Review at a Glance
- Title: Dreamland
- My Rating: 3.75
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Format: eARC*
- Publication Date: January 16, 2020
- Author: Nancy Bilyeau
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Book Blurb
The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.
The invitation to the luxurious Oriental Hotel a mile from Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.
But soon it transpires that the hedonism of nearby Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.
Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamour of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything…even murder.
Extravagant, intoxicating and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class and dangerous obsession.
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND
My Thoughts
Confession time: I’m a book cover judger. Always have been. Always will be.
When I saw the cover Dreamland, I fell in love. I barely read any of the synopsis before asking to read the book, probably because it was giving off some serious Night Circus vibes and I needed more Night Circus in my life.
While this is a very good book in its own right, I want to be clear from the beginning that Dreamland is not Night Circus and isn’t even close. These are completely different books in different genres and I don’t want anyone going into the book thinking they are remotely related the way I did. Silly me.
I’m a big fan of murder mystery books, and though I’m not sure what that says about me, the genre seems to only be growing, so at least I’m not alone. Dreamland is the perfect amount of historical fiction and mystery with a protagonist that I was immediately drawn to.
I read a lot of reviews for this book after writing my notes for my own review, mostly because I’m always curious to see if people are thinking the same things I am. I have to say I was surprised by the complaints about Peggy. It seems that the reviewers who didn’t like her (and the book in general) seemed to find Peggy to wishy washy and indecisive. I feel like that’s an unfair assessment.
Peggy was raised in one of the richest families in America and stands to inherit millions of dollars. When the book opens, she has taken a job (unpaid) in a bookshop simply because she has issues with her pampered, unfocused lifestyle. When she is manipulated into vacationing on Coney island with her family, she meets an immigrant whom she is immediately attracted to. From this point on she’s supposed to be entirely sure of her future?
Peggy is fighting engrained behavior, family expectations, society in just trying to figure out what she wants out of life. Of course she isn’t whole heartedly determined in her pursuit of anything, because at the most basic level, she still isn’t sure what she wants. Why can’t she question things, change her mind, be apprehensive about what is the right thing for her? I have trouble ordering in a restaurant, but people expect a character to me single minded about their entire lives??
I argue the Peggy was written honestly and realistically.
The best parts of the book were the observations made about immigration and class. I would say it was a dark portrayal of the way immigrants used to be treated, but given today’s political climate, Dreamland is more accurately described as a cautionary reminder of how far we haven’t come.
With a great mystery and amazing character development, Dreamland is a romantic whodunit with some coney island flare.
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