This has been a pretty good romance in my opinion. It has its fair share of drama, the kind that looks like at any moment it's going to blow everything up. Because the two main characters have a story that comes from high school. One of them, Riley, was then the recipient of the bullying that the group of friends of the other main character, Vic. But that bullying situation hid the attraction between Vic and Riley, which they separately were noticing. And now, many years later, the two of them meet again and that pull still is there.

The part that complicates the matter is that Vic has a twin sister, Vanessa, with whom she does not have much resemblance in terms of character although they are physically identical. Vic and Vanessa belong to a very wealthy family in the village and their mother is very classy, conceited and snobbish, as well as certainly disrespectful towards those she considers to be of a lower class. And Riley has an alcoholic mother who has neglected her since she was a child and who has never loved her. So Riley is doubly self-conscious about the school abuse and about her mother, who is also her only family.

But luckily for the story, both Riley and Vic are not bitter or spiteful people. Because Vic also has its own complexes, on the one hand the contempt of her mother since she came out as a lesbian and on the other the thinking that all her relationships are with her only for economic interest.Her family and friends don't help Vic much in that regard. Riley has better luck with her best friend Megan.

So despite all these difficulties and doubts from both of them, the story has developed quite nicely and has been very much to my liking.

A capturing romance with some angst, which captures you right from the start.

Riley: Raised by an verbally abusive, drunk woman in a trailer park, Riley wants to live life without being sucked into her mother’s negative spiral. The verbal abuse centers on Riley being unlovable, which has severely affected Riley self-image and self-confidence. Riley’s biggest dream is being able to own the Movie theatre she supervise, but due to her low funds she realize this is probably never going to happen.

Vic: Grew up in a rich family with her twin sister as her best friend, a demanding mother and a wonderful father. Were part of the cool crowd which terrorize Riley due to Riley being different and poor. This makes her feel awful, and follows her as her biggest regret. In collage she realize she’s gay and her mother reacts by wanting to disown her. Vic’s biggest hope and dream is being loved for who she is, and not for her money.

Pro:
Extremely well written start – It took me half a paragraph to get hooked by the story. The characters and the setting grabbed me right off the batch and kept me interested during the entire book.
Redemption – After reuniting with Riley, Vic starts her own walk towards redemption from how she stood by when Riley was badly treated. Vic knew even back then that it was wrong, but wasn’t strong enough to be able to stand up for what’s right.
Slow burn – This story focus more on the personal growth the characters go through to be able to be their true self, than an intense romance. Though the romance is a central part of the story, I enjoy that they take the time to get to know one another. The romance, and the characters, feel real.
Some angst – You feel right from the start that somewhere there will be a twist. The angst is wonderfully written and how the characters act feels real and true.

Con:
No epilogue – This is not a major con, but I would have wanted to see how it all works out in the end.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

Hmmm this book was a little too sappy for me. I like a cute little love story, but for some reason the dialogue was too sappy and cliche throughout the book.

The leads were suppose to be nearly 40, but they talked and acted like they were in their young 20s, and in their first relationships. The way that Vic dealt with her "fight" with Riley was a clear example. Why would you just text someone when you live/visit so close? Not even one stop by her house or place of work in a month?

The second chance love stories I usually dig, but I thought Riley would give Vic more roadblocks with how she was treated. Also, there was a HUGE difference in their social standings, but it was barely recognized and dealt with.

Last thing, I still think Vanessa is a biatch. Just saying.

Overall, the two main characters could have made more sense than the did.

Hopes and Dreams tells the story of Riley and Vic. Riley is a small town movie theatre manager who grew up poor, living in a trailer park with her alcoholic, abusive mother. Vic is from a ridiculously wealthy family. She was part of the popular crowd, and her sister Vanessa bullied Riley relentlessly during their high school years. Both Riley and Vic were hiding secret crushes on each other in their youth.

20 years later, Vic is back in town for her sister's wedding. The two reconnect, and sparks fly. But can they overcome their past?

