Cover Image: Dream On

Dream On

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Member Reviews

Well written and an enjoyable story. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

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No longer interested in reading after all thanks. Not what I thought it would be.

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Cassidy and Mason were young and in love in high school, and when Mason returns to his small town home in Texas, that spark is still there for them both.

This story was cute and fun, and easy to read. It has all of the whimsical, romantic feels that one wants when reading a novel like this one.

Unfortunately it lacked originality, and the plot and character development seemed shallow.

It was an easy and entertaining read, but didn’t hold up much value in the end.

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I wanted to really like this book but for me I am more in the 2.5 rounding up to 3 star range.
Cassidy Roby was a teen mom in small town Texas and ten years later, she is sort of still in the same situation. She tries to set a good example for her daughter Lexie and to prove that she is not the same kid she was when she got pregnant. Town gossip still troubles her life though, especially when her personal life starts to revolve around the same person from high school.
Mason Hannigan has made it in the NFL as a quarterback and is back in his hometown for an award ceremony when he runs into Cassidy. He is determined to have her and quickly works on impressing her and keeping her attention.
Parker Nolen is Lexie’s father and altogether absent until Mason comes back to town. His sister Kayla is awful and for no real reason at this point in their collective adult lives.

This is a second chance story but for me that was not initially apparent. It is possible that it is implied in the synopsis and somehow I am still missing it and while I don’t have a problem with it being a second chance love story I do have a problem with how it is conveyed in the story.
There is also family drama that is not resolved or even addressed at the end of the book. As it is going to be a series, maybe it will be addressed later but I am not overly hopeful, as the next book seems to be about different people.
I wanted to really like this book but for me I am more in the 2.5 rounding up to 3 star range.
Cassidy Roby was a teen mom in small town Texas and ten years later, she is sort of still in the same situation. She tries to set a good example for her daughter Lexie and to prove that she is not the same kid she was when she got pregnant. Town gossip still troubles her life though, especially when her personal life starts to revolve around the same person from high school.
Mason Hannigan has made it in the NFL as a quarterback and is back in his hometown for an award ceremony when he runs into Cassidy. He is determined to have her and quickly works on impressing her and keeping her attention.
Parker Nolen is Lexie’s father and altogether absent until Mason comes back to town. His sister Kayla is awful and for no real reason at this point in their collective adult lives.

This is a second chance story but for me that was not initially apparent. It is possible that it is implied in the synopsis and somehow I am still missing it and while I don’t have a problem with it being a second chance love story I do have a problem with how it is conveyed in the story.
There is also family drama that is not resolved or even addressed at the end of the book. As it is going to be a series, maybe it will be addressed later but I am not overly hopeful, as the next book seems to be about different people.

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Dream On just didn't do it for me, for one main reason - Cassidy, the heroine. She's a big, whiny doormat. She's weak, timid, and runs when the going gets tough. I liked Mason and the story itself, I just could not get past how annoying Cassidy was.

Cassidy and Mason were a couple in high school, but he dumped her a few days before prom, so she ended up in the backseat of their small town's other golden boy athlete, and 9 months later she had Lexie, the only thing in her life she doesn't regret. Years later, Mason, who's a hotshot NFL player now, is back in town for an award ceremony for his old coach, and it's as if he and Cassidy never broke up. Their connection is still just as strong, and Mason decides then and there that he's going to keep her, as he should have done back in high school. But, when the pressures of dating a pro athlete take their toll on their new relationship, will Cassidy cut and run? Or will she stand strong and stay with Mason? Well, Cassidy cuts and runs and that's when the story lost me. I can't believe how weak she is. That's no example for her to be setting for her young, impressionable daughter, and her daughter even called her out on it. But, still, she never fought for Mason. Nope, she made him come to her, and frankly, she didn't deserve him to come back for her, not when she couldn't even hack one bought with the paparazzi.

Although Dream On had some of my favorite tropes - sports star with an ordinary woman, single mom, sweet hero, Cassidy ruined it for me, and I just couldn't justify more than 3 stars. It's really too bad, because if she had been a stronger character I could have definitely rated this at least 4 stars. As it's written, though, with a weak heroine and a totally abrupt ending with no epilogue, 3 stars is probably even too high.

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Finally a sports story with heart and depth. In Mason and Cassie you find a love that bound through all that life threw their way. I was impressed with the realism of the characters and their personalities, each jumped of the page with the differences that they were intended to. Emotions were palpable, situations and events believable, and most of all, the characters could be seen in such a way that anyone could relate to them.

This is the first book by this author I've read, I fully intend to read more by her in the future.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

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Review by Elizabeth for Love Romance Books Blog

I love football romance and this had a little of everything in it for me. It had the sport I love, the second chance romance, and some drama to take you to the end. Mason and Cassidy were a couple in high school and all the changed in one night. Mason thought he was doing the right thing, to let her have a life and not be tied down since she was a junior and he was a senior. Mason was going to do what he needed to do to make a life for himself. He loved football and he had to go away to do what he loved. Mason got to live in the spotlight, while Cassidy didn't leave. So after ten years when Cassidy sees Mason at her work why does her heart still flutter for him.

Mason is back for his old coach and when he sees Cassidy, he knows that he left something he never should have left. So when he wants to reconnect he does everything in his power to do that. Mason is at a crossroads in this book. He still has the love the game in the palm of his hands, but he wants more. He wants to have something real and he thinks its with Cassidy. He thinks that they should give it a try, but Cassidy doesn't want to give her heart up again. Mason was a kid when he left. He screwed up and he knows it, but knowing it has taken ten years to know what he is missing, he is afraid he has lost everything. Cassidy has a lot to lose if she lets her heart win and Mason doesn't know what he wants. She isn't sure if she can live in his spot light. Plus all of a sudden someone else starts popping out of no where. Both of these characters have a lot of baggage in this story and I think it makes them who they are. They are trying to find one another without losing their heart in the process. They are going to figure out if it is worth the fight to be together.

I enjoyed this book. I liked how it was written and the character were perfect for it. This is my first time reading this author and I hope I can read many more.

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3.5 Stars!

A second chance at romance is what's in the cards for struggling waitress Cassidy Roby, and NFL quarterback Mason Hannigan. Both grew up in the small town of Cuervo, Texas, and dated quite heavily while in high school. Mason wanted a guarantee that he had sex the night of his senior prom, so he dumped the innocent Cassidy only a few days earlier. Although Cassidy was a freshman, she ended up going to the prom with one of Mason's rivals. Nine months later she became the proud mother of a baby girl. Cassidy's family was and has been extremely supportive. The boy who got her pregnant, his nosy sister, and the townsfolk, have treated her like dirt ever since. Mason's return to Cuervo rekindles the feelings they both felt for each other over a decade ago. Cassidy is not sure she and her daughter will fit into Mason's world, but she is willing to give it a try.

I liked this story, however, the narrow mindedness of the townsfolk, especially in this day and age was difficult to fathom. Moreover, Cassidy's ability to trust Mason so quickly seemed far-fetched. Nevertheless, although Cassidy and Mason are an unlikely pair, they get along beautifully. Their sexy times are hot and the author creates their intimate moments with lots of caring, longing, and lust. Cassidy is a warm woman that takes the world on her shoulders. With Cassidy in his life, Mason realizes how lonely he has been and his outlook changes for the better. They are each other's soulmates. Overall, a solid read.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

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Although this doesn’t seem to be Stacey Keith’s debut in writing, she seems to be a pretty new author. If this story is anything to go on, she should have a wonderful career ahead of her. It kept me engaged and turning pages.

Mason and Cassidy are both wonderful people with totally different lifestyles. I enjoyed the fact that the author didn’t make one of those lifestyles “wrong” or better than the other…they were just different. And both characters wanted to make the effort to understand the other’s world as much as possible, which was very sweet.

Every time I thought the book was going to go down the usual path of one character totally misunderstanding the other character or jumping to conclusions, it wouldn’t. Both Mason and Cassie tried their best to keep their tempers and really try to understand the other point of view or the reasons of certain actions. They had faith in each other and held onto that faith even when the signs were maybe trying to sway them from following their hearts.

Of course, emotions always change when there’s a child involved. That is the only time Cassie tends to act without thinking through what she’s doing…when she feels her child needs protection. That is so completely understandable though that I can’t fault her for those times.

The animosity between Cassie and the family of her baby-daddy oozes off the pages. I cannot express how badly I wanted to reach through those pages and throttle both Parker and his sister Kayla. The author also wrote Cassie’s anxious feelings extremely well. I’ve had many issues with anxiety and panic attacks and Cassie’s experience at the football game were so real and raw. But she held her own because of her love for Mason.

There was only one real problem I had with this story. I felt the Parker/Kayla part wasn’t wrapped up when the book ended. When I thought back I suppose the scene between Cassie’s mom and them was the closure, but it didn’t feel like closure at the time I was reading it. It was only in hindsight that I realized that it was the author’s intent for that to be the end of that issue.

I’m happy to see there will be another book in the series in the spring. I enjoyed getting to know Cassie’s whole family so I’m glad one of her sisters will get her story told.

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Dream On by Stacey Keith
Dreams Come True #1

Cassidy Roby, hurt and angry, made a huge mistake when she was a freshman in high school. Her mistake ended up in her becoming a single mother at fifteen. For ten years she has been a devoted mother without any assistance from the father of her child. Her family has been there to assist her throughout as her small town judged her severely.

Into her life appears the man she has carried a torch for since high school – sure he broke her heart but she has never stopped loving him (here I kind of thought – really?). He is gob-smacked when he lays eyes on her again and is in hot pursuit even though as an NFL quarterback for years he has had access to numerous beauties. He believes she is THE ONE for him and sets out to have her in his life forever.

Dating ensues, the father of Cassidy’s child makes an appearance, the town takes sides and gossips up a storm and Cassidy and Mason Hannigan have the possibility of a second chance at love – IF they can find a way forward through all the things that seem to pop up causing obstacles.

This was a good beginning to a new series. I enjoyed the book and the characters even though I wondered how realistic the story would actually be in real life. But then, it is a story and fiction and provided a base for more stories in the future. I am looking forward to reading the stories of Cassidy’s sisters and wonder if Mason’s teammates might have a series of their own in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

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There's only one man that Cassidy Roby has ever loved, even though she made the biggest error in judgment of her life after he dumped her. Now though, Mason Hannigan back in town and Cassidy knows that giving her heart to him again could end in disaster, especially as she's got a nine-year-old daughter with another man and has a less-than-glamorous job as a roller-skating waitress that leaves her barely able to support herself and her daughter. But with her reputation already less-than-stellar and her one chance to find happiness in her life, Cassidy decides to take a chance on Mason. However, as they become closer just like old times, Cassidy doesn't know whether she can handle his life of constantly being in the spotlight as an NFL quarterback. Will she be able to push past her fears or will she lose the love of her life for good this time?

Ms. Keith is a new-to-me author, but I really enjoyed this first story of her Dreams Come True series, because of the main characters and their history that should have the heroine disliking the hero for how he hurt her in the past and how that hurt ended up with her making an error in judgment, and yet, which gave her the most important person in her life. The way this story started was very interesting and had me reading quickly, determined to discover what Mason would do to win the heroine's heart, as it's palpable she's never been far from this thoughts, even though he knew he did the right thing by breaking things off with her in the past. However, it was from the moment that Mason and Cassidy come face-to-face for this first time that had me smiling because of the comments from his friends on how attractive Cassidy is; the powerful chemistry between this couple; and the teasing banter that makes it feel as if the slate has been wiped clean and things were as normal as they'd been when the pair dated in the past.

The dialogue was entertaining, and had me enjoying both the main characters due to their past history and how their chemistry is still as strong -- if not stronger -- than it once was. Will Mason and Cassidy get their second chance at forever after? Will Cassidy's daughter's father be able to accept her new relationship and not cause problems for her? Moreover, I liked how strong and brave the heroine was in fighting her own battles when it came to her daughter's father and his family and how they treat her and her daughter. I also liked the tight bond the heroine shares with her family and how willing they were to offer advice, because they want her to be happy and she is that with Mason. Yet, what I liked most of all about the heroine was how good of a mother she was and that she would do anything to protect her daughter, which is proven by how she reacts to a situation involving the media attention Mason receives. Then again, love includes taking risks, so she should have faith in the hero and that he would do anything to protect her from the attention.

While the hero, he's confident; has achieved so much in his life through hard-work and determination; has good friends that love to rib him about his relationship with Cassidy and made me laugh because of their dialogue; and I liked that he would do anything for family, even if they're hard to deal with sometimes. I also liked the growing bond between Mason and the heroine's daughter and that he would do anything to protect the pair from the media attention he receives, even if it doesn't seem to him like he's doing enough. Will he ever be able to go anywhere without being hounded by the press and his fans?

Overall, Ms. Keith has delivered a wonderfully fascinating and riveting read in this book where the chemistry between this couple kept getting stronger with every moment they conversed; and the ending had me totally captivated by how determined Mason was to win back the heroine. However, in saying that, I thought the ending was a tad abrupt and needed an epilogue to tie up what I felt were loose ends with how things are going between Cassidy and her daughter's father and his family as well as discovering how far Cassidy and Mason have come in their relationship. I would recommend Dream On by Stacey Keith, if you enjoy second chance romances or books by authors Kari Lemor, Laura Carter, Nancy Herkness and Sharla Lovelace.

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I did not like this story. Cassidy was a really great character but she got pregnant at age 15 by a high school senior at his prom. No one talked about what he did and that it could be called statutory rape. The hero in this story was Mason.

Mason was this guy that dated Cass through his high school years. But he was 18 to her 15 and so he knew they could not have sex, so he breaks up with her, dates her nemesis and has sex with her prom night. When Cass hears this she ends up having sex with the nemesis' brother and ends up as a pregnant teen mom.

To be honest I am sure this book was well written but the whole premise of the story kinda sickened me all around. Mason treated Cass horribly. And he never even says I am sorry to her. Then there is the aspect of an 18 year old teen dating a 15 year old and lusting after her. Then said 15 year old has sex and gets pregnant.

The whole story was not romantic, it was like a Jerry Springer show. I hated the book and I beyond hated Mason.What he did to Cass I would NEVER have even spoken to him again and she never even asks for an I'm sorry.

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Review will be posted on my blog, Goodreads, and associated social media pages on Oct 30th.

I wanted to like this story, I really did.  The synopsis for the book sounded so compelling and the option were limitless in the direction the story could take.  Sadly, the story did not live up to my expectations.  Here are my reasons why...

1.  I had a hard time believing that the love you feel for someone at fifteen is the eternal kind.  Yes you can look back on the relationships you had in highschool with a certain level of fondness or perhaps even entertaining the idea of "what if" for a moment or two but that is the extent.  I do not know anyone who is still holding that torch ten years later as an adult with responsibilities such a raising a child.  Due to this, I found Cassidy to be almost juvenile.  While I understand that her youth and innocence were taken away too soon, I also think twenty five year olds do not live in a fantasy world.

2.  Again my issue was with Cassidy.  I like my female characters to be strong.  They may have a ton of baggage but at the end of the day they stick up for themselves and those that they love.  For me, I felt Cassidy was a coward who was afraid of anyone judging her.  While she had to bear the judgement of small town/small minds as a pregnant fifteen year old teenager, again, ten years later she should be over it.  The situation with the paparazzi just infuriated me.  Instead of getting mad, as she should have for her daughters sake if not her own, she coward in a corner and got out of dodge at the first opportunity.  She disguised it as protecting your daughter but what kind of message do you send when you run for the hills as soon as things get tough?

3.  Lack of emotional connection.  I felt the reader didn't really get to see an emotional connection between Cassidy and Mason.  Instead it went like this, they lay eyes on each other after 10 years, there is instant lust, they succumb to said lust and all of a sudden it is true love.  Not how the real world works.  I just didn't buy it, their backstory from when Cassidy was fifteen would not be enough (not even remotely) to evolve their relationship as fast as it did.  If the story stayed focused on lust and physical attraction for a bit longer before adding the L word, perhaps it would have been more believable to me.  Also the fact that all they could think about when they were reunited was physical (while that can be somewhat the cases) it does not consume people as much as it did these two.

Now I want to be clear on one thing.  The above reasons are the reason I struggled with this book.  I happen to like books to have an emotional depth before the physical part happens, or at least a little more lead up and this story didn't.  This doesn't mean that others will feel the same.  Those who like to read stories for the physical aspect, and there is a huge market out there of people who do, this very well could be a perfect fit for them.  It simply wasn't what I was looking for.

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Not for me. I thought I was getting a strong and sassy heroine, but instead I got a martyr/doormat. I did want to find out what happened, so I made it to the end, but I skimmed a lot of it.

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I have such mixed feelings about this book. It was very slow going for me. I was impatient and frustrated pretty early on, but it's written in such a way that I still desperately wanted to know what happened in the end. This is the mark of good writing, I think. The kiss of death is when I just don't even care what happens anymore. So - I plugged along.

It was a mixed bag for me. I felt like Cassidy and Mason (and Lexie) had enough going on with their own situation that it would have made for good reading. I actually wanted MORE of them and LESS of the extra drama that was thrown in. It was exasperating to me - it felt like too much sometimes. I wanted more time with Cassidy and Mason reconnecting, falling in love, banter, feels -- and less drama for the sake of drama.

I liked it enough to be curious about where the series might go from here. I enjoyed the writing enough to try the author again. But in the end, this book was just okay for me.

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I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good second chance romance, especially if it includes a single parent. This was a sweet and steamy read. I really liked Mason, despite his success in the NFL, he is a very humble and regular guy and he really wants Cassidy.
Cassidy is afraid to take the leap with Mason again because she is afraid of getting hurt but also she was afraid of what the judgmental people in town would think.
Their chemistry is undeniable but can Cassidy let go of the past and let Mason love her and give her the life she has always wanted and deserves?

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3.5stars
This one is a second chance story between former high school kids. They are both grown up. Mason famous football player and Cassidy single mom struggling to survive. Once again the chemistry between them explodes but Cassidy cares because she doesn't want to be the main gossip in her little town. Mason is determined that this time he will not let Cassidy go like he did stupidly in the past. But will he succeed? I liked Masone he was down to earth and although very famous celebrity just a normal guy who loved his job. Cassidy, on the other hand, I don't know she was to caught up in the past. I was just very surprised when she grew up a backbone and kicked her daughter aunt and father out. I would assume her past would make her stronger and tougher but I didn't see her strength. She just had a great luck that Mason would not give up on her.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

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I thought the characters in this story were cute. I liked Cassidy and thought she was a good character. She was trying to live a simple life with her down in a town who judged her because she had a kid in high school. She was in love with Mason years ago and When he comes back town that spark was still there for both of them. I like that Mason went after what he wanted. He didn’t play games or fault her for having a kid, he accepted everything about Cassidy. The sex scenes between them were pretty steamy as well! I’m interested to see the next installment in this series.

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I really enjoyed this perfect! It's the perfect light-romance read. It is not super quick, but I finished it within the day because I really enjoyed it. The characters had perfect chemistry and I think that I'll be picking up another novel by this author!

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