Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake | Audiobook Review

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A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.

Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father’s car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town’s café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There’s only one problem—Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood’s favorite wild child—is the star.

Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she’s not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she’s just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town—she even works at the town’s café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.

But Dylan soon realizes it’s not just some small-town waitress she’s getting to know—Ramona Riley is someone she’s met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.

Why Did I Listen To Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake?

Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake has an absolutely fantastic cover – I found how colorful it was to be quite eye catching. With Pride month coming up and having listened to Make The Season Bright and really enjoying it, I wanted to pick up Dream On, Ramona Riley because I had this instinct that I would enjoy this sapphic rom com. Well, that instinct turned out correct. Blake’s latest is superb and quite a good listen.

What’s The Story Here?

It looks to me like Dream On, Ramona Riley is the first in a Clover Lake series and I am here for it! This book follows main character Ramona Riley who is working as a waitress in her small town of Clover Lake. She has big dreams but she put them on hold to help out with her younger sister when her mother abandoned the family. So, Ramona lives with her dad and sister and has what could be a smaller life than expected. She once dreamed of working in costume design and even got to go to Rhode Island School of Design for a year. Her life is about to get a curveball. You see, Clover Lake is about to be the set of Dylan Monroe’s new rom com movie. Dylan is a famous movie star with famous parents. This isn’t her first time in Clover Lake. You see, she was there as a youth for one summer and meets this girl for just one day. The chemistry was instant. Oh, that girl? Ramona. But, they never exchanged names. So, anyways, Ramona and Dylan cross paths in present day and it turns out, there’s chemistry in the present day as well. And so, the two start to navigate seeing each other. Ramona just might get a chance to pursue her dreams again.

How Did I Like Dream On, Ramona Riley?

After listening to this book, I can confidently say that I want to read the other books by Ashley Herring Blake that I have not read yet. Both Ramona and Dylan are compelling characters – with complicated family dynamics. If there’s one thing I enjoy in a story, it is complex family relationships. Also, Ramona’s best friend is named April and I truly appreciated that little tidbit. It feels like she may be getting a book next, I hope. There’s also an appearance from Iris Kelly. I haven’t read her book yet, but I want to after reading this. I liked how the relationship played out between Ramona and Dylan. There are moments where there is a grand gesture of apologizing. I eat that right up. 

How’s The Narration?

Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake is narrated by Gail Shalan. It is 11 hours and 58 minutes long. Of course, I did listen to this at 2x speed. I liked that Shalan had different voices for Dylan and Ramona’s chapters. It made it very easy to keep track of the two different POV characters. I felt like there were true emotions put into the narration as well. It was a compelling, interesting listen. I cannot recommend this enough — particularly as we are going into Pride Month.

@aprilbooksandwine

Three books I recently picked up and sort of enjoyed – from backlist to two recently published books. Books Mentioned: You Lucky Dog by Julia London Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake She Doesn’t Have A Clue by Jenny Elder Moke #LibraryLover #LibraryFinds #ReadersOfTikTok #BookTok #Inverted #greenscreensticker

♬ original sound – April Books & Wine

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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