3.5 stars
I liked this but I didn't love it.
First of all, it took me a while to truly get into this, which isn't the greatest sign. But I did persevere.
Sadly the characters felt a bit one dimensional, particularly when I considered the past few romances that I've read.
It also dragged in places, which was pretty frustrating.
The concept was an interesting one but this just didn't live up to what it could have been, for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read in a long time that I couldn’t put down. I willed my eyes to move faster so I could find out where the story was going! And I teared up more than once. I have always loved Sarra Manning’s writing and this was no exception. Devastating and uplifting all in one.

This whole book is an entire feeling. It’s raw, angsty, emotional and you just can’t help but root for Theo and Esme to have their own perfect version of hea! .

You can always rely on Sarra Manning to write a quirky and unusual take on the romance novel. Esme is having a really bad day – having a wisdom tooth removed would be enough to floor most people. Do as advised, take strong painkillers and sleep it off. Unfortunately, she has promised to attend a new-agey hen do where as a bit of a laugh she allows herself to be nagged into creating a ‘vision board’ of her ideal man. Through no fault of her own, she ends up in A&E with a head wound after an altercation with an angry cyclist. Imagine her surprise when she meets Theo while waiting at the hospital. He ticks all the boxes, and she can’t believe her eyes – is he a figment of her pain-addled imagination?
You know you are reading something special when you’re a third of the way through before you come up for air. Esme is a wonderful character despite (or maybe because of) her jaundiced view of men and relationships – her experience simply does not allow her to trust them or their motives. Her parents’ disfunctional marriage, and her treatment at the hands of her ex-husband, have made sure that a new relationship is the last thing on her mind. She has always had a rich imaginary life, which is why she thinks she has conjured Theo up, but has she?
The author has assembled a great cast of supporting characters, and there is a lot of humour to lighten the mood. Not giving anything away, but the ending is spot on – the perfect conclusion to this highly enjoyable story. I am a big fan of Sarra Manning’s writing and this was no exception. I look forward to whatever she writes next. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC. Such a fun premise and makes for a great book club suggestion. The writing was punchy at times and some great jokes were made. However, the scenes draaaagggggedddd on in some places.

The Man of her Dreams is the perfect title for this story. It’s a fun mix of romance and humour. We meet Esme at a point in her life where she seems to have had a run of bad luck and is not having the best relationships with her friends and family. She then has an accident resulting in a head trauma during a hen night which leads to an interesting series of events, including meeting her dream man, Theo. Although I found the ending predictable, I did wonder how it was going to get there and the way it was written was lovely,

Just turned the last page on the BRILLIANT #TheManOfHerDreams, grinning like a loon, with a few happy tears in my eyes. A SUPER sexy, clever, touching and proper funny RomCom with buckets of romance and oodles of joy. Love love love.

Didn't like this one. Not what I expected. I struggled through it and wished I hadn't. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

"The Man of Her Dreams" by Sara Manning was a bit of a letdown for me, earning 2 stars. The story had potential, but it just didn't come together as I'd hoped. The characters and plot both felt flat, lacking depth and excitement. I almost didn't finish it, which is rare for me. If you're a big fan of Manning's work, you might still want to give it a try.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.

We absolutely adore Sarra Manning’s stories. Her writing is utterly captivating and creates such vivid imagery. Not only that, but her characters also have such depth and intrigue surrounding them, ensuring that every single book we pick us by this Author has us falling in love with her characters, they become our friends.

‘Maybe meeting Theo would have been nothing but a brief chance encounter if Esme had been as closed off and suspicious as she usually was.’

We fell in love with the quirky Esme and her imagination, seriously though, who hasn’t wanted to manifest your perfect boyfriend at one point in their lives. Or need we say it…book boyfriends! Also, our imagination is one of our best sources of entertainment, so we completely felt that important connection with Esme.

At the crux of the story is our Esme feeling unloved, what with one hell of a messed-up family as well as having been treated appallingly by her ex-husband. Life really hasn’t been kind where it matters the most. But Esme is a grafter, she’s always had to be, she has a big heart but is understandably vary of letting anyone in. Super romantic, sweet, funny, and heartbreaking, this really is a story that tugs at your heartstrings yet makes you feel hopeful too. We were compelled and believed every moment of the story of Esme Strange.

‘That’s why I know this isn’t real, because if it were real, I’d never have let you get close and you wouldn’t have wanted me to.’

We will never stop reading Sarra Manning, after discovering her stories back in 2011, she’s a guaranteed one-click Author who never fails to keep us entertained as we laugh, well up with tears whilst our hearts are brimming with emotions. The end, oh lordy….it was highly emotional, slightly scary, incredibly sweet, and wonderfully romantic!

London With Love was one of my favourite novels of last year so I was hugely excited to read The Man of Her Dreams.
After a Hen night where Esme creates a vision board she appears to manifest her perfect boyfriend in Theo who she meets in A and E after the Hen do.
It took me a while to get into this novel, I felt that the Hen night was drawn out and too much time spent on this and the construction of the vision board. I had little interest in Esme's sister and friends and for me the dialogue in this section of the book did not feel authentic.
However I do enjoy the author's writing and Esme was a likeable character that I rooted for throughout and so I'm glad I finished the novel. Sadly not one of the author's best for me but I look forward to what Sarra writes next.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Sarra Manning knows how to write a book that you can’t put down . I loved the premise and Esme. Esme knows what she wants in life but there is one thing missing a man or so everyone keeps telling her but she’s perfectly happy with her imaginary men who she can daydream about, then she meets Theo who is the man of her dreams and too good to be true. Is everything as it seems?

