Cover Image: Someone Else's Dream

Someone Else's Dream

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Member Reviews

This was a fast, engaging read that had a predictable ending, and that's not a bad thing, because you'll come to really like the characters, especially Amber, and you'll find yourself rooting for her and many of the others in the book. Amber is handed a couple lemons and finds a way to turn her disappointments around. There's enough small-town and dastardly behavior to keep the story going, with an ending I think everyone should be happy with.

I enjoyed reading the book. I rate it 3.5 stars.

There are three books in the Westbay series so far. They all appear to be standalone, but there is probably some crossover with familiar characters popping in. I look forward to reading the other books in the series, as well as the author's other works.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine, and freely given.

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This is a beautiful and heartwarming story about changes in life and finding ones own way by understanding that it is okay to ask others for help.

Such a beautifully written story. It won't leave you disappointed!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for an honest review. Beautiful story!

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Amber approaches life fully, whether work or a relationship. She is a high-power attorney in London, aiming for a partner position. So when her girlfriend Cassie indicates she'd like to buy a cafe in a holiday town, Amber is supportive, to the point where she empties her bank account! Once there though, Cassie loses interest in doing the actual work to open the cafe, instead choosing to hang out at a local pub instead. After one too many conversations about her lack of effort to get the cafe ready, Cassie decides to leave and return to London, leaving Amber to both commute to London for her job and open the cafe by herself.

Though in a serious lurch, the crossroads Amber now faces allow her to re-evaluate her life and what is important to her. She makes friends with some other locals and hires others to run her shop, while also thwarting an effort by the pub owner to take over a vacant space and turn it into a mini-casino type place, as that would change the family atmosphere the rest of the shops have. Amber grows as a person in this novel, discovering resiliency within herself, real friendships, while also opening her heart to the idea of love once again.

(I received this ARC from NetGalley and have written an objective review)

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Content warnings: COVID-19, racism, homophobia, parental loss, depression and anxiety.

There's a charming and heart-warming story at the core of 'Someone Else's Dream', but sadly I found that it was lost amongst clunky, and at times cringey, writing that really took me out of the story. Too often while reading I was very aware of plot conflicts or character descriptions being repeated word for word and it became one of those annoying things where once you notice it, you can't ignore them.

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I started this book off very annoyed with Cassie. Amber had given up so much for her and her dream and when it looked like hard work - Cassie fled faster than you could say "run". And I was mad on behalf of Amber who was trying to juggle everything in her life and still stay standing.
I loved the character Amber - her view on love and life; her kindness; her commitment. It was lovely seeing her transition from "I don't want to be here" to "I can't leave here" and how she finds herself, not only emotionally but where she fits in the world.
I have to admit being sad when I read the last page.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

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This was such a good read. It was well written with a captivating storyline and well developed characters. It was twisty, explosive and unpredictable that left me not knowing what to think or believe I loved it.

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I usually try to power through books, but I couldn't make it through this one. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it. I made it through chapter 4. The writing is fine, the characters seem fine it just felt -- detached. As a Black woman reading this, it all felt very woe is me white woman. It wreaked of privilege and I just couldn't compel myself to keep going. Which again, it's fine if that's your cup of tea it just wasn't for me.

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The book started off slow with a lesbian couple moving from London to a small seaside to start a cafe. Amber is commuting to London to pay the cafe mortgage and help Cassie achieve her small town cafe dream. Unfortunately, their relationship and the plans for opening the cafe crash and burn. Cassie moves back to London and Amber is stuck trying to make 'Someone Else's Dream' work because she's pretty much broke.

I really enjoyed reading how Amber turned things around, recovered from her break up, and started enjoying small town life. The only thing I didn't like is how the other characters pressured her to stand up to the local bully for them. The conflict felt a little forced and I would've like more backstory into the relationship and her life before but it was overall an entertaining read.

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Amber Hendrix is a high-powered attorney living in London in an upscale condo that she loves. Her girlfriend convinces her to invest in a cafe on the Kent coast with an apartment over the cafe that they will live in. Amber has a long commute to work so her workday is long. But when she comes home, she never sees any evidence that her girlfriend has made any progress on the Cafe with the exception of spending Amber's money to buy things for the Cafe. Before the Cafe is ever opened, Amber comes home one day to find that her girlfriend has left town and say she has changed her mind about running a Cafe. Amber hires employees to help her get the Cafe up and running while still working her full-time job in London. Rather than getting the promotion she deserved, she loses her job as the Boss thinks that she has been too distracted with the Cafe and not focused her job. She becomes very involved with the Cafe and with the people that own the other businesses on the street. She wants the Cafe to become successful so that she can sell it for a good price. As she gets more involved, she starts to really enjoy this life that was actually someone else's dream. It is a great book that I highly recommend.

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How much will you give up to help a loved one fulfill a dream? Amber has her perfect life. But her lover wants a totally different want in a different location. Amber puts her financial support behind the dream. But Cassie flitters away the chance and leaves Amber in the wrong location while losing her dream life. Yes, the book has wallowing and self pity. But it also has resilience and overcoming despair. Amber makes Cassie's dream into reality while making friends and starting to make a difference. I kept expecting her to open a law practice but the coffee shop sounds amazing and the circle of friends were nice to read about. A reminder that you can change the course you are on and make it work. An uplifting ending.

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So, Amber ends up operating a café after her selfish girlfriend Cassie abandoned her supposedly dream cafe even before it opened. Amber had put money into it, so she couldn't just abandon it. She needed to sell it quickly, but she needed to keep it alive till then.

While I was anticipating a series of humorous cafe run-ins, this narrative was much more. It was all about people, and Amber had to handle a variety of relationships before she could sell the cafe.

While the bad guys appeared to be shallow and full to the brim with venom, there were some kind characters as well, which I enjoyed. Amber's unapologetic attitude toward her sexuality is the icing on the cake.

This was a quick and enjoyable read. You're going to despise Cassie. That is inevitable.

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Lovely read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

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I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Hotshot lawyer Amber has thrown everything into her relationship with actor Cassie, including buying her a cafe in a cute street in a Kentish seaside town. But Cassie loses interest and, once the lockdown appears to be over (one thing that is well done is the moments of lockdown detail that don't impinge too much on the story but do ground it) she is keen to get back to her London theatre life, leaving Amber with the manager Cassie hastily appointed, some slowly growing friendships that only seem to lead to gossip and a split community to deal with. Will JJ the bitchy pub landlady get to take over the whole town? Will miserable Ben from the gallery lighten up?

My full review https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2021/12/06/book-reviews-someone-elses-dream-and-under-the-rainbow/

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“You have to be a friend to have a friend.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Covid-19, mentions suicide and death, mentions racism and homophobia

This book follows Amber, a lawyer that’s moved away from London in order to fulfill her girlfriend’s dream…only to then have her girlfriend leave her. Essentially stranded in a harbor town, she starts meeting the locals, setting up a business she did not want, and perhaps, just maybe, finding love again.

This is a true tale of friendship and new beginnings. I loved this book beyond what words can describe. Would I call this a love story? No. But I enjoyed every word of it.

I grew up in a big, busy city and then moved to a small town for uni, and I must say I fell in love with the quaintness of it all. The author has perfectly described the feeling of community and claustrophobia that can be born from small-town living. Amber’s inner voice is my inner voice, our way of thinking is very similar and I felt connected to her pretty much right away. Rarely do I ever read a bisexual/queer character that resonates so much with my own identity.

I can’t end my review without pointing out how weird it was to start reading a book and realizing it’s set in the present-day, where Covid-19 is a thing. Every time lockdowns or face masks were mentioned, it caught me off-guard, but I honestly liked it; this is the reality we’re living in and it was bound to show up in literature eventually, right?

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read that’s not predictable in the slightest. “Someone Else’s Dream” will transport you to a small town, with all its people and all their mosaic opinions and beliefs. It will serve you love in so many ways, maybe just not so much in a romantic way.

ARC provided through NetGalley.

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A heart warming story about a lawer turned part time cafe owner who learns the important lesson from her community that it's okay and expected to ask for help and not try to solve things always on her own. Amber has always been a go-getter and fighter, she doesnt back down against bullying but just maybe she now needs help after her partner has let her down in their joint venture. Knowing practically nothing about the cafe business, she slowly realizes that maybe asking for help is not so bad after all and when the community looks upto her to fight for their streets rights, its time for her to give back to the community which has become very dear to her now.

This was a lovely story, best for this cold winter months when you need those stories which will fill you up with warmth and love. Recommended read.
Thank you netgalley for sharing this wonderful book in exchange for my unbiased opinion

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Thankyou for giving me the chance to read this in advance. A lovely book about friendship and about how life change unexpectedly. The way the cHaracters are written allows me to relate to them and kept me reading aswell. Give it a read. Won’t be disappointed

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Amazing!!! The plot is excellent. When you think you’ve figured it out, there’s a surprise. Absolutely believable.

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