This book was an easy read. The author does a great job of hooking you in from the start, and describing characters and their world. I really appreciated the dialogue and liveliness of supporting characters, as well as the main character. Some parts i didn’t love- how many fake engagement stories can one read? It’s a retelling of a story, not sure if that happens in the original or not. I will have to read that book next. All in all, a very easy breezy beach read for sure.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this Advance Reader’s Copy.

This is a book for someone who likes to read to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is about escaping your life in order to live. It’s about dealing with illness and suffocating parents - but also about letting yourself craft another identity through running away and accepting a fake proposal, and following your passions at a university.

If you loved Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything for the idea of love opening doors for you (like, literally helping you leave your house), then this is for you. If you are a hobby or professional ornithologist and loved the fake dating trope in Birding with Benefits (Sarah T. Dubb), you literally have to read this. To me, When the Forest Dreams is the perfect marriage of both these books. Though the official bio will also connect it to L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle - I just haven’t read that one.

For me, I LOVED this one particular delicious, serendipitous twist at the end. But I must say that I was struck by some descriptions and dialogue. I wasn’t sure what to think about a couple references, like a duck being described as “looking like a little Chinese man wearing the most wonderfully crafted kimono.” As for dialogue, I feel like sometimes people tend to talk in a bit more truncated lines, so examples like this maybe didn’t feel the most natural, “Jake whispers in my ear, ‘Just pretend to drink it. It’s pretty awful and watch out, it’s strong.’” This writing style also loves its semi-colons; however, I think the rule is that both clauses need to be full sentences. This was not the case on the rare occasion, like this line: “I roll my ankles, and I feel a twinge in my right ankle; the same one I sprained.” I understand this is an advanced copy, though, and don’t hold that too much against the text - to be honest, it became an interesting point to count the semicolons. I kinda liked that.

#WhentheForestDreams #NetGalley

I enjoyed the book. It was a bit of a slower pace than what I normally read, but the author did a great job ensuring the reader gets invested in the characters.

What a darling book! It’s a story of self-discovery woven with romance and sprinkled with...birding. I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and its characters. Emma is such a wholesome and likeable protagonist, and I think many of us can relate to the feeling of boxing ourselves in and not quite living up to our fullest potential.

Before reading this, I hadn’t heard of The Blue Castle, but it’s now firmly on my to-read list.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The pacing leans a little slow, but it’s still engaging and easy to move through. This was my first book by this author, and I was especially curious about the Blue Castle retelling aspect. While I did like it, I can see this being more suited to a specific type of readers. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a quieter pace, this one might work really well for you. 3.5⭐ rounded up!

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC!

I adore L.M. Montgomery and the original book: The Blue Castle. This is a modern rendition and I thought she captured the MMC Emma very well in a contemporary lense. This is a slower paced, character driven cute story.
Emma is a likable parent pleasing "good girl" who daydreams and fantasizes about who she could be and what she could do with a kernal of courage. She watches her mom deteriorate with MS and assumes that it is coming for her next. She is a dreamer and a romantic who just wants to live a little before she dies.
I thought she was quite endearing and loved her actions paired with her sassier inner monologue. She has a sheltered naivety that reminds me of Toula from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Great character development not just for Emma, but also Jake, and Vee.
I was rooting for Emma throughout the book and overall it was a feel good read that I hope inspires others to not wait 26 years before living their life and finding their people.
I shockingly learned a lot about birds and Polish food.

this book is a treat to read and done well, a little slow to read but I enjoyed the similarities to L.M. Montgomery's book and will probably put this on my e-reader reread list to capture it again sometime.

I went into this story really intrigued by the premise, a modern retelling of The Blue Castle with a mix of romance and self discovery, and a mysterious search for an ivory billed woodpecker. The writing is gentle and reflective, and I appreciated the themes of stepping outside your comfort zone and choosing to truly live.

Emma’s journey had some heartfelt moments, especially as she begins to confront her fears and long held limitations. The concept of dreams blending with reality and the idea of chasing something rare and possibly imaginary was thoughtful and symbolic in an interesting way.

