A Clover Lake Novel: Book 1
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father’s car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town’s café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There’s only one problem—Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood’s favorite wild child—is the star.
Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she’s not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she’s just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town—she even works at the town’s café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.
But Dylan soon realizes it’s not just some small-town waitress she’s getting to know—Ramona Riley is someone she’s met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.
When the request to review Dream On, Ramona Riley came through my inbox; I was a little hesitant. It being a queer romance is a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m trying to expand my horizons. And I’m quite glad I picked up this first book in the Clover Lake series by Ashley Herring Blake.
This story is about Ramona, a small-town girl who gave up her dreams to help raise her younger sister. Her sister is getting ready to head off to college, and Ramona is stuck. But then a movie crew comes to town to shoot a rom-com, and Ramona comes face to face with the girl she shared her first kiss with as a teen. And then there is Dylan. She has gotten quite the reputation in Hollywood, but she’s signed on to this rom-com with hopes of repairing her image.
I really liked Ramona. She is that typical girl next door who is friends with everyone. She’s a little quirky and has an eclectic circle of friends, but she’s also relatable. I also like that she was comfortable in her own skin, both physically and emotionally. On the other hand, Dylan is harder to like. She’s angry and doesn’t manage that anger very well, often lashing out at everyone around her. And, of course, being in the spotlight her whole life just makes everything so much worse for Dylan and those around her. But I found myself feeling for Dylan and rooting for her and Ramona to find their happily ever after.
The sex scenes took me a bit out of my comfort zone, and after the first one, I pretty much just skimmed past them since they didn’t add to the story for me. They also felt different from the rest of the story, almost like someone else wrote them. The language was coarse and over the top. I just felt taken out of the story. Of course, this could also be a “me-problem” since I’m finding that I tend to gravitate more to “clean romance” rather than more graphic ones as I get older.
Dream On, Ramona Riley surprisingly gut-punched me in a good way. I was drawn into the story, and when there was an unexpected twist, I couldn’t wait to see how it would get resolved. Once I got to know the characters, I kept tearing up as I cared about Ramona and Dylan and their journey. I don’t know if I’ll continue the series, but I am glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this book and
Dream On, Ramona Riley is a same-sex romance that draws you in and tugs at your heartstrings. I encourage readers to give this one a try.
Ashley Herring Blake is an award-winning author. She loves coffee, cats, melancholy songs, and happy books. She is the author of the romance novels Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, and the forthcoming Make the Season Bright. She’s also the coeditor on the young adult romance anthology Fools in Love. She lives on a very tiny island off the coast of Georgia with her family.
