Thank you for an advance copy of this book. It is part family drama/historical fiction. We go back and forth in time to find out what happened to the Merrick family, who it appears has the picture perfect, California surfing life. But when the father passes away and Ronan returns home, we find out about the truly Nomadic life this family lived, and how it isn't as picture perfect as it may seem. I enjoyed the relationships of the Merrick family and felt connected to their story and pain. This would make a great summer beachy read also.

A story about a family in the 80’s living an untraditional lifestyle - I am in! The Merrick family of six reside in a van in California , driving up and down the coast surfing. They are free of a structure, and don’t engage with anyone outside their family other than one their father’s friend.
The story is told in the voice of Ronan who in dual timelines integrates their family secrets, relationships, and what home and forgiveness means.

The California Dreamers was a good book. I really read it quickly and enjoyed it. I want to thank Amy Mason Doan, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Merrick siblings, this idyllic vision is their reality, as they travel up and down the coast with their parents in a van year-round, surfing and swimming their days away. But when a photographer secretly snaps a stunning photo of the family with their boards in the sand, and the image ripples across the country, the only life they’ve ever known is put at risk.

This is truly a unique family with some crazy rules. I love how they seem separate…but cause them some problems and they circle around each other in protection.

This is told in two different time periods. I wanted a bit more distinction between the two. But, this could have been because of the format. The audiobook might have caused part of this issue for me.

But y’all…the setting of the different California beaches and riding the waves…freedom at its best.

The narrator, Ann Marie Gideon, is pretty good. She was not as emotional in some areas as I felt the story needed.

Need a family drama with a great setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

California Dreamers” is set around the iconic 1980’s photo of 6 surfers walking into the sunset. The Merrick Family live the true nomadic life. Living for the next wave. The family travels in a van that is their home. Yes the Merrick kids never feel as though they are missing out on life. Cap, their father, protects the family from outside influences. This is an interesting read that weaves you through the only daughter’s thoughts and emotions. As well, the reflection of their lifestyle with the male members of the family. There is more to their lives then what you see on the surface. Great read! Out April 8th. Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Publishing for this advance copy.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishers | Graydon House for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Amy Mason Doan. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

It was a photo captured in the 1980s of a family living the van life on the West coast, a stunning photo with the family lined up with their surfboards in the sand. The image takes on a life of its own, putting the family at risk. Decades later, the now mostly estranged siblings gather to honor the death of their father. But an eager journalist is also there, wanting the truth about the photo.

Told from both the present and past timelines, the story slowly unfurls. It's a character study, a coming-of-age story of Ronan, the only girl in this family who lived such a different life. No traditional schools, always chasing the next big wave, with family secrets galore, yet also famous because of a photograph. There's a bit of everything - family drama and relationships, budding romance, and even a mystery. It's very atmospheric - you can almost feel the sunshine and see the ocean!

Woah! The California Dreamers by Amy Mason Doan was a phenomenal read.
I devoured this book! And was so sad to see it so soon.
I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

I appreciated this book for the snapshot of time in California history and surf culture it captured. The sibling story and family lore held my interest but I felt like this book could have been shorter.

This was a great story about the complex Merrick family told from the daughter, Ronan’s POV.
The story is set against the backdrop of California, describing their lives surfing the coast with their parents in a van.
Ro tells the story from childhood to adulthood describing the their experiences and the challenges she and her brothers faced throughout their lives. It’s a heartfelt and thoughtful story set in the 80s when I also grew up.
Highly recommend!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s perfect that Dream is in this title because it has an utterly dream-like quality that I felt immediately.

This story of a woman, Ronan, grappling with mixed feelings about her HIGHLY unusual upbringing sucked me in and didn’t let go until the epilogue. It’s a rare mix of world building, setting, characters, conflict, and beachy vibes.

At heart it is a sibling story and I enjoyed it very much despite never having touched a surfboard and being from the opposite (east) coast. Or maybe that is why it felt so escapist to me.
A few quibbles with the wrap up but maybe that is only because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. Overall this is an utterly enticing and refreshing read.

Good book club potential as the family’s situation/choice is a little controversial.
5 ⭐️

An emotional, dual timeline, family drama based on real life about 1980s counterculture, surfing and family secrets. I really enjoyed this story about four adult siblings reunited when their father dies who look back nostalgically about their time growing up in California in the 80s unhindered by the strictures of society and free to embrace their surfer lifestyles. Great on audio and perfect for fans of books like Malibu rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid or California golden by Melanie Benjamin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

The California Dreamers is set in 1980s California, and shares the story of an unconventional family living life off-the-grid. While it's been compared to Malibu Rising, for me, the only comparison is surfing and Southern California.

Once upon a time, a photographer took a picture of the family against their wishes and this photo became iconic. The family shunned the fame thtat followed them. Years later the family unites and again, their haunted (and hunted) because of the photo.

I'm all for living life on one's terms, but it is amazing that child services were never called on these parents.

I really struggled to connect with the characters and the story. The story often felt disjointed and I honestly struggled to get through the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader's copy.

This book is written in two different timelines: 1980s and early 2000s.
It gave me big Malibu rising vibes, so if you enjoyed that book I think you will enjoy this one as well.
A family living a different norm than society, no traditional school, surfing at the beach and living with brothers and your parents out of a caravan. Is it really all it sounds cracked up to be? It’s about family, secrets and navigating who we are and how our past shapes us into the present. What we want or don’t want from this life, and what our parents wanted for us in the past.
It was slow moving at times, but still kept me intrigued.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House for allowing me to enjoy this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A prodigal daughter, learning of her father's death, returns home to finally confess to her brothers and mother why she left all those years ago. The chapters alternate between the present and the family's life in the 1980s.

My description makes it sound like my review should come with trigger warnings. Rest assured, the main female character has a secret, but it is not of the trigger variety.

I like reading sibling stories and families with unconventional upbringings. For the Merricks, Cap and Mama, twins Griffin and Magnus, daughter Ronan, and baby Dylan, living in a van, driving up and down the coast of California to catch those golden waves, and letting the world be your school, seems very cool. But that kind of life does come at a price.

Sometimes, I don't like when chapters flip us back and forth, BUT the author's writing flowed nicely and I enjoyed both of the timelines very much. Also, I just really appreciated the family dynamics. I am curious what the future for all of the Merricks.

A solid novel that I would recommend readers put in that beach bag.


#TheCaliforniaDreamers #NetGalley.
Expected Publication 08/04/25
Goodreads Review 07/04/25

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I enjoyed the characters and this unique story line. A family growing up nomadic by a very different set of rules than others. A story about learning to appreciate where you are from even if it's different and coming to terms with flawed parents. This book really made you feel everything the characters felt and seemed so real.

this is probably a 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars for me. i’m in the minority here, but I did not think this book was amazing. it wasn’t bad, but the pacing was extremely slow, very back and forth (you’d forgot what happened in one timeline because the time you returned it would be so much later), and overall felt too long. the writing is actually very good, but the plot and major revelations felt minor - I didn’t understand why they were a big deal. lastly, I just didn’t get how the family could live the way they did without any sort of intervention - I know other reviewers have commented on this.

I was hoping this would be like Malibu Rising (it’s not) and it felt pretty slow and tedious to me at times. writing was good, though, so I see why a number of people enjoyed this story - I just wasn’t for me. thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! out 4/8/25

This was such a good read. Very atmospheric and PERFECT for summer, I almost wish it came out later so I could read it and be on the beach. It reminded me a lot of Malibu rising by TJR but it was different enough that I would not call this a carbon copy. Characters had depth and SUCH interesting back stories for each of them, which kept me turning the pages and not wanting the story to end!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC.
I enjoyed the setting, and nomadic aspect of this book, but struggled to keep up with what was going on. Like a lot of it just didn’t make any sense to me. The beginning and ending didn’t connect, and sometimes it was painfully slow. The characters were good, and so was what plot I could understand.
I do enjoy a good historical fiction set in California. I just love the images it can create, and it sends me there without actually being there, it’s always fun and creative.
Overall, this book wasn’t bad. I just couldn’t connect with the characters and the story in a better way to better understand it.

1980s California and the Merrick family is living off the grid - they surf all day, live in a van and get sporadic schooling from theIr mother. Their father has warned them not to allow any photographs of them, they need to stay below the radar so no surf competitions, no formal school etc. Then one day someone shoots a photo of them without their knowledge and the photo goes as viral as anything can in the 1980s - it becomes a poster, shows up on towels and mugs. Decades later the siblings and their mother come back together to honor their deceased father, even Ronan who ran away when she was 17. Only together as a family unit for a few days, a journalist is set on finding out who the photographer was, and during the search, family secrets come out and old wounds are reopened.

I loved the beach vibes as well as the underlying story but I found this one to be a bit slow. I started by listening to this but there were a few too many characters and I couldn't quite map all the relationships so I was glad I had the book to go back to for clarification - and I then ended up reading about 1/3 of it. I liked the narrator but I was definitely confused at times between the time jumps and the multiple characters (I was not at all confused once I picked up the book though). So this was a really like but not love one - although I will try others by the author because I liked her writing and the underlying story.

3.75 stars

Thank you to HTP, Grayson House and NetGalley for the ARC to review

This was such a beautifully unexpected and nostalgic read. One that captured the 1980's California beach time, surfer vibes, absolutely perfectly.

The Merrick family was not your standard family - sure, it was a mom, father, 3 boys & a daughter but instead of living in a home they lived in the Gull; an old van that became their home. They lived by the ocean and seriously embraced that lifestyle - surfing, exploring (or going on rambles), and just learning by what they see and can explore. It sounds magical, and I'm sure that in so many ways it was, but it also sounds lonely - especially for the daughter.

When a photographer is caught taking their photo and their father reacts - pretty badly, well, a lot of things seem to change. Later on a photograph is released of the family going out to surf and the family goes through a lot as they're forced to become "celebrities" and their nomad ways draw a lot of attention. The daughter ends up leaving, at the age of 17, and sets to make her own path in this world.

I loved the weaving of the past with the present. The loss of their father, and the questions they had for their mother were so poignant and I was so curious of why they had lived the way that they had. It was very thought provoking and the authors note just made it all come together and be explained.

All in all this was a wonderful read that I hope many people will pick up and read when it's published next week. It's a read that would be great to discuss with others as it brings up so many questions, so many things to discuss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.