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Daydream

Daydream

Contemporary RomanceRomance
Pages
427
Published
2024
Language
English

Synopsis

Halle Jacobs is a star student and a lifelong people-pleaser who has never once put herself first. Determined to change that, she enters a writing contest with a romance novel of her own, only to realize she has never lived enough of a love life to write one convincingly. Henry Turner has the opposite problem: newly and reluctantly named captain of the Maple Hills men's hockey team, he is struggling through a class with a professor who can't stand him, and he cannot afford to fail. When the two strike a bargain, Halle will tutor Henry, and Henry will take Halle on the dates she needs for her book, they set a single rule between them: don't fall in love. Keeping to it proves harder than either expected. The third book in the Maple Hills series, this fake-dating romance pairs an anxious overachiever with a warm, neurodivergent hero whose character draws on the author's own experience of autism and ADHD. It is the lightest and most comforting entry in the series, built around two friends quietly becoming something more.

Prose complexity
2/10

Vibe

LightheartedFunnyCozyEmotional
Fake DatingFriends to LoversGrumpy SunshineFound FamilySlow Burn

Genres

Contemporary Romance Romance Romantic Comedy

About the author

H
Hannah Grace

Writing under a pen name from her home in Manchester, England, Hannah Grace is the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Maple Hills series of college sports romances. She did not set out to be a novelist: during the COVID-19 pandemic she began writing a romance about a figure skater and a hockey player largely as a distraction, and in August 2022 she self-published the result, Icebreaker, under an imprint named after her two dogs, Pig and Bear. The book found a large audience through...

Characters

Halle JacobsProtagonist

An overachieving, people-pleasing student and aspiring romance novelist who enters a writing contest to finally put herself first.

Henry TurnerProtagonist

The reluctant captain of the Maple Hills men's hockey team, a warm, neurodivergent character written with autism and ADHD.

All characters in Daydream

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the premise of Daydream?

    Halle and Henry strike a bargain: she tutors him so he can pass a tough class and keep his hockey captaincy, and he fake-dates her so she has real romantic experiences to draw on for the novel she wants to write. Their one rule is not to fall in love.

  • Why does Halle need a fake boyfriend?

    Halle enters a writing contest with a romance novel but realizes she hasn't lived enough of a love life to write one convincingly. The arrangement with Henry is meant to give her the dates and experiences her book is missing.

  • Is Henry Turner neurodivergent?

    Yes. Henry is written as a neurodivergent character with autism and ADHD, drawn from Hannah Grace's own AuDHD diagnosis, which she has spoken about. The representation is woven into how he learns, plays, and relates to Halle.

  • Did Henry appear in earlier Maple Hills books?

    Yes. Henry is introduced as one of Nate's hockey teammates back in Icebreaker. Daydream promotes him to a lead and tells his own story, a common pattern across the series.

  • How does the tutoring part of the deal work?

    Halle tutors Henry using study approaches suited to how he learns, helping him survive a class with a professor who dislikes him so he can stay eligible as team captain. In return he holds up his side of the fake-dating bargain.

  • Can Daydream be read as a standalone?

    It can. Daydream follows a fresh central couple and wraps up its own romance, though reading the earlier Maple Hills books first means recognizing returning characters and relationships.

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