One day her uncle shows up and tells her she must join the family for the summer at the Oriental Hotel near Coney Island. Her sister is engaged to a wealthy man and the marriage is important as their father squandered their money away and they need the money that their marriage will bring. While out one evening at Dreamland at Coney Island Peggy meets an artist, Stefan, and she soon falls for him. He opens her eyes to the world outside her little bubble. Peggy Batternberg views life from an almost aerial perspective. Born into one of the richest families in America, Peggy can't seem to get away fast enough from the clutches of the rich and famous. She's taken a job at the Moonrise Bookstore in New York City posing as a plain, run of the mill shop girl. Peggy just wants an every day life without a personal maid drawing her bath each evening. But those simple days come to an abrupt hault as she is whisked away from the store by her Uncle David, the judge and jury of the Batternberg 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. Now, Stefan. I didn't ship him and Peggy. Honestly, I had another prospect in mind for Peggy and was hoping for the interest to blossom until the very end, but alas, nothing happened there. Nevertheless, Stefan was an interesting character. The sneers and unkindness he received for being a Serb immigrant only made this story all the more accurate. The time that we're living in right now is a strange time where there are a lot of immigrants crossing Europe. And the media portrayals only make us more judgmental. We see them as a threat instead of regular people in search of a better future. And of course, the public is more than ready to point fingers at them when something bad happens. Like with Stefan. Also, it was quite refreshing reading about Dalmatia and Serbia given the fact that I'm Slovene and my parents were living in the Ex-Yugoslavia. Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks is a very emotional story of a farmer who enjoys music, an aspiring singer, and a woman escaping an abusive marriage with her young son. Nicholas Sparks writes very emotional books, and Dreamland was no exception. I adored Peggy and thought she was so likable and I really felt all of her struggles when it came to class and expectations from her family as well as her other social constraints during that time. The author made her come alive and I acutely felt her struggles which for me is a hallmark of a great characters and story. Peggy Battenberg is a young heiress who struggles against the bonds of societal restrictions placed on women of her class. Peggy, against her families wishes takes a job at the Moonrise Bookstore, and lives with her ex teacher. When her family intervenes, and she is told that she is required to take a summer vacation at the Oriental Hotel, a once-grand oceanfront resort on Coney Island. For the sake of her sister Lydia, who is engaged to the rich Henry Taul, Peggy succumbs to her family’s wishes.I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*** There was no sound from the other side; the doorknob did not turn.Despite her intuition, Peggy finds herself swept off to the summering hotel and into Dreamland.

While the system initially works, allowing the pilot to directly control multiple planes with his mind, he soon loses touch with reality and gives birth to a new nightmare. It should be a dream...but Peggy remembers. She remembers exactly what caused her own relationship with Henry to end. "Who is it?" I shouted. What do you want?"The Author shares on her blog, the inspiration behind dreamland: http://nancybilyeau.blogspot.com/2019... Nancy Bilyeau presents a rip roarin' stroll on the boardwalk on Coney Island in 1911. She adds lustre tinged with darkness as Brooklyn becomes a showcase for in-your-face class distinction, jutting prime real estate, upscale grand hotels overlooking the highjinks of people at play, the paralyzing fear of European anarchists, and America perched on the brink of war. Peggy is told not to mix herself with the common folk of Coney Island, but never one to conform to her family’s expectations, she sneaks into the darkness to Dreamland. Nancy Bilyeau does a fine job surrounding this storyline with all things Coney Island. The setting provides just the right amount of who done it and why. She's done her research and her atmospheric descriptors are spot-on. Her character of Peggy reflects women of the time period who ached for something more in life while being plagued with social mores and limits. This one is a winner with no prized Kewpie Doll necessary.....just a very satisfying read.

Above is Hellgate, a popular boat ride in Dreamland. Peggy rides this in the story and a major scene takes place there.That may be a bit dramatic, but so was this romance. Saying I love you after meeting for like the second time? No thanks. The characters were for the most part very well developed. At the beginning, I struggled to grasp how their large family was connected, however I soon got the gist of it. However, the books can also prove confusing for some people. In fact, the biggest Dreamland fans will tell you that they have a basic understanding of the military, its structure, and operations, not to mention military vehicles and planes. Thank you to Hannah Groves from Endeavor Media for providing me with an advanced copy. Opinions are my own. Then there’s Lillian, a former concert pianist who followed her husband from the United States to Singapore in an attempt to escape her demons. But the emotional scars left by the death of her parents at an early age can’t be outrun. When she sees Lani, he’s the spitting image of her father. The grief, stress and aimlessness that have ruled her life for so long begin to bubble over.