TO DREAM IN DAYLIGHT presents a different kind of meet-cute romance that bends the rules of reality. Right away the premise offers an interesting dilemma: what if your closest, longest friendship happened only in dreams? What if your dream soulmate was, in fact, real? Twenty-somethings Adri and Simon have been friends since they were kids, meeting up only in their shared dreams. As friendship begins to blossom into romance, the two of them fear that the connection isn’t as real as they believe it is. The story is one of those fun, feel-good books when something cozy and lighthearted is required. The prose is easy to dive into, and even easier to lose track of a few hours while Adri and Simon share their unique love story. A contemporary romance with a fantastical twist, this novel is for those who like their meet-cutes mixed with a bunch of timeless genre tropes. Not only do Adri and Simon take a journey from childhood friends to romance, there’s a dash of fated soulmates in here, and a will they, won’t they relationship drama compounded by issues that span across geographical distance and reality itself.
An embarrassing viral video that breaks the internet—to poor introverted Adri’s complete horror—is certainly a unique way to bring these two dream friends into each other’s very real lives. For maximum relationship angst, it’s one-sided, as Simon has the hilarious/mortifying realization that his dream girl is now the subject of memes. But he nevertheless sets off on a journey to find her, flying from his home in Portland to Chicago, desperate to finally meet his soulmate in the waking world. At times, the disparate romantic conflicts in their lives can be a little much, but separately and together, Adri and Simon make an adorable pair. Bookish, snarky Adri is a good companion to her anxious, sensitive dream boy. Their long, strange history is built in dreamy interludes, where they support each other through the various ups and downs of their lives. It’s quite a wait of near-misses throughout the novel to reach the point where reality finally catches up to their dreams. Their meetup is such a rush of emotion that it’s a bit disappointing that Adri and Simon don’t get to spend a lot of time together before their epilogue.
Hilarious and fun, TO DREAM IN DAYLIGHT is a feel-good, genre-bending romance about the dreams that happen while sleeping, that pushes the limits of reality to show the beauty of connecting with a stranger who might be your soulmate.
~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader
