This book is absolutely one I wish I had read when I was in high school. I loved the characters so much—Natalia and Ethan, but also their entire crew. So much nuance explored on the page. So much important representation. Eva’s prose is luscious and colorful, as vibrant as Natalia’s paintings. It was a joy to read.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

PS—THAT GORGEOUS COVER 🤩

I would love to read every word Eva Des Lauriers writes. I am a fan of her podcast and was in no way surprised that her much anticipated I Wish You Would has raised the bar for the best friends-to-lovers trope. This book is un-put-downable.
If you are looking for a fast read with ALL THE yearning, this is the book to buy!

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"I Wish You Would" by Eva Des Lauriers is a captivating and emotionally resonant tale that explores the complexities of friendship, love, and the challenges of navigating adolescence. Set against the backdrop of a high school senior trip, the story follows Natalia and Ethan, long-time best friends whose relationship is strained by unresolved feelings and misunderstandings. This is a book I would recommend for those who want a fast-paced romance as well as those who are trying to get over a reading slump. This book is pretty short and with the fast pace, you can easily read this book in one sitting, and it will leave you want to read more romances as well-developed and sweet as this one.

From the very first page, "I Wish You Would" captivates you with its well-developed characters and engaging storyline. The alternating perspectives of Natalia and Ethan provide insight into their innermost thoughts and feelings, allowing you to empathize with their struggles and root for their reconciliation. The two felt very realistic with teenagers who are dealing with the strength of their emotions, and the drama aspects and different misunderstandings definitely help. Teen readers will most likely find themselves connecting with the characters and their emotions, maybe even wishing to have a friendship/relationship like Natalia and Ethan. The Des Lauriers skillfully navigates themes of friendship andself-discovery, creating a story that feels both authentic and hits you right in the feels.

One of the novel's greatest strengths lies in its portrayal of teenage relationships and emotions. As stated earlier, Des Lauriers expertly captures the intensity and complexity of adolescent feelings, from the exhilaration of first love to the anguish of heartbreak and betrayal. The interactions