Dreams and Realities - La forza dei sogni

This was a rare Turkish series for me in that I liked every single storyline. There wasn't one storyline or romantic couple that I didn't like or want to fast forward through (which often happens with particularly Turkish romantic comedies). It is also only the second Turkish series that I have seen that is the combination of mystery and romance...a troupe I am discovering I like very much.

This tells the story of five friends...well, really four. I am not giving anything away to say that one friend ends up dead, seemingly by suicide but possibly by murder. The five friends all meet because they live in the same apartment building in Istanbul.

Dicle lives on the top floor with her parents and her unemployed brother who seems to be spoiled by their mother. Her dad is a woodworker and is the super of their building. Dicle has a terrible shopping habit and has run up her credit card debt. She is a writer and keeps a very personal blog about her life, good and bad. She also gets a new job writing articles for a financial magazine, with a bit of a twist in that her boss Sergen, who she likes, thinks she is engaged to a clown (funny story). What she doesn't know is that her boss Sergen, likes her too and knows her fiancé is fake because he reads her blog!

Setenay is the sweet friend that everyone calls "princess". She lives with her parents and younger school aged sister in the building. Setenay works in an art gallery and is on the cusp of marrying her love, the handsome Emre, who she met at the bank where he works in the loan department. Only things seem to be going horribly awry from her plans and dream wedding. She didn't want a henna night...she had a henna night, her soon to be mother-in-law beats her to her new home and starts decorating it without her and their two mother are at each other's throats. Emre seems to lack the courage to stand up to their parents when necessary, making him not quite the Prince Charming Setenay thought he was.

Gunes is a young lawyer who lives with her fragile divorced mom. Neither one have really recovered from being abandoned by Gunes' father, especially since he remarries has a daughter and forgets about Gunes. Mariam, (friend soon to be discussed) who works as a secretary or legal aid in a law firm, gets Gunes hired on in the same firm when Gunes quits her job because she is working with a heartless lawyer who is embarrassing people publicly. Before Gunes starts her new job she meets the firm's young partner Alaz. On the street when he almost hits a stray dog with his car. He gets out and instead of railing at her, as Gunes expects, he lavishes attention on the dog. As other motorists express their displeasure for the road being blocked...Alaz gets back in his car and leaves, leaving Gunes to feel like they lived the shortest romance ever...until they meet again in the office. Only, once they meet in the office and both clearly show interest, Miriam warns Gunes away from Alaz, saying she shouldn't trust him and that she would explain later, only she dies without being able to explain.

Melike is a small business owner who has her own real estate business. She lives by herself in the building. Melike is a little bit older than the other girls, and she has a big secret from her past that she is keeping from everyone that involves phone calls back to her hometown Adana. After being burgled and not receiving the best treatment by the local police officers, she meets their boss a local police chief named Yigit. Yigit is attentive, handsome, kind, generous and clearly interested in Melike...he even seems to like her fiery Adana temper and defense of her friends. Unfortunately, Melike's hidden past may be the barrier between them as she tells him she doesn't want to have children.

The fifth and final friend Meryem is also a single occupant in their building, but with less money than Melike, she lives in the below ground basement apartment. As mentioned she works as a legal aid, personal assistant in a law firm where Gunes discovers terrible rumors abound about Meryem having an affair with a married partner, her boss Tanner. Meryem denies the rumors to Gunes, but mysteriously starts talking about having extra money...wanting to move and has real diamond earring suddenly in her apartment. When Tanner is murdered, shot in the head, Meryem dies in what the police determine to be suicide but Gunes is determined to prove to be a murder.

Enter a new character to the law firm and murder mystery, Mehves. She is Tanner's daughter and a lawyer who starts working at the firm. She adds a lot of chaos to the story as a dark character and former lover of Alaz.

This is a wonderful twisty murder mystery that has at the heart of it this beautiful friendship between these five close girlfriends. I am enjoying each and every romantic entanglement starting with Gunes and Alaz. They are very sweet together. I like that he likes her sweet innocence. He is attentive, protective, and loving. Her sweetness has made him a changed man and he doesn't want her to change in any way. Gunes is torn between following her heart and trusting Alaz or listening to her now deceased friend and not trusting him. I appreciate that they discuss this and that Alaz is so patient! My next favorite couple is probably Dicle and Sergen, there is a lot of humor to their relationship. What I really like however is Sergen's love and admiration for Dicle. He is concerned about her, but also wants to push her to do the right thing. This is an interesting love that is building. My next favorite is probably Melike and Yigit...which is really about Yigit for me. His love for her is amazing. He is ok without children as long as she is...but will her secret destroy them? I love how when he tests her feelings for him by trying to see if she is jealous he doesn't actually follow through with another woman. He is a real class act. The final relationship is that of Emre and Setenay. It is interesting that he couldn't stand up to their parents but he is willing to sacrifice so much for her. This seems like a deep love match...but maybe they have a bit of growing to do. They are great when alone but need to figure out how to be a united couple in public.

Absolutely love this series and highly recommend it to both romantics and fans of mysteries! The series episodes are only 45 minutes in length, so the 26 episodes are not the major commitment that most Turkish series are. Fun, a little quirky, great romantic mystery series from Turkey that really needs a second season. Please.