Sometimes, dreams come true in just another shape as expected, right?

Synopsis

What would you wish for if you had one chance?

Esme Cassidy had two dreams growing up: to be a famous film star, and to own Drumblair Castle.

Sadly, overly cautious parents put paid to a career in front of the camera, instead encouraging her to study towards a ‘proper job’, and Lady Olivia MacBain is the current custodian of ‘her castle’.

After graduating and a year travelling, Esme returns home broken-hearted and throws herself into her new role as Lady Olivia’s PA at Drumblair Castle. It’s not quite her original dream but at least she’s living at the castle in one of the estate cottages with her housemate and friend, handsome, yet quirky, groundsman Judd.

With the news that the castle will be used as a film set for a period movie, Esme gets to witness first-hand the career she missed out on. And with her teenage crush in the starring role, she can’t believe her luck. But he wouldn’t be interested in a girl like her, surely?

My review

Esme Cassidy had two big dreams while growing up: to become a film star, and to live in Drumblair Castle. However, her parents that love her deeply, wanted her to instead of following her dream, to study for a ‘proper job’. And also her dream of being the owner of Drumblair Castle is something she will never achieve, as Lady Olivia is the righteous owner. After a sabbatical year, ending in heartbreak for Esme, she is now ready to start fresh. And Esme never expected to be having the next best thing to be the owner of Drumblair Castel, as she now is the PA of Lady Olivia. And when she has the chance to live in one of the estate cottages, it feels like truly her dream coming true. But her dreams may be even closer than expected, because the castle will be used as a film set for a period movie. And Esme cannot believe her ears when she learns that her teenage crush is in a leading role! Now not only is she seeing how her life would look like if her dream came true, but she also finds herself befriending the star of the show. Yet she knows that someone like him would never fall for a girl like her, right? And what about the growing friendship she has with her roommate?

Drumblair Castle has been the wonderful setting of some marvellous stories. And yes, the place truly stole my heart, just like each couple finding each other at the Castle. So was I ready to dive into another great story? Absolutely!

Esme is the kind of woman that I could easily relate to in so many different aspects. Haven’t we all dreamed about living in a castle?  And haven’t we all dreamed once to become a famous person? Of course, with growing up, becoming adults, we all put those ‘silly’ dreams away.

Also the fact that her parents are absolutely lovely, but also a bit overprotective, also sounded very familiar. I saw a lot of my own relationship with my parents in the relationship Esme has with her parents. The love between all three is very palpable, but there is always a moment where you need to spread your own wings and make it on your own (okay, a bit melodramatic from my side, but you understand me 😊).

Esme is also an adventurous kind of woman, something that isn’t me at all, as she took a year to discover the world on her own. And that made me feel in awe of her, just packing and leaving, not knowing who you will meet, what adventures are waiting for you.

Unfortunately, in Esme’s case that also means getting her heart broken in a terrible way. Of course we all knew that the story would start with a heartbroken Esme, but it still hurt to see how Esme gets her heart crushed while even when the time has arrived to say a temporarily goodbye, she had all the hopes to make it work.

Now, if her initial love story would end well, we wouldn’t have the delight to read this story, wouldn’t we? Her heartbreak also allows us to see her growth and resolution to find her own happiness again.

And that determination and resolution to make it, made me truly like Esme even more than I already did at the start of the book. Also the fact that Esme is an open, caring, non – judgemental person, made me like her. And let’s not forget that she also wants to do the right thing, even if it would be her paying the price for it.

Once again I was amazed by all the people living and working around Drumblair Castle. Although I shouldn’t be surprised, should I? People come in different forms and shapes, and not everyone is the same. Not everyone has the same passions, not everyone expresses themselves in the same way. But different isn’t bad at all, in my opinion it makes life more exciting too! And it was clear that Esme feels the same way. And we see this especially the way she is with her new housemate, Judd.

While they have known each other from working both at the Castle, they never had much opportunity to get to know each other better, but now with living together, they see that yes, they are different from each other, but that in many ways they are also the same, and that they understand each other, on every level.

Esme is truly feeling at home living with Judd nearby the Castle, and of course there is the fact that Esme is getting glimpses of a world that once was her dream.

And we all know that the lives of the famous isn’t only glitter and glamour, but that they are just normal people, just like you and me. We see this especially with Zach, that he isn’t the kind of person that believes he is better than a non – famous person.

It was sweet to see the interaction between Zach and Esme. There is a genuine bond between the pair of them, and I liked it how Zach sees Esme’s potential and genuinely tries to tempt her to finally pursue her old dream.

Now, I have to admit, I was definitely rooting for one contender. Not because there was one goodie and one baddie. Both contenders were amazing in their own ways, but there was just one of them that made my heart skip a beat, or beat a little bit faster 😊.

I absolutely devoured this book, as it brought me back to a wonderful place, with amazing characters. And I had the honour to get to know new, marvellous people. But in a way, the Castle worked its magic once again, as we see that perhaps childhood dreams do not always come true, but maybe they come in our adulthood in a form that we didn’t expect. But it also shows us that in order to make those dreams come true, we need to mature, to grow in order to let those dreams happen.

Lisa Hobman wrote a funny, inspiring, heart – warming story about standing on your own two feet, finding your own happiness and finding your own crew. And this for sure is a story about never stop dreaming!