Daydream

Bestseller Grace continues her Maple Hills series (after Wildfire) with this meandering third college romance. Fresh from the breakup of a lackluster relationship, UCMH junior and aspiring author Halle Jacobs throws herself into school, work, running a romance book club at a local bookstore, and preparing to enter a romance writing competition. There's just one problem: Halle's never been in love herself, and her insecurity about her lack of experience leads to writer's block. Meanwhile, junior year is not starting so well for Henry Turner, who struggles to juggle his new responsibilities as the hockey team captain, a position he does not want for fear of failure, with the homework for a difficult required class. When Halle and Henry's paths collide during a book club meet and greet, they become instant friends. Halle offers to help Henry in the class in exchange for him teaching her how to date. Grace throws a lot of tropes at the wall to bring these two together but doesn't provide a solid through line for readers to latch onto. As a result, the plot feels both bloated and dragged out, and, despite Henry's undiagnosed neurodivergence adding some pathos, neither of the leads is particularly three-dimensional. Only die-hard fans need apply. (Aug.)