Title: Dreaming of You
Author: Ethan Day
Publisher: Loose ID
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (138 pages)
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn
THE BLURB
Restaurateur Aden Ingle has been in love with the perfect man since his fourteenth birthday. Unfortunately, his perfect boyfriend only exists in his dreams. But Aden’s always believed it was his destiny to meet his dream man, and he’s perfectly content to wait around for him to walk into his real life.
When he meets Logan Price at a Hotel/Restaurant Trade Show, he finds himself drawn to this man who shakes him out of his dream world. Pretty soon, the flesh and blood reality is becoming more appealing than the fantasy. The only problem is Logan lives half way across the country in California.
Aden’s going to have to choose whether to give up everything he’s built for himself professionally and uproot his whole life for Logan, or wait for the man from his dreams to become a reality.
THE REVIEW
Dreaming of You is Ethan Day’s second published work, and the second I’ve read (Self Preservation, reviewed here, sparked quite a bit of lively comment a few months ago). At the time I reviewed SP, I said that I’d be more than happy to read and review his next offering as I thought that he’s a good writer, and, well, here I am. I’m so glad I committed myself to that because this was a great book! I’m not usually a gusher, but this book is gush-worthy. DOY is light and humorous — with some seriously funny laugh out loud moments — and sexy. Well-written and plotted with smart, snappy, witty dialog, it reminded me in some ways of a romantic screwball comedy from the 30s and 40s, and I could easily see this made into a film. I read it earlier in the week when I was having a bad time in RL, and it lifted my spirits and successfully took my mind off things.
I am mad about Aden! Narrated by him in first person, we are privy to his discussions/arguments/negotiations with his inner voice, or what he thinks as opposed to what he says out loud, and it’s hilarious. I loved his odd personality quirks — he’s accident prone, he tends to let his mouth get away from him when he’s nervous, he has a karma point system, he has a need to be liked, he’s a horrible driver, and he has a dream man. Here’s a perfect example of Aden:
I never could stand the thought of intentionally being mean or selfish. It had always been my thing. I couldn’t help myself. When people had described my personality to others, I heard one of two things: “He is the nicest person you will ever meet,” or “He is so nice it’s disgusting.” I’m terrified one day I’ll crack and release the serial killer that’s been lurking inside me somewhere.
I want to be friends with this man! Based on some interviews I found and reading his site and blog, I suspect that there’s a lot of Ethan in Aden. *g*
I thought fellow restaurateur Logan was a wonderful compliment to Aden, a sensitive alpha who is willing to unconditionally accept “the sexiest, sweetest oddball [he’s] ever met,” even finding the quirks adorable. He gets Aden when perhaps others may not have.
I adored how fun Logan and Aden are together, even in bed, and how easy their relationship is. I rooted for these two, especially toward the end when Aden needed to make some choices.
Ethan has not only given us two great protags, but also a large, colorful secondary cast, all of whom are well-drawn and three-dimensional: Nathan and Finn, Aden’s best friends; Logan’s group of friends in LA; Rufus, the pseudo-dream man; even Logan’s mother, who makes an appearance early in the story. I loved how Aden is with his friends, especially Finn (who is a total hoot!), and how just about everyone accepts him, oddness and all.
Ethan is a gifted writer who has a way with prose that sucks you in and makes you see what Aden is seeing. I really liked the depth of description of much of the environment, especially when he is in a restaurant. As a pretty serious foodie who has considered opening a restaurant, I could see the décor, how the room is arranged, what the bar looks like, hear the ambient music, cough on the cigarette smoke. It all felt real to me.
OVERALL
Dreaming of You is one of those feel-good, fun, romantic books that you can immerse yourself in, one I’ll be reading over and over. I highly recommend it, and I am eager to see what Ethan has next for us.
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I so want this book… As soon as I got the loose ID newsletter I was interested and this review makes me want it more…
I seriously need a hook up with a rep from LI to help me get the books I want…
Believe me right now I need a book like this to read.
Suzi.
Sounds great, Lynn. I really liked Ethan’s first book and felt it showed that he had great potential as a writer. I’m glad you think he is realising that potential.
One for the tbb list, I think!
WANT. *grabby hands*
I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve been rooting for ED ever since I first heard the plot of Self-Preservation, which sounded so delightful. Just what the doctor had ordered, really. The mixed reviews for it made me a little sad, but yay, five star review! I think that’s pretty impressive for a sophomore effort. I hope it’s a just a sign of things to come.
Lynn
Great job as usual. I knew you needed a pick me up but didn’t realize that this would be such a terrific book. Now I really have to read it. I sent Ethan a link to your review.
Great review Lynn.
This sounds like an awesome book. I’ve added it to my TBB list. I love a bit of humor in books, can’t wait to read it.
Lily
Wow, that sounds like a fabulous read. I will definitely be checking it out. Great review and so glad that it could make a crappy week a little brighter. Another brownie points for books.
Suzi: I hope you can get your hands on this one. It’s a spirit-raiser!
Jen: Ethan absolutely is realizing his potential. I had issues with SP, but I knew there was a great writer in there, and this is the proof. I hope for more great things for and from him.
Laurije: I think the mixed reviews — mine being a middle of the road one — may have actually put Ethan on the map because there was big buzz along with them. His participation in the discussions and the way he handled himself made me want to read what he put out next even more. We’ve talked in the past about author presence online and their interactions with readers and whether or not it we as readers are more or less likely to buy from the author based on those experience(s), and I feel this is an example of a positive experience for the reader; I actually like Ethan and how he was with us, more so in the circumstance of not fabulous reviews for that first book. And yes, 5 stars for his second effort is a feat!
Thanks Wave. I don’t give 5 stars lightly, he absolutely deserved every one of them. Such a yummy book. I actually read it three times this week: twice for the review and once just because.
Lily: Thanks a bunch. It is really funny with laugh-out-loud moments. My partner kept asking “what the heck are you laughing at?” every time I cracked up.
Tam, it is a wonderful read. It was a true, unexpected pick-me-up, the timing of which was priceless.
Lynn
Thank you for the wonderful review but more than anything thanks for giving me your time. I appreciate that greatly since I seem to never have enough of it.
I’m really excited you liked the book and the fact that it helped pull you out of a bit of yucky day is the best compliment you could’ve given me.
As someone who has a long list of music, movies and books I use to do just that, I find it beyond cool that something I wrote can do that for another person. So thanks for putting that in your review as it means a great deal to me as an individual and as a writer.
Thank you to everyone else for all the comments. Hopefully you’ll give Dreaming of You a chance and I can get a laugh or two you as well.
Ethan
Ethan, you are very welcome, and I return thanks for giving us Aden and his quirkiness, a great cast of other characters and a truly funny book. Well done!
And on a personal note, I’ll always fondly hold this book close to my heart because of the way it really did help me escape the intense grief I was feeling earlier this week. Wave giving it to me to read and review was perfect timing.
Well, thanks again Lynn. I’ll send a few more happy thoughts your way and hope this coming week becomes little less difficult than the last.
Thanks for ‘rooting’ for me too, Laurije Bee. Thats pretty cool to hear.
Thanks Ethan.
Ethan, sound like you did you homework on developing strong, likable characters. Those are always my favorite novels, when I can delve into a complex character, and end up feeling good about their struggle no matter if they win the day or not.
Congratulations on a superb review.
Alan Chin
Ethan Day is on my list of authors I want to try. I like a romance with laugh-out-loud moments. I think I’ll start with this book. Nice review, Aunt Lynn.
Sloan, this would be a great starter for you. Very funny and well-written.
Thanks Alan & Sloan!!
Hopefully, everyone will agree with Lynn and Aden can weasel his way into their hearts as well.
[...] have put Ethan up on some kind of author pedestal because of the yumminess that is Dreaming of You (reviewed here), one of my favorite books of this past year. I was actually a little scared to read this one; I [...]
[...] Dreaming of You by Ethan Day [...]
[...] Dreaming of You by Ethan Day [...]