Daydream

If you’re looking for a book that perfectly captures the messy, hilarious, and genuinely heartfelt experience of being young and figuring out your life, Daydream came out in 2024 and honestly? It’s the kind of contemporary fiction that makes you want to text your friends immediately after finishing it. This 427-page gem from Simon & Schuster UK hit shelves and quickly climbed the New York Times bestseller list, and there’s a really good reason why readers connected with it so intensely.

At its core, Daydream is a friends-to-lovers hockey romance set in a college environment, but calling it “just” a sports romance feels reductive. What makes this book resonate is how the author weaves together authentic college experiences—the chaos, the camaraderie, the personal growth—with a love story that actually feels earned rather than rushed. The hockey setting gives the narrative a natural playground for tension, competition, and those delicious moments where you’re not sure if two characters want to fight or kiss each other.

The book’s greatest strength lies in its ability to be genuinely funny while also exploring real emotional stakes. Throughout its pages, the author balances:

• Sharp, witty banter between characters that feels natural and quotable
• Vulnerable moments where characters admit what they’re actually scared of
• The specific humor that comes from locker room dynamics and competitive sports culture
• Relatable college moments—late-night study sessions, questionable life choices, friendship drama

What’s particularly impressive is how the narrative unfolds across 427 pages without ever feeling bloated or self-indulgent. Each chapter moves the story forward while deepening both the romantic tension and the character development.

This is the kind of book that sparked genuine conversations online about representation in sports romance, the complexity of navigating attraction when friendship is at stake, and what it means to build an adult life with people who matter.

The cultural impact of Daydream since its 2024 publication has been quietly significant. Readers didn’t just enjoy it—they became evangelists for it. The book found its audience among college-aged readers AND older readers who appreciated the emotional maturity alongside the steam. Book communities on social media lit up with discussions about specific scenes, character choices, and relationship dynamics. People were dog-earing pages, leaving notes in library copies, and recommending it to literally everyone they knew.

What resonates most is how the book treats its characters with genuine respect. They’re not perfect. They make mistakes. They’re insecure about things that matter—their futures, their identities, their place within their teams and friend groups. The hockey context becomes a lens for exploring bigger questions about loyalty, ambition, and what you’re willing to sacrifice for the people you love.

1. The Romance: Built on a foundation of actual friendship and history, making the emotional payoff feel authentic
2. The Setting: College hockey culture provides specific, compelling details that ground the story in reality
3. The Character Development: Both protagonists grow independently while also growing together, which is harder to pull off than it sounds
4. The Supporting Cast: The friend groups and team dynamics add depth and prevent the story from becoming tunnel-visioned on just the main couple
5. The Humor: Genuinely laugh-out-loud moments that don’t undercut the emotional beats

Since landing on the New York Times bestseller list in September 2024, Daydream has maintained its momentum because it taps into something readers are hungry for: stories about ordinary people finding extraordinary connection. There’s no manufactured drama or contrived misunderstandings kept in place for artificial tension. Instead, the conflicts feel organic—they arise from real incompatibilities, genuine fears, and the legitimate complications of changing how you see someone you’ve known for years.

The author’s writing style balances snappy contemporary dialogue with genuine introspection, creating a narrative that moves quickly but never feels shallow.

The book also does something increasingly rare in the romance genre: it takes the college sports world seriously while also gently poking fun at its absurdities. There’s respect for the dedication and discipline required, but also humor about the specific weirdness of living in that ecosystem. It’s clear the author understands this world—or researched it extensively—because the details feel authentic rather than stereotypical.

What’s staying with readers long after they’ve finished? Probably this: Daydream reminded us that love stories don’t need to be complicated to be compelling. Sometimes the best romance comes from two people who already know each other really well finally admitting what they’ve been feeling. The book explores vulnerability in that specific way—the scariness of potentially losing someone who matters to you by changing the dynamic.

For anyone wondering if they should pick this one up: if you enjoy character-driven stories with heart, humor, and genuine chemistry between leads, this is absolutely worth your time. It’s the kind of contemporary fiction that satisfies both emotionally and narratively, leaving you with that pleasant book hangover where you want to immediately reread certain scenes. Since its 2024 publication, it’s proven itself as more than a moment—it’s becoming the book people remember and recommend for years to come.