Good points? Dual points of view so you know the whole story as Roman is unreliable narrator. 2. Explores societal matters like what it means to be a family these days and how there is a new definition to extended families. Ashley deserves better in that sense.
Not so great? For a thriller with a un-a-living (can’t say the M word) it is painfully slow. And that either in audio or written format, that is going to drag down the suspense to a shoulder shrugging level of meh.

So this one was tough for me. I had to make myself finish, but I did. Ashley is found dead at the bottom of a cliff and her basically baby daddy must figure out how she died. He uncovered so many different secrets but at the same time, they aren’t really secrets because they are things she had done in the past and he knew about them, but he just wasn’t aware that she was doing them again. It was quite weird and very mellow dramatic. Tara, his mom, basically takes care of their son and is a bit obsessed with him. Lots of talk about Covid and the pandemic. Overall, I just didn’t like it.

Triggers: covid/pandemic, non-monogamous relationships, drug use, black mail, repetitive lying,affairs, and f2f relationships.

Thanks to netgalley for my electronic advanced reader, copy in exchange for my honest review.

While the pacing is generally strong, some readers might find the initial setup a bit slow. However, the intricate layers of the mystery and the nuanced exploration of faith, family secrets, and identity ultimately make "I Dream of Falling" a rewarding and thought-provoking read. It's a solid choice for those who enjoy character-driven mysteries with a unique cultural backdrop.

I Dream of Falling by Julia Dahl has an interesting premise with a focus on family secrets and small-town life, but it didn’t fully connect for me. The mystery about Ashley’s death and Roman’s investigation is solid, but the pacing felt really slow at times. The characters and their relationships were well-developed, but I found myself wanting more action or excitement to keep me hooked. It’s a character-driven story, and while it’s not bad, it just didn’t grab me the way I hoped. I can see it working better for readers who enjoy more reflective, slower-paced mysteries.

Real talk: I was not super impressed by this mystery. In general, I struggle to enjoy novels in which I do not relate to any of the characters and/or I find them unlikable, and unfortunately that was the case with this book.

The beginning of the story was promising, however. The book is set in a small town in upstate NY. Roman is a reporter for the local paper and learns that the dead body of his partner, Ashley, who is mother of his son, has been discovered. The death is suspicious and it leads readers on a journey of what happened to Ashley during her last night and why, as Roman investigates her death. Overall, the book had promise, but the plot and characters just missed the mark.

Thank you to the NetGalley, the author, and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝕀 𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐡𝐥

This mystery kept me guessing until close to the end. The characters seemed real but weren’t relatable or likable. The relationships were questionable, and the parenting left something to be desired. All of this was done purposely, as this story focused on negative issues.

The story is definitely character-driven, with offsetting characters. I Dreamed of Falling isn’t all daisies and roses; it shows the raw side of this family’s life.

I feel that the plot moved rather slowly, and there wasn’t a lot of action or excitement as the investigation progressed. Even so, I wanted to continue reading to see what happened.

Overall, this story shows that lives can be messy and that sometimes we don’t know people as well as we think we do.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with this ebook to read and review.

Recently literature has gone from setting everything in 2018 to avoid talking about the pandemic to talking about COVID as a theme or to an extreme.

I've had a run of mediocre thrillers .

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for the arc.

This was a slow-moving and predictable thriller that didn't really add anything new to the genre.

I have a soft spot for stories that explore new motherhood in some capacity. I can relate deeply to the overwhelming feelings that our FMC, Ashley, experienced. Told from multiple points of view and multiple timelines. Ashley experiences a traumatic birth in the midst of the covid pandemic. Afterward, she suffers from depression and the difficulties of being home with a newborn, then young child. It’s hard to put into words unless you’ve experienced it yourself, but being a stay-at-home mother full time is a whole different level of draining. Though it’s wonderful too, it’s like you lose yourself and you don’t use your brain the same way. When you are experiencing depression or anxiety on top of being home 24/7 caring for someone who is completely dependent on you, with often little to no support, it’s no wonder that so many mothers find themselves feeling like Ashley did.

Roman, our MMC, is left to pick up the pieces and is shocked to find out the parts of Ashley that he didn’t know. Throughout the entire story, the theme of desperation - for Ashley, for her mother-in-law Tara, then her partner John - plays a big role. Desperation to get to the truth, and desperation to do what is best for a little boy, this suspenseful tale also tackles the subjects of grief, mental health and addition. It is multilayered, fast paced and although I was able to predict the ending, I still couldn’t put this one down.

“I Dreamed of Falling” is out now. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

This novel has a compelling premise and delves into some thought provoking themes. The pacing can be a little uneven at times with certain sections feeling rushed. Overall it was an interesting and enjoyable read.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'll be honest with you guys, I almost dnf this book. But something urged me to power through, and I must say that the ending shocked me. I found the first half kind of dragged on, but once the twists and turns started to come at a faster pace, it grabbed my attention. Once I wanted to find out what happened, I devoured it.
So it's a solid three stars. The reason I didn't rate it higher is the redundant Covid mentions that were a bit unnecessary to the plot, in my opinion. I know the author meant to include the characters' struggle with dealing with the effects of the virus. It was part of their personality, but to me it seemed a bit over the top. That's my opinion, so I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

I Dreamed of Falling by Julia Dahl is a gripping and thought-provoking thriller that combines elements of crime fiction with an emotional exploration of family, secrets, and regret. Set in a small Hudson Valley town, the story begins with the tragic death of Ashley, a young mother who leaves behind a grieving partner, Roman Grady, and their young son. Roman, a reporter for the local newspaper, soon finds himself unraveling a web of secrets that were hidden from him during Ashley's life.

What begins as an investigation into her death soon spirals into deeper questions about Ashley's past, including her ties to a troubled ex-girlfriend and a web of lies and hidden truths in a town where everyone seems to have something to conceal. As Roman digs further into Ashley's final months, he discovers painful and dangerous secrets that threaten to tear apart not only his understanding of her life but his own sense of self.

Julia Dahl's writing is sharp and immersive, capturing the suffocating atmosphere of a small town where everyone knows each other's business yet manages to hide the most important truths. The novel skillfully balances the suspense of a crime thriller with a moving portrait of a family in mourning, as Roman and his mother confront their own grief while peeling back layers of deception.

I Dreamed of Falling excels in its portrayal of complicated emotions—grief, love, regret, and forgiveness—while delving into the darker aspects of human nature. Dahl's unflinching exploration of these themes is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking, making this novel not only a compelling mystery but also a profound meditation on the consequences of secrets and the difficulty of letting go.

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries with rich emotional depth. Dahl has crafted an unforgettable story that will leave readers questioning how well we truly know the people we love.

Rating: 4/5
I received the eARC for my honest opinion.

This book will lead you down a road of wanting answers, but all you really get is more questions. You will find yourself wrapped up in finding out who did it, why they did it, and what happens next. I liked that the author gave the readers a good mystery/murder story, it has twists and turns, betrayal, a lot of action, and of course some romance. I liked that the author gave us a great world building book, that also gave the readers a real feeling of living in a small town where a murder/mystery has happened. The pace of the book is perfect with the right amount of intrigue, and action throughout the book. I know a lot of readers might not like that there is a lot of different characters, but I promise that you will be loving it once you start going down the rabbit hole on what really happened to Ashley.

In this book, you will meet Roman Grady and Ashley, they’re not married but have been together for years. They have a small son who they have raised in a small town called Hudson Valley. In the beginning of the book, you will find out that Ashley was killed, and now it’s up to the police and her partner to try to figure out if it was an accident or murder. You will go down different holes throughout this book on who did it and you might find yourself going back to someone who was on your top of the list but now it’s changed.

I loved getting to understand Ashely’s side of all of this while Roman was piecing together what happened. It really helped me to understand her more and to see a different side of her as well. I loved seeing all the flaws that the main characters had and how they were trying to better their lives, but at the same time a few of them were just happy where their lives are now. I loved that I thought I had the person down on who did it but the way this author writes the book with all the twists and turns it will leave you going “well, maybe it was this person”. This was my first Julia Dahl, and it will not be my last book I read.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

I Dreamed Of Falling is a beautifully written story of family, secrets, and self-discovery. Dahl’s lyrical prose and poignant character arcs make it a touching, emotional read.