That said, it just was not fully for me. The pacing felt slower than I expected, and I struggled to feel deeply connected to the characters. While I can see how many readers would find the story comforting and meaningful, I personally wanted a bit more emotional intensity and momentum.

Overall, it is a sweet, introspective read with a hopeful message. It just did not quite capture me the way I hoped.

Review Title:A sweet and cozy escape!
My Review:
"I really enjoyed this story! It’s a modern take on The Blue Castle, and it felt so cozy and atmospheric. I loved following the main character's journey as she tried to find herself—it felt very relatable and real. The writing made it easy to picture the forest and the setting perfectly.
If you’re looking for a sweet, romantic read that feels like a warm hug, I definitely recommend this one. It was the perfect book to curl up with for a few days."
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Disclosure:
"I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. These are my own honest thoughts."

Emma’s Window is a heartfelt, feel-good story about a young woman finding courage, love, and her own voice. Emma’s innocence, sincerity, and quiet strength make her endlessly likable, while her growth and relationships—especially with Jake and Vee—keep the pages turning. A slow, cozy read that lingers in the heart.

When the Forest Dreams was a really beautiful and thoughtful book that resonated with me in many ways.
One of the things that resonated the most with me was the protagonist, Emma. As someone with an introverted nature, I could relate to her tendencies, her mannerisms, and even her thoughts at times. Seeing her take down the layers of her protective shell and do things she would never think to do, with the help of Vee, who helped slowly bring her out of her shell. These moments felt very authentic, and I, too, even had a friend like Vee.

I love the friendship between them, how Vee encourages Emma to step outside her comfort zone, try new things, and experience life more to the fullest. Their friendship felt genuine and supportive, and it was lovely to see Emma grow throughout the book.
What I also really liked was Emma's relationship with Jake too. Their connection added warmth to the story and completed Emma's personal journey in a very natural way.

Another thing that stood out to me was the care the author took with specific details in the book. The clear effort to ensure the facts were accurate was apparent, and I really appreciated learning that some of the inspiration came from the author's own experiences, which were transformed into more hopeful, joyful moments for Emma.

As someone who loves forests, nature, birds, and wildlife, I really connected with the atmosphere of When the Forest Dreams. The natural settings added depth and charm to the story, making it a very enjoyable read.

Overall, this was a heartfelt story about growth, connection, and opening yourself up to life (as it is quite short) and new experiences. I'd definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy nature-inspired stories with introspective characters alongside an emotional journey.

When the Forest Dreams is one of those gentle, luminous retellings that doesn’t try to outshine its source material so much as breathe with it—softly, tenderly, in its own modern rhythm. It takes the wistful heart of The Blue Castle and sets it down in 2013 New York, where Emma Jablonski moves through life as though she’s half‑awake, clinging to a recurring dream that feels more vivid than anything her days can offer. There’s a lovely ache to those early chapters: the bakery’s stale bread, the cramped apartment, the boy next door who feels both impossibly close and entirely unreachable.

What makes the novel sing is the moment Emma’s world cracks open. A diagnosis becomes the catalyst for courage, and suddenly she’s saying yes—to Jake, to Vee, to a fake engagement that spirals into glittering parties and impulsive road trips, and to the wild hope of finding a bird that may not exist at all. The ivory‑billed woodpecker becomes a kind of mythic thread running through the story, a reminder that some things are worth believing in even when the world insists otherwise.

The Arkansas forest sequences are especially lovely: humid, green, and humming with possibility. There’s a quiet magic in watching Emma step into herself, shedding fear in small, believable increments. Her romance with Jake unfolds with a sweetness that feels earned, grounded in friendship and the kind of tenderness that grows when two people finally allow themselves to be seen.

This is a story about choosing joy even when it feels reckless, about letting dreams bleed into daylight, and about discovering that the life you long for might be waiting just beyond the familiar edges of home. Warm, hopeful, and gently romantic, When the Forest Dreams is a comforting modern homage that invites readers to slow down, breathe deeply, and believe in second chances.

With thanks to Andrea Ezerins, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC