Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, but tragedy grounded his dreams. Now the dust has settled, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.

Nicholas Sparks books always hit the spot with me. This story covers two aspects of love - a brand new relationship, and running away from a previous life. There are two stories happening here, that of Colby and Morgan, and that of Beverly.

There are a number of TWs in this book, but it was a great read - another cracker from Nicholas!

Loved this book! A deeply emotional story which gripped me right from the start. Couldn't put it down!
Highly recommended.

You know when you read a Nicholas Sparks novel you're going to get heartwarming romance with just a hint of a mystery. Dreamland delivers this and whilst I didn't love this as much as some of Sparks' previous books, it was still a pleasant interlude from life's everyday stresses and strains.

The story is told in dual pov, alternating between Colby and Beverly. Colby is falling in love with Morgan. Beverly is on the run from an abusive partner and struggling to make ends meet for her and her son Tommie. For quite a while it's unclear how these stories connect, but when you do join the dots, it all becomes clear.

If you like Nicholas Sparks, you will like Dreamland, but sadly, I only liked, not loved this one.

Seemingly the stories of 2 different people, Colby who meets Morgan when on holiday, and falls in love. Also, the story of Beverley, fleeing an abusive husband with her 6-year-old son. So how do they connect? A wonderful heart wrenching tale.

I always enjoy Nicholas Sparks books and this was no exception. It looks like 2 separate stories, told in alternate chapters, but both come together so cleverly at the end you want to re-read it to see what you missed with the benefit of hindsight.

The first chapter is Colby's story. A singer songwriter who finds himself managing is Aunt and Uncle's farm in the country. When he gets an offer to play and sing in Florida he takes the opportunity for a break from his farming duties, and is a popular attraction. He then meets Morgan who is also a singer and a dancer, and popular on YouTube, and their mutual admiration soon becomes love.

The interspersed chapters tell of Beverly who is fleeing in the dead of night from her abusive husband, taking only her six year old son Tommy, and whatever they can carry. Disguised, she travels by bus to try to start a new life where her husband can't find her.

So cleverly put together, I did not forsee the link at all. A really enjoyable story.

Free courtesy of Netgalley

I realise that I've never read a Nicholas Sparks book before and I'm glad this one was worth starting with. It was a beautiful story that intermingled between two characters lives that came together in the end.

The story is based on Colby Mills, a young man who runs a farm with his Aunt and sister. He has taken a 3 week holiday to go to Florida and sing in a bar. He is an amazing singer/songwriter but has let that take a backseat to help out his family. When his is there he meets a young girl on holiday with her friends and they start spending time together until they realise that they have fallen in Love. Morgan is also a singer/songwriter and is moving to Nashville to chase her dream. How will these two ever make their relationship work ?

Beverly is a young mother of a 5 year old, who is on the run from her abusive husband. He works for Homeland security so she has taken lots of precautions to ensure he cannot follow her. She rents a house in a little town off the beaten track but things start to go wrong and she cannot get a grip of her life. One day her son doesn't come home on the school bus. Has Gary found them ?

The book was wonderfully written and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a beautifully written love story with a massive twist.

This was my first experience with any work from Nicholas Sparks and tbh I was disappointed.

The story of Colby was interesting when the reader was being told his history and how he came to where he is today but following that it was really boring. After Colby meets Morgan, the story got boring and tbh I didn't like Morgan's character. Morgan really confused me on how she wants to be famous but at the same time is tired of social media which is how she can gain her fame.

Their love reads as very one summer love but it's more a serious love which I found as a strange narrative and I think I would have enjoy a one summer love storyline better than what we were provided of Colby and Morgan.

Beverly's character and storyline was really interesting and I loved how her storyline was written and was engaged to know what happened next.

The reason I rated the book so low was for the following reasons. The book is split into parts. Each part follows one of the two characters and this made it difficult to follow the storylines of the two characters as they do not merge into flowing until the end of the book. So we are reading Colby's storyline, settling in and then we switch to Beverly's and vice versa. To make the story flow better it would have made more sense to have each POV follow one another (i.e. Chapter 1 Coby, Chapter 2 Beverly etc.) that way the reader could follow the narratives better instead of getting into one story to then be transported to another.

Tbh I would rather the book have been mainly about Beverly with Colby as the side character, it would have made the reveal of how the two story's merge so much better as we can guess very early on how Beverly and Colby are connected.

Another reason I wasn't as engaged and disconnected with the storyline is the writing. The writing is very well done but reads as if the story is set in an early time rather than modern times with the use of social media such as instagram, tiktok etc. I just couldn't envision the narrative in modern times due to this writing style.

Overall, I think the book was okay. I did skim read a lot and I think due to my disconnect of the writing style and modern setting; the characters and flow of the writing, I did struggle with this book.

Adored!

Loved this book, Nicholas Sparks just had a way of telling a story which pulls you in.

A drama filled romance, filled with will they/won't they, fate, family commitments and more.

A poetically written book, that had me an emotional wreck. It was absolutely beautiful. The characters where perfect, the storyline was wonderful. Can’t rate it high enough.

It is quite a while since I have read a book by Nicholas Sparks but Dreamland has not disappointed. Well written, thought provoking and interesting characters. Recommended.

Nicholas never disappoints and this book is no exception. Two completely different stories and characters, it was hard to imagine how they would come together but the dramatic conclusion brought it all together. I would love to see this one as a film.

Colby Mills has his life turned upside down when he meets Morgan Lee on a rare break away from his family farm. United by their love of music and falling headlong for each other. But is that enough or will their differences that tear them apart

Beverly is on the run with her six-year-old son from an abusive husband. Landing a small town and trying to piece together a new life under the radar. But with money fast running out, danger is never far behind.

Over the course of a single unforgettable week can three peoples dreams for a better life overcome the weight of the past.


I used to love Sparks’ work, his stories were always full of dramatic, all-consuming love that made your heart soar and fall in love with love.

However, the last few I have read, this one included, have missed the mark. By no means is this book not enjoyable but it’s missing the “Spark-le” that I’ve come to expect. I am no longer carried along in the whirlwind romances by endearing characters you can imagine as your friends. I even found myself rolling my eyes at Colby and Morgan frequently.

I think, for me, this was too similar to the plot of “Safe Haven” and thought it odd the author would go down this route again but with less depth and feeling.

A fine read if you want an easy page turner, but not if you’re looking for something similar to the authors previous works like The Notebook or The Longest Ride.

NICHOLAS SPARKS – DREAMLAND *****

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is an audacious and easy-to-read novel, told from the point of view of two principle characters. The first is Colby, a young farmer, passionate about music, who is taking a three week break in Florida, doing gigs. He meets a ravishing young woman called Morgan. Morgan is also passionate about music, on vacation with her girlfriends. Despite the story being mainly told through dialogue, one gets a real sense of place as well as of character.

In the second, very different, strand of the story we have Beverley and her young son, fleeing across the country from her abusive husband who, as an officer with Homeland Security, has all the resources to find her and her son Tommie and drag them back home. Even when she finds somewhere safe for them both, a remote house in a small rural backwater town, sinister people abound.

Not wanting to give spoilers, that’s all I will say about the story.

This is a romance and a thriller all rolled into one; fast-paced, tautly written, by a master of his art. No wonder he has sold 150 million copies and many of his books have been made into successful films.

Highly recommended.

Nicholas Sparks always hits the right note with his books and this one will not disappoint! So much emotion is written into this and bits I didn't see coming. Loved every moment!

Thank you for the ARC

Nicholas Sparks has done it again, my favourite being The Notebook but this is equally as beautiful.
This is two stories running together with two very strong characters that I felt deeply involved with making for a deeply, beautiful and emotional story.

Highly recommended

This is the first Nicholas Sparks book that I have really thoroughly enjoyed in years. I adore his debut books like the Note book, A Walk to remember ect ect. I think the last books that I really truly loved before this one were around the time of The Longest ride. Since then I haven't felt that they have lived up to these books. But this book I would put in the same class as them.

The writing was engaging the storyline was really interesting and I liked the characters as well.

In this book we meet Colby who is a musician and farmer who has gone to Florida to do a number of shows. Here he meets Morgan who is there with her friends on a little holiday. Morgan is a musician as well and is getting ready to make her big break in Nashville.

Alongside this storyline we also meet Beverley who is trying to escape her abusive husband with her son Tommy. They are trying to settle and make a life for them in a new town.

All the way through I was trying to piece together how these two stories intertwined and I didn't really guess it until the end was revealed. It was a very cleverly written book. I didn't love it as much as I adored A walk to remember, the notebook or the last song. But it was definitely but there with the best of them.

Colby Mills, 25yo, hoped to have a career in music but is a farmer in Washington, eastern North Carolina. He works extremely hard to keep the farm afloat, since the passing of his uncle from a heart attack. He accepts an offer of a working holiday, playing in a bar in Florida. Meeting Morgan Lee, a beautiful and talented singer with big dreams, Colby is torn; should he follow Morgan or remain loyal to his family and the farm? Wonderful storytelling and superb characterisation from Nicholas Sparks.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Little, Brown via NetGalley.

I have read and enjoyed every Nicholas Sparks book so I had no doubts that this wouldn't be just as enjoyable a read, and I'm glad to see I'm right.
Well written characters, good settings and a beautiful story makes this a great read in my eyes.
Loved it!

Everything you’d expect from a dreamy Nicholas Sparks romance!

The Notebook is one of my favourite all time stories, and although Dreamland isn’t quite the Notebook, it is still a beautiful love story.