Just an okay read with a heartwarming ending. Parts felt a bit dry/boring and I would have enjoyed it more if it was a bit shorter/faster paced. Good on audio narrated by Madeleine Maby this was a fine balance between women's fiction and romance. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

⭐⭐⭐🌠/5 Stars

I liked the premise of the book: a young 30-something on assignment in London, working as a consultant for a major oil company. One morning, she looks out the window of her flat before work, and sees the man of her dreams on top level of a double-decker bus. She begins to make up a storyline about how he's this rich aristocrat and how her life would be with him.

But when she finally musters up the courage to board that bus and meet him, she is up for a surprising awakening.

I thought it was a sweet story, although I thought that Kat was a little mean to Rory, but she redeemed herself towards the end.

I was given a complimentary digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are mine alone.

2 stars.

"Double-Decker Dreams" by Lindsay MacMillan is not a good book. It's poorly paced, mean-spirited, and unreliable, on top of being very dull and drab. I found the main female character, Kat, to be extraordinarily judgmental throughout the entire book, beginning from 4% into it. I don't think she ever really learns anything during the course of this book. I think she pushes aside her judgy, delusional, selfish thoughts to get the guy, in this case, the main male character, Rory, an absolute gem of a person. He is patient, he is kind, and he has his heart and ideals in the right place, but he simply cannot overcome the immense expectations that have been thrust upon him, unknowingly, by Kat. Rory wants to take their relationship slow and build a genuine connection with Kat, but she kept pushing him because she was more interested in s3x and s3xual things than fostering a deeply intimate connection. She built Rory up in her mind to make him this actual royal prince, and when he didn't measure up to her ludicrous expectations and daydreams, she basically cast him aside until she couldn't have what she wanted. Only then did she realizes she was fully invested. So manipulative! Also, she lets one of her higher-up coworkers, Harold, feel her up and then mentally has a conversation with herself about how it will further her career??? WTF?!! She claims to be a feminist, but will very quickly drop her ethics when it benefits her life and career. At least what happens in the end happens, but Kat still waits until it no longer benefits her to do so! My jaw was on the floor when I read that. What in the 1950s? The book also has a hodgepodge environmental aspect in the story, too, but this is abandoned until the end of the story when it is convenient for Kat to all of a sudden have a conscience. Don't read this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay MacMillan, and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensate for my review.

A fun summer read about falling in love in London. You will find yourself wanting to know what is going to happen and not be able to put it down

Here is a fun summer romance that is perfect for reading on a hot day at the beach or under one’s AC. Live in London? Check. Fall in love with the guy spotted on the bus? Hmm, will have to see. Have fantasies about who someone is? Yes. Are they correct? Read this one to find out.

This book’s London setting appealed to me. The romance was well played out and will keep readers guessing just enough.

This novel has received lots of praise.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC!


I loved everything about this book, it was cute and fun. The characters made the love story so enticing. I would read this book multiple time! Thanks again!

I loved the setting of this book, and I liked the plot of it! Overall, I would recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This was just ok for me. The main character, Kat, was absolutely delusional. I would not want to be around her let alone date her. But it seemed to be ok with others. The romance itself was uncomfortable at times due to her weird assumptions about a stranger.

Cute, heartfelt, and a lot of fun banter. I loved being transported abroad in this engrossing novel. Read it one sitting and can't recommend more highly!

I was immediately captivated by Lindsay MacMillan’s novel Double Decker Dreams because its promising premise resonated with a personal experience of mine. As an avid rom-com fan, I eagerly dived into this book, looking forward to reading what would happen with Kat and her mysterious bus “Prince Charming.” However, I must admit that it left me really disappointed.

Kat’s erratic behavior and questionable morals made it difficult for me to root for her. I actually empathized with Rory and wanted him to find someone more deserving of his love. Kat’s wavering commitment to her values, especially about feminism, was also a stumbling block for me. The inconsistent portrayal of her character’s beliefs distracted me from the overall experience.

As a fellow Brit, I know of the cultural nuances of causal one-night stands and their unfortunate glorification. ButI find it demeaning when the sole focus revolves around whether or not two individuals have slept together. Kat’s promiscuity was another reason I felt bad for Rory, who preferred to do things slower and foster a genuine connection rather than focus on shallow physical attraction.

While I had hoped for an enjoyable read, Double Decker Dreams fell short of my expectations and wasn’t the book for me. Additionally, it was tough to endure the narrator’s attempt at a British accent, which was less than convincing. In the future, I think I will steer clear of secular romances and opt for a cleaner, morally upright novel.

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.*

DNF at 10%

This book wasn't grabbing me, plus it's much too similar to "One Day in December." I'm sure it takes a life of its own as the story progresses, but I couldn't see myself getting there.

Everything was just so cheesy and full of caricatures. I don't need or want my contemporary romances to be extremely realistic, but this was so over the top and cringe. I love an unlikeable character, but this was beyond unlikeable, it had the flavor of an SNL skit almost.

Usually I try to get at least to 25% before giving up but I just couldn't do one more page.

Kat moves to London for six months for a work assignment. She was working from home one day when she looked out the window and saw her dream guy on a double-decker bus.

Once she saw him she spiraled into this dream fantasy about the guy. It got to be too much at times. She consumed her life around this dream guy that she named Alexander. She never met him but was planning their entire life together.

One day she got the nerve to go on the bus to meet him. Once we learn his name is Rory and he is nothing like her dream fantasy “Alexander” she was over him. I found that to be a bit rude because she wanted no part of this guy. I love that he was a teacher from the same hometown of Michigan that she was.

