Dream On, Ramona Riley
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Description
Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father's car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town's café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There's only one problem -Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood's favorite wild child - is the star.
Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she's not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she's just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town - she even works at the town's café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.
But Dylan soon realizes it's not just some small-town waitress she's getting to know - Ramona Riley is someone she's met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.
Why readers love Ashley Herring Blake . . .
'A hot, frothy romcom with a relatable heart beating at its centre. I can't wait for the rest of the series!' Talia Hibbert
'A truly exquisite romance . . . I'm wildly in love with this book' Rachel Lynn Solomon
'A swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romp of a romance' Kosoko Jackson
'Snappy banter and seriously scorching chemistry; you'll need a very cold shower after this read!' Lana Harper
'Charming and entertaining . . . Blake's masterful blend of sexual tension and growing affection will have readers swooning' Karelia Stetz-Waters
'Snarky, steamy, and swoony in equal measure, I never wanted this book to end' Meryl Wilsner
Book Information
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Posts
Tolle Romance
Ich liebe einfach den Schreibstil von Ashley Herring Blake. Ihre vorige Reihe rund um Delilah, Astrid und Iris hat mir extrem gut gefallen und umso cooler finde ich es, dass Iris in diesem Buch (als passender Übergang sozusagen) auch wichtige Rolle zukommt. 😊 Die Hauptfiguren in diesem neuen Serienauftakt sind sehr nahbar. Ramona und Dylan funktionieren wirklich gut zusammen. Besonders gut hat mir da auch ihre gemeinsame Vorgeschichte gefallen, die immer wieder aufgegriffen wurde. Mir persönlich war es ab einem gewissen Punkt etwas zu viel spice. Ich brauche davon in der Regel nicht so viel, um eine Verbindung der beiden Figuren zu spüren. Etwas mehr offenen und tiefgründigere Kommunikation, wäre mir da lieber gewesen. Dennoch konnte mich auch dieses Buch der Autorin wieder sehr begeistern und ich freue mich jetzt auf den nächsten Teil über Ramonas Freundin April Evans.
Melodramatisch und lächerlich
Ich kam leider gar nicht in das Buch rein. Es passt für mich einfach nichts in diesem Buch stimmig zusammen: Beide Hauptcharakterinnen haben viele eigene Baustellen, Namen der Nebencharaktere werden rumgeworfen wie Smarties ohne wirklich in die Tiefe zu gehen und beide Frauen hängen sich an einem magischen Abend von vor 18 Jahren auf, weil sie im Alter von 13 der jeweils erste Kuss des anderen waren (beide hatten seitdem Beziehungen und Trennungen, die bestimmt länger, intensiver und prägender waren, aber gut...) Außerdem lesen sich die beiden Perspektiven wie ein und diesselbe Person...
„Dream on, Ramona Riley“ was my first novel by Ashley Herring Blake. And I have to admit that I had quite high expectations since AHB is such a big name is the sapphic romance game. Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to them. So, “Dream on, Ramona Riley” is the love story about a small-town girl and Hollywood’s wild child. Overall, it is a cute book but it’s also completely predictable and brings nothing new to the table. Also, I was missing any kind of chemistry between the protagonists. Dylan and Ramona are quite cute together but somehow I didn’t really root for them or their romance. Talking about Dylan and Ramona: I absolutely love Ramona. She is such a kind soul who cares about her loved ones so deeply. Even if it means to put her own needs last. Yes, that’s not healthy in the long run but as someone who has similar – albeit not that intense – tendencies, I just felt seen and could connect to Ramona. I’ve read a lot of negative options about Dylan and generally I can understand most points. But I have to defend her a little bit. Yes, she is a very impulsive person who doesn’t always think before she says or does something and her public image is damaged but this girl is traumatized. I know that that’s not an excuse for her behaviour (as she realises herself later on) but it’s an explanation. She has lived her whole life in the spotlight, her parents neglected her for a big part of her childhood and she was used by a lot of people for their personal gain. And I think that should be considered when judging her character. As for the love story: as I already said, I just didn’t feel it. Yes, there were some cute scenes which made me smile (the museum date? Pure love!) but I didn’t feel real chemistry. I just went with it because it was the story. Also, I was so annoyed by the Third Act Breakup. Actually, it was as predictable as everything else in the book, so no surprise there but it was also a situation that could have been solved or prevented if Ramona and Dylan would have talked openly to each other from the beginning. [insert eyeroll here] One last thing – and this is totally a me problem: I didn’t like the language used in the spicy scenes. It felt kind of “harsh”, e.g. the word “c*nt” was used a lot, same as “t*ts”. Also… the conversations during the sex? I cringed so much. Maybe I am just too vanilla for that. But a big thumbs up for Dylan and Ramona talking about consent and safe words before getting into bed together. I appreciated that a lot.