This was a very cute love story. Definitely predictable, but also delving into some more serious emotional issues. I have read a number of relatively similar books, and this one was a very good addition to the collection. It didn't leap out and grab my attention quite as much as some, which is why I would give it 3.5 stars if half stars were an option. There was nothing that I particularly disliked, but it didn't pull me in quite as much as some others. I didn't feel as connected to the characters, to any of their little individual quirks. Overall it was a sweet story, kind of a comforting, but ultimately not exceptional love story.

I would definitely recommend it if you are a fun of books like this one. I did like the slower build up to the romance. It just didn't stand out from other books I have read recently.

Forced to return home after 16 years for her sister’s wedding, Victoria Thayer not only had to contend with her homophobic mother but also someone she could not forget since high school.

As a descendant of The Thayer family, the crown jewel of Wolf Bay, Victoria has had misgivings about the intentions of her partners who have often sought her for the wealth of her family. When she returned home and had the chance to start afresh with Riley, her crush from high school, dare she hope that Riley be any different? And will Riley give her a chance to right all her wrongs?

Riley Warren is a survivor in her own rights. Subjected to bullying since high school for her sexuality and poverty due to an alcoholic and absent mother, she made a way for herself. When Victoria her high school crush came back to town, she found herself unable to resist someone who used to part of the bullying.

The premise was promising however I could not really reconcile how easily the relationship developed with such a history between the pair. Riley was not only subjected to bullying but also blatantly ignored even when she saved Vanessa, Victoria’s twin’s life. Having to question her worth when compared to Victoria’s flings was hard to read. I really like the author’s character of Riley but could not really relate how she had to condition herself to fit into Victoria’s life. Overall it was an ok read and feel readers will be able to like the book better if Victoria’s feelings for Riley were explored further.

I just reviewed Hopes and Dreams by PJ Trebelhorn. #NetGalley

I have mixed feelings on this one. Normally enemies to lovers is my thing but there was just something that didn’t resonate with me. I loved some parts and didn’t connect with others.

I was a bit underwhelmed by this book, I was excited by the burb but I was let down by the constant angst caused by silly miscommunications. There was a lot of inconsistencies in the personalities of most of the main and secondary characters. I was genuinely confused by things characters said and did. I know these are a lot of complaints but I still found this fairly enjoyable just not engaging because of the overplayed lesfic tropes. If you're able to ignore these things you will enjoy this as a lighthearted read.

I have quite mixed feelings about this book. The plot was promising an excellent novel, but the deliverance sort of lacks. Too many times the money issues have been brought up and easily forgiven, too many "envious or jealous exes or so-called friends" are meddling in a relationship of two adult women, and too many tears shedded over it, so at times, this sounded more like a YA novel, which I didn't like.

When your childhood is a mess and you can't get out, but still make a life for yourself it is courageous at least. Having your high school crush come back to your life is priceless. Not to mention that person also was part of the bully group.
I really liked this story. It is very uplifting and promising.
I would wish for one extra chapter...maybe 2 years later??

I have very mixed feelings about this book. There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed, but there were a lot of other parts of the book that were really confusing (plot points that weren't totally resolved.) Overall, I liked the book but didn't love it.

This is an enemies to lovers book as well as . Vic and Riley went all through school together and Vic willingly participated in tormenting Riley. By willingly, I mean, she never did anything to stop her sister and friends from torturing Riley. When they meet years later, Vic has since come out and she's out and proud. Riley still holds a major grudge but ,to me, she forgave Vic quickly and started dating her. Now I by no means feel that a person in this situation should go to their grave not forgiving their tormentor(s), but Riley gave in really quickly. It could just be the fact that she's a really nice person or she had a major crush on Vic back in school. This was a cute, well written book which many people will love!

I wish I could say that I totally loved this book, but I didn’t. For that reason, my review of Hopes and Dreams by P.J. Trebelhorn is going to be a mixture of good and bad.

First the good. I did really like the premise of the story. The idea of a book about two women where one had been a bully to the other in high school is an interesting storyline. It provides all kinds of angst as well as moments of introspection for the characters about their lives then and now. Both of those things did happen in the story, at least with the two main characters, Riley and Vic. Overall, the tale is well written and flows easily. I read the entire book without having to skim which sometimes happens with stories I have trouble with.

My biggest problem is with the characters, both main and secondary. I connected with Riley who was the bullying victim in the novel. Her thoughts and actions ring true to her character. I had trouble connecting with Vic. She was wishy-washy through most of the tale, and only really showed she had any kind of a back bone when she was fighting with her mother. She was constantly giving in to her twin sister Vanessa’s wishes and actions. She was one the leaders of the group that bullied Riley in high school, but throughout the novel she would go from being apologetic for her former behavior to acting like an adult version of that high school bully. It happened so often that I felt like I was getting virtual whiplash. I began thinking of her as this book’s Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. She was so irritating that I think whatever her character was supposed to do for the story became lost. She needed to be either one or the other, or at least show a steady progression of character improvement.

The other major problem with this novel is the ending. The big conflict/angst part of the tale didn’t happen until very late in the story, and because of that, there was an extremely short resolution to the romance. This, of course, made the ending feel very rushed. In fact, this book is screaming for an epilogue that isn’t there, and I’m left wondering if these two will really stay a couple.

As I said at the beginning of this book, the story is not all bad. It did keep my interest, and I can tell from the writing that Ms. Trebelhorn is an accomplished writer. Though I honestly can’t recommend this novel, I will look forward to reading more of her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for giving me the chance to read and honestly review this novel.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

I had hoped this book was a bit better than it actually was. The blurb had me wondering if this would be a nice book to read, and it was an ok read, but the story is just a bit on the boring side for me.

Riley has lived in the same town all her life when one night she is driving home and she sees an accident happen. She saves the woman in the car online to discover it's one of the Thayer twins, her biggest tormentors from high school. Riley had a crush on Victoria Thayer, the nicer one of the twins, the woman she saved is Vanessa. Fast forward to a year later and the Thayer twins are back in town for Vanessa's wedding. Vic has always felt bad about how they treated Riley in high school and now she has discovered no one in her family has ever thanked Riley for saving Vanessa's life, she needs to apologize and see if she can ever connect with her. Vic had a secret crush on Riley when they were in high school but Vic hadn't figured out that she was into women. Riley is on the fence when they meet up again but also pulled to Vic. They both held onto the crush they had in high school. Dealing with horrible mothers and some self-esteem issues their budding relationship is riddled with doubt and pulling away.

I didn't care much for either of the main characters and they did nothing to win me over. Their story isn't convincing for me because Riley never fully trusts Vic, because of the bullying and her own self-esteem issues. Riley wants to take the relationship slowly, but when Vic says she is moving closer to their hometown Riley happily moves in with her. There are just so many things that don't make sense to me.
This book was mediocre at best.

3.5 stars. With one major caveat, I enjoyed this book. There were lots of issues past and present pulling the storyline in different directions. My biggest issue was that the book felt almost YA. I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were late 30's and early 40's. The lack of insight, the way the characters related to one another and the homophobic mother drama just felt simply done, like for younger readers with less capacity to understand the real depth of the issues. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. It was a very quick read with a nice story but it all seemed a bit fast

I loved the background of school bullying behaviour but I know that it wouldn’t be so easy to fall for someone who had been so awful to you. Also the ending felt really rushed. I’m not quite sure if she accepted the gift or not (I hope not!)

However I did like Riley a lot. She seemed kind and genuine. I’m not sure about Vic and tbh I think it would be difficult to be in love with someone whose friends are so vile ....

This is a read about life after high school and the baggage we may carry with us if it has not been processed. Bullying is painful. Bullying can shape the way you feel about yourself. I really dislike bullies. Riley Warren, small town girl, kinda looking for love, and really wants to purchase the movie theatre she manages. Money is an issue. Riley was bullied by the so called cool and well-to-do kids. Victoria Thayer, former small towner, now living in the big city, and wants to possibly establish a relationship with her high school crush, Riley.

