Dreamland

I go back and forth between really liking and really disliking this book... I'll see if I can explain why...

Dreamland is a new Nicholas Sparks book that is coming out in September 2022. It is divided into parts which alternate between two stories. The first, third and fifth part tell the story of Colby, a twenty-five year old farmer and aspiring musician who helps run and manage his aunt and uncle's farm with his sister Paige. During a vacation in Florida where he performs at some bars and open mic nights he meets Morgan, a young college grad who performs tiktok dances with a group of dancers but is also an aspiring singer. Colby's sections are told in the first person and meet the typical expectations of a Nicholas Sparks Romance; a rapid-fire romance that can't possible work because of life choices and geography, some secret that needs to be hidden but yet is not a deal-breaker, lots of lovely dates like sunset walks on the beach. Essentially, the Colby sections (with the exception of part 5) are a little dull.

For more information about this and other Nicholas Sparks books, check out his website at: https://nicholassparks.com/#home-content

For the most part, I am a Nicholas Sparks fan. My first Nicholas Sparks book was Dear John and I loved it. I haven't read them all, and there are definitely a few where the movie ruined everything, but usually I can get into the books despite the fact that they can be a little boring. I found the Colby sections of this book more boring than most of his books, despite it following the same classic formula of his long list of best selling romance books.

Parts 2 & 4 are written in the third person and tell the story of Beverly, a young woman who is fleeing her abusive relationship with her 6-year-old-son Tommie. Beverly plans a very complex escape from her husband who is extremely controlling, abusive to her and Tommie and has the connections and resources to track and find her no matter how hard she tries. With wigs, chest constricting bandages, and several bus and hitchhiking tactics she manages to escape and start fresh in a new town, but she is very paranoid that her husband will find her. She and Tommie move into a furnished house, she enrols him in school and she begins sprucing things up, but between a man in a truck who keeps coming by and the discovery of drugs and guns in the house/shed she quickly feels less and less safe. These sections are thrilling and suspenseful and very reminiscent of Safe Haven, another of Nicholas Sparks' books that also involves a woman fleeing domestic violence. Beverly's sections are basically a different book within a book and while there is a connection between the two stories that is explained in the final section, it very much feels like a different type of book.

When I finished (skimming) part 1 I was pretty ready to give up on this book, but I figured I'd give the second part at least a fair chance and then I was hooked. There was no need for skimming, there was also no reason good enough to put the book down! I loved part 2 and when it ended on a bit of a cliff hanger I desperately wanted more. I mostly skimmed part 3 and then dove right in to Beverly's section section in part 4. As I was reading I was acutely annoyed that Sparks had chosen to put this super boring romance as part 1 and 3 contrasted with this super intense non-romance story that I couldn't get enough of. I imagined myself writing a review that said "I found the first section about Colby so ridiculously boring that I almost gave up before even having the chance to read Beverly's story. What a mistake that would have been! Nicholas Sparks should have put Beverly's section first to hook readers because I definitely almost abandoned this book!"

I also imagined criticizing his choice to write Colby's section in the first person. It felt that it added more "boring" to the story. I've never really thought about narration/writing style and how it impacts a book, but I definitely was aware of that in this story. The first section felt like I was listening to a guy at a party describing his life story as a monologue and not being able to find an opportunity to break away and talk to someone more interesting. You finally break away and hear this really crazy story about a woman running away from her husband and later you get stuck in a new never-ending monologue about how that guy met a girl. He describes all of their dates and how much he likes her and you're still just trying to find an opening to get out fast!

Part 5, the final part of the book, is a Colby section which ties the two stories together and makes everything make a lot more sense. I did not love the ending and I even more disliked the epilogue, but most of part 5 was worth of not skimming. In hindsight (having read the entire book), I get why Sparks did what he did. He made Beverly's story a separate book within a book and purposefully created contrast. Much like Safe Haven, there were intense, emotional, nerve-wracking moments, contrasted with a sweet romance kindled in between, but unlike Safe Haven, the contrasting pieces were about different people. I think my advice for a reader would be to give it at least until the end of part 2 before deciding whether you love or hate this book because it does get better.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. It certainly wasn't my favourite Nicholas Sparks book, but it also was a book I'll remember!