I’m a sucker for a brothers best friend trope. Though the story was cute, there was something about it that just didn’t click and it was way to long to the point I got bored at times. Zac and Melody are childhood friends who reconnect after a decade. Melody is just coming out of a toxic relationship and Zac is hoping for a second chance after a mistake he made years ago. It was a sweet story, the pining Zac did over Melody was sweet.

Read if you like:
Brothers best friend
Second chance romance
Possessive MMC
No third act break up

I truly enjoyed this book! Something about a hot football coach and emotionally struggling love interest just hit the spot. I think the possessive, golden-retriever MMC (Zac) is perfection. The FMC (Melody) annoyed me at times, but overall she ended up being a likable character. Her growth throughout the book was so relatable. The villain, Connor, wasn’t as believable as I would have liked, but he was definitely irritating and dis-likable.
I don’t love every sports romance I read, but i thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early!

Unfortunately I did not love this story. I had been trying to use it as a palette cleanser, but It ended up putting me in such a reading slump. My main issue was that I didn’t like either of the main characters. You have Melody who is just not nice, and holding a grudge for over 10 years for miscommunication. If anyone knows anything about me is that I HATE that trope in a story. And it was so poorly used here. Then you have Zac, who is a concerningly obsessed ex football star turned coach and all he’s done for 10 years is pine after Melody. For what reason? The side characters aren’t even interesting or fleshed out. They’re all interchangeable and you wouldn’t notice if they weren’t there. So why was this so long? It’s a whole lot of words to say absolutely nothing. You get the flimsiest of backstories for the MC’s, and you spend almost the whole book with them which is also something that annoys me. The ‘spice’ scenes were so cringe. Then you have the random Noah plot that just disappeared. This book gets an extra star for no third act breakup but that’s me being generous. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I started the year off with a banger. Zac and Mel are everything. That man has been obsessed with her since he was 14 years old and he's never going to change. Mel had a lot to work through with her abusive ex and seeing her flourish on her own was beautiful. I just love them so much.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

This is the strongest cishet romance I have read all year! 

It was genuinely funny without being cheesy. I laughed out loud at many moment. I truly enjoyed both the main characters and their friend group. 

After years apart, Melody and Zac's relationship happens fast, but was believable and heart-warming from the start. I love a second chance romance and the trope was really well executed. 

I did feel like the pace was a bit slow for me. I would've like it to be maybe 30 pages less? Anyway, still a really solid romance with well written characters and a spicy plot.

My emotions went all over the place with this book and my heart is now mush. Sprinkling in the angst, second chance at love and extremely slow burn will do that I guess. 😆

I really loved the pacing of this book. It didn’t feel like anything was rushed and felt as realistic as a work of fiction can be. I loved seeing Melody get stronger as the book progressed and especially loved seeing the relationship with Zac finally blossom to its potential. The spice was spicy too. I give it 4 🌶️ out of 5.

What I didn’t really like was how long it took for us to find out what happened that night before Melody moved away. I guessed it long before the book told us.

Some highlights are Melody figuring out what she wants to do as a career, Zac helping her respectfully and the chipmunk attack. 😂

Overall, enjoyed this book immensely. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

this book was so sweet
Childhood sweethearts
Brothers best friend
Longing
I loved reading about Zac and "Clovers" love

Thank you NetGalley for the arc

Only In Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde
Releasing January 21, 2025

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Ten years after one of the most heartbreaking nights of her life, Melody Woods makes the move back to her hometown after a break-up with long term boyfriend, Conner. She is immediately thrust into an impromptu camping trip where she is forced to share a tent with her high school love, Zac Porter. Once back home she sets a goal to rediscover herself and find what makes her happy upon realizing her six year relationship was with someone toxic and controlling.

Zac Porter hasn’t stopped thinking of Melody since the day he walked out on her when she made the first move in high school. He has stayed in his hometown hoping for her return, working as a football coach for the college team. He is on the verge of losing his job if he does not get the team together and now he has his first and only love thrust back into his life.

Only In Your Dreams is a spicy, small town, brother’s best friend romance that was a fun and easy read. I loved the relationship that Zac and Melody had with each other, and I especially loved seeing Melody become her own person after getting out of a toxic relationship.

