Summary:
Only in Your Dreams is a spicy small-town, brother’s best friend, sports romance featuring a second-chance love story between a college football coach and the one that got away. Melody Woods returns to Oakwood Bay after a decade away, fresh from a breakup and uncertain about her future. When she unexpectedly ends up on a camping trip with Zac Porter—her twin brother’s best friend and the man who broke her heart—old feelings resurface. Zac knows this is his chance to make things right and prove to Melody that they were always meant to be. But with Melody set on leaving town again and Zac focused on turning his struggling football team around, the timing may still be against them.

Short & Sweet Opinion:
I enjoyed this far more than I expected! While I usually avoid football romances, this one hooked me with its second-chance dynamic and well-paced storytelling. The chemistry between Melody and Zac was both angsty and sweet, and I loved how Zac gave Melody the space to heal and rediscover herself. Perfect for fans of sports romance with just the right amount of spice.

In-Depth Opinion:
This book surprised me in the best way! I love sports romance, but football ones rarely work for me—until now. The second-chance element was beautifully executed, starting strong with Melody and Zac being thrown back together and only getting better from there. The pacing kept me engaged, and I appreciated how their relationship developed naturally. Zac’s willingness to step back and let Melody heal and find herself after her last relationship was such a refreshing and heartfelt touch. Their banter, the emotional depth, and the perfectly balanced spice made this an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys an angsty-yet-sweet romance.

That being said, Melody wasn’t my favorite character. At times, it felt like she was stringing Zac along, and while I understand that a lot of her hesitation came from the emotional baggage of her last relationship, I still found her frustrating. The “fake dating” element that popped up later in the book didn’t really work for me—it felt unnecessary and added messiness that didn’t enhance the story. While it didn’t ruin the book, it did take away from my overall enjoyment.

This book is a rollercoaster of emotions. Definitely recommend if you enjoy brother’s best friend or second chance romance. A bit frustrating at times, but worth the read for the deep emotions.

Loved this! Only in Your Dreams is such a fun second chance/brothers best friend romance. The banter in this was great, and I loved loved loved the camping at the begining of the story. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

Absolutely loved this book! I love the tropes, and the fact that Zac is obsessed with her and hasn't really ever dated anyone else. It was only her for him. The tropes all fit together seamlessly, sometimes you can be trying too hard to fit them all in. But each different one really helps develop the story. I often like the FMC better than the MMC, but not in this book. There was so much emotion and such great story-telling. The only things that I could critique on would be: some of the writing/descriptions/events felt a little beginner level. Almost like there was too much description, and trying too hard to get me to like the book. It was amazing on its own without trying too hard! But towards the end of the book I didn't feel like there was that much, just in a couple places in the beginning and middle. Overall, there was a good plot, the story grabbed me and hooked me. There were so many things that I loved about it that I gave it 5 stars. Wonderful book, will recommend to readers, and truly enjoyed. Thank you for letting me review it!

5 ⭐️

You know those romances that pull you in and have you smiling like an idiot, kicking your feet with giddiness, and just soaking up every word to get to the HEA? That was Only In Your Dreams for me. I literally couldn’t stop reading (hence writing this review at 3am) because every minute was pure adorable-ness.

Melody was coming out of a terrible 6 year relationship with a manipulative asshole, only to find the guy she loved through her teenage years still pining for her when she moved back home. Except now Zac wasn’t keeping his pining a secret. He was so loving, so attentive, and so patient - he was basically Noah from The Notebook, which is the highest praise I can give him.

The spice was delicious. These two weren’t afraid to play with each other, from a roll in the mud to a bar bathroom. Zac would’ve happily had Melody for every meal if he could survive on her as a diet.

I’m really really hoping we get a Summer and Brooks follow-on book, because I want that friends to lovers romance so bad. And we better get to see what happens with Noah too, because he was the sweetest 20 year old kid ever. I loved the side characters.

My favorite romance narrator duo of Teddy Hamilton and Carly Robins crushed it on the audiobook. I will literally listen to anything they record.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! I’ll be buying a copy for myself immediately.

This was such a sweet romance!! I really enjoyed reading this book!! The author did a great job keeping you invested in the story! Melody and Zac were so amazing for each other and I loved that they got their happily ever after!!! This book was full of angst, sweetness, and spice!! Highly recommend if you are looking for something sweet and spicy!! 🖤

An all American romance story. I adored the friends to enemies to lovers vibe. The book dealt with post relationship drama in a deep and kind manner. The two main characters being trapped in a tent during a storm was great. I loved seeing Zac slowly try to gain melodys trust while the both recognized they never got over each other.

I stayed up last night finishing this book because I loved it so much. I loved everything about it. The story, the characters, the ending. It was so cute, and I can't wait to read the next book in a couple of months. This was a super quick, light rom-com romance. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!

3.5 ⭐️ brothers best friend/second chance romance.

I found the fmc to be extremely frustrating. I especially disliked any talk of her ex, I’m confused how she went from a seemingly strong, cynical girl to a woman who got love bombed by a narcissist for six years. Maybe if we had that story first it would’ve grabbed me a little more? The mmc’s sad behavior was a little overkill for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria and Ellie K Wilde for this ARC!

⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5/5 stars)

I love the brother’s best friend trope! This was definitely not my favorite of this trope but I still enjoyed it. Melody and Zac haven’t spoken for ten years, after one fateful night when something happened before she left for college. Mel is now back in her hometown after a breakup with a very controlling ex. Zac is the head football coach in their hometown and has had feelings for Mel for the whole ten years. While Melody works to find her footing and own her new independence, Zac works very hard to get back into her good graces and starts things again where they left off all those years ago. There were both funny and endearing moments throughout the book, as well as some really good spice scenes. However, the fact that Zac had super strong feelings for Mel for the entire ten years while not speaking to her at all, seemed a little farfetched. Also, Zac’s tattoos were the icing on the cake for the cringe factor. This was overall a fast-paced, easy and fun read.

Brother’s best friend
Sports romance
Second chance romance
Small town
Forced proximity (camp scene)

Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review

This was cute and a fast, easy read. I mostly liked the characters and the setting, but felt like some of their actions weren't entirely realistic. Once I suspended my disbelief that Zac and Parker would have let 10 years go by without even trying to address the fracture in their friendship, and that Zac and Melody's love for each other from high school could still be that strong as adults even though they hadn't been in contact the entire time, I enjoyed the book a lot more.

This book was okay, I tried to get into it. It just wasn't for me. It took me two times to get into it. At this point, I'm not sure I'll continue on but it just felt generic.

This is the time of book that gets you so giddy with emotions that you don't realize the lines are slightly cheesy until you're reading the very swoon worthy lines that gave you butterflies to your roommate at 2 am - who stares at you blankly while you start to stutter over your words and blush because you know that it's cheesy, but you're still swooning over the words and being judged for it.

Haha not like that actually happened...

Don't get me wrong, there's a LOT going on in the book both good and bad, but I understand and appreciate the difficulty of being a creative mind, the feat of becoming an author, and the sheer amount of strength it takes to write a book and get it published.

That in mind, I have a review for you. Don't you fret.

First on the docket, the amazing, wonderful, swoonworthy lines of one main male character, Zac. Honestly, these lines give you little butterflies in your stomach and make you feel a little floaty. And maybe that's the result of being in love with someone (this is a romance novel) but gosh dang.

The steamy scenes of this book are HOT and STEAMY. My word.
And it just proves that you don't need to be freaky to fire up your audience. We'll follow and cheer if you just give us the relationship build up to a wonderful climax. (Pun...not intended...maybe.)

The end of this book is pretty good - we have retribution for wrongs against our precious leading lady, and we have glorious clarity over past events that were confusing or maybe even glanced over.

But, and I know you don't want to hear this, there are some bruised parts of this apple that are a little mushy/hard to swallow.

For me that starts at the incredibly fast-set pace of the beginning of the book. Our main characters go from not seeing each other in years, to stranded together in the woods, oogling each other, and dry humping in the mud - which could be hot, don't get me wrong - but the timing and Melody's intentions behind it left a sour taste in my mouth. Not to mention this happens barely a 1/4 into the book.

We also deal with some really heavy trauma and healing emotional/mental abuse, which in the beginning had such strong reactions and panic attacks, it seems strange that it just cuts off after the first quarter of the book. That needs to continue through! If it's PTSD, it's not believable if it heals from a quick cuddle session and a few weeks of not being with the abuser. It takes time!

Then comes a problem involving not being able to sleep without each other, which was cute, but such severe insomnia after just seeing the possible eyes of a mystery animal in the woods? It's a bit...Odd.

And I think past that my problem just lies in the odd dilemma of the character's narrative saying one thing and then their mouths saying another.

BUT THEN, everything becomes just fine. And I mean that quite literally. By halfway through the book, the pace of events evens out, the characters become more steady and the book becomes a fantastic little romance read that you can giggle and swing your feet over - which I did.

There's amazing, healthy communication between friends, and amazing surrogate parenting by our leading couple.

Honestly, it feels like the first part of the book was almost a fanfiction about the actual story in the last half and they just needed to be a little more cohesive together.

Will I be coming back to read swoonworthy scenes over again and feel something?

Why yes sir, yes, coach sir, I will.

I adored this book. It was fast paced and made me not want to put it down. This is definitely a book I will be recommending to friends who need a HEA.

Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde unfortunately didn’t meet my expectations. While the premise held some promise, I found the execution to be lacking in several areas. The story felt overly predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters. Their motivations seemed forced, and their interactions often felt shallow rather than emotionally resonant.

The writing itself was fairly straightforward, but it lacked the depth and nuance I was hoping for. I didn’t feel invested in the plot, and there were several moments where the pacing dragged, leaving me more frustrated than engaged. Some of the situations felt overly dramatic or unrealistic, which took me out of the story.

Overall, Only in Your Dreams didn’t capture my attention the way I hoped it would. It has potential, but it didn’t quite deliver in terms of character development, emotional depth, or plot complexity.

The perfect spicy sports romance that’s definitely one of my top reads for the year. Melody & Zac are absolute perfection. Zac definitely makes my top book BF list. I absolutely loved this book, it had the perfect amount of plot & spice. I couldn’t put it down!

Read if you like:
Second Chance
Brother’s BFF
Small Town

This was the first book I’ve read by Ellie K. Wilde and I enjoyed the story. I wished Melody and Zac communicated better but I get it. They were young when things fell apart and then Melody was dealing with some crap when they came back together. This book was funny, steamy af, and sweet. I enjoyed it a lot!

✨ Only in Your Dreams ✨

I am a total sports romance girlie and when I read the tropes on this book, I was so excited to read it. I liked so much about this book, but other parts fell a little flat for me. Zac had so many super sweet moments and I loved all his romantic gestures. Mel was so funny and a fun FMC to read. That being said, I feel like second chance tends to be either a favorite trope for me or feel like a flop. In this case, it wasn't my favorite and parts of the book felt like they dragged on a bit. I found myself getting frustrated with both main characters and ended up DNFing it.

Check it out if you like:

✨ Small Town
✨ Brother's Best Friend
✨ Sports Romance
✨ College Football Coach
✨ Second Chance
✨ Spicy

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love anything that deals with brother's best friend so I was so ready for this book. Not only do we have that great trope, but we have a second chance romance of sorts as both characters had feelings for each other when they were younger but never followed through on it. This was a sweet, spicy and emotional book that I could not put down.

Zac is such a sweet heart who just wants to prove that what he felt ten years ago are what he feels now. While trying to prove his worth off the field, he is also trying to prove himself on the field as his football team is on a losing streak. He puts his dedication and determination to both his team and Melody. Zac is a total cinnamon roll who is always there to support melody no matter what. He honestly was my favorite part of the book.

Melody is back home after being away. Part of the reason she left was the miscommunication heartbreak that took place with Zac. We start off the book with a bang when Zac and Melody are stranded for a few days while camping. I think that this was so important for the characters in order to open the lines of communication. Melody is a complicated character. She has been manipulated for years by her toxic ex and therefore she is re-finding herself. I think Zac really helps her with that journey of growth and realization.

Overall, this was a really great book with some fun characters and no third act breakup! Can't wait to see what is next!

Thank you to Atria Books for an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Atria Books for the eARC of this one via NetGalley! These are my honest thoughts.

This was my first Ellie K. Wilde book, and it was quite a journey. Honestly, I didn't write a review right away, and now I don't remember much of this story, except it was a little chaotic?

It starts out with our FMC returning to live in her hometown in her brother's apartment because her boyfriend of many years dumped her so he could be single on a boy's trip, and it turns out he was a douchecanoe and emotionally manipulative anyways, so she's better off. Except Melody's self-esteem is garbage, and she misses the stupid ex. Her brother then tricks her to immediately going on a camping trip...... with the boy she loved who left her high and dry right before college.

Then, a rainstorm hits, and they've evacuated, except their two friends accidentally leave them??? And the tension gets to be too much, and it's scary, and they don't want to talk about the past, and blah blah blah. The whole first half of the book is them at this campsite, stuck there, she rolls her ankle, he has to take care of her, she hates it.

Meanwhile, their friends are none the wiser that they've been trapped at this campsite, until finally Melody's brother shows up to pick her up.

Melody's nearly jobless, Zac's close to being fired from his coaching job, and then they sneak around. The ex shows back up to get her back, but her friends have helped her realize that he was abusive.

Eventually it comes out that when Zac left the night before Melody left before college, her brother said Zac couldn't date her and they got in a fistfight. He left her waiting there the whole night, and she left for school heartbroken. But he was always pining for her.

IDK. I didn't really like it. 3 stars. I finished it. It was surprisingly spicy, and if I remember correctly, Zac wants to claim all her holes, so it went there? And it was surprising.