What do you think?
Rate this book
Man of My Dreams
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26A romance author is shocked when one of her characters-in-progress seemingly comes to life… but is he too good to be true, in this dramatic and twisty thriller perfect for fans of Ashley Winstead and Kate Alice Marshall, where the truth really is stranger than fiction.
Bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt has been as unlucky in love as she’s been successful in writing—as her sad relationship track attests, there are no good dating options left in New York . . . Until she rescues an escaped dog in the park, and runs into Liam. Charming, British, hot architect Liam. The exact description of the love interest in her next book.
When an instant connection leads to a whirlwind relationship, Ivy is convinced she’s found the dream man. Except he may be too perfect. He may be hiding something.
And Ivy may have secrets of her own.
Bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt has been as unlucky in love as she’s been successful in writing—as her sad relationship track attests, there are no good dating options left in New York . . . Until she rescues an escaped dog in the park, and runs into Liam. Charming, British, hot architect Liam. The exact description of the love interest in her next book.
When an instant connection leads to a whirlwind relationship, Ivy is convinced she’s found the dream man. Except he may be too perfect. He may be hiding something.
And Ivy may have secrets of her own.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 2, 2026
16410 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Worley
8 books483 followersOlivia Worley is an author born and raised in New Orleans. A graduate of Northwestern University, she now lives in NYC, where she spends her time writing thrillers, over-analyzing episodes of The Bachelor, and hoping someone will romanticize her for reading on the subway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 28, 2026
Man of My Dreams was a mess in the best way possible. It was a wild ride from start to finish. The number of twists in this book were absolutely insane.
Go in blind & pick this one up when it’s released on June 2nd.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Go in blind & pick this one up when it’s released on June 2nd.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My two favorite genres collide in the most addictive way here: a romcom–meet-cute wrapped inside a mystery and psychological thriller.
This is absolutely the kind of book you devour in one sitting—heart racing, pages flying, brain working overtime as you try to piece together what really happened eleven years ago, how the fire started, who’s stalking whom, and who the real villain of this story truly is. I kept forming theory after theory, burning brain cells while asking myself the same question over and over: How can someone like Liam even exist? Isn’t he way too good to be true?
The story centers on bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt, whose life suddenly feels like it’s stepping right out of one of her own novels. She literally has her own meet-cute when she rescues an adorable runaway dog… only to discover it belongs to its ridiculously handsome owner—a British architect named Liam, who is uncannily similar to the hero of her latest book. Even his workplace matches the one she wrote. It’s like she wrote herself a love spell and the universe decided to deliver.
But Ivy’s seemingly perfect world starts to crack when she begins receiving terrifying messages from an anonymous online stalker using the name Heathcliff—a twisted nod to her own novel, a happier reimagining of Wuthering Heights. The messages accuse her of being a fraud and prove that someone knows where she lives and what she’s hiding. Things spiral even further when her ex-boyfriend Xavier shows up at a book signing, making chilling comments about what really happened eleven years ago—the tragic event that reshaped her entire life. Suddenly, Ivy realizes someone out there knows her secrets, and they’re ready to destroy everything she’s built.
I loved how cleverly the author plays with Ivy’s perspective, constantly making us question what’s real and what might be delusion. Is Ivy sleepwalking? Is she still haunted by trauma that never healed? Can she trust Liam when he seems so impossibly perfect? When everything in your life feels like it’s coming apart, how do you know whether love is real—or just another trap?
Even though some twists were predictable, the pacing is absolutely electric. The pressure keeps building until you feel like you’re hyperventilating alongside Ivy. The story never slows down, and I found myself glued to the pages, reading way too fast, desperate to know how it all ends. (Yes, my eyes definitely paid the price for that.)
I was so close to giving this five stars. The relentless pacing alone almost pushed it there, even with a few plot holes. I ended up settling at 3.5 stars mostly because the ending didn’t quite land for me—it was sinister and interesting, but I wanted something a little more satisfying. Honestly, I would have loved an extra epilogue, maybe even from prison.
Still, I’m absolutely planning to read more from Olivia Worley. I loved her fast-paced, romantic-thriller style, and I’m thrilled to have found another auto-approved author for myself.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for sharing this irresistible page-turner’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💖📚
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
instagram
facebook
This is absolutely the kind of book you devour in one sitting—heart racing, pages flying, brain working overtime as you try to piece together what really happened eleven years ago, how the fire started, who’s stalking whom, and who the real villain of this story truly is. I kept forming theory after theory, burning brain cells while asking myself the same question over and over: How can someone like Liam even exist? Isn’t he way too good to be true?
