Daydream
A Novel
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4.4 • 432 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
#1 New York Times bestseller!
The third in the New York Times bestselling Maple Hills series follows fan-favorite Henry and a bookish fellow student who come up with a plan to help them both overcome their respective challenges in a difficult year.
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.
Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.
They just need to stick to their rule book.
Oh, and not fall in love.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Hannah Grace’s earnestly winsome novel, the meek are set to inherit true love. College junior and serial people-pleaser Halle, fresh off a breakup, is desperate to finish and submit a romance novel to a writing contest. Henry, the new captain of the Maple Hills hockey team, only wants a passing grade in a class he detests. She needs inspiration; he needs a tutor attuned to his learning style. Helping each other isn’t the issue—staying friends is. Fans of Grace’s earlier romances will be thrilled with the clever character cameos, but our attention never wavered from the adorably awkward central couple. We loved the way Henry’s neurodivergent characteristics are treated with respect by both the author and the other characters. Daydream expands Grace’s university universe with unrelenting charm.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Grace continues her Maple Hills series (after Wildfire) with this meandering third college romance. Fresh from the breakup of a lackluster relationship, UCMH junior and aspiring author Halle Jacobs throws herself into school, work, running a romance book club at a local bookstore, and preparing to enter a romance writing competition. There's just one problem: Halle's never been in love herself, and her insecurity about her lack of experience leads to writer's block. Meanwhile, junior year is not starting so well for Henry Turner, who struggles to juggle his new responsibilities as the hockey team captain, a position he does not want for fear of failure, with the homework for a difficult required class. When Halle and Henry's paths collide during a book club meet and greet, they become instant friends. Halle offers to help Henry in the class in exchange for him teaching her how to date. Grace throws a lot of tropes at the wall to bring these two together but doesn't provide a solid through line for readers to latch onto. As a result, the plot feels both bloated and dragged out, and, despite Henry's undiagnosed neurodivergence adding some pathos, neither of the leads is particularly three-dimensional. Only die-hard fans need apply.
Customer Reviews
Amazing
Top 1 in the series!
Not for me
I had high hopes for “Daydream” by Hannah Grace, especially after being drawn in by its beautiful cover and promising title. I even went ahead and pre-ordered it, eager to dive into what I thought would be a captivating and romantic story. Unfortunately, my experience with this book was far from what I expected.
From the very beginning, I struggled to connect with the characters and understand the plot. The first chapter felt confusing, and I couldn’t find a clear direction in the narrative. There was too much going on without enough grounding or introduction to who the main characters were or what their motivations might be. It often felt like I was reading a jumble of words rather than a cohesive story, making it difficult to follow along and feel invested.
Additionally, the unusual spacing between words made the reading experience even more disjointed. It seemed like a stylistic choice, but instead of adding something unique to the narrative, it disrupted the flow and made it harder to get through each page. I found myself constantly pausing to figure out where the sentences were going, which took away from the overall enjoyment of the book.
By the time I finished the first chapter, I still felt lost and unconnected to the story or the characters. I kept hoping it would get better, that there would be a turning point where everything clicked, but it never came. Sadly, I feel like I wasted my time and money on a book that didn't live up to its potential or my expectations.
Overall, “Daydream” didn’t deliver the romance or emotional depth I was looking for. While the cover and title initially drew me in, the actual content didn’t resonate with me at all. I’m disappointed to say that this book wasn’t for me.