A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
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.
Ashley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (Little, Brown), and the adult romance novels Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Berkley). Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was a Stonewall Honor Book, as well as a Kirkus, School Library Journal, NYPL, and NPR Best Book of 2018. Her YA novel Girl Made of Stars was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @ashleyhblake and on the web at www.ashleyherringblake.com. She lives in Georgia.
this was notttt a favorite i’m actually distraught
okay, so i read this before reading the bright falls series and tell me why it was LEAGUES better than this 🫣 i’m already not a huge fan of the one-of-us-is-famous trope, simply because i like when a romance is grounded in reality and the over the top shenanigans fame brings to a book doesn’t do it for me. case in point…
there was this really weird childhood friends-adjacent plot where they have weird nicknames that gave me the ick and their entire relationship was rooted in deceit and miscommunication. instead of swooning over them, i was mostly anxious the entire book at how it would play out 😭
the smut though…gotta hand it to miss ashley she knows how to DO the DO my lord 🥵🥵 that’s a whole star y’all!!! go crazy kids!
Ashley Herring Blake honestly never fails me. Her characters are so relatable in some sense. They're messy, but they're just trying to figure life out. I loved Ramona. She was precious and truly sacrificed a lot to step up to the plate to help take care of Olive. Her bestie April was HILARIOUS! She made me chuckle out loud several times. Her father was adorable. Dylan was beautiful deep down and on surface level, too, but I loved her character development by the ending. All of this was beautiful. I loved that it was serendipitous. All around, lovely and spicy bits were spicing! 🥵🤌
I received this ARC from Berkley Publishing Group to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
Do you love small-town romances set in the summer, in a picturesque lake village? Romances that are sapphic and spicy 🌶️? Do you also enjoy romantic stories with actors, fake dating in a wholesome town with a 🍄 museum, a sassy group of close friends and family, and a beautifully crafted, perfectly queer world? Then this is the book for you!
I loved this book! As someone in their mid-30s (36), I adore how much it centers on the idea that it’s never too late to start over, pursue your dreams, or learn more about yourself and those around you. My favorite romances to read are those with characters who are deliciously flawed and relatable. Both Ramona and Dylan have been through so much, and their healing and growth journey together made my heart so happy—especially as they learned to let each other in. This book gave me all the feels. I even shed a few tears at parts that hit a little too close to home.
I can’t wait to receive my preorder of this book. Another Ashley Herring Blake book for the win—all the stars! I’m also beyond excited to read more about the characters introduced in this book.
The biggest and sincerest thank you to the Berkeley Publishing team and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
I thought this was such a cute romance and I'm excited to see where the rest of the series goes. This is a peak queer romcom that has the backdrop of a small town where one of the fmc's Ramona is a waitress and the other Dylan is a famous actress with rock star parents. So both main characters first meet when they were teenagers and share a kiss, now years later Dylan can't remember her when they meet again. I liked the movie and small-town plot especially as the main characters spend more time with each other. The romance was full of lots of attraction and steam though I needed more with the emotional connection. There is mental health rep and both characters have some trauma in their backstory though the book is pretty light. There is miscommunication which I'm not a big fan of but overall this was a good read. Thank you Berkley for this arc for an honest review.
Read for: - Queer romance - Opposites attracts - Small town fmc x City girl fmc - Movie plot
Content warnings: alcohol, toxic parents, toxic exes, parental abandonment, several sex scenes, lying, manipulation, mentions of parent being injured, panic attacks.
Rep: Ramona (MC) is cis, white, and bisexual. Dylan (MC) is cis, white and bisexual. April (SC) is pansexual. Side queer characters, side POC characters.
As always, let's get this out of the way: This is NOT a lesbian book. There's no need for y'all to erase bisexuals by 'shelving' this as lesbian. They are bisexual. Change your tag/shelf.
Second: this review is not for the author. This is for other readers only. I am starting to state this on all reviews now.
Third, this is spoiler heavy. You have been warned. There will be spoiler cuts as well as the entire thing being hidden for spoilers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was deeply mediocre, so it was basically AHB's second-best book. I didn't actively hate it the way I hated the last three, even though it does the same stupid "50% committing to a trope while making fun of it" thing that Iris's book did. You never actually get a sense of what Dylan looks like other than "hot," which is annoying, and obviously the entire premise is ridiculous, but whatever. It was ultimately, when compared to her other work, fine.
THANK YOU to Berkley Publishing for this eARC! I always always always eat up an Ashley Herring Blake story. The main movie plot in this book being based on Iris's book is such a wonderful way to tie it all in to the rest of her world. Ramona and Dylan have incredible chemistry and when they get to come together and...come together it is SO GOOD. They are also big dumb idiots who need to use their words with each other even if they don't believe they deserve the happiness they find in each other. And I am already strapped in ready to GO for April's story. Bring on this universe forever and ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an arc of this book! Oh my god, this is the perfect small town romcom. I loved the vibe of this new world we are getting and getting to see characters from past and future stories was really cool as well. I think I’m really going to like April’s story, she seems so messy and I’m here for it. With this book, it has that quintessential small town girl, big actress but it’s not done in a tropy or Hallmarky way. I really liked the plot, you get to watch two people who have dealt with a lot of shit over the years and you watch them grow separately but also grow and heal together. I like that Dylan wasn’t perfect, she was far from it and could even be considered unlikable but that makes her the perfect character because she is messy and has flaws and Ramona helps her grow. Then with Ramona we have someone with not a lot of confidence and sacrificed a lot for her family and Dylan shows her what feeling loved looks like. I really hope we get multiple books just like Ashley Herring Blake’s other series because I love this small town.
This was so cute! I love the worldbuilding of the Ashley Herring Blake cinematic queer universe. As usual the characters feel so real and grounded, like someone who already know. The spicy scenes are hot, the premise is cute, and conclusion is delightful.
Thank you Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC!
New Ashley Herring Blake book? Sign me up! Ramona is a small town waitress who left RISD after only a year to take care of her little sister and has never made it back. Dylan is a bad girl movie star who got where she was partially because of her famous parents. Now Dylan is trying to make over her image, starring in a queer romcom as a small town girl and Ramona is the one to help her. But Dylan doesn't realize that they met before. When they were both 13, going through some things, Dylan was in town for the 4th of July and she and Ramona shared one perfect kiss. But they never got each other's names. Now Dylan is back and Ramona remembers her, but while Dylan remembers the girl from that summer, she doesn't recognize Ramona as her. And Ramona has reasons for not telling her. This super spicy, sweet queer romcom was everything. 😍
Before we get to the sex scenes, the two main characters felt very young. Like late teens. I had to keep reminding myself that they were actually much older. Other than that, I very much enjoyed this one, just like all the rest of Blake's books! And now I'm looking forward to the next one!
(3.25⭐️ but rounding up) I'm conflicted. My love for Ashley Herring Blake often inflates my ratings of her books, but what I know for certain is that this was definitely not my favorite of her works.
Starting with the positives, I liked both characters as individuals. They're deeply messy and have a plethora of personal insecurities and past traumas to work through, but that makes them relatable and human. Also as a fellow libra, I relate to Ramona's desire to try to be everything to everyone.
However, the messiness of how their relationship begins left me feeling a bit icky throughout and definitely depleted how romantic I actually found their story. At the end of the day I was rooting for them, but the majority of their love story felt tainted, so that was disappointing.
tropes: small town | celebrity romance | each other's first kiss
Final thoughts: Overall mediocre but I am still excited to see how the rest of the stories in this universe unfold.
Unfortunately, I didn't love this latest from Ashley Herring Blake. It was obviously super sweet and fluffy and queer, which is great, but it just didn't quite hit all the way. My biggest gripe is that the plot/writing felt shockingly basic for an author with so many books under their belt. It is still worth the read, and the fact that it's paving the way for a new AHB series is still thrilling. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the digital ARC. 3.5 rounded down.
Side note: I don't know how this happened, but I just read what feels like a YA version of the exact same book. "Make My Wish Come True" by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is about a small-town girl who reunites with her now-famous first love (✔) who is an actress with a bad reputation (✔) that needs to fake date a sweetie pie in order to save her career (✔) and also help the small town girl achieve her own dreams (✔)???
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for Dream On Ramona Riley so thank you!!! It’ll be out 5/13/24
I adored this book.
This is in no way a negative review but highly positive!!! The plot of this felt a bit tame and I loved the pacing. I love seeing Dylan interact with Ramona and experiencing normal person things with her. Its so sweet and so normal (like Dylan wants). Their relationship is so effortless even though they’ve both been dreaming about each other for 18 years.
Dylan (a mess) is one of the most bubbly and insecure (in ways), personalities ive ever read. I was so attracted to her. Her inner conflict and her young joy when shes being Normal with Ramona.
You know how some characters smile is so bright and joyful? Well Dylans has to be in my top three.
I think the beginning and end felt like two different stories. NOT IN A BAD WAY. more like the development was so strong it just continued growing. Because I truly am in love with the “beginning” of Ramona and Dylands relationship but by the end I was the edge of my chair. The emotional undertone for both were different.
I will say that I think Ramona’s dream part fell off a bit? Like the middle part was lacking that but it all came together to be a masterpiece.
And Oh my god. Their smut scene is one of my new favorites. It blew my mind.