The story centers on bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt, whose life suddenly feels like it’s stepping right out of one of her own novels. She literally has her own meet-cute when she rescues an adorable runaway dog… only to discover it belongs to its ridiculously handsome owner—a British architect named Liam, who is uncannily similar to the hero of her latest book. Even his workplace matches the one she wrote. It’s like she wrote herself a love spell and the universe decided to deliver.
But Ivy’s seemingly perfect world starts to crack when she begins receiving terrifying messages from an anonymous online stalker using the name Heathcliff—a twisted nod to her own novel, a happier reimagining of Wuthering Heights. The messages accuse her of being a fraud and prove that someone knows where she lives and what she’s hiding. Things spiral even further when her ex-boyfriend Xavier shows up at a book signing, making chilling comments about what really happened eleven years ago—the tragic event that reshaped her entire life. Suddenly, Ivy realizes someone out there knows her secrets, and they’re ready to destroy everything she’s built.
I loved how cleverly the author plays with Ivy’s perspective, constantly making us question what’s real and what might be delusion. Is Ivy sleepwalking? Is she still haunted by trauma that never healed? Can she trust Liam when he seems so impossibly perfect? When everything in your life feels like it’s coming apart, how do you know whether love is real—or just another trap?
Even though some twists were predictable, the pacing is absolutely electric. The pressure keeps building until you feel like you’re hyperventilating alongside Ivy. The story never slows down, and I found myself glued to the pages, reading way too fast, desperate to know how it all ends. (Yes, my eyes definitely paid the price for that.)
I was so close to giving this five stars. The relentless pacing alone almost pushed it there, even with a few plot holes. I ended up settling at 3.5 stars mostly because the ending didn’t quite land for me—it was sinister and interesting, but I wanted something a little more satisfying. Honestly, I would have loved an extra epilogue, maybe even from prison.
Still, I’m absolutely planning to read more from Olivia Worley. I loved her fast-paced, romantic-thriller style, and I’m thrilled to have found another auto-approved author for myself.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for sharing this irresistible page-turner’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💖📚
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“Man of My Dreams” by Olivia Worley starts out like a glossy rom-com with the stereotypical meet-cute, charm, and a dash of wish fulfillment, and then calmly pulls the rug out from under you. What follows is a twisty psychological thriller that plays with fantasy, paranoia, and the dangerous gap between the stories we tell ourselves and the truth we’re trying not to see.
Ivy Harcourt is a bestselling romance author who knows how love is supposed to work on the page, even if her real-life dating history is a mess. So when she meets Liam, a charming British architect who is uncannily similar to the male lead in her current novel, it feels like fate. Or manifestation. Or something far more unsettling. The romance accelerates quickly, and at first it’s easy to lean into the fantasy right along with Ivy…until cracks start to appear.
Strange coincidences pile up. Ivy believes she’s being stalked by someone who knows where she lives. Her paranoia intensifies, fueled by past trauma, childhood secrets, and a history of sleepwalking she can’t fully explain. Ivy is an unreliable narrator in the best way: the book constantly makes you question whether the danger is real or whether everything is happening inside her head right up until an ex-boyfriend is murdered, and the story takes a sharp, undeniable turn into thriller territory.
What makes this book stand out is that the central mystery isn’t actually about whether Liam is “the bad guy.” That question becomes something of a red herring. Instead, the heart of the story lies in Ivy herself and the deeply buried truth about her childhood, her parents, and especially her sister. Flashback chapters from her sister’s perspective reveal an isolated, traumatic upbringing and add emotional weight and slowly reframe everything Ivy thinks she knows about her past.
Worley’s tone is razor-sharp. She balances humor, romance, and creeping dread so effectively that the book never settles into a single genre. The pacing is tight, the twists are frequent, and while some coincidences stretch believability, they’re easy to forgive because the emotional logic holds. The final act delivers multiple revelations, including a major twist that genuinely catches you off guard, capped with a last-minute stinger that seals the experience.
Ivy isn’t a villain so much as a product of her circumstances; she is deeply flawed, self-destructive, and painfully human. Watching her unravel and then finally confront the truth is unsettling and satisfying in equal measure.
Overall, “Man of My Dreams” is a clever, subversive thriller that weaponizes rom-com fantasy and turns it into something dark and compulsively readable. If you enjoy unreliable narrators, meta storytelling, and romances that make you deeply suspicious from page one, this book is absolutely worth the ride. Come for the meet-cute and stay for the psychological free fall.
“Man of My Dreams” by Olivia Worley starts out like a glossy rom-com with the stereotypical meet-cute, charm, and a dash of wish fulfillment, and then calmly pulls the rug out from under you. What follows is a twisty psychological thriller that plays with fantasy, paranoia, and the dangerous gap between the stories we tell ourselves and the truth we’re trying not to see.
Ivy Harcourt is a bestselling romance author who knows how love is supposed to work on the page, even if her real-life dating history is a mess. So when she meets Liam, a charming British architect who is uncannily similar to the male lead in her current novel, it feels like fate. Or manifestation. Or something far more unsettling. The romance accelerates quickly, and at first it’s easy to lean into the fantasy right along with Ivy…until cracks start to appear.
Strange coincidences pile up. Ivy believes she’s being stalked by someone who knows where she lives. Her paranoia intensifies, fueled by past trauma, childhood secrets, and a history of sleepwalking she can’t fully explain. Ivy is an unreliable narrator in the best way: the book constantly makes you question whether the danger is real or whether everything is happening inside her head right up until an ex-boyfriend is murdered, and the story takes a sharp, undeniable turn into thriller territory.
What makes this book stand out is that the central mystery isn’t actually about whether Liam is “the bad guy.” That question becomes something of a red herring. Instead, the heart of the story lies in Ivy herself and the deeply buried truth about her childhood, her parents, and especially her sister. Flashback chapters from her sister’s perspective reveal an isolated, traumatic upbringing and add emotional weight and slowly reframe everything Ivy thinks she knows about her past.
Worley’s tone is razor-sharp. She balances humor, romance, and creeping dread so effectively that the book never settles into a single genre. The pacing is tight, the twists are frequent, and while some coincidences stretch believability, they’re easy to forgive because the emotional logic holds. The final act delivers multiple revelations, including a major twist that genuinely catches you off guard, capped with a last-minute stinger that seals the experience.
Ivy isn’t a villain so much as a product of her circumstances; she is deeply flawed, self-destructive, and painfully human. Watching her unravel and then finally confront the truth is unsettling and satisfying in equal measure.
Overall, “Man of My Dreams” is a clever, subversive thriller that weaponizes rom-com fantasy and turns it into something dark and compulsively readable. If you enjoy unreliable narrators, meta storytelling, and romances that make you deeply suspicious from page one, this book is absolutely worth the ride. Come for the meet-cute and stay for the psychological free fall.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I very much enjoyed Olivia Worley’s previous books, Final Cut and People to Follow, and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed with Man of My Dreams. Worley has become one of my must-read authors.
Ivy Harcourt has had a rough life after her parents and sister passed away when she was young, and she has struggled to survive ever since. She couldn’t believe her luck when she sold her first book and is now a best-selling author. Her love life seems to be on the upswing as well when she meets dreamy Liam. He’s so perfect, and he’s exactly like the male main character in her new book. However, strange things begin to happen to Ivy when it appears she’s being followed. Does she have a stalker, or is it something even more nefarious?
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book. It started with a romance novel meet-cute, but soon developed into something far more twisty and suspenseful. I ended up reading this book in a couple of days because I couldn’t put it down!
Ivy didn’t trust Liam or even her own memory. She didn’t know what was real, and neither did I, as the reader. The book is presented in timelines between the present day and thirteen years earlier. The pacing was fantastic, and the author kept up the tension all the way to the end of the book.
Ivy was a bit too repetitive about her relationship with Liam. She kept saying she didn’t know whether she trusted him, but whenever he did something nice for her, she just set aside her earlier suspicions. She was annoying in that way, but Ivy was a character who had been so damaged by her past that she just wanted to be loved.
It was a great romance/thriller with a lot of twists and turns, and I’d definitely recommend it checking it out when it’s released!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Ivy Harcourt has had a rough life after her parents and sister passed away when she was young, and she has struggled to survive ever since. She couldn’t believe her luck when she sold her first book and is now a best-selling author. Her love life seems to be on the upswing as well when she meets dreamy Liam. He’s so perfect, and he’s exactly like the male main character in her new book. However, strange things begin to happen to Ivy when it appears she’s being followed. Does she have a stalker, or is it something even more nefarious?
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book. It started with a romance novel meet-cute, but soon developed into something far more twisty and suspenseful. I ended up reading this book in a couple of days because I couldn’t put it down!
Ivy didn’t trust Liam or even her own memory. She didn’t know what was real, and neither did I, as the reader. The book is presented in timelines between the present day and thirteen years earlier. The pacing was fantastic, and the author kept up the tension all the way to the end of the book.
Ivy was a bit too repetitive about her relationship with Liam. She kept saying she didn’t know whether she trusted him, but whenever he did something nice for her, she just set aside her earlier suspicions. She was annoying in that way, but Ivy was a character who had been so damaged by her past that she just wanted to be loved.
It was a great romance/thriller with a lot of twists and turns, and I’d definitely recommend it checking it out when it’s released!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
WOW!! This is the first book I’ve read by Olivia Worley and definitely won’t be my last. I flew through it in one day, ignoring calls, emails and even meals! The dual timelines worked perfectly in slowly bringing to light what was hidden in the shadows. I did figure out a couple of the twists but that was okay because there were more and I was literally shocked! I was never sure, even up until the end, who to trust. Everyone had something to hide and it was like trying to put the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. Worley leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for the reader to follow that leads to the mind-blowing finale. If you like suspenseful thrillers with unreliable narrators, then Man of My Dreams is for you. I highly recommend adding this one to the top of your TBR! A big thank you to Minotaur Books via NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A million thank you's to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Olivia Worley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.
Man Of My Dreams has become my new favorite thriller. I devoured this book in one sitting. An author meets a character straight from the book she's currently writing...I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
I fell in love with Ivy, I see alot of me in her. The character development and world building is excellent. The pace is perfect. Y'all, get ready for the wildest, twisted and best ride of y'alls lives with this one.
I truly recommend that y'all get y'alls hands on this book on June 2, 2026. Trust me, y'all don't want to miss this one.
Man Of My Dreams has become my new favorite thriller. I devoured this book in one sitting. An author meets a character straight from the book she's currently writing...I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
I fell in love with Ivy, I see alot of me in her. The character development and world building is excellent. The pace is perfect. Y'all, get ready for the wildest, twisted and best ride of y'alls lives with this one.
I truly recommend that y'all get y'alls hands on this book on June 2, 2026. Trust me, y'all don't want to miss this one.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was suchhhh a fun read! I love how Olivia Worley books are so relatable, you can really see yourself in the FMC and the plot would be a real life worse case scenario situation 😅😅😅
I loved the dark humour, the drama, the chaos.. this is a quick read based on the fact I couldn’t put it down! I had to see how all the cards would land 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
I also laughed out loud at these recommendations
Read this if you like:
*Meet cutes gone wrong (like, really, really wrong).
*Your boyfriends as unreliable as your narrators.
*Bringing him to meet your family, Murder Edition.
I loved the dark humour, the drama, the chaos.. this is a quick read based on the fact I couldn’t put it down! I had to see how all the cards would land 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
I also laughed out loud at these recommendations
Read this if you like:
*Meet cutes gone wrong (like, really, really wrong).
*Your boyfriends as unreliable as your narrators.
*Bringing him to meet your family, Murder Edition.
February 4, 2026
“Man of My Dreams” is a stellar release! Since the moment the book started I was tangled into its webs. While I sped through it I do want to say I had some slight issues with the pacing of a certain storyline that carries us through the first of the book. Once over that hump this book is amazing! The twist! The writing! It’s all so good!!
Thank you Netgalley for an arc!!
Thank you Netgalley for an arc!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
That was WILD!! I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I have found my favorite thriller of the year and it’s December 29! Y’all need to have this on your radar next year!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was okay. The first 25% was super slow. The main character felt sort of flat. The relationship with Liam seemed rushed and unrealistic. The twists were pretty predictable.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Whoa I went into this one blind, and I was shook. I felt gaslit the entire time, I knew that the end would surprise me, but I never could’ve guessed how much. So good and messy and twisty!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews