This author has written a variety of historical fiction novels that I have enjoyed over the years. And when I say variety, I mean variety. She’s written books about Tudor era mysteries with nuns and eighteenth century porcelain collectors and now here we are moving across the pond to Coney Island in the early 1900s.

That’s a pretty impressive spread! All of her books have been well researched and incredibly detailed so I was more than happy to check this one out as well.

There aren’t many books set in Coney Island and for me, it conjures romantic, carefree, and quirky images of by gone days so I was absolutely on board with reading this book!

Summary
The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.

The invitation to the luxurious Oriental Hotel a mile from Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.

But soon it transpires that the hedonism of nearby Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.

Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamour of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything…even murder.

Extravagant, intoxicating and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class and dangerous obsession. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
This book was fantastic! I can’t even begin to tell you how pleased I have been lately with all of my new historical fiction releases! I had been hearing great things about this book but when I went to pick it up, I was just not in the mood for anymore historical fiction, but as soon as I cracked it open, I could hardly put it down!

I adored Peggy and thought she was so likable and I really felt all of her struggles when it came to class and expectations from her family as well as her other social constraints during that time. The author made her come alive and I acutely felt her struggles which for me is a hallmark of a great characters and story.

The only thing that I struggled with in this book was the murder mystery. The story starts to kind of get derailed from the murder mystery pretty early on, but then the murder mystery returns in later chapters so I kind of started to wonder if this book could maybe have done without the murder mystery all together? In the summary I felt like the murder mystery was going to be the focus but when I actually got into the book it wasn’t as focused on as I had expected so that said if you are going into this thinking it’s going to be a murder mystery, you might be disappointed.

As a historical fiction novel though, I thought it was wonderful and really enjoyed reading it. This is a seasoned historical fiction writer who continues to showcase her historical knowledge and writing skills!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 386 pages
Published January 16th 2020 by Endeavour Quill
ISBN 1911445774 (ISBN13: 9781911445777)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Endeavour Quill in partnership with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: historical fiction

This one wasn't for me. Although the characters were interesting, the story started off slow and did not pick up enough to keep my interest. Good setting and premise, but it didn't work for me. DNF.

Rating: 3.5 rounded down

The cover of Dreamland is beautiful. It reminded me of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus which I really liked and I requested for this one without reading the summary. It's a completely different genre—Dreamland being a historical mystery and The Night Circus being fantasy. I don't know if it's just me but the cover seemed to promise magic and it was a slight disappointment when I read the summary and realized there would be none.

Dreamland takes place in 1911—Peggy Battenberg, a twenty year old girl belonging to one of the richest families in America is forced to spend the summer with her family in Coney Island. Living at the luxurious Oriental Hotel, Peggy only occasionally gets the chance to slip away from the scrutiny she is under and one such time she wanders into Dreamland, an amusement park, where she meets and falls in love with a Serbian artist, Stefan. During her stay, two women are murdered in Coney Island. Between the police investigating the case and Peggy's own disagreements with her family members, Dreamland is a story of mystery, love and courage.

What I really enjoyed about this book was that the women in the story are smart and strong-willed. Set during the suffragette movement, when women weren't even allowed to vote, Nancy Bilyeau articulately describes the discrimination faced by women and immigrants as well as the orthodox mindset of the older women and men in the story who believe a woman's place is in the kitchen. A mindset that the main character, Peggy, has no patience for!

The focus on the mystery was much lesser than I'd expected which was disappointing. Most of the story focuses on Peggy's family and just a bit at the start and a bit at the end truly focuses on the murders (the reveal wasn't surprising at all). Having said that, I did enjoy the family drama and I feel the character development was commendable.

The book didn't have any 'Wow' moments but overall, it was a fun read. So if you're looking for a book that you can read at a leisurely pace and be able to put down whenever you need to because it isn't very gripping, this one will work well.

Peggy Batternberg is an American heiress, the granddaughter of a Jewish immigrant who made his fortune in mining. Tall, dark-haired, and elegant, she knows how to dress for the occasion and move in upper-crust Manhattan society in 1911. All her life, she’s been sheltered within her overprotective family, and her lack of experience with day-to-day practicalities (drawing her own bath, handling money) will make you shake your head. But she has gumption and a desire for self-improvement, which count for a lot.

