despite a few pacing issues and a weak explanation for their separation, the book shines with its unique characters, side characters that demand their own stories, and a refreshing lack of a third-act breakup. If you’re a fan of small-town, angsty romances with a hint of spice, Only in Your Dreams delivers a satisfying, heartwarming read.

Thank you so much to Ellie K Wilde and Atria Books for the eARC of this book. It is the typical sports romance with a second chance trope. Im not the biggest fan of the second chance trope but this one was quite good. It was a slow burn and the level of spice was perfect.

This has been my favorite second chance romance I’ve read in quite some time! It’s the perfect mix of funny banter and sweet moments between the FMC & MMC. I am a sucker for the “It was always you.” Trope.

The conflict- of not talking to each other for 10 years with such a yearning for each other on both sides seemed a little weak to me.

A typical sports romance, but with a second chance troupe. This was a sweet, fun read. Not only does she find love, she finds herself as well.

This should be the blueprint for books about returning to your hometown and falling in love with your childhood crush, bonus points for brother’s best friend. This book was so charming and perfect! Theres a lot of added depth to this book with the side characters and melody dealing with getting over her ex / trauma from that relationship that I appreciated and made this story more than just a romance. My only complaint is not getting a cute woodsy cover out of this but I do think the cover is very cute as is.

- Forbidden romance
- brother’s best friend
- He falls first
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Childhood crush / one that got away
- College Football coach
- Slow burn
- Found family

This was such a great read. I really enjoyed the characters and the story. It was a good level of spice as well. I enjoyed this more than I expected. Great read

Melody has just been dumped by her boyfriend of 6 years, and is quickly realizing the relationship was not a healthy one. She moves back home with her twin brother Parker, which leaves her needing to face the boy who left her hanging 10 years ago. Zac was Parker’s best friend in high school, and he stuck around Oakwood Bay for college and life after. He realized he made a huge mistake walking away from Melody 10 years ago, but wasn’t able to figure out how to fix it, so he waited in their home town in hopes she would one day return and he could make it all up to her.

This is kind of a second chance romance, I mean they were clearly into each other in HS but nothing ever came from it because Zac was Melody’s BBF. The book felt a little long to me, there were definitely parts where the pacing slowed. I enjoyed that we could tell how gone Zac was for Melody almost immediately, so there wasn’t a long waiting period for him to start some groveling to win her trust again. Melody was frustrating at times, it felt like she was so oblivious to Zac’s obvious quiet declarations of love at times. I liked the side characters- specifically Brooks and Noah, but would have liked to see a little more out of Summer. I think it would have been good for Melody to spend some more time with a girlfriend after this rough breakup situation. The spice was good, and there was plenty of it! All in all I enjoyed the story and will probably keep an eye out for the next book in the Oakwood Bay series because I’m interested to know who the story will focus on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read an advance e-copy of this book and share my honest opinion.

A brother's best friend, found family, it's always been her (and for her it's always been him) slow burn second chance after 10 years

When melody returns to her hometown after a bad breakup, she quickly reconnects with her old friend group, including being set up on the group camping trip with her first (and let's be honest, only) love in one heck of a reconnect meet not cute.

When the two return from the trip after being unintentionally abandoned in the woods due to a storm, they can't keep their feelings at bay and it only heats up from there!

I loved watching Zac and Melody reconnect, address past hurt and meet each other in the space where they need each other the most. They had such sweet moments and times of growth and, plenty of spice. I'm really invested in the rest of the group finding love and really hope for an interconnected series with the rest of the found family/friend group.




Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

The second chance at love trope gets an upgrade with the addition of a woman finding herself. This is a feminist romance with some excellent analysis of overcoming mental abuse. Only in Your Dreams has all the things a romance needs, with the uplifting message that a good relationship is one where you can be yourself. So good!

A classic sports romance!! Cute, funny, and a wonderful representation of some of romance's most fav tropes. Excited to have this one in store.

This second chance, brothers ex best friend romance was everything! The chemistry between Zac and Melody was so captivating. It was the perfect amount of spice to go with the plot. I really love a gold book with not only dula POVs, but dual timelines as well. This was done really well. And can we just talk about that lake scene. Ugh. I’m excited for the next book!

“I’ve never been single, I’ve been yours.”

“She’s that first ray of sunlight after a bad storm. Peeking through the clouds.”

This was ok and somewhat forgettable. I love a sports romance, especially hockey or football, but I felt the characters were underdeveloped and the plot was lacking. There were situations between the two main love interests that were funny, hello campground and forced proximity, but the romance just didn't continue to build correctly.

thank you to netgalley and atria books for the e-arc of this book!

this is a super sporty, second chance romance book about Zac and Melody! there's tons of great tropes in this book like brother's best friend, forced proximity, reverse grumpy sunshine, and more. i would even argue this is a she falls first but he falls harder scenario. Zac is such a sweet and loveable MMC as well. the spice has great emotional depth, it's equally sweet and hot. i also loved that there was no 3rd act breakup, sometimes i hate those in romance books.

what didn't quite work for me is the reason for the 10 year silence between them, i felt like it was a little weak, and i could kind of see it coming.

overall, you should definitely should check out this books when it comes out january 21st if this sounds up your alley. i can't wait to read more of this author's books!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for sharing this ARC!

I had super high hopes about Only in Your Dreams, but I found myself struggling to finish this book. It felt like the author was throwing every possible plot point at the wall and seeing what stuck.

This was such a cute novel!! Twin's best friend, forced proximity, forbidden love, this one had it all. The sports storyline was a cute touch that didn't overpower the message of second changes.

Zac is the perfect golden retriever book boyfriend! Goodness, this book is exactly why romance will always be my favorite genre. This story clicked all my boxes. Great characters, a second chance of love, side characters I hope we get stories about and a happily ever after that makes my heart melt!

Melody is back home after a breakup. One she wasn’t expecting but after a while(months) she realizes that it was for the best. That he wasn’t what she needed. She needed to do things on her own time. And Zac was just waiting for the perfect time to tell her the truth. Tell her it’s always been her. Gahh..this book was so good. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars

This was a very pleasant surprise for me, I picked this one up on a whim and was immediately hooked. I love a good brother best friend, forbidden, second chance of sorts type of story and this one was a win for me.

Mark my words every one of y’all will be adding Zac to your book boyfriend list cause he was EVERYTHING.

This was a great sport romance. The small town vibes from this book was perfect. The romance was so cute and the banter was so fun.

I haven’t really jumped on the “sports romance train” yet. Not because I’m not interested, but because my reading journey just hasn’t led me there yet. I may change that and make a more concerted effort to read sports romances after reading this book.

This was such a fun one – Melody and Zac were friends in high school who maybe, possibly had feelings for each other then. However, after an unfortunate night, they lost touch and haven’t spoken in 10 years. Now, Melody is back home recovering from a bad break-up and Zac is the head coach of the local college’s football team. After some forced proximity and they start to find their way back to each other.

The chemistry here was so good. The love is a slow burn, but the story was spicy right out the gate (okay 20%-ish, but close enough haha). I loved Summer and Brooks as side characters. I wanted to reach through the pages and punch Parker in the face, but pretty sure I was supposed to kind of feel that way. He grew on me, though.

This is the perfect book for people who love open-door romances. I’m so excited to read Brooks’ story later this year. I think he was my favorite character.

Some trigger warnings to be aware of: emotional abuse from a romantic partner, physical abuse from a parent

A big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book re-releases on 21 January 2025 and it’s a good one!

I will be posting a review to my IG in the next few days: instagram.com/kraftykatreads