Rory was the nicest guy and I loved learning more about him. I had a hard time with Kat at the beginning of their friendship, but I love that she finally moved past her fantasy to see true love staring at her in the face.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was a bit disappointed when I wasn't able to connect with the main character. I'm all for new beginnings and the excitement of new romance, but the (onesided) insta-love, fairytale expectations, and often judgemental mindset was a little off-putting.

What if you were staring out your flat window and spotted a handsome man sitting on the upper deck of a bus, and made up a story in your head that surely he must be some English Prince Charming, but he turned out to be an Average Joe from the American Midwest instead? What a bummer. This is what happens to Kat, an American in London with a laser focus on her career, who also has had her mind warped by countless rom-coms to expect fire and sparks and all the grand gestures. After getting up the courage to get on the same bus one day, she meets Rory, who ends up being a humble school teacher on an exchange program instead of a posh Eton boy named Alexander, and firmly puts him in the friend zone. Rory, however, is like an excitable puppy, and is thrilled to have found a friendly face from home. As they navigate their new friendship through hardships at Kat's corporate job, Kat makes an abrupt 180 and realizes that maybe real love is the kind of quiet, comfortable love that doesn't make a splash, but is steady.

This story had potential for me, but fell short because of Kat's unlikability and internalized misogyny, especially when it came to her career versus her best friend and mother's decisions to stay home, and her rationalization of workplace sexual assault to further her career. Neighbor Jules' phonetically spelled Cockney accent made for difficult reading and took away from the flow of the story, rather than adding to it, and Kat's complete transformation from career girl to happily fulfilled domestic goddess was very unrealistic to me, as someone who has been there, done that. Overall, I would recommend this one only if you really love a London setting.

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #DoubleDeckerDreams by Lindsay MacMillan in exchange for an honest review.

In regards to the being honest part, I'll be very honest and let you know that I hated the FMC at the beginning of this book - well, really for a good chunk of the book if I'm being really honest. She was entitled and selfish and I wanted someone better for the MMC than her. Rory was sweet and kind and deserves someone who will treat him right and I didn't think Kat could be that person. In fact, I probably would have DNF'd this book if it hadn't been an ARC but it was so I stuck with it and it did take me longer to finish this book than it usually takes me to finish a book but I finished it and by the end, I was crying big, sloppy tears of happiness for these two.

This book shows a very realistic view point of love and finding and living out your HEA so if you are the kind of person that complains that romance novels set unrealistic standards for love, then you will probably love this book. Rory and Kat don't fall in love in a blaze of passion, they fall in love piece by piece with a slow simmer of devotion.

Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC of Double Decker Dreams! All opinions in this review are my own.

I had to DNF this book at 11%. I didn't mind Kat daydreaming about the man she saw through her window on the bus, but it was starting to get old when he hadn't made an appearance at this point in the book. Once Kat started having "conversations" with him on her trip to Bath, I couldn't read anymore.

While in London on a 6-month project, American consultant Kat has her eyes set on 2 major goals. By the end of her project, she plans to get promoted to partner and fall in love with a handsome Englishman. One morning, Kat sees what she believes is the man of her dreams riding around on a double-decker bus. After creating the perfect fairy tale life with this mystery man, Kat finally takes the plunge to find him on the bus and introduce herself. Only, this gentleman was further from the Englishman aristocrat that she had created in her head. However, Kat begins to open up to this stranger and potentially sees that goals can change and that’s not a bad thing.

I enjoyed the premise of this one, but struggled with the constant battle of reality and fantasy. Kat wasn’t the most likable character, but thankfully the other characters were much better. Kat was just all over the place. This book did however have a great setting of London and fueled my desire to visit even more!

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and Lindsay MacMillan for the advanced copy for my honest review. This is coming out in the US next week, so you don’t have to wait too long to get your hands on this one.

This book feel flat to me and I did not find the main character was not likable. Her behavior seemed too young and immature. I didn't feel chemistry between the love interests and while I like the theme of separating reality and dreams it just didn't feel flushed out. This one wasn't for me.

I was beyond excited when I was given access to this title by Lindsay MacMillan! Thank you thank you thank you Dreamscape Media for granting me access to this title.

I was granted access to the e-book, but somehow missed that the archive date was well before the pub date. I went to download it and was devastated. However, when I was granted access to the audiobook, I was geeked. That frown turned upside down! :)

The narrator for Double-Decker Dreams was great! I listen to audiobooks at 2x speed and it worked well with this narrator's voice and inflections!

Kat has been assigned to work in the UK for 6 months and while she's there she is determined to find herself a prince charming. Kat's life has been wildly driven by her career and now she's set on being promoted to partner after her stint in London. Work is a grind and Kat has only met frogs in London so far. That is, until she sees a man on a double-decker bus and knows he's the one for her.

Unfortunately, things are as they seem when Kat meets her Prince Charming, but as Kat opens up, she starts to see that maybe she's been looking for happiness in all the wrong places.

Kat was so unlikable to me for about 1/4 of the book. Even beyond that at times I found her shallowness off-putting, but I also saw a lot of character development over the span of the book and by the end I was rooting for her to find her true happiness.

This was a great sophomore novel from Lindsay MacMillan, I loved her debut, The Heart of the Deal. It had a nice balance of meet cute meets friends to lovers. I liked the concept of the career-driven female main character who is obsessed with finding her British Prince Charming, but instead she meets an unassuming cinnamon roll from her hometown. This is the perfect example of why you shouldn’t judge a person by how they look on the outside. Although it was a cute and lighthearted romance, it still had important underlying themes,