Book Summary: 

When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.

My Review:

If you’re a fan of Hannah Grace, you’ve definitely seen her writing style evolve over her last three books. She captured the hearts of romance readers with the lust-filled pages of “Icebreaker.” She reminded us of the magic of summer love with the sweet and heartfelt tale woven into “Wildfire.” If she was trying to find a balance between love and lust, passion and potential, heavy and heart, she nailed it with “Daydream.”

This book was incredible! I think I read it faster than any other book by her. First off, it was Henry, and almost every single one of her readers was already head over heels for him! You never had to wonder what was in his head because he just said it. He was real, he was raw, and he was so lovable that you secretly hoped, pleaded, and begged that Hannah would give him his own book – and boy, did she deliver.

The difficult task was creating a female protagonist we would all accept. As I said, we love Henry, so like Anastasia, Lola, Robbie, Nate, Russ, and all the others in his life, we want what’s best for him. You can tell Hannah had that in mind when she created Halle. I can’t even imagine a more perfect match for him. Hannah did a remarkable job making them so different yet the perfect pair. The innocence of their friendship, the transition to comfort, the birth of their relationship – it was all absolutely beautiful. Watching these two fall in love felt like a gift.

I will say you do get a bit of a spoiler if you’ve read “Wildfire.” So here’s my heads up: if you want to know what happens after the end of “Daydream,” go back and reread the epilogue of “Wildfire.” Now, back to the book. We’ve seen bits and pieces of Henry throughout the series, but an entire novel focused on his wit, charm, and everything that makes him Henry may be too much for one woman’s heart. He’ll make you laugh, tear up, and definitely fall in love with him over and over again. The way he is with Halle is how every woman should be seen, heard, and appreciated.

Speaking of Halle, I swear Hannah peeked inside every young woman, found her vulnerabilities and insecurities, and wrote Halle. We can all identify with a part of her in one way or another – either from being the one everyone depends on, never feeling like you belong, just wanting someone to put you first, being a people pleaser, settling for what’s in front of you instead of daring to dream bigger, the self-doubt – all of it. She was a piece of each and every one of us, and you couldn’t help but want to be her friend, confidant, and protector.

What impressed me most is that Hannah made sure Halle’s circle of friends was truly her own. Often, in a hockey romance, the new girlfriend gets inducted into the circle of WAGs. Hannah made sure to focus on her circle being outside of Henry. Aurora knew Halle before she reconnected with Henry. Yes, she expressed that she didn’t pursue the friendship as hard, but she made sure her loyalty lay with Halle. Callie was her co-worker, Poppy was Callie’s roommate, and Emilie was just another link from Aurora to Halle. Her circle was just that – hers. Remove Henry, and each of the women was still connected outside the world of hockey. I thought that approach was brilliant because it addressed one of Halle’s fears.

There is so much I enjoyed about this book, but Halle’s transformation, growth, and maturation right before our eyes through various experiences made it memorable for me. We watched her discover what worked and what didn’t, find her self-worth, find her voice, and ultimately become the person we all knew she could be, the person we all know we can be.

Hannah did a phenomenal job with “Daydream.” I hope it isn’t the end of the series, and part of me doesn’t think it is. We spent too much time with Mattie and others for it to be over. Oh, before I forget – and this isn’t a spoiler – Hannah writes a letter to the fans stating she isn’t going to diagnose Henry. For those of us who have someone neurodiverse in our lives, we can see snippets of our loved ones in him, and for me, at least, that was enough. I appreciated how those around Halle helped her understand his idiosyncrasies – from her stepsister, who had ADHD, to her neighbor’s granddaughter, who was on the spectrum. Again, Hannah doesn’t label Henry, nor does she need to, but she takes the time to sprinkle the relevance of neurodiversity into the story and how those with differently wired minds find ways, coping mechanisms, and environments that work best for them.

There is so much to learn and love, and I hope anyone who may have been put off by “Icebreaker” gives this Hannah another chance because this is one book you definitely don’t want to miss.