Review: The Dream

The Dream by Whitney Dineen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had mixed feelings about "The Dream" by Whitney Dineen. There were some aspects I liked about it, particularly the main character, Ashley Monroe. She seemed a bit depressed when the book began, and really fixated on her trailer park upbringing, her mother's untimely death, bad things that had happened when she was in high school over a decade earlier, and her current lack of close friends. That said, I liked the way her character grew over the course of the story. Ashley gained a lot of confidence in herself and everything she had accomplished, including a college degree and finding a good job where she was able to care for others as well as save quite a bit of money towards her dream of purchasing her own home. To me, Ashley's journey of self-discovery was much more important (and better developed) than the romantic aspects of the book, which made the story seem more like chick lit than contemporary romance, despite how the book was marketed.

What I did not particularly enjoy about this book was the love triangle between Ashley, her best friend Alexander "Buck" Freeport, and her high school crush Davis Frothingham. I was happy when Buck came into the story because he pushed Ashley out of her comfort zone and made her seem somewhat more fun and playful, while also helping her realize that she was just as good as anyone else despite her trailer park beginnings. However, the idea of a romance between Ashley and Buck seemed incredibly awkward and forced to me because they had zero chemistry and acted more like brother and sister than potential lovers. Ashley's chemistry with Davis was much better, and I really liked how accepting his family was of her. The Frothinghams were exactly the kind of family Ashley would have loved to be part of when she was growing up, and it was obvious how much she enjoyed spending time with them.

Overall, I can't say that "The Dream" is going to be a keeper for me, but I did like enough of what I saw of the characters from the earlier books in the Creek Water series to consider giving them a try. In addition, even though it reads as a standalone, I would recommend this book mainly for existing fans of the series. The most interesting parts of the story were the scenes involving the Frothingham family, which are likely to be of interest primarily to readers who are already familiar with those characters from the previous books.

*ARC provided by the author/publisher via Hidden Gems Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

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