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A review by the_novel_approach
Dream by Garrett Leigh
4.0
Ok—I feel like you guys see me comin' with these Garrett Leigh reviews like, "Ohhh. It's a Garrett Leigh book. We know Jules loved it. No need to read the review." Ha! But, I swear I'm not making this stuff up! Her. Books. Are. Amazing. :-D And, I do want you to read the review, to see why I think so…So, to try to make it a bit more visually interesting, and to break it up a little, I’m going to try to get my point across with brief commentary in four different areas: Characters, Setting, Story, and Romance. Here we go...
Characters
Dylan is my faaaaaaaaaave. I absolutely adored him. In the book, Angelo describes him as “the sunny, down-to-earth dude with the perpetual smile,” which was so perfect. Dylan is a sweetheart and a natural caretaker, but he wasn’t all sunshine. He had anxiety and insomnia issues, and a lot of pain and loneliness to work through after deciding to step away from his relationship with his best friend, Sam, and Sam’s girlfriend, Eddie. His one escape is going to Lovato’s, a sort of anything-goes sex club, where an anonymous encounter can take his mind off everything. At least for a night.
Angelo is also completely fantastic. He’s prickly and sort of aloof in the beginning, but once you get a glimpse of what he’s dealing with, and really get to know him, he’s impossible not to love. Angelo’s illness has started to do a number on his self-esteem and how he sees himself now—still with his dancer’s body but no longer with the endless strength and energy. But, I loved how Dylan saw him, which was as beautiful and sexy as hell, with a lot to offer someone. *hearty eyes foreverrrr*
A few of the side characters were also intriguing. I loved Rhys, who was sexy as fuck, and who we will thankfully get to know all about in the third book in the series. And, I am super excited that Harry the friendly physio is one of the MCs in the second book!
We also get a very brief glimpse of Dylan’s dad, who is gruff but lovely, and a bit bigger glimpse of Angelo’s family. Who all suck. I HATED Angelo’s mother for about ninety-nine percent of the book. And, really, still for the other one percent as well.
Setting
First, of course, there’s Lovato’s, where Dylan and Angelo meet. Well, they don’t technically meet until a few days later, at Dylan’s office, but Lovato’s is where it all begins. Leigh does a great job of painting the picture of the club. I felt both the louder and more in-your-face aspects of the bar area, as well as the sultriness of the basement rooms and all the areas in between. I liked how it came across as more sexy and mysterious than sleazy, and how sex-positive it all was.
Next, the different areas in London: From Romford to Stratford, and from the deli to Dylan’s office at the Citizens Advice Bureau—with a couple of mentions of Vauxhall and Camden—the locations in Dream were quite varied. And, Leigh always does a great job of placing the reader where they need to be. But, somehow the settings here were not quite as rich as those in some of Garrett’s other books. In the Urban Soul books, for example, I can always so vividly picture the restaurants and neighborhoods, or the characters’ living spaces. Here there was some of that—particularly Dylan’s place, his dad’s place, and the deli—but not to the extent that I feel connected to the spaces in her other books.
Story
I have to mention here that the book’s blurb is actually excellent and gives the perfect amount of insight into what’s ahead in the story. Dylan is looking to escape his new reality of being without Sam and Eddie, and Angelo needs something to take his mind off his financial and health woes, so they both end up at Lovato’s looking for release. During that encounter, Angelo sees Dylan’s face and recognizes him when he ends up at his office looking for debt consolidation guidance a few days later. He handles it poorly, though, starting things off between them on the wrong foot, for sure.
As if the awkwardness of that first meeting and Dylan’s knowledge of Angelo’s finances weren’t enough to have to overcome, it turns out that Angelo has a debilitating illness which is made worse by him having to work his fingers to the bone at his family’s deli. I hated the way Angelo’s family situation tore him down, but loved how Dylan helped him pick up the pieces. And how, ultimately, they learned how to be there for each other.
Romance
I bet I can do this part using only quotes from the book…
And, one of my faves…
Haha. These guys were fantastic. Their scenes at the club were fire, and even when they weren’t ‘playing’ their chemistry was amazing. They might not have been your typically romantic couple, but their romance was definitely swoon-worthy.
Ok! That’s it! And, this is possibly my longest review ever. *head desk* If anyone is still here reading, I hope I’ve convinced you to give Dream a go! I know I can’t wait for the other books in the series!!