Sadly for Peggy – but fortunately for readers of her entertaining narrative – she gets dragged away, reluctantly and literally, from her job as shopgirl at the Moonrise Bookstore and installed in Brooklyn’s posh Oriental Hotel on the Atlantic shoreline. Her family will be spending the summer there at the request of her younger sister Lydia’s rich fiancé, Henry Taul, whose mother supposedly wants to get to know them. Since Peggy and Lydia’s late father was a black sheep who died in debt, they need to do their utmost to ensure that Lydia’s marriage happens. Peggy’s past entanglement with Henry is conveniently never mentioned by her relatives.

The Oriental Hotel is close by Coney Island, called America’s Playground, which promises grand amusements and amazing sights, all new experiences for Peggy – one of which involves Stefan Chalakoski, a Serbian immigrant and artist with old world manners that surprise and delight her. He’s a dream of a character, his feelings and experienced worldview subtly expressed through his dialogue and actions. Midway through, Peggy even finds herself drinking Coca-Cola and enjoying it, to her family’s embarrassment. The plot delves into much more than her coming-of-age summer, though.

The prologue, the only part of the novel not in Peggy’s lively voice, depicts a chilling scene – a woman’s beachfront murder – and gets readers noticing the dark undercurrents threaded through her story. Other bodies turn up later, too. Peggy’s cousins Ben and Paul exhibit shifty behavior, and Henry’s preoccupation with Lydia’s youthful purity is worrisome. Themes of class prejudice and police misconduct make themselves known, along with the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. Although unspoken, there’s also some mystery about Peggy’s past romantic history that I couldn’t help wondering about.

The impressive world-building begins on page one, easily conveying the world of Coney Island’s Dreamland park, with its hubbub of activity, brilliantly lit attractions, and popcorn-scented air. This is no sepia-tinted distant past but a sensation-filled present I felt I could step right into. Peggy is a sassy delight who grows in knowledge and confidence, and her transformation from sheltered socialite to take-charge amateur detective is smoothly done. I’d love to meet Peggy again, later on in life, to see the changes she wrought in the world.

I loved the author's first book, The Blue and this one too. The time period is described very well. Loved reading about Coney island, the characters and the plot was well designed.
Overall, very good historical fiction.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Dreamland is an amazing Historical Fiction novel set in New York. Peggy is a twenty-year-old heiress from one of the richest families in America – the Batternbergs. It is the summer of 1911 and Peggy was ordered by her family to vacation in the luxurious beach front Oriental Hotel for a few weeks to accompany her mother and sister. Peggy would much rather work at the Moonrise Bookstore, but as an heiress, a woman of her stature would not even think of working for a living. That was quickly put to end by her controlling family to keep up with appearances among the city’s socialites. Peggy finds more than what she bargained for and gets mixed up with a young migrant, family secrets, and murders.

I loved Bilyeau’s well researched historical fiction writing that transported me right to that amazing time and place. I find it so fascinating on how people vacationed in those days where a hotel stay lasted for a few weeks or the entire summer. I loved how the details of that time were highlighted along with the race, social and class divides, discrimination, and power. This was a delight to read with wonderful characters that I loved and loved to hate. The suspenseful murder mystery component made this read a real page turner for me.

This book was lovely. The era it describes if fascinating, and the Coney Island of the past is something I love to read about. I felt the end was a little rushed, but I can understand why it was done. The descriptions and experiences are what really drive this book. It makes me long for a summer carnival or fair (even if things aren't always what they seem).

I made the mistake of judging a book by it's cover and expecting so much more from a story only to be disappointed. First off the cover of Dreamland is STUNNING and you honestly expect it to take place at a circus because of it but instead you don't get what you expect.

This book was nothing that I expected. First off, for some reason I thought it would have more of a fantasy or magical aspect to it, which it doesn't. It's a historical fiction mystery and while I was bummed at first, because let's be real I love magical books, that did not stop me from loving on this book.
Peggy Batternberg is a member of one of the wealthiest families in America. Like all wealthy family in 1911, they move in a close knit circle that is neither in the middle of New York's Society spotlight nor out of it. Peggy is hoping to spend the summer of 1911 away from her family. She has her own little flat and is working in the Moonrise Bookshop. She's a new women with new ideas that don't quite match up with the rest of her families. But when her family focuses her to spend the summer with them at the Oriental Hotel, next to Coney Island, Peggy is left feeling more caged then ever. After adventuring into the amusement parks near the hotels, Peggy starts to come to grips with how even though she is a privileged and wealthy young women, she has less freedoms than she thought.
In an effort to escape being told what she can do by the Batternberg men and her sister's fiancé Henry Taul, Peggy heads into Dreamland on Coney Island, where she meets Stefan, an Serb immigrant artist with an eye on the future. When two young women are found murdered and Peggy finds herself drugged, Peggy starts to realize that both murderer may be connected to the Batternbers. The biggest question being, who in her small circle of men could possible be behind it.
First off, I loved this book. Bilyeau did a wonderful job setting up Coney Island versus the upscale hotels. I could just picture myself experiencing the carnivals by the seaside and now I want to go to the fair. I found this particular storyline to have a very unique voice and setting, it all just worked so well.
Character wise, Peggy can be a little naïve, which works for this story. While I sometimes wanted to just roll my eyes at her comments or lack of social understanding, it would be extremely realistic for her to be so naïve. She's been sheltered entirely from the 'real world' by her family, but her will to learn and understand the world around her is truly inspiring.
The juxtaposition that Bilyeau paints as well is extremely well done. The contrast between what men can do versus what women can do is stark. One of my favorite moments in the book is when Peggy realizes that Henry Taul has been having her followed. She finally understands how much the family monitors her every more, and how even suggesting where to have dinner must come from a man. As she's realizing this it dons on her that while women in her circle must be followed and told what to do, men go virtually undetected and move and talk freely. It's hard to believe that this was 100 years and even to this day some of that inequality exists. I digress, because I could go on and on about that.
This book was a ★★★★★ read for me. It's the perfect mix of mystery and historical fiction with an extremely unique setting. There may even be a twist you don't see coming!


I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Dreamland. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thank you to Netgallery & Endeavour Quill for my copy of the book! All opinions are my own.

I just finished Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau. Kudos to Bilyeau for making the Gilded Age come to life through the eyes of a young twenty-year-old heiress, Peggy Batternberg, to one of the wealthiest families in America. Thanks to the author’s research, the reader is instantly immersed into the the lives of this wealthy family as she struggles to have a life of her own working in a bookstore in New York. Her family whisks her away to stay in the Oriental Hotel close to Coney Island.

I felt like I was at Peggy’s side as we see her discover her love interest, a poor immigrant artist. In this story Bilyeau explores the lives of people in different classes, society’s restrictions on women, and how justice is served depending on social class. I think bookclubs will love this book as there is much to discuss.

It has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to read such an engrossing story filled with interesting characters, mystery, and a love story. Thank you NetGalley and Endeavour Quill for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can't lie, a big reason of why I requested this book on Netgalley was because of the unbelievably gorgeous cover. But, I think the cover really leads the reader astray. This really isn't a circus book-barely any of it even takes placed in the titular "Dreamland." This really is just another historical fiction novel about a wealthy family, with a little bit of a mystery sprinkled in.

What I liked:

The setting. With the historical fiction market being so over-saturated with WWII novels, it's been a while since I've read a book set in the early 1900s-this one is set in 1911. I enjoyed all of the discussions of the whispers of an upcoming war and all of the "new" technologies.

The writing. Nancy Bilyeau really does have such a fluid, readable writing style. I found it so easily to read huge chunks of this book at one time.

What I didn't like:

Peggy. Her character at times was so confusing to me. I think the author tried to make her seem as if she didn't really belong to her family's status, like she could belong amongst the lower classes. Unfortunately, Peggy was as snobby, rude, and blinded by her wealth like the entire rest of her family. She was so unbelievably naive and pretentious, and some of the things she said and did directly clashed with who she supposedly was as a character. I just found her so frustrating, and I honestly couldn't find any redeemable qualities in her.

