This is the fourth and final book in the Rome, Kentucky series by Sarah Adams and I’m sorry to see the end. In Your Dreams is about Maddie, the fourth Walker sibling, who left her teaching job and headed to New York to go to culinary school. Her family back home don’t know, but it’s been awful and Maddie only graduated by the skin of her teeth.

In a weak moment, in a puddle of lonely sadness, she accidentally calls James Huxley – Noah’s best friend from book one, When in Rome. James is not her friend, not really, but in that moment when he picks up the phone, he says that he’s planning a restaurant on his farm and he needs a chef – the job is hers if she wants it. Maddie can’t say no to such an offer, so this impulsive move by James sets up the rest of the novel and Maddie comes home to Rome, Kentucky. James has been in love with Maddie for years, and this opportunity to get her back home and give her a purpose is exactly what he wants.

James wasn’t planning a restaurant, although his extroverted younger brother Tommy had suggested it. Tommy left Rome and made a success of himself in the big smoke, so there’s plenty of friction between the brothers, but Tommy is actually trying to help and persuade James to either take a big produce growing contract, or find other ways to value add to the farm.

The push and pull between Maddie and James is delicious, and I loved her combination of impulsivity and emotionalism. James is much more contained, but he is all-in, and apart from pining for Maddie, working the farm and building a restaurant, he also needs to examine his relationship with Tommy.

The magic of Sarah Adams’ novels is how she combines a fairytale happy world, where everyone is beautiful and nothing bad happens, with some authentic mental health representation and a plot that will have maximum discomfort for the main characters, while, of course, turning out well in the end. As soon as I started reading, I felt nurtured and safe, and this was quickly combined with a sense of dread. The restaurant project is insanely ambitious for a just-graduated chef, and it’s do-or-die stakes for James and the prosperity of the farm. In Your Dreams is structured as a countdown for Maddie to the restaurant opening in three-ish months. It’s propulsive and engaging, even though it’s completely unrealistic – the time frame and the amount of work that Maddie does to get a restaurant planned, staffed and up and running is something you’d only find in Romancelandia.

As this is the series finale, there are plenty of cameos from the other Walker siblings, and subplots that relate to their happily ever afters. Don’t worry, though, because this story stands alone, even if it’s a richer read after the previous books. If you are looking for some yearning and muddle in a very safe world, enjoy In Your Dreams and the rest of the Rome, Kentucky series.