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Hello sassy people! Today’s post is about this incredible book I was honored to review as an ARC: Make Me Dream by Dillon Bancroft! Thank you, Dillon and RMWB Tours for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book is NOT for everyone, and that is okay, we all have our limits, but in my opinion, it’s an incredibly important work that this author did here. This book is an example of one of the major roles of romance books, telling the world about the realities so many women go through. The amount of knowledge and life lessons, empathy lessons, and eye-opening moments that this book has is outstanding.
Make Me Dream
by Dillon Bancroft
Aria
They say snitches get stitches. Except I got all the stitches before I ever thought about trying to snitch. My abusive ex-boyfriend, one of the most powerful men in the country, is on the hunt for my silence. He’ll stop at nothing to make sure I’m six feet under for ratting him out to the FBI.
To make matters worse, I’m pregnant . . . with his baby. So why do I want to fall in bed with the sexy veterinarian who lives two doors down from me on the family farm? I can’t resist starting a no-strings attachment with the hot, single dad who doesn’t do forever. But it can’t be more than that. I’m on borrowed time. Forever will get us both killed.
Derek
The prodigal daughter returns to Sage Creek and I want to send her anywhere but here. I don’t need her brand of drama lurking around. Especially when I have a daughter I’m fighting to get sole custody of. But when my brother from another mother becomes her witness protection and brings her to the farm I work at, I’m forced to help keep Aria safe.
Her past is messy, and it most certainly gives me a headache I wasn’t looking for. I don’t do promises and happily ever afters. So why am I considering giving everything and more to Aria McKenzie when she strolls back into the barns of Sage Creek with a black eye, battered and broken?
Genre: Romance, ARC
Year: 2022
Goodreads rate: 4,12
Tropes: Military Romance, Rape victim, Single Parent, Small Town Romance, Victim of domestic violence, Victim of a past abusive relationship
Smut factor: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 4/5 (steamy)
TRIGGER WARNINGS (Based on StoryGraphs): Confinement, Domestic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical Abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content
Main characters: Aria and Derek
Main conflict: The victim of a past abusive relationship scapes her abuser but lives with the constant threat of his return, and she has to deal with rebuilding her life again, finding love, and trusting again.
Pacing: Medium
Mood: Deep, Heavy, Important
Hero: Ster Brunch Daddy
Plot or character-driven: Mix
P.O.V.: Double P.O.V.
Character development: Deep
Read in: 2022
My Rate: 5/5
From the very first paragraph, this book hooked me. It has very heavy and insightful moments, that are balanced by moments full of action and thrill. This is the type of book I love, the ones that dive deep into heavy and difficult subjects, show us things we would never see. This is the type of book I’m more than proud of saying I read and I believe these types of books are necessary to report the reality and the horrific things women, all over the world, go through every single day. I loved the writing that kept me hooked until the very last moment, I love the balance between insightful, thrilling, sweet, hopeful and, to be honest, shocking moments. This is an author that I will definitely read more from.
Feminist rate: 5/5
And if there was a 6 I would give it. This is the type of book we need more of. It treats several heavy and important topics, shows us the inside workings of the mind of someone who was tortured by the person who was supposed to take care of them, shows that the torture doesn’t end when they leave their abuser, shows the deep scars, not only physical but mental and emotional that these women will have for the rest of their lives, shows how real and healthy relationships work, showed the difficult choice of maintaining or not, not only an unplanned pregnancy but a traumatizing one. There is so much here and I loved every second. I have a special place in my heart for books that show the healing of abuse survivors. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing someone survive, heal, learn to love again, trust again, and build their life, stronger than ever. It only serves to show the strength of these people. I made a small list of topics I loved, that this author touched on very carefully and beautifully:
- mental health
- abortion (and abortion laws)
- consent
- Healthy communication about sex, setting boundaries and limits (and this should happen in any relationship, not only with people who were assaulted)
- After care
- Healthy relationship role models
- Enthusiastic consent
- PTSD
- The inactivity of people surrounding these victims (How people, like neighbors, didn’t help her)
- Women rivalry
- Therapy
- Sexism
- The power imbalance is toxic relationships
- How to respect people and their traumas
- The power of women who help other women
- The incapacity of law enforcement to keep the abuser away from their victims
And so much more. I needed to make this list, because this is just 10% of the reflections this book created in my mind, and I hope it does the same with everyone that reads it.
Adjectives and general thoughts: Deep, Heavy but so important and so well done, it hooked me from page one.
Recommend this to People who have no triggers, because this is a heavy read. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about women, anyone who wants to understand this issue better, understand the signs, the things we can do, and also understand them and just a small fraction of everything they went through.
Author’s Links
Book Tour Page – https://www.rmwbooks.com/
Website – https://www.dillonbancroft.
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
If you want to buy this book, it is now live on Amazon. You can also add it to your shelf on Goodreads and see what other people thought about it!
Well, that is all for today, I hope you like this post, hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Feel free to leave your opinion about it in the comments and I will see you next time!
Bye sassy people!
- I know that some comments I make about decent guys on my posts are the bare minimum a guy should do, so no, they don’t deserve to be treated like gods for doing the minimum, but at the same time, I’ve read a lot of sexist books and I appreciate authors who make characters that can serve as role models and examples of how a decent guy acts and what a loving and respectful relationship looks like. I believe we should always encourage these authors and bring attention to the ones that still write sexist characters and stories.
- I make a lot of comments about sexism and healthy role models in books, but a lot of times these characteristics don’t make the book a bad book and definitely don’t make the author a bad author. Please never shame these authors and these books for these comments, I simply feel that we need to have awareness of the less than ideal situations some books bring us, and not use the romanticized problem as examples of what a relationship should be. Most of these authors are still amazing, and the content they write doesn’t reflect directly with their personal views and opinions. Always make sure to respect and be kind to everyone, even while criticizing their content.
Find Me In
Meet Me
Brazilian architecture student and book lover
One of my goals in analysing my readings was to talk about important topics, like feminist and consent, because literature, art and culture influence us, and I believe we should always encorage authors who talk about this topics.
Come check out my Goodreads Reading Challenge!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020
I read 148 books in 2020, come see them!
Thank you so, so much for review! I’m so happy Aria resonated with you. I wrote this book because this kind of book wasn’t around when I needed it. So hopefully now, it’ll be around for someone who needs it!
Thank you again so much, and thank you for loving my characters as much as I do!
Thank you for writing this amazing book. I believe that it will impact many others as it impacted me! This book is very special and I was honored to receive it!