Dream On

Starred review from May 2, 2022
Hockman (Shipped) puts a wonderfully original spin on amnesia romance in her delightful sophomore rom-com. Aspiring lawyer Cass Walker falls asleep at the wheel after her bar exam and wakes up in the hospital six days later asking for her boyfriend, Devin Bloom. This question baffles her friends and family, who’ve never heard the name and know Cass to be single. Cass struggles to reconcile herself to the idea that the man she can picture so clearly is a figment of her imagination—until, one year later, she stops into Cleveland flower shop Blooms & Baubles for a bouquet and comes face-to-face with the man in her mind’s eye. It’s Devin Szymanski, brother of the shop’s owner, Perry, and, though he has no idea who Cass is, he agrees to help her solve the mystery of their connection. Cass is sure it must be fate—but fate, and Cass’s surprising feelings for Perry, may disagree. Hockman makes the explanation for Cass’s memories feel eminently plausible. The endearing cast will capture readers’ hearts, and the clever, twisty plot keeps the pages flying. This is a first-rate romp.