I’ve seen Julia Dahl’s books around for years but haven’t managed to read one yet, so I was excited to pick up her latest, a small town mystery about the death of a young mother.

Overall, I really liked this one, but don’t think it will make any best of the year lists for me. The mystery itself was fairly routine, but what really stood out for me was how well Dahl wrote the family element. A lot of mysteries I read tend to have more of a procedural/investigative focus and neglect the human element so I really appreciated the level of detail that was given to how the central crime impacted the communities and families, as that added a strong emotional throughline.

In short, if you read a lot of mysteries, I Dreamed of Falling might not be a standout, but it’s still pretty entertaining.

I Dreamed of Falling is out now. Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of small-town mysteries, I could see you enjoying this one.

However, for me, it felt almost lacking. I don't know that the characters always felt fully developed throughout the story. It also was a very slow-paced book as well. While there is nothing wrong with that, I felt myself nearly losing interest as I think I just wanted a little more intensity.

All in all, I think there are definitely readers who I could see really enjoying it.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for selecting me for this ARC.

Acting as a book reviewer please help me write a positive, conversational, intellegent review for the book I Dreamed of Falling by Julia Dahl. Please include one specific example from the book.
Certainly! Here’s a review for "I Dreamed of Falling" by Julia Dahl:

I Dreamed of Falling by Julia Dahl is a mesmerizing blend of mystery, family drama, and poignant self-discovery. Dahl’s narrative weaves a tapestry that is both intricate and deeply moving, making this novel a compelling read from start to finish.

One particularly captivating moment in the book is when the protagonist, Leah, uncovers a long-hidden letter in her grandmother’s attic. This scene is not only crucial to the unfolding mystery but also showcases Dahl’s ability to evoke powerful emotions through her prose. The letter, filled with heart-wrenching secrets and revelations, serves as a turning point in Leah’s journey of self-discovery and familial reconciliation. The raw emotion and vivid detail in this scene draw the reader in, making them feel as though they are right there with Leah, experiencing her shock and vulnerability.

Throughout the novel, Dahl excels at creating multi-dimensional characters whose lives and struggles feel achingly real. Leah’s transformation from a woman burdened by her family’s past to someone who embraces her own identity is both inspiring and relatable. The author’s skillful intertwining of past and present narratives adds depth and richness to the story, keeping the reader engaged and invested.

This book is a beautifully crafted novel that explores the complexities of family, memory, and personal growth. Julia Dahl has delivered a story that is not only captivating but also profoundly human, leaving a lasting impression long after the final page is turned.

Overall this was ok. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing, it was just so-so, it really read like a debut author. The characters were so deeply flawed it felt almost unrealistic/unbelievable. The story was intriguing, and I wanted to know what happened but I wasn’t as fully invested in the characters as I would’ve liked to be.

The use of “mister” is infuriating to me and I don’t know why… it came off forced and awkward, and didn’t really get explained so it was just kinda thrown in there. Speaking of thrown out things, the jabs at “trumpers” was unnecessary and forced as well - they didn’t add to the story and feel petty.

“I Dreamed of Falling” is the story of Roman Grady, the only reporter for a small-town newspaper in New York’s Hudson Valley. The mother of his child and longtime girlfriend is found dead, and Roman sets out to solve the mystery.

I think anyone who likes small-town mysteries would enjoy this one, but it’s an especially niche banger for anyone who’s worked at a small-town newspaper (and there are a few of you here). I was really impressed with the accuracy at which Dahl wrote of the news business* — and then I learned she is a former reporter and current journalism professor at NYU.

(*not my current role but I have worked at some papers just like Roman’s, many years ago!

Beyond journalism, I also thought Dahl captured small-town desperation and drug abuse really well.

I flew through “I Dreamed of Falling” and I cannot wait to read the rest of Dahl’s books!