Review by hello_lovely13 - Dream On, Ramona Riley

hello_lovely13 's review for:

Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake

3.75

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Both Ramona and Dylan were fully realized characters right away, and I enjoyed their perspectives equally, so I had a lot of fun with this. Their chemistry was sweet and natural. The setting was fun, but the main stars of this book is their individual characters and character arcs and their wonderful chemistry that the short timeline of their relationship (as adults because there's an added dynamic of them knowing each other as children which I thought was really well done) is inconsequential. I did prefer the first half of the book because by the time their relationship is established, the secrets they were keeping from each other made it stressful enough for me to lose just a little bit of my enjoyment. Everything that leads to their miscommunication is very well established and consistent throughout the book, so the writing was great. I even like that in the third act conflict,

when they break up because the truths were revealed, that there isn't a big blow-up and blame game going on. I like that it is emphasized that both are at fault, and their resolution at the end of the book is also satisfying. I do think that more emphasis and responsibility should have been put on Ramona because such a thorough job was done with Dylan's character progression (I even really liked her relationship with Blair, the other actress in the film) and it felt like a majority of the responsibility for apologizing fell onto Dylan's shoulders, which isn't fair

.

Their respective parental relationships were interesting and well thought out, and I liked the added dynamic of Ramona's sister, Olive, on her character arc and background. I also resonated with Ramona's relationship with her dreams. The individual character arcs of Ramona and Dylan were so strong, and debatably stronger than the storyline of their romance (which I also enjoyed, again, due to their chemistry). I also loved the cameo of Iris from the Bright Falls series! I was so happy and excited to see her again (the same goes with Stevie, though she was mainly mentioned rather than present).

A majority of this book was 4 stars, but it was just some of the little things that brought down rating just the slightest bit. For example, enjoying the first half more than the second, Dylan doing more of the apology at the end than Ramona, and I personally thought that the first two smut scenes were too close together. All-in-all, though, this was a solid book.

I am so unbelievably excited for the next book in this series (I enjoyed April's character in this one; she was very vivid and fun), and I wonder if this one will just be a duology? I definitely recommend this. I will definitely reread this in the future. In terms of where I would rank this in regards to the other books I've read by this author, I think I like this equally to Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail. I honestly recommend all of the Bright Falls series and this equally. It is so fun, and I love how well crafted the characters all are; I genuinely care about all of them, and usually my only gripes with the romance are relatively small details.

Content Warnings