The plot. There wasn't one for 80% of the book. All it was was Peggy hating her life, spending time with her family playing croquet, eating lavish dinners and doing absolutely nothing but talking about how wealthy they were, and then her *three times* sneaking out to see this man that she was supposedly in love with. Literally, that was the first 80% of the book.
The last 20% was a rush of Peggy deciding that she could solve a handful of murders on her own, and that mystery being solved. The final confrontation happens in just about 15 pages. If Bilyeau's writing wasn't so good, and if I wasn't so curious about the identity of the murderer, I definitely would have DNF'd this.

Overall, I was disappointed by this book. I think some of that has to do with my unrealistic expectations (I had a different idea for the plot than what it actually was), but even if I had known it was just an historical fiction, I wouldn't have liked this any more. If you like historical fiction in the vein of Beatriz Williams then I'd recommend giving this one a try!

*Thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!*

My Thoughts:
I love the storyline.
I love the themes in the story.
I love the mystery surrounding the murders.
There is intrigue about the person Henry Taul. Is he hiding something bad? Is he trustworthy? This was a big reason I continued to read the book.
I loved reading about the history of events in New York City and America; and, a world that is headed for war.
It's interesting and it's been an education on how the wealthy lived in this era.
For example:
•How they spent their time.
•Their thoughts on their own kind of people and also those who are beneath them.
•How to keep their money and how to make more money.

What I didn't like about Dreamland is the main character. I did not like Peggy. She's rude and harsh; and she's unaware of how she comes across to people who are of a different socio-economic class. They realize this but she doesn't.
She's arrogant and haughty. She becomes smitten with a man who is not in her class. I found this odd, considering how she presents herself. I wondered if deep down this is a rebellion against her class?
Her character showed me she is immature and pompous.
This affects the romantic scenes, because it demonstrates a silliness on her part.

This is a book review where I'm tested. Am I coming across as pompous because of a character I dislike? Maybe. Possibly.

High drama in an evocative setting

Although I felt Dreamland got off to a slow start, once the action moves the Coney Island, I found myself becoming increasingly gripped by events. Stick with it!

The descriptions of the area are very atmospheric. I found the period details, particularly the clothes (for some reason!), highly evocative and the author clearly did a lot of research. Setting the story during a heat wave is also a great touch as it adds pressure to all the characters and brings a bit of madness to a already tense situation.

I found the main character, Peggy, and her sister, the most sympathetic. Despite their incredible wealth, they are still deprived of agency and freedom by simply being women. And Peggy thankfully becomes increasingly aware of the privilege granted her by her wealth and family connections as the story progresses.

The whodunnit element of the plot was interesting, but I didn't find it to be crucial to my enjoyment of the story as I felt it was pretty clear from quite early on who the killer was. It was more the consequences of the deaths, their impact on Peggy's romance and how it would all get resolved which interested me.

The male characters are mostly deplorable, but never dull. The gender double standards, where rich men marry but then are expected to carry on with mistresses and prostitutes, while their wives are supposed to be virgins and then entirely faithful, made me grind my teeth as much as Peggy. I was hoping all the smug men would get thrown in the sea at one point! And then, to make matters worse, we see the women who are complicit in this, either because they have little choice or they believe it's how things are "meant to be". Ugh! Hideously frustrating, but it makes for excellent fuel for a period drama.

Overall: a well-written, entertaining story with an excellent period setting and two sympathetic female leads.

This book had a lot going on. It's historical fiction and a mystery and suspense and sort of a thriller. Dreamland was an amusement park on Coney Island. When heiress Peggy is forced to spend the summer at the Oriental Hotel, down the beach, she gets the unexpected opportunity to visit the park and mingle among the regular people. I really thought this was going to be a fantasy novel, because apparently I didn't read the description well enough, but it isn't and it was wonderful anyway.

I love circus books. I love this book. I want more of it and I’ll read more from this author in the future. Especially if it follows these characters.

I loved stepping into the life of Peggy Battenburg the "black sheep of the black sheep" and her struggle to maintain her newfound independence, in a time when women's voice was expected to echo that of her husbands.

I thought the setting set between the lavish Oriental Hotel and the loud, bustling Coney Island was fantastic. The blend between the life of the upper-class and the working class was very nicely done yet still showcasing how vastly different Peggy's life was in comparison to Stefan's and his friends at Dreamland.

Peggy herself was an interesting voice for this historical romance. Here was a girl who felt like an outsider in a family who prided wealth and status over everything, in a family whose name even today is iconic, struggling to separate herself from her family by joining the world of work.

I did find the relationship between Peggy and Stefan to be a bit too instant. As far as a holiday romance goes it was perfect but it was very obvious that the relationship would never last. These two characters crashed and burned just like a 4th of July firework.

As for Henry Taul, his character was incredibly jarring, and that might be what Nancy Bilyeau was going for but I struggled to get a read on who he was, what he actually wanted from life and his role in this story. Obviously, his role is explained quite quickly as the villain of the piece but, I didn't feel that this was a true representation of this character. Henry Taul, in my opinion, was a damaged individual with warped ideas and an understanding of the world. He had a mother who enabled and encouraged these fantasies and delusions rather than get him the help he needed, and a couple of lackeys who preyed on his weaknesses and used him to fulfil their own desires.

Nancy Bilyeau's Dreamland is a stunning piece of Historical Fiction focusing on love, loss, mental illness and class divide. I just wish the ending was different. I would have liked Peggy to go back to Moonrise Bookstore, and for Stefan to be able to set out on his own and become a celebrated artist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Endeavour Quill for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book as the cover didn't really tie in with the story, there was plenty of twists and turns but a very disappointing ending.

This book was an absolute joy to read and exactly my sort of novel. In 1922, Peggy Battenburg is a member of one of the wealthiest families in America. However, alongside money and status comes scrutiny and Peggy doesn’t always behave the way a young lady, of her social standing, should. She bucks against the traditional respectability expected of her and the idea that she should be told how to behave by the male members of the family. This rebellious streak means she doesn’t really fit, whether it be in high or low society. People of her family’s class are scandalised by her and the ordinary people of Coney Island mistrust her because of this rich background. She really can’t win.

Peggy’s family bring her back home for the summer. She’s been working in a bookshop, but now she needs to be back in high society. They hope to secure a prestigious marriage proposal for Peggy’s sister, to a groom who will ensure the financial security of their family going forward. They have someone in mind, but Peggy hates the potential husband and desperately wants to escape the claustrophobic atmosphere. This is where she decides to set out for Dreamland and meets Stefan, an artist working at the amusement park just a short distance from where the family are staying at the Oriental Hotel. Dreamland is a pleasure palace and a real juxtaposition to the hotels where the wealthy elite are staying. Hotel residents might stroll to the amusements for an afternoon’s diversion, but police are stationed along the route so that identification can be checked when walking back towards the hotels. The haves and have-nots are quite separate.

By contrast Peggy becomes immersed in the life of artists, dancers, food vendors and acrobats. She finds that despite their lack of money and status they have a lot of freedom whereas, for all her money, Peggy is kept in a cage, albeit a gilded one. I love the setting of Coney Island and enjoyed Alice Hoffman’s Museum of Extraordinary Things set within a freak show. This book was equally well researched and Bilyeau’s description of period clothing and the sounds and smells of the park really set the scene and helped me disappear from 2020 into this exciting other world. We learn about the manners and behaviour of the time and how it differs between classes. Peggy learns more about her family too, and many secrets are revealed. Added to the excellent characterisation and immersive world created by the author, is the fact that bodies of young girls start turning up on the beach. While this plot line is not the strongest part of the novel it does pose certain questions for Peggy, not least about her own family. How much are the Battenburg’s willing to lie and cover up?

I liked Peggy. She is a thoroughly modern young woman who, despite family riches, has her own job in a bookshop. She is intelligent and inquisitive. I can see why she would want to experience more than the stifling role of ‘rich daughter’ allows. Added to this rebellious nature are simmering tensions within the family and a menacing air of control from the fiancé and his brother. Reading this felt like being thrust into a technicolour world of sun, sea, and scandal. I absolutely loved it.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great read! I loved every second of this. The complicated relationship tropes in this book were very well thought out and written. This was definitely more character driven than story driven.

I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I had anticipated.

Set in the early 20th century, Coney Island comes alive in this entertaining novel. A pretty good murder/mystery, although with a vapid protagonist, this is a good light read.