A contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen's Persuasion, this lovely novel from Woodsey (author of When the Wave Collapses) is rich in romance, fantasy, and a tender yearning to make the best of a do-over. Not that this is easy for Tildy: she soon straddles the line between dreams and reality, the desire to stay in dreams—at the farm, with her Nana and Aidan—versus her real life, plus the tricky question of which exactly is the reality. Meanwhile, in the (apparent) real world, she is being wooed by an unlikely suitor, a man with a family grudge against Tildy's father.
Tildy is a sympathetic heroine, a woman made to feel small by everyone in her present but who enjoys warm and sympathetic friends in her cozy dream life. Readers will feel invested in her story and her happiness. Some supporting characters edge toward the one-dimensional, especially her shallow, insensitive family, presented without much insight into how they got this way. Still, the storytelling satisfies, and readers will be cheering for her to find her happy ending.
Takeaway: A dream experiment gives an unhappy heroine a touching second chance at love.
Comparable Titles: Melissa Pimentel’s The One That Got Away, Debra White Smith’s Possibilities.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