Riley is a likable character who is easy to cheer for. She had a crush on Victoria and still does. Victoria's character, grows on the reader as she works to redeem herself with Riley. On the other hand, Victoria's twin sister, Vanessa is a hit and miss for me. At times she is okay and other times not so much. This is also a read about a mother not accepting her daughter for who she is. The comments she makes are very ugly and distasteful. Miscommunication runs rapid to almost the detriment of the story. In general, a good read with family and friend dynamics which were okay. I wanted Vic to have to work harder to "win" Riley. the she has money and she does not have money was not flushed out enough as well as the mother daughter dynamic.

Riley Warren grew up poor with an alcoholic mother who never did anything for her. She still lives in the same town she grew up and works at the local movie theater that she wishes to own one day. She was bullied by her peers in HS and she even had a crush on one of them. Victoria Thayer and her twin sister (who was the ring leader) was part of the group that tormented Riley. Victoria really didn't want to bully Riley growing up. She often tried to defend her because she had feelings for Riley in HS. Victoria now goes by Vic and she has her own set of issues. Most women want her for her money and her mom has pretty much disowned her. Vic and her twin head back to the town they grew up in for Vic's sister's wedding and also to attend their 10 year class reunion.

So Hopes and Dreams was just ok for me. I had issues with Vic and her feelings for Riley and how Riley even could have a crush on someone who was not kind to her in HS. I just found it odd. I did like Riley and her supportive friends and I could see that she has some major issues with trust. The connection between Riley and Vic just doesn't seem believable. I did like the how Riley took her time with Vic, but Vic still had a hard time trusting that Riley would only want her money. That just was odd because Riley didn't seek her out and she was very cautious. So I did have some issues with this one. I like the concept of the story but just think the execution was great.

3 stars because I made it through relatively quickly and was still a decent enough read.

This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

Hopes and Dreams is a rich girl - poor girl romance. And then also one where the rich girl was part of a group of bullying teenagers when in high school. You would think it will all be a bit much to overcome and ofcourse the road has bumps. Riley grew up in a trailer with an alocoholic mother and a low self asteem, while Victoria grew up with all the money in the world and experiences that people only want her to get money. Unlikely as it seems there is connection between them when Victoria comes back to town for 3 weeks because her twin sister gets married. This was a slowly developing romance with all of a sudden an ending that felt a bit rushed in comparison to the romance speed... it glossed over a lot of stuff. Disagreement, no contact, all of a sudden both going to the other to fight for it. This speeds up the storyline for over a month and it offers the reader no insight into why now all of a sudden the change of hearts. I was sort of invested in their journey but now it feels like my journey got cut short and confusing near the end. Also it felt like the writer wanted to make something more out of the storyline with Riley's mom at some point but then didn't follow through. My overall problem with this book is that you didn't quite get a good read on the main characters so it was hard to stay invested in the story.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

I really love enemies to lovers romance books, I think that it’s all the tension that builds throughout the book. This was a good book but not great. The tension lasted as long as it takes to snap your fingers. Vanessa had to say sorry and then they were on a date. Who does that? With that being said, the dialogue was really good and I did enjoy the book.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This book was very difficult for me to review. I loved this book, I was so engaged and loved the characters until some issues arose that made me really start to loose my enthusiasm for it. The good. I loved Riley, she was amazing and I felt a connection immediately to her. Vic at the beginning was great to, I know it was fast but because of her personality I could totally see how Riley forgave her so quickly for the bullying in high school. The issues. Well the first problem was Vanessa. One second she was Vic's biggest supporter and the next she was fake and being the version we were introduced to in high school flashbacks. Another issue that really irritated me was Vic was considering her feelings for Riley was just the chase and then two pages further and she is head over heels in love with her. That was the moment that this went from a five star read to a three star. These issues seem quite small but they squashed my love for this in the beginning. This was still a good read, I was just a little let down as I loved it so much the first half of it.