I found that some of the plot toward the end fell a little flat for me, where i feel like things were just wrapped up a little too neatly. This book had a lot of tension building that unfortunately was resolved to easily. This was a good read, but nothing extraordinary. For that, I had to give it 3 stars.

thank you to netgalley, Atria Books, and Ellie K. Wilde for allowing me to get an advanced copy of this to read!

This book was cute. The story of two people who were just always meant to be together. Even after 10 years. Zac and Melody are finally back in their hometown together. Melody is fresh out of a toxic relationship. Zac vows to use the time now to right his wrongs and show melody that he is worthy of her. These two were good for each other. The spice starts out quick and there is A LOT.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the premise and the beginning of the book, but lost interest somewhere in the middle.
I'm curious to read other books by this author because I liked the style, I just found the book to be too long.

This one surprised me in the best way! I’m usually iffy about the brother’s best friend trope, but Zac? Absolute perfection. The forced proximity, the slow burn and how he quietly supported Melody while respecting her space, it all just hit perfectly. The story dragged a bit when the main characters weren’t together but honestly, Zac made up for it. If you’re into sweet, tropey goodness with no third-act drama (we cheer!!!), this one’s for you!

I went into this book expecting to enjoy it based on the description but ended up struggling to finish it. It was so long but nothing was actually happening. I didn’t find myself liking, relating, or rooting for either of the main characters. I felt like we learned more about the female main character’s ex than the guy she actually ends up with. I didn’t even make it halfway through the book before I felt myself skimming it. It was like the author had a checklist of tropes to include and made this book 400+ pages just to say that her book has all of these tropes, not because they make sense within the story.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was SO. CUTE.
Brother’s best friend, black cat / golden retriever, he’s been in love with her for 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS.
The slow burn, the yearning, the little moments to help build her trust. Zac was the perfect book boyfriend. This was my first read by Ellie Wilde but won’t be my last!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A fun read to end the year on. Second-ish chance romance, FMC recovering from a bad ex, and fabulous side characters. I want more books about Summer, Parker, and Brooks! Zac is a great fictional boyfriend. The book was a smidge too long but worth it.

I received and arc from netgalley and the publisher.

Adorable, a great feel good story about growth and second changes. The female character had some hard reflections to get through and the male wasn’t letting her go this time.

I do think it was a bit repetitive. The mention of Conner and that past relationship in the beginning was getting old and boring. I did predict Conner coming back for her, I thought that was great for the story line. But mentioning him every single time she was working to move was a bit much.

The story was more than just their story and you can see where other possible story could be developed. We love a supportive friend group where they each get a book.

It’s rare I give a romance 5 whole stars but this book was fucking fantastic. I fell in love with the characters and how they were written and just got lost in the story. Fake dating, hidden relationships, falling for the brother’s best friend, found family, finding yourself… just so many awesome tropes done spectacularly! Definitely recommend!

. The book started out strong with the camping and left stranded. Melody and Zac was good together but I felt they acted a bit immature to be in their 30s. The story dragged a bit for me with Melody's internal dialogue about her ex boyfriend.

Thank you @atriabooks for a copy of this

One of my least favorite tropes is the "Protective Big Brother." I enjoyed this one, but I didn't feel like it was anything incredibly special. It hasn't changed my mind about the trope at all. I enjoyed the found family aspect and the way Zac and Melody made Noah feel like he was their own. However, I found myself struggling to keep the characters together. Maybe that's just a me issue. I had a good time, but I don't see myself going back.

I enjoyed this read. It felt a little long at times, but I think that was just me. The chemistry was good between the main characters and the supporting ones were entertaining. It was spicier than I expected. I'd reread again in the future.

Only in Your Dreams is a very cute romance about Melody, who moves back to her hometown and in with her brother when her gaslighting emotionally abusive boyfriend dumps her. Feeling like a failure, she reconnects with Zac, her brother's best friend and her childhood crush. Years ago, she confessed her love for him one night and he said he'd be back and never returned. While she tries to keep him at arms length, they're forced together on a camping trip that breaks the ice and soon find themselves inseparable. Melody still has plans though, and they don't include staying in her hometown any longer than she has to. Meanwhile Zac is battling his own professional challenges while not wanting to give up the woman he feels like he messed up with years ago and wants a second chance with.

I thought this story was super cute and really enjoyed it. If there was a drawback, it was that it's quite lengthy for what the story is and I thought it could be a bit shorter.