I made the mistake of reading some other reviews before reading Double Decker Dreams, so I had low expectations going in. However, I was immediately delighted by Kat and her delusional self. (She reminds me of the main character in the television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, in that she leads a rich fantasy life.) I found myself chuckling at her inner monologues and trying to psychoanalyze her. There were moments I wasn’t sure whether this character was written sincerely or satirically, and if there would be a mental health diagnosis later on. It’s not the typical rom-com, but I still really enjoyed it as a character study, and I loved watching her change her perspective. Plus, Lindsay MacMillan is a good writer; there were several passages of fantastic imagery, which is one of my favorite aspects of writing. It’s a solid 4.5 for me. Really darling and hasn’t gotten enough love here! ( )

Kat is an ambitious but unhappy businesswoman intent on becoming CEO of a corporation. When the story begins, she is working in London for an international consulting firm that specializes in helping businesses increase profitability and market share. As the story unfolds, Kat encounters predictable difficulties such as sexual harassment and failure to receive an anticipated promotion. The story traces her gradual realization that she would be much happier if she returned to her northern Michigan roots and raised a family.

The slow-moving story suffers from its narrow focus on Kat’s internal dialogues. Only two additional significant characters appear, and their primary function is to provide someone with whom Kat can interact. Otherwise, we would spend the entire time locked in her self-centered ruminations.

I cannot recommend this boring romance novel. ( )

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the main character Kat she was immature and a bit annoying (specially at the beginning) but she did end up growing on me by the end. Overall I did enjoy the book, not gonna lie but my main complaint is that I feel like Kat and Rory didn’t have enough moments to actually connect and fall in love with each other, we didn’t get to know much about Rory either. The idea was good but the execution could’ve been better.

The premise of this book was SO cute. I was genuinely excited to start reading and then I was severely disappointed. The main character is so unlikable that I didn’t make it to even a third of the way through before I started highly skimming chapters. I was not invested. I did not relate or care about what was happening in her life or what choices she was bumbling around making. Rory was a fine love interest but I did NOT see any reason to believe that our main character liked or loved or would eventually fall in love with Rory. I skimmed over the last 60% because I did not feel invested in the storyline. The epilogue did not make me feel like I missed anything. ( )

My sincere thanks to Alcove Press and Library Thing Early Reviewers for giving me the opportunity to read Double-Decker Dreams and give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Kat is living her dream in London, far far away from her childhood home in Michigan. She loves Hallmark type love stories as well as love at first sight success stories ala reality tv. She sees what she believes to be her dream man riding in a double decker bus while looking out her window one day. She proceeds to dream up a story about him and even summons enough courage to board the bus and "accidentally" bump into him and introduce herself. He couldn't be farther from her dream, in fact Rory is from the same area of Michigan as she is and horror of horrors, is content to return there after his stint as an exchange teacher is over. Kat and Rory embark on a friendship where Kat has to do a lot of soul searching and learning to separate reality from unrealistic expectations.

While I really loved the idea of this book, I had a hard time connecting to either of the main characters. I could see where Kat was coming from, but I just didn't come to care about her. I liked Rory, but I didn't feel like I really learned as much about him as I wanted to and I really didn't understand why he fell in love with Kat. I didn't buy them as a couple. There were lots of good ideas, but the story just didn't gel for me. ( )