This is my first book of Sarra Manning's and I loved it. A typical love romcom with a broken marriage already under her belt. Esme decides that she will never be hurt again.
Whilst attending a hen night she fills a mood board with all her desired components that make up her ideal man to 'manifest him'. On her way home she's involved in an accident and admitted with a head injury.
In hospital, she find's she's sharing a cubicle with ....hello....could the universe have provided her with her perfect guy? Theo is his name. He listens to her, about her divorce, he seems perfect and the best part, they both fancy each other!
Did she really manifest him Esme wonders?
Well I believe you can manifest what you want! This was a great, lovely heart warming read. Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a copy in return for an honest review.

“I've already said, you've been in my head for years. Like a fantasy boyfriend. A sweet smorgasbord of all the qualities I'd want in an ideal man.”

The Man of Her Dreams is everything you could want in a romcom. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, sexy, warm, romantic, and uplifting. It’s a hug in book form that soothes your soul, makes you believe in love, and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Esme Strange doesn’t believe in forever and has closed herself off to love ever since a messy divorce eight years ago that ripped her heart out. But her friends and family are encouraging her to move on, so during a hen party she creates a vision board of her perfect man to keep them from nagging her all night. Then she suffers a head injury on her way to the second venue and ends up in hospital being treated for the nasty gash to her head. While there she meets Theo and there’s an instant attraction. What’s more, he seems to be her vision board brought to life. Esme’s head-over-heels, but she’s known for her rich imagination and her friends and family all think Theo is yet another fantasy boyfriend, making Esme begin to doubt what’s real and what might be in her imagination. Could Theo be too good to be true? Or is luck finally on Esme’s side?

I absolutely adored this entertaining and refreshing twist on the usual ‘girl meets the man of her dreams’ story. Sarra Manning is an author I can always rely upon to deliver a fantastic romcom, but this was the best I’ve read yet. In a masterclass of storytelling she had me hooked as she expertly spun the threads of this cleverly crafted, swoon-worthy romance to perfection. It’s chaotic, crazy, utterly charming, and completely unputdownable.

Esme is a fantastic protagonist. She’s snarky, disorganised, and a daydreamer who creates fantasy boyfriends with elaborate backstories that she has filthy fantasy sex with (giving you an idea of how spicy this book can get at times). She’s understandably jaded when it comes to love and relationships but seems to be finding it hard to let go of her failed marriage despite it ending eight years ago. I loved her and found her funny, relatable and very easy to root for. Then there’s Theo, the kind, sweet, thoughtful but incredibly sexy love interest. They do have the kind of relationship that is absolute goals: it’s mutually respectful, filled with open communication, understanding, support, care, they fancy the pants off each other and have red-hot sex. It all sounds too good to be true but good men and good relationships DO exist, and it was great to see Esme finally have her time. But Manning is shrewd, sewing little seeds of doubt into our minds about whether or not Theo is real. Obviously, you’ll need to read the book to find out the truth, but I loved the mystery and unreliability of not being sure if this was real or all in Esme’s active imagination.

Dreamy, sensuous, sweet, heartwarming and hilarious, The Man of Her Dreams is a gripping must-read romance.

How many areas of North London can you name drop in one chapter? Other than that this was a relatable, easy read.

After a day that starts with a wisdom tooth extraction and ends in A&E with a head wound after a hen do, Esme meets Theo. He seems perfect, the ideal man, but is it all too perfect? Has her over-active imagination really helped bring him to life?

The concept of this was a little frustrating, although there were breadcrumbs for the reveal throughout. Esme's fraught relationship with her sister Allegra was probably the highlight, as were some of her other friends, but I did feel a bit frustrated that apparently none of them had really bothered to check on her and make sure she was properly ok between hen do accident and the wedding. It's a reasonably enjoyable read, but not my favourite of Sarra Manning's books.

This was my first Sarra Manning book, and it didn't dissapoint!

As someone who has an overactive imagination, I totally connected with Esme, and found her really relatable. She goes through so much growth through the book and it's lovely to witness.

You watch people around her achieving all the things she longs for, and that's pretty sad, but there's also plenty of joy and humour throughout, with some great characters adding to the mix.

The ending was also amazing, and totally worth the read. I reccomend this to any romcom readers out there!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.

I love Sara Manning's work and am in awe of the way she can reinvent her self time and time again. This time it's a bang up to date flirty rom com with a truly unusual twist. A read in one sitting book, really enjoyed it

Wow. What an amazing book.
I have loved Sarra Manning for so many years and I’m always counting down for a new release. Sarra fans will not be disappointed in this at all! Amazing

This is a book about Esme,a girl who has been hurt by family and a married when young husband.
She is independent and strong willed yet as the book shows she also has a very fragile side and wants to believe in love.
Due to a freak accident in enters Theo , handsome,kind and caring who makes her dare to trust in love again.
As Esme becomes more unwell following the accident I could feel myself say please go back and get checked.
I don’t want to put spoilers on here but this book is romantic,funny,sexy and a little bit of magic thrown in
The ending was one of the best I have come across
Thoroughly enjoyable