But I'm not being radical when I kiss you: DREAM ON, RAMONA RILEY.

Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first read of Pride Month. I love Ashley Herring Blake, but this wasn't my favorite book of hers.

Ramona finds herself stuck in her hometown of Clover Lake after her mom leaves, forcing her to care for her little sister, Olive. Most of her childhood is filled with grown up responsibilities, but she savors one magical teenage kiss with a girl by the lake. Flash forward to the present, where she now knows that girl was Dylan Monroe, famous actress of rock star parents. Dylan is coming to Clover Lake to film a queer romance.

We quickly learn that Dylan is a train wreck who refuses to be held accountable for her own behavior, blaming everything on her tumultuous childhood. Of course, her people decide for her to fake date Ramona to rehab her image. As for Ramona, she knows proximity to Dylan means a potential introduction to her favorite film customer designer-- which has always been her dream job.

I know this will come as a shock to you all, but neither tells the other about their secret.

Also shockingly, fake dating quickly becomes a situation where they have real feelings.

Alas, much of this story is punctuated by sooo much miscommunication or a major lack of communication. Dylan is like a grown child who is unable to deal with real life. Ramona is quite mature, but too afraid to speak up for herself after losing herself to her family for years. I get that miscommunication is a common romance trope, but it felt too much here. The book was less enjoyable and more stressful.

This is also a very spicy story. No problem with that, but sex seems to be used as a substitute for actual connection between the characters. Sex is awesome, but it doesn't equal a healthy relationship, especially here. (Also, those scenes are LONG. I listened to the audiobook for part of this book, and traveled between two towns during one. I think they are about 30 minutes apart!)

It feels like a huge chunk of the book is just sex scenes and various episodes of Dylan "crashing out," as my teens would say. This comes at the expense of character development and a more in-depth explanation of their relationship. One of my favorite scenes in the book is Herring Blake's description of Ramona and Dylan meeting as teens. It reminded me of so many of her wonderful YA novels, where she goes so in-depth into her teen characters. I often wished for more teen Ramona and Dylan, or just more of that old characterization.

The book improves in the last third, as it's a romance, and I'm a sucker for happy endings. There's a bit of character growth (and some much needed communication and growing up). Some points still felt a bit unresolved, though. I was very glad to see some glimpses of Iris from Bright Falls! (Dylan is starring in the movie version of Iris' book.)


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