~ ARC received in exchange for an honest review ~

Set in 1911, twenty year old heiress Peggy Batternberg is attempting to live her life as a 'New Woman' and create distance between herself and her family by playing shopkeeper in New York, however she becomes obligated to spend the summer with them in order to secure her sisters marriage to a wealthy suitor. A family drama unfolds while they stay at the Oriental Hotel which is a mile away from Coney Island. There she meets a foreign artist and they fall for each other, while simultaneously becoming embroiled in a murder mystery.

Plot-wise this story hits the ground running and maintains a good pace throughout, and all of its characters are portrayed well. Each individual is distinct and Peggy herself is quite a likeable protagonist. The simple, straightforward writing style conveys her character well as she's a plain speaking and honest individual trying to set herself apart from the politics of the society she was born into. 

This was an enjoyable read, although for me ended rather abruptly and the inevitable conclusion was quite obvious from early on.

~Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title~

This is another book that I was such a fan of the author's previous works and this one was disappointing. I loved Ms. Bilyeau's Tudor series but I struggled to get into this one. I really did. Great writing but the theme just did not catch my interest.

Dreamland is quite different from my typical thriller genre, and I found most of it to be quite engaging.  A historical fiction mystery, it takes place in 1911, surrounding a wealthy family, and their obligations to keep up appearances and do as expected.  I really identified with the main character, Peggy.  She's a bookworm, who would rather spend her time alone than keeping up with family obligations.  This is a good read for anyone looking for something a bit different.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchanged for my unbiased review.

With Dreamland Ms. Bilyeau recreates life during the early 1900s with stunning ability. With the first few pages you feel as though you have been swept back in time. The complicated family relations of Peggy and her family are interesting but don't go too much of an extreme that the characters lose their credibility.  The parts dedicated to the murder mystery was very reminiscent of The Alienist (with the discord between the police and immigrants), but didn't feel like a rip-off. The only aspect of this book that I did not like was the romance between Peggy and Stefan - I thought it felt a little forced and came about so quickly that it was hard to buy in to. It would have worked just as well if they were just friends or if their connection came about another way. Henry was a great villain and I would have been interested to have more of a showdown between him and Peggy.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley

Having read some of Nancy Bilyeaus books before I had high expectations of this book, and I was not disappointed. This is an immersive trip to 1911 New York Coney Island. Its dazzling in is vivid detail that makes you feel as though you are right there with the amazing Peggy. Falling in love, pushing the boundaries of her place and time and becoming aware of how ugly the world can be outside her bubble. Highly recommended if you want to escape to another time and world with a highly likable woman. I hope Nancy considers writing more stories featuring Peggy.

I loved reading this book! I kept my attention the whole time and I loved the main character. It follows the story of Peggy, who is part of an influential and wealthy family. But she doesn't want anything to do with most of them. She is asked to be present for the summer at Coney Island with her family and her sister's fiancé. She spends an evening among the bright lights of the amusement park and finds herself on the wrong side of multiple murder investigations. Even her family's wealth and influence cannot help her when the man she has come to love is the main suspect.

An interesting idea, but one that I felt ultimately didn't live up to the hype. Characters felt flat, and while the writing was lush, I felt it distracted me from the plot. Overall, however, still an enjoyable read.

I was initially drawn to this book due to the cover and I can safely say I was not disappointed.

This novel follows heiress Peggy who is being forced by her family to send the summer at the Oriental Hotel when she would rather continue working as a shop girl at the Moonrise bookstore. Luckily for Peggy she manages to escape the stifling attentions for her family to visit Dreamland one of the three amusement parks on Coney Island where she meets struggling artist Stefan however, when girls start turning up dead around the Island and Stefan becomes the main suspect Peggy is determined to find the truth and prove his innocence however, as her investigation gets underway she finds out she has a bigger part to play than she originally thought and she might be next of the murder’s list.

This was such an interesting and enjoyable historical fiction that explores social class, crime against women and family expectations. The writing really helps to bring the setting to life, it’s full of interesting and intriguing characters and you won’t be able to put it down until you find out what is really going on.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

It's the summer of 1911 and it's sweltering in the city. We meet Peggy, a shop girl in a local book store, but as you continue to read you find out that she comes from one of the wealthiest families in America. She's been summoned home to accompany her family to the beach for the next two months to help her younger sister ensure that her fiance will finally pick a date for their wedding. Peggy is not exactly thrilled to be whisked away and told what is to be expected of her but when the family calls, you can't say no.
The Batternbergs are to call the Oriental Hotel home for the next two months. But as soon as they get there, they find out that young woman drowned; the cause is unknown. 
Peggy finds her way to Coney Island and Dreamland. In Dreamland she finds an artist whose work speaks to her and has an amazing first date with Stefan, the young artist. And then another young lady is murdered.

Truths come out about her family, her sister's finance, his family and happenings at Coney Island and Dreamland. 

This is a well written book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in this genre of books.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review. What makes this novel great is the backdrop of Coney Island.  I liked learning bits and pieces about what it used to be like. I would recommend for anyone that enjoys Historical Fiction. I enjoyed the mystery in the book as well.

Terrific book.  Absolutely loved it.  Compelling characters and story line.  Kept me interested the entire time.

Historical Fiction has been a new found love of mine when it comes to reading so I was excited to be able to read this novel, by an author that I wasn't familiar with. After finishing this tale, the rest of her books have jumped to the top of my TBR list. I wasn't very familiar with the era or location, so while reading the author did a very good job of transporting me back in time. Both the plot and character development held my interest throughout.

While I enjoyed the historical setting of 1911 Coney Island, the story itself was more mystery than suspense. There were a lot of unlikable characters and much of the story revolved around the privileged elite. I suppose that's why I was never really invested in them, not really caring how the story ended. And it was pretty easy from the beginning to figure out who the bad guys were. For me, it was just okay so I probably won't recommend it.

I really wanted to love this -- since I loved Bilyeau's Joanna Stafford series -- but I didn't.  I don't know if was the time period (1911) or the setting (Coney Island), but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

It's a great historical story that transports you to Dreamland from a perspective of a person who had no business being there to begin with, but that fate thought otherwise.

Thank you Netgalley, Endeavour Media, Endeavour Quill and Nancy Bilyeau for free e-Arc in return of my honest review. 

A wealthy young American heiress, Peggy, prefers quite and working life to pompous social events and trips that her family is privy to. She succumbs to her family demands to spend whole summer in Coney Island with them along with the family of her sister's fiancee. They all are staying in luxurious hotel overlooking water and neighbouring few attraction parks. Peggy does not know what adventures and what changes this trip might bring. 

I enjoy the set up of the novel and the descriptions of the land and attraction parks. I think Nancy Bilyeau succeeded in creating a beautiful atmosphere for the love story between a young wealthy girl and poor artist whom she met in one of the parks. Though, I quite disliked Peggy as a character but it seems her behaviour was appropriate for her upbringing. 

I was quite disappointed in the mystery side of the story as I guess about the murderer from the start. 

Apart from that, it was a fine book for me.

There are bits of this book that I really liked.

The recreation of the Coney Island amusements and the Edwardian hotels is wonderful. There is a real feeling of stepping back in time.

The decadent lifestyle of the millionaires and their lavish 4th July picnic, the hotdogs and delight at the fairground is all brilliant.

Peggy is conflicted as a character and that could explain while I was ambivalent towards her. On the one hand she is rejecting her family’s wealth and status and on the other hand she uses it all the time. She’s independent and working one day and sulking and drinking Coca-Cola in her suite the next. She’s sulky and rude and causes unnecessary arguments with her family.

I preferred her sister, Lydia. She is beautiful and seems to be conforming to society’s expectations, but she is actually more determined and courageous than Peggy.

The male characters are all quite unappealing! They maybe rich and good looking but they are entitled and misogynistic.

I didn’t find myself particularly rooting for any of the characters.

That said, I did enjoy this book. Dreamland is a snapshot of a time and place that’s long gone. It’s atmospheric and vivid and feels like stepping back in time.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest  review.

So I totally fell in love with this book. It is mysterious, suspenseful, and opens with a darkness from the start. Set in Coney Island, Peggy is determined to set off on her own, working in a bookstore. Of course she meets a struggling artist who in turn takes her on a journey of her own, away from her snobbish life that she is apart of. She finds herself falling for this young artist, while he gets swept up in the murders. Will she be able to clear his name or will the secrets come to light? I love the writing style of Bilyeau. I love how this is set in 1911 on Coney Island, which makes you feel a more relaxed, relatable sense of excitement. The murder, thrill and suspense of the story then adds a whole other layer that Bilyeau transcribes perfectly.

I thought Dreamland was a good read. I thought it was a little different than I expect from this author and took a little bit to get used to it. I give it three stars.

I love the setting of this book. I read a lot of historical fiction but not a ton from this particular era. Being a New Yorker I'm always fascinated to read about Millionaire's Row and things that we can no longer see here but that make up our history. The protagonist had a fun and humorous voice; I don't get to read a lot of recent books that have a likable narrator, for whatever reason that's not the style of the day but I enjoyed our main character right from the start. Overall a fun look back on the Coney Island and NYC of yore, and a good family mystery/drama.