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
Characters
Dylan is my faaaaaaaaaave. I absolutely adored him. In the book, Angelo describes him as “the sunny, down-to-earth dude with the perpetual smile,” which was so perfect. Dylan is a sweetheart and a natural caretaker, but he wasn’t all sunshine. He had anxiety and insomnia issues, and a lot of pain and loneliness to work through after deciding to step away from his relationship with his best friend, Sam, and Sam’s girlfriend, Eddie. His one escape is going to Lovato’s, a sort of anything-goes sex club, where an anonymous encounter can take his mind off everything. At least for a night.
Angelo is also completely fantastic. He’s prickly and sort of aloof in the beginning, but once you get a glimpse of what he’s dealing with, and really get to know him, he’s impossible not to love. Angelo’s illness has started to do a number on his self-esteem and how he sees himself now—still with his dancer’s body but no longer with the endless strength and energy. But, I loved how Dylan saw him, which was as beautiful and sexy as hell, with a lot to offer someone. *hearty eyes foreverrrr*
A few of the side characters were also intriguing. I loved Rhys, who was sexy as fuck, and who we will thankfully get to know all about in the third book in the series. And, I am super excited that Harry the friendly physio is one of the MCs in the second book!
We also get a very brief glimpse of Dylan’s dad, who is gruff but lovely, and a bit bigger glimpse of Angelo’s family. Who all suck. I HATED Angelo’s mother for about ninety-nine percent of the book. And, really, still for the other one percent as well.
Setting
First, of course, there’s Lovato’s, where Dylan and Angelo meet. Well, they don’t technically meet until a few days later, at Dylan’s office, but Lovato’s is where it all begins. Leigh does a great job of painting the picture of the club. I felt both the louder and more in-your-face aspects of the bar area, as well as the sultriness of the basement rooms and all the areas in between. I liked how it came across as more sexy and mysterious than sleazy, and how sex-positive it all was.
Next, the different areas in London: From Romford to Stratford, and from the deli to Dylan’s office at the Citizens Advice Bureau—with a couple of mentions of Vauxhall and Camden—the locations in Dream were quite varied. And, Leigh always does a great job of placing the reader where they need to be. But, somehow the settings here were not quite as rich as those in some of Garrett’s other books. In the Urban Soul books, for example, I can always so vividly picture the restaurants and neighborhoods, or the characters’ living spaces. Here there was some of that—particularly Dylan’s place, his dad’s place, and the deli—but not to the extent that I feel connected to the spaces in her other books.
Story
I have to mention here that the book’s blurb is actually excellent and gives the perfect amount of insight into what’s ahead in the story. Dylan is looking to escape his new reality of being without Sam and Eddie, and Angelo needs something to take his mind off his financial and health woes, so they both end up at Lovato’s looking for release. During that encounter, Angelo sees Dylan’s face and recognizes him when he ends up at his office looking for debt consolidation guidance a few days later. He handles it poorly, though, starting things off between them on the wrong foot, for sure.
As if the awkwardness of that first meeting and Dylan’s knowledge of Angelo’s finances weren’t enough to have to overcome, it turns out that Angelo has a debilitating illness which is made worse by him having to work his fingers to the bone at his family’s deli. I hated the way Angelo’s family situation tore him down, but loved how Dylan helped him pick up the pieces. And how, ultimately, they learned how to be there for each other.
Romance
I bet I can do this part using only quotes from the book…
Spoiler
Was he fucking serious? It was the fact that he was so goddamn hot that had freaked Dylan out in the first place. The bear of a man he’d imagined hadn’t materialized, but the moody, lithe dancer leaning against his kitchen counter was the stuff of wet dreams.
Until Angelo, only Sam had ever made him feel this way – like his skin belonged to them and not him. Like he couldn’t breathe until he touched them again.
“You do something to me.”
“Do I make your heart feel like it’s stuck on a spinning top?”
“Yeah, actually. You do.”
“Good.” Angelo’s eyes closed. “Because that’s how you make me feel too.”
“I forget that our relationship is totally abnormal because being with you is like breathing…I can’t imagine not doing it.”
And, one of my faves…
“We started in the club with my arse in the air.” Dylan opened the door to his living room. “And you’ve been on my mind ever since. Ain’t we romantic?”
Haha. These guys were fantastic. Their scenes at the club were fire, and even when they weren’t ‘playing’ their chemistry was amazing. They might not have been your typically romantic couple, but their romance was definitely swoon-worthy.
Ok! That’s it! And, this is possibly my longest review ever. *head desk* If anyone is still here reading, I hope I’ve convinced you to give Dream a go! I know I can’t wait for the other books in the series!!
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach