A continuation of Dallergut Dream Department Store, Penny is now a more experienced employee that is learning how the dream industry as a whole. Who knew that a book in a workplace setting would be so interesting? In Penny’s workplace, she gets to work and interact with different dreams - some more whimsical than others. The reader gets transported into other parts of this world, like other offices, homes, and even a laundry cave. Loved the first book in the series, and enjoyed this cozy fantasy read too!

Such a beautiful cozy series! Picks up right where the first book left off, right back into the dream world. A great light hearted fantasy that is easier to read and just transport you somewhere warm

This was a delightful sequel that really expanded on this dreamy world. While I do have some lingering unanswered questions, I really enjoy Penny’s journey to confidence.

I loved the first book and having the world expand a bit more in this one was a delight. I still prefer the first book to this one, but it felt just as cozy and fascinating. I love the premise and the surrealism/fabulism.

This is the sequel to The Dallergut Dream Department Store duology by Miye Lee. Filled with magical and cozy, comforting imagery, this story is like a cartoonish dream in itself. Miye Lee created a unique world in which people and animals can purchase dreams and escape reality during a night of sweet dreams.

I recommend reading the first book in the duology to gain a better understanding of this fluffy, cloud-like dreamy world the author has created, in which people and creatures alike co-exist. Although I prefered the first book, the second book feels like a warm hug, best enjoyed on a rainy or cold day with a hot cuppa!

Read if you like...
📖 Cozy fiction
😴 Bedtime stories
✨️ Magical realism

🙏Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for a gifted advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first book in this series and this one was fantastic as well. The world that is built here is amazing. This book had the same whimsy and thought provoking vibes as the first one and was really good! I’d absolutely recommend this series to anyone looking for something different and cozy, but makes you think.

I was very excited to return to the fantastical dream land that Miye Lee has created. Seeing Penny grow and develop her skills was inspiring and hopeful. It has also left me hopeful that we will get to see more from Lee and the Dallergut Dream-Making District.

These books are always so intriguing to me! I wouldn’t normally read this but the first one and the second one were just so good and kept me entertained and engaged.

This was a love for me.
This was so whimsical and cozy I wanted to crawl inside the pages and live there. Miye Lee’s worldbuilding is stunning—think Studio Ghibli meets dreamscape capitalism. There’s a soft mystery, charming characters, and that warm, imaginative magic you get from books like The Night Circus or Howl’s Moving Castle.

It’s gentle but thought-provoking, reminding you that dreams—literal and metaphorical—are delicate things worth protecting. For someone with ADHD and a heavy mental load, this book felt like a breather. A “just because” read that gave my brain a hug.

Penny has been with the Dallergut Dream Department Store for a year, and now qualifies for a pass for the express commuter train that takes people into the Company District. This is where all aspects of dream production can be found, including how dreams are produced and tested. Dallergut takes Penny to a facility that is a part of the industry, but which she is surprised to find exists. The Civil Complaint Centre is where customers can submit complaints about the dreams they've purchased, and it's also where she learns of specific customers who have stopped coming to the Dallergut Department Store.

Dallergut challenges Penny to focus on a particular project, and she chooses to work on customer retention. She analyses each complaint, and interviews these people, and begins to expand her understanding of the industry, moving past her role at reception.

Each lapsed customer's life and situation is explored, and we learn of why these people needed the dreams in their lives and how these were supporting their mental health.

This continuation of Penny's and the Dream Department Store's lives was interesting. Penny's gained in confidence, and is able to move deeper into her understanding of the industry, from the creation of story types underpinning dreams, and the pressure on employees to create fulfilling dreams, and for her to take a much more active part in the process.

Like book one, this is a story filled with whimsy, but this time we also get the more mundane, corporate side of manufacturing and selling dreams.

It's a light story, and full of coziness.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

After loving the first book, I was really excited to return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store. I enjoyed the whimsy and coziness of this world and its cast of characters.

It was great to be reunited with Penny and her colleagues. This book takes us to places outside the department store, like the complaint centre and a fantastical laundromat. The team also decides to host a pyjama party for all their regulars and new people alike.

I liked this book, but wasn’t as captivated by it compared to the first one. I wanted more vignettes within the store and back stories on the dreamers. I also wanted to go deeper on Maxim and Penny as soon as their connection was mentioned! I liked seeing Penny’s responsibility grow in the store, and would have loved hearing more about the first floor aside from navigating some of the customer complaints.

Overall a cozy read. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The first book in this series grabbed my interest immediately, and I'm happy to say that the second one was just as good. I love the whole world/premise of these books. And, it is really fun to see how the events around our characters play out.

I love this series! Everything about it is so cozy and fun. It's such a great light-hearted palate cleanser. I adore the characters. It explores topics in such an easily digestible way. This was a fantastic follow up to the first book. This series feels like comfort food and warm blanket. So excited that these books are being translated. They definitely deserve the hype!

A lovely and gentle read and a nice break from some of the more intense fantasy I've been reading lately. I've somehow managed to read the second book in this duology and not the first but I still really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Dallergut Dream Department Store when I read it last year, so I was pretty excited to see there was a sequel coming out. I loved the idea of stepping back into that whimsical dream world and seeing where the story and characters would go next.

The writing here is still lovely and atmospheric, and the setting is just as imaginative as before. But overall, I ended up feeling a bit underwhelmed. The plot wanders around a lot without much urgency, and most of the conflicts feel pretty superficial—like they get resolved too neatly without any deeper impact. I also wish there had been more time spent on developing the characters further, especially after the growth we saw in the first book.

Even so, I’d definitely pick up more from Miye Lee in the future—I just think I’ll go in with slightly different expectations next time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This is a fun book, light and happy, but with only a bit of substance - rather like the dreams sold at the Dallergut Dream Department Store. Penny has now been working at the store for a year, and the novel starts with her getting a positive review for her first year's work. The rest of the novel focuses on the desires of both Dallergut and Penny to resolve complaints about dreams, and to entice former customers to return to the store for more dreams.

The novel is a little overly sweet in its presentation; in general, everyone is happy and all issues resolve positively. In that sense, it's rather unrealistic (not that there's much realism in the idea that people could visit the store while asleep to pay for dreams with their emotions), but it's so positive it's almost saccharine, making it a bit hard to swallow the story. Still, it's a quick and easy read, and I did enjoy finding out what has happened since Penny was hired at the Dream Department Store.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a cozy and wonderful way to walk back into the world of Dallergut and the Dream making realm. I loved the first one and found this one to be even better with a richer storyline and even more nuance to the worldbuilding.

I do find the summary to be a bit interesting as it makes the story sound as though there is a dark underbelly that needs to be solved or rooted out. However, I didn't think much of this story was dark or secret. In the Dream-Making District, Penny learns there is a complaints department for those who's dreams do not live up to what they hope or if the world of dreaming becomes too much for them to bear. For some dream sellers, they are more focused on selling dreams and getting new customers, but for Penny and even Dallergut, himself, they are concerned with bringing back those who used to be regulars in their dream store but something changed either in their lives or in their dreams to make dreaming less pleasant.

I like that Penny takes the task to heart to try and help dreamers find their way back to the dream department store and to find dreams that they need. There is something so comforting about her level of care for those who seem to wander as though lost. We see a deeper level of emotion being processed through dreams and I love the way the author weaves them into the fabric of the dreams it tries to present. I hope we get to continue entering this dream world. And I do wonder where these dreamworkers go when they go to sleep each night? Do they get to bring dreams home and try them out?

I love this series! The dream-making district and the stories about it are so interesting! I loved getting back into this world and seeing how much Penny has grown in the last year in her role at the Dallergut Department Store. To be honest, I wished this was a little longer and we could have explored the characters a bit more. Looking forward to the next book!

Dallergut is like middle-grade fiction for adults. It’s kind of surface level but extremely cozy and cute. It’s a total comfort read, with characters you can’t help but love.

Sure, it’s a little heavy handed with its morals and study of human life, but it doesn’t require you to dig deep and self-reflect. It’s just an endearing story of a department store that sells dreams and helps people heal.

Anyway, I like this duology a lot and think it’s a great little read!

In the second book of the Dallergut Dream Department Store duology, Penny has been working there for a year now is and is an official employee of the dream industry! She can finally take the express commuter train to the Company District, where all the dream-production companies are located, and discover how all raw dream materials and testing equipment are produced. The Company District is not quite what she expected, however. There is a Civil Complaint Center, that is full of people filing complaints about their dreams. She is also attempting while she is there, to unlock new secrets about the customers they lost and hope to bring back. Why do some customers buy a dream and never return? Will Penny and her colleagues be able to bring their regulars back?

I have loved these books. They are whimsical, delightful, and magical. I love the premise of a store where you go to buy dreams that you want to dream. You pick out the dreams you want to dream, and you pay with the emotions it makes you feel. I adore Penny and how devoted she is to Mr Dallergut and the store. This job was all she ever wanted and she has loved almost every minute of it. If you love fantasy fiction then I highly recommend you check out this captivating duology. I think you will love it!