Dreaming of Daisy

A Red Maple Falls Novel, #6

By: Theresa Paolo

Narrated by: Krista Nicely

She left him once to live her dream, but can she do it again?

With big dreams of seeing her name in lights on Broadway, Daisy Hayes left behind her small town, family, and the only boy she ever loved. Six years later, broke, unsuccessful, and on the brink of being homeless, she refuses to accept that she failed. But when she receives a phone call from home, she has no choice but to get on the next train and face the past she ran out on all those years ago.

Nick Davis has never fully recovered after his high school sweetheart disappeared without an explanation only hours after he proposed. Throwing himself into school or work, and his father's illness, kept him going. But with his dad now gone and his career a success, he's out of distractions. So when Daisy Hayes comes back to town and he's face-to-face with the girl who broke his heart, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.

Unable to avoid each other, tensions heat up, old chemistry resurfaces, and a love they both thought was lost is found. But with one refusing to look back and the other refusing to let go, their second chance at forever might be over before it even begins.

©2018 Theresa Paolo (P)2020 Theresa Paolo

Can Daisy and Nick make it work this time?

Dreaming of Daisy (audio) by Theresa Paolo is a trip back to Red Maple Falls where the last of the Hayes family is ready for romance. Betty Hayes, the family matriarch, slipped on some black ice and fell and is prepping for a hip replacement. The family is gathered, including Daisy, who had taken off for New York six years earlier and only dropped in and out, never staying for long. The boyfriend she snuck out on then now works for her brother Mason, at the brewery, at has arrived at the station to pick her up and take her to the hospital. She is beyond worried, and not at all happy to see Nick leaning against his dead father's pickup truck. She is mostly embarrassed about running off without telling him, but also is still attracted to him. He has grown up from the 18 he was when she left and had turned into a very attractive man. This was a dangerous situation for both of them.

Red Maple Falls is home. The books set here are full of the same people we know and love. Betty is a pillar, but so are Grandpa Stanley, and her parents, and Sunday dinner. These are all very likable people, looking for their places in the world. Daisy had gone to New York, looking for her place, which she thought was a Broadway stage. It hadn't worked out as she thought but she was too proud to give up. Nick Davis had found in lot in life: he was a salesman and he was now making Mason's Brewery a success. He had not given up the past: he lived in his parents' home, he drove his father's pickup, he still nursed his anger, and his love for Daisy Hayes. Things needed to change for both of them. This is a small-town, second-chance romance and it is a good one.

Krista Nicely is a decent reader for this very pleasant story. I didn't like the hesitation in her voice, especially for men, but I have heard this often and am assuming it is the director, not the reader. She does a more than competent job and makes the book come alive as she reads.

I was invited to listen to an audio version of this book by the author. All thoughts and opinions are mine.