really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

Having spent my teenage years in the 80's I really enjoyed the past and present timelines in this story. Life was a lot different then and I love the reflections of the characters on their lifestyle and growing up in that decade. The ending was incredibly poignant to me and once again showed me the emotional skills of Amy's writing. I listened to the audiobook and was completely caught up in the beauty of this novel and the nostalgia of a unique childhood spent in an era that can never be again.

I loved the setting and the dual timeline. It was interesting to see how the family lived before they became famous as well as the ways that it had changed their life, not all for the better. As the siblings reflect on their childhood you could tell they really enjoyed their life but as they grew they started to understand how it was not considered normal. The writing was atmospheric and the mystery of what happened to cause Ronan to leave drove the plot forward. The themes of grief, forgiveness, and healing we all incorporated really well.

Thank you @amymasondoan @suzyapprovedbooktours @netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. i loved the idea of it but i felt like i couldn’t get into it and wasn’t sure what was going on

When I was young, growing up in California, I dreamed of a life where I could spend each day at the beach instead of going to school. The beaches, the surfing, the infinite sunshine. It sounds like heaven. What I didn't dream about, however, was living in a van with my parents and siblings in order to do that.

I, too, grew up in the 1980s, which is why I was attracted to this story. I could easily picture many of the places described in this book. It was interesting to read about a family that lived the ultimate lifestyle of freedom. They weren't tied down to school schedules, and they had no one but each other for the most part.

It was also interesting to read about the family relationships. That being said, the story also moved a little slowly for me. I kept waiting for the big climax, but there really wasn't any. There were some scuffs with others, friendships made, and a romance that blossomed.

This would be a good vacation book, if you are looking for some light reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Publishing and Amy Mason Doan for my free copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion.

When the Merrick children were growing up, they lived in a van on the California coast and spent their days surfing and learning about life life from their parents. Years later, they gather to scatter their father's ashes and the past catches up to them. This is a family drama that explores the complexity of family and the power of love.

It sounds like the most idyllic of childhoods - infinite freedom and an endless summer - traveling up and down the California coast in the family van, surfing and swimming all day with your siblings - without a care in the world.⁣
⁣
Until one day a photo is taken of your family and suddenly everything changes. ⁣
⁣
Alternating between their sunny childhood and decades later when they are all grown up - does it still feel as magical? ⁣
⁣
I can’t imagine what a dreamy time the 80s in California must have been and this story puts you right there. You can almost smell the salty air, feel the sun on your face, and your toes dipping in the sand. While it may seem like a magical way to grow up - there is always room for family drama and long buried secrets when the outside world threatens to expose a unique little life. ⁣
⁣
It’s such a beautiful story of love for family, living simply in a complicated world, and how being truly free can mean something different to everyone.

I thought I would love this but unfortunately I didn’t. I couldn’t relate to the characters as much as I thought. It was still overall enjoyable and I’ll be recommending it. I did enjoy how it explored the complexity of families and secrets and the unraveling of it.

This was meh for me. I was intrigued by the off the grid story and the surf setting but then turned off by the nefarious/rules/forced nature of it. That aspect, for me, has been overdone as a plot element. I thought the author’s note was interesting, including the family that inspired the idea, but unless I misunderstood, it did not appear that family decision was done to hide.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I would give it a 3.5. I really wanted to love this book. I liked the premise of the Merrick family living out of their van and the many questions the four children had about the secrets their parents kept about why they lived completely off grid without any interaction with "citizens". It was a beautiful story about the complexities of family and loyalty, relationships, and personal identity. I just felt that the writing was ultimately missing something that would really hook me into loving it and leaving me satisfied when it ended.

What an outstanding book this is! Absolutely engrossing, I couldn’t put it down. It’s the story of a very close family of 6 who don’t live a traditional lifestyle. Instead, they live in a van and travel up and down the West Coast going to surf spots.

When I was a teenager, in Southern California, I was friends with guys who pretended they on the proverbial surfing safari (weekends only, of course!) If the waves were big somewhere off we’d go. I remember meeting some kids who were approximately my age who lived in their van. It was so far removed from my own experience they might as well live on the moon.

The book is about family, how the decisions parents make affect their children and themselves, how they stick together and protect one another and the family as a whole. The nitty gritty details of their lives qare fascinating.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This is the perfect beach read. It gives off the California and surfing vibes. And has a great family in the middle. I loved every minute.

Amy Mason Deon is the queen of nostalgia. After reading (and loving) Summer Hours, I have dubbed her the Judy Blume for adults.
I love a nostalgic story that takes me back to a time before cellphones.
The Merricks prioritized their privacy. It would be hard to imagine a story like this taking place today when anyone and everyone can be exploited on social media.

The Merricks live a non-traditional lifestyle. Their nomadic lifestyle includes driving up and down the west coast surfing and learning from the school of life. The kids do not even have social security numbers or birth certificates. The hardest part of their life for me to understand was not being a part of a community. It seemed very lonely.

The most relatable part of the story was when the mother would go on her “rambles.” This was her way to disassociate from life. I’m very guilty of reading or doom scrolling in order to ignore current events.

Read if you like
Sibling stories
The 80’s
Surfing
Dual timelines
Beach reads
Family secrets
Slow burn

This book was a struggle for me to get through, but I also didn't want to give up because it has some lovely parts and prose, and vivid character development, but the main conflict was something that I just didn't get and found rather boring. I didn't understand how the catalyst, the picture, that broke this family apart truly would have put "the only life they’ve ever known...at risk." I kept waiting for something "bigger" or more "dangerous to happen" and it...well, didn't. I came in expecting "flawed and dysfunctional families" and that never really showed up. I found myself skipping paragraphs and not missing any plot points, which is not my jam.

This book shifted between the late 1980s & 2002. In the 1980s we learn about a family who travels up and down the Pacific Coast, finding the best waves and never staying in one place too long.

In 2002, we meet the same family and watch them navigate the secrets and lies that kept them together and one that pulled them apart for over a decade.

This story is filled with untold secrets & explores the beautiful yet complicated relationships within a family.

I really liked Amy Mason Doan's Summer Hours and The Summer List, but I ended up abandoning her last novel Lady Sunshine halfway through. I almost stopped this one, too, but I really wanted to know what all the build-up was for. I think there's something about her writing that frustrates me- I find myself having to re-read sentences a lot and am unsure of what she's trying to say in many spots. This may be just a "me" issue, but I don't seem to have this problem with other authors.

I absolutely love the concept of this novel and especially the fact that it's semi-based on (or at least inspired by) a real family. I think the problem is that while I can totally see how this family could inspire a novel, a novel often needs a narrative hook or some sort of deferred revelation that gets people to keep on reading. There's a great setup in this novel (which is why I kept reading!), but the payout didn't feel like quite enough. I finished the book saying, "so what?" and just didn't understand why the things that happened were such a huge deal.

The book took me much longer to read than it should have because it just felt sloggy in spots. But that's not to say there's spots I didn't really enjoy and, like I said, Doan did the work to make me want to keep reading.

I will say the cover of this book is pure gorgeousness and I do think the novel itself will appeal to a lot of people. I think maybe Doan's writing isn't for me and that's OK!

I think I was expecting more of a MALIBU RISING style book and while the covers are similar this is definitely not that. While written well with beautiful prose, I was just bored. The big tension in their was so minor in the grand scheme of things that I couldn’t understand why the whole family just couldn’t move on with their lives. Ultimately, this wasn’t for me but if you love flawed characters and dysfunctional families then check this one out.

Thank you to Amy Mason Doan, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC. My review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

Overall, this story was quite compelling. I did find it was slow in spots. The chapters going between 1985 and 2002 seemed to drag the story out. It was not a quick read.

Title: The California Dreamers
Author: Amy Mason Doan
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: April 8, 2025

I received a complimentary eARC from Harlequin Trade Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Summery • Atmospheric • Nostalgic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

It’s 1980s California, and everyone’s dreaming of the endless summer: sun-drenched beaches, infinite waves, and most of all, beautiful, beautiful freedom. For 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.

Decades after, the now-distant siblings gather on a gorgeous, wild island to honor their late father. But their reunion is complicated when a journalist, eager for the truth behind the famous photo, discovers their identity and tracks them down. As the siblings reckon with the possibility that more of their lives could be shared, a revelation about their past forces them to confront long-held heartaches. Together, they’ll have to decide whether to let the same tensions rip them apart again—or if telling their story on their own terms might just be the way to recapture the family magic.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd read a couple of Canadian author Amy Mason Doan's book previously, so when I read the premise for her latest release, The California Dreamers, I was definitely intrigued. The idea behind the novel reminded me of California Golden by Melanie Benjamin, a book I read and enjoyed a couple of years ago.

Told through dual timelines, this novel paints a picture of one family's unconventional upbringing on the California coast during the 1980s and a long held family secret that risks tearing them apart. The plot was certainly interesting, as the four adult siblings reunite in the wake of their father's death, yet I never felt a deep connection to any of the characters, which kept me at a distance the whole way through.

I particularly appreciated how this novel is structured, with little snippets of the past being revealed bit by bit. It created a sense of mystery and intrigue. However, at times the plot seemed to drag on making the novel appear a lot longer than it actually is. A few different sections could have easily been edited down to make for a more consistent flow in the reading experience.

Overall, The California Dreamers was an okay read for me. It certainly delivered on the family drama and I felt the summer vibes of the California coast, however, it didn't feel like anything fresh. I definitely think it would make a good vacation read, especially when travelling to a beach or a place where surfing is prominent.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• sibling stories
• 1980s California
• the surf scene

⚠️ CW: death, grief

Very unpopular opinion, but this book moved way too slowly for me. I found myself struggling to stay engaged and connected. I thought the insight into an atypical family lifestyle was very interesting. I enjoyed learning details of life then and now. The story follows the merrick siblings who grow up living in a van, surfing and swimming. Their lifestyle is at risk after a photo is taken of the very secretive family. Decades later the siblings reunite for their father’s funeral. There secrets are unearthed, which threaten to tear the family about. A story about family, secrets and a lifestyle that may differ from the norm.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.