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Description
Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father's car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town's café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There's only one problem -Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood's favorite wild child - is the star.
Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she's not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she's just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town - she even works at the town's café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.
But Dylan soon realizes it's not just some small-town waitress she's getting to know - Ramona Riley is someone she's met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.
Why readers love Ashley Herring Blake . . .
'A hot, frothy romcom with a relatable heart beating at its centre. I can't wait for the rest of the series!' Talia Hibbert
'A truly exquisite romance . . . I'm wildly in love with this book' Rachel Lynn Solomon
'A swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romp of a romance' Kosoko Jackson
'Snappy banter and seriously scorching chemistry; you'll need a very cold shower after this read!' Lana Harper
'Charming and entertaining . . . Blake's masterful blend of sexual tension and growing affection will have readers swooning' Karelia Stetz-Waters
'Snarky, steamy, and swoony in equal measure, I never wanted this book to end' Meryl Wilsner
Book Information
Posts
Tolle Romance
Ich liebe einfach den Schreibstil von Ashley Herring Blake. Ihre vorige Reihe rund um Delilah, Astrid und Iris hat mir extrem gut gefallen und umso cooler finde ich es, dass Iris in diesem Buch (als passender Übergang sozusagen) auch wichtige Rolle zukommt. 😊 Die Hauptfiguren in diesem neuen Serienauftakt sind sehr nahbar. Ramona und Dylan funktionieren wirklich gut zusammen. Besonders gut hat mir da auch ihre gemeinsame Vorgeschichte gefallen, die immer wieder aufgegriffen wurde. Mir persönlich war es ab einem gewissen Punkt etwas zu viel spice. Ich brauche davon in der Regel nicht so viel, um eine Verbindung der beiden Figuren zu spüren. Etwas mehr offenen und tiefgründigere Kommunikation, wäre mir da lieber gewesen. Dennoch konnte mich auch dieses Buch der Autorin wieder sehr begeistern und ich freue mich jetzt auf den nächsten Teil über Ramonas Freundin April Evans.
Melodramatisch und lächerlich
Ich kam leider gar nicht in das Buch rein. Es passt für mich einfach nichts in diesem Buch stimmig zusammen: Beide Hauptcharakterinnen haben viele eigene Baustellen, Namen der Nebencharaktere werden rumgeworfen wie Smarties ohne wirklich in die Tiefe zu gehen und beide Frauen hängen sich an einem magischen Abend von vor 18 Jahren auf, weil sie im Alter von 13 der jeweils erste Kuss des anderen waren (beide hatten seitdem Beziehungen und Trennungen, die bestimmt länger, intensiver und prägender waren, aber gut...) Außerdem lesen sich die beiden Perspektiven wie ein und diesselbe Person...
„Dream on, Ramona Riley“ was my first novel by Ashley Herring Blake. And I have to admit that I had quite high expectations since AHB is such a big name is the sapphic romance game. Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to them. So, “Dream on, Ramona Riley” is the love story about a small-town girl and Hollywood’s wild child. Overall, it is a cute book but it’s also completely predictable and brings nothing new to the table. Also, I was missing any kind of chemistry between the protagonists. Dylan and Ramona are quite cute together but somehow I didn’t really root for them or their romance. Talking about Dylan and Ramona: I absolutely love Ramona. She is such a kind soul who cares about her loved ones so deeply. Even if it means to put her own needs last. Yes, that’s not healthy in the long run but as someone who has similar – albeit not that intense – tendencies, I just felt seen and could connect to Ramona. I’ve read a lot of negative options about Dylan and generally I can understand most points. But I have to defend her a little bit. Yes, she is a very impulsive person who doesn’t always think before she says or does something and her public image is damaged but this girl is traumatized. I know that that’s not an excuse for her behaviour (as she realises herself later on) but it’s an explanation. She has lived her whole life in the spotlight, her parents neglected her for a big part of her childhood and she was used by a lot of people for their personal gain. And I think that should be considered when judging her character. As for the love story: as I already said, I just didn’t feel it. Yes, there were some cute scenes which made me smile (the museum date? Pure love!) but I didn’t feel real chemistry. I just went with it because it was the story. Also, I was so annoyed by the Third Act Breakup. Actually, it was as predictable as everything else in the book, so no surprise there but it was also a situation that could have been solved or prevented if Ramona and Dylan would have talked openly to each other from the beginning. [insert eyeroll here] One last thing – and this is totally a me problem: I didn’t like the language used in the spicy scenes. It felt kind of “harsh”, e.g. the word “c*nt” was used a lot, same as “t*ts”. Also… the conversations during the sex? I cringed so much. Maybe I am just too vanilla for that. But a big thumbs up for Dylan and Ramona talking about consent and safe words before getting into bed together. I appreciated that a lot.