Rep: Fat bi MC, bi MC, pan side character, bi SC, unlabeled queer SC, Black trans woman SC, Black queer SC, lesbian SC, East Asian SC, BIPOC nonbinary lesbian SC
Content warnings: Parental abandonment (past) and grief related to it, car accident and resulting injury (past), unsafe living situation for a child including witnessing drug and alcohol abuse (past), getting drunk, non-graphic vomiting, on-page sex
Ashley Herring Blake is simply incapable of writing a bad novel. This book overflows with their signature humor, found family, character development, diversity, and sexiness (I swear the spice gets hotter with each publication). The entire cast is wonderful and I adore Ramona and Dylan, even when I got frustrated with their lack of communication — not a spoiler, btw, since that’s the premise of the novel. They just both feel so delightfully human, like people I’d be friends with in real life. Dare I say, they’re on par with the Bright Falls gang, or perhaps even better!
I will absolutely purchase a physical copy of this book when it publishes, and I already can’t wait for the next installment in this series!
**HUGE thank you to Berkley for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**
thank you to berkley and netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review
hmmm… not super sure how i feel about this one. for starters, the cover is adorable and as a bisexual i love seeing bi characters getting their time to shine.
i felt a little bored in a few places while reading this. some information seemed unnecessary and i found myself desiring more. there were side characters used for minor plot development, and there was some missing potential for dylan or ramona to dive deeper into their former relationships. i was expecting more jealousy when exes/flings popped up.
the story was predictable, which was fine and i expected that. i also felt like it was long? i enjoyed the chemistry between dylan and ramona though i think some of it got lost with all of the side characters being introduced.
all in all, i was able to finish this book lol. i enjoyed some parts of it and was able to read most of it in around 4-5 hours. i’m not sure that i’d read it again, but i’m glad for the representation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
OK yeah, unfortunately this book is doing all the stuff that bugged me that Blake's last two books did. I think it is time to accept that an author I once loved is no longer for me.
I just really don't love how the characters have their backstories vomited out at the beginning, instead of being gradually revealed as character development. I do think this will likely appeal to people who enjoyed Iris Kelly Doesn't Date and Make the Season Bright; but unfortunately, I do not think I will like it any more if I continue.
This book swept me away. Second chance and celebrity are two of my favorite tropes- made even better by the small town aspect. The characters were sweet and I could easily see why they were perfect for each other. The one thing that threw me off were the steamy scenes…they’re written well and all fine and good but the way the MC’s were together in the bedroom didn’t match their characters to me. The second half also felt a little cliche though I still enjoyed it. I especially loved the side characters and am really looking forward to April’s book!
Short summary: after leaving RISD to return home to help care for her sister after her father’s accident, Ramona is now stuck far from her dreams of being a costume designer. Until a movie set rolls into town with her first kiss playing the lead role. If only Dylan remembered her…
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
Ashley Herring Blake kicks off a new small town series with the second chance story of Ramona and Dylan, who met years ago and shared an evening of fireworks, but haven’t seen each other since. Now actor Dylan is in town to film a movie, and waitress Ramona is supposed to help her prep for the role. Sparks fly immediately but each of them is hiding some important truths, so the flame may go out before they even have a chance.
I really enjoyed this but I still have some questions. Ramona is really hurt that Dylan doesn’t recognize her immediately, but they were thirteen, in the dark, and didn’t share their real names. Would you recognize someone you spent only a few hours with, 18 years later, after they’ve grown up??
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.
Sadly, this didn’t hit the same as other AHB books for me. I did appreciate that like her other books, the conflicts don’t revolve around coming out. It’s refreshing to read queer books where the characters aren’t in constant turmoil over accepting themselves. But a huge part of the plot includes miscommunication and dishonesty and it was incredibly irritating as it continued on.
I do like the depth taken exploring the non romantic interpersonal relationships between the MC’s and the side characters. It was handled with a lot of care.
But, in the end it’s a romance and the romance missed the mark for me.
When I picked up this book, it was expressly because I wanted to read an Ashley Herring Blake without Iris Kelly, the worst character I’ve ever been asked to picture as a romantic lead. Unfortunately, this is a connected universe so I didn’t get that. This book has a problem which also showed up in Astrid Parker’s book - the whole conflict could have been solved if the characters would even once try to communicate. The ending saved this from being a two star read, but this is definitely the last AHB book I will read.
i absolutely adore ashley herring blake. i have read and loved all her novels. that being said, this wasn’t her at her best. perhaps dylan monroe was just too big of a mess for me, but her development seemed rushed and unsatisfying. there were no real on page resolutions, just a “10 month later” epilogue where, somehow, everything was better. ramona riley is one of my favorite characters written by blake, though! overall, i did enjoy the book throughly… and the smut, ohhh yes