When the Forest Dreams by Andrea Ezerins is a heartwarming tale, which the author describes as a modern retelling of The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Emma Jablonski works in her Polish family bakery in New York City, secretly yearning for freedom, love, and adventure. The only respite she has from the doldrums of life is the recurring dream that feels real, but she always wakes up from the dream, only to realize that Jake, the handsome boy next door, isn’t hers yet. A diagnosis forces her to face her fears and muster the courage to live, at least for once, passionately. So, with Jake, a charming graduate, and her friend, Veronica, a struggling model, Emma takes life by the reins, indulging in parties and all forms of adventure. Can she find happiness by breaking free of her isolation, and can she find what was in her dreams in her daring exploration of the real world?

You’ll not be able to put this book down once you start reading. What caught my interest from the opening was the lyrical prose. Andrea Ezerins has a way with words, crafting terrific descriptions. The book is filled with magical realism; one moment you’re watching Emma serve customers at the bakery in the morning, the next you are lost in her dreamworld. I loved how the author builds the relationships between the characters. Apart from Emma, who is portrayed as complex, with a psyche that is thoroughly examined in the story, Jake and Vee are very relatable and lovable characters. When the Forest Dreams is magical, a delightful tale with a setting that feels real and characters that live in your heart long after you turn the last page of the story.

When the Forest Dreams by Andrea Ezerins is a captivating modern retelling of The Blue Castle that follows Emma, a young woman living a boring life in New York City, as she deals with family struggles and her personal anxieties. She spends her days at the family bakery, and her nights are filled with recurrent dreams that feel so real she wishes she had never woken from them. After a health diagnosis, she decides to face her fears and step beyond her carefully constructed life. She embraces an adventure with the boy next door, Jake, and her new friend, Veronica, going to parties, cooking, and birdwatching. This is a break from the complex relationship she has with her immigrant parents and grandparents. Her relationship with Veronica, for whom she works as a personal assistant, puts her on the path to self-discovery, yet can her yearning for love be fulfilled in Jake?

Andrea Ezerins’ novel is a joy to read. There was so much I enjoyed in this story, from Emma’s dreams of flying free in the forest, her desire for independence, and her love for birds, to her infatuation with Jake and her quest for identity. The story is suspenseful, and I wanted to know what happened to Jake and Emma. I won’t spoil it, but you will want to follow their journey. The characters are complex, and apart from the deeply flawed Emma, you’ll enjoy the company of Veronica, the model, and Jake. The story is told through Emma's perspective in a gripping first-person narrative voice. The novel is sprinkled with engaging dialogue and prose that feels like a celebration of every scene.

I thoroughly enjoyed When the Forest Dreams: A Modern Retelling of The Blue Castle by Andrea Ezerins, and while I never read the work that inspired this story, it was an utter joy to read. Emma Jablonski lives a life that is anything but exciting, yet she yearns for a genuine connection, freedom, and independence. The only thing that interrupts her mundane life at the family bakery is the recurring dream. She admires the boy next door, Jake, but can she ever have him? When she has a medical diagnosis, she decides to emerge from her shell and live for once. She is the assistant to a model named Veronica, and together they go on adventures that include cooking, parties, and birdwatching. Can she ever find the rare bird in her dreams and love the man who fascinates her so much? You must read this book, for the answers will surprise you.

One moment, I feel as though I am in a dreamworld with Emma, and the next, it feels like I am experiencing exciting moments with a neighbor. This is because of Andrea Ezerins’s gift for creating characters that are human, flawed, and believable, and the ability to weave magical realism into a story that would, otherwise, feel like just any other. The characters are emotionally grounded, and the psychological underpinnings are solid. When the Forest Dreams is romance, but it is also a young woman’s journey of self-discovery and the quest for identity. The setting is finely drawn, and the imagery of the bakery with the bustling activity in the morning sticks in the imagination. I loved the exquisite writing, the skillful storytelling, and the characters that quickly feel like friends.

When the Forest Dreams: A Modern Retelling of The Blue Castle by Andrea Ezerins is a fascinating story that follows Emma Jablonski, who lives in New York City in 2013. Her life is unexciting. She spends her life around the family bakery and is familiar only with the close-knit family. Emma secretly wants some form of exciting adventure. The boy next door, Jake, stirs her imagination in ways she never expected, even if being with him is also an unattainable dream. But when a rare diagnosis happens, she decides to throw caution to the wind and get out of her well-constructed life. With her new friends Vee and Jake, she dares to try things she never did before, like cooking, partying, and exploring the woods. Will she finally build something with Jake, and what about the woodpecker?

The lyrical storytelling in this book instantly caught my attention. Andrea Ezerins is a great storyteller, and she has the unique gift of exploring the psyches of the characters and writing life into ordinary situations. Her descriptions of Emma’s morning at the bakery are terrific, the dreams that involve the woodpecker are vividly drawn, and relationships, especially between Emma and Jake on the one hand, and Emma and Vee on the other hand, are infused with magical realism. When the Forest Dreams is a wonderful tale about self-exploration, the quest for genuine connections, and love. The characters are so well-written that you will be fully invested in them.