Dream On, Ramona Riley
Author: Ashley Herring Blake
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B
What I’m Talking About:
Dream On, Ramona Riley is a cute, easy romance that doesn’t shy from tackling heavy emotions. Dylan and Ramona have always held on to the time of their first kiss, and how finding one another felt like a life-changing moment. Reconnecting proved their initial feelings weren’t false. Only now they are adults with intense sex drives, and that innocent first kiss turns into a whole lot of sexy times.
Dylan is a mess, but at the same time, shitty things happen to and around her. She doesn’t know how to process her pain and disappointment in a healthy manner, so instead she drinks and lashes out. The thing is, she knows it’s not healthy, and she realizes she’s unhappy. I like that the author allows Dylan to mature and find help via a therapist.
Ramona has also experienced similar emotions after her mother left when she was 13, and later when she left college her freshman year to help out at home. She doesn’t regret her decision, but she uses her younger sister and dad and a reason she can’t take a risk and follow her dreams.
Each holds a big secret from the other, which you know will blow up and cause problems. It is predictable from early on, but by the time it happens, I was emotionally invested in the pair. Despite the formulaic third act break up, I like that there isn’t a quick fix, and that both characters have time to process and figure out their own issues before realizing they could have a future together.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Clover Lake, NH, along with the found family and friends who live there. I look forward to seeing Ramona’s best friend April find her true love in the next book.
My Rating: B Liked It — Recommend
Jen
About the Book:
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.
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Clover Lake #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGTBQ+
Format(s): paperback (416 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher / NetGalley