Reviews

Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden

the_kara_kara's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

librarylady10's review against another edition

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4.0

"Beautiful Dreamer" is a sweet and sexy romance, with the bonus of interesting secondary characters and a cute small-town setting. Devyn and Elizabeth were classmates from different social strata in high school. Today, Devyn is a high-powered, career-focused real estate broker in Philadelphia, while Elizabeth enjoys living in their hometown, running an odd jobs company called On the Spot. When Devyn's sister is involved in a traumatic car accident, Devyn returns home to care for her, bringing her into close contact with town good girl Elizabeth. The development of their romance, alongside Devyn's development as a character, was fun to read. I would recommend this to romance novel readers.


becca303's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jsjarvis71's review against another edition

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5.0

Melissa Brayden does a wonderful job in all of her books of providing realistic characters, lots of story building, sweet romances, and very hot sex scenes. Beautiful Dreamer does not disappoint and is my favorite novel from her so far. The character Elizabeth is a down to earth woman, one that you want to get to know just because she is so nice and looking to help others. Devyn at the start was the type of character that I typically don't like unless they are turned during the story. As this story developed and she connected with Elizabeth, the ice queen began to melt and her persona transformed, making her one I could deal with.

For those looking for a sweet (and hot) lesfic romance, this is one you should definitely try out. Brayden always weaves lots of actual laugh-out-loud humor into novels and the wit in Beautiful Dreamer made me love it all the more.

I received an ARC copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

cr4nkyp4nts's review against another edition

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5.0

I'd go 4.5 on this one but rounding up because I couldn't stop smiling at the end.

I've been hit and miss with Ms. Brayden's books but have figured out that I'm a sucker for her stand-alones but not so much of a fan of the ensemble series books. I've always had a tough time with reading any series so it's not a big shock for me.

Beautiful Dreamer was perfect for me in many ways: lots of humor, great chemistry, family issues that aren't completely resolved (because that's how family works), and a happy ending that didn't just happen but took some time. I also seem to be a fan of the "woman returns to small town home after being away for many years, only to discover love and happiness in the place she ran from" trope. While reading Beautiful Dreamer, I had a burning desire to reread [b:Behind the Pine Curtain|645675|Behind the Pine Curtain|Gerri Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370190649l/645675._SY75_.jpg|631834] and caught myself thinking of other favorites that have the same premise. Didn't [b:Strawberry Summer|31213312|Strawberry Summer|Melissa Brayden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470695133l/31213312._SY75_.jpg|51867866] have the "woman returns" thing happening too? Just checked and it did. I loved that book. Yep, it's official. I'm a second chance/come-on-home romance sort of woman.

Now I'll patiently wait for the next stand-alone from one of the best sweet romance writers around.

Thanks to NetGalley and BSB for the ARC!

rainbowbookworm's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked the story, but Elizabeth was too much of a Pollyanna.

aliu6's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars

Devyn Winters is used to a fast-paced life selling million-dollar buildings, but when her sister gets injured in an accident, Devyn is forced to return to Dreamers Bay, the idyllic small town where she grew up. There, she runs into Elizabeth Draper, a former classmate, whose beauty — both outside and inside — makes it hard for Devyn to look away. Devyn and Elizabeth start a relationship as "friends who are really attracted to each other", but they know what they have must end at some point — doesn't it?

The Plot - This is a pretty commonly seen trope in romance. The calculating, money-hungry workaholic meets a sweet girl who shows the workaholic the simple pleasures that money can't buy. I'm a big fan of Melissa Brayden, and she writes this well, making it a very sweet romance. I could definitely see how Devyn changed under Elizabeth's influence. This was an enjoyable read, even if it was a bit slow. I read this at a pretty even pace over the course of a week. I didn't really get hooked in until around 3/4 in, when the conflict arose. I think a reason for that was the lack of tension between the main characters. They had conflicting personalities but warmed up to each other pretty quickly. The two mains get together early on in the book, and I think this story has a few more sex scenes than the average Melissa Brayden book. It's pretty angst-free until the conflict, and even that passes over quickly. It's a well-developed story, even if there's nothing special about the story.

The Characters - I liked both Devyn and Elizabeth, especially towards the end, but I didn't fall in love with them. They both had "complicated" backstories that I felt were not explored deeply enough. I enjoyed the side characters — there was a lovely sense of community — but none of them seemed fully formed. The characters were nice, for people on a page, but they weren't quite multi-dimensional enough to feel real to me. Elizabeth, the character who I feel was supposed to be the easy-going open-book type, was actually kind of hard for me to pin down. I couldn't tell if she was a romantic or a cynic, but it seemed like her main defining trait was just being nice.

The Writing - The writing for this book felt a bit subpar compared to other Melissa Brayden books. There were some typos (which might just be in my kindle edition?), and some awkward phrasing. It felt like it could have been given another edit before publishing. A lot of the language seemed a bit repetitive, which is probably also why reading was slow-going at first. It felt like going in circles.

So final verdict - This is a pleasant and easy read, and if you want to relax and find something to entertain yourself with, this book can be that. This is still one of the better lesbian romances I've read. Just don't expect to be wowed.

*** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

hacfhowe's review against another edition

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4.0

Me and who?

chatdunoirreadsalot123's review against another edition

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3.0

Elizabeth was as cute as a button, but Devyn became too much of a cliche for me unfortunately

hsinjulit's review against another edition

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2.0

Elizabeth Draper was happy with her life. Her odd-job business On the Spot allowed her to make friends all over the neighborhood. When her best friend Jill Winters went missing, Jill's younger sister Devyn flew back to small town Dreamer's Bay from Philadelphia to help. As a real estate broker with a huge deal on the way, Devyn did not plan to stay long. But that was before she got to really know her high school classmate Elizabeth. Was Devyn going to leave Dreamer's Bay with a chunk of her heart behind, or alter her career she worked so hard for?

Before Elizabeth and Devyn was a thing, Elizabeth pining after Thalia was cringeworthy to read. Thankfully, not much of the book was dedicated to that. One weirdly refreshing thing was that most characters in Beautiful Dreamer seemed to be straight, including Elizabeth's besties KC and Dexter and Devyn's sister Jill, even though I do enjoy a book set in an awesome queer world.

“Making someone feel good about themselves has never in turn made me feel like a weaker person or that I was less successful than the next guy.” – Elizabeth

The flirting between Elizabeth and Devyn was certainly cute and enjoyable, but them dancing around each other was not. I liked this book up until
Spoilerthe prank
. It felt like the worst yet only way to achieve a desirable storyline, and yet that does not make it okay. Maybe because this book was extra awkward, the epilogue was extra fluffy.

Beautiful Dreamer felt somewhat like Strawberry Summer as they both involve real estate agents and small-town romance. Carrington's Department Store also made a cameo. Unfortunately, this book caused way more discomfort and though I enjoyed it for the most part, I cannot bring myself to rate it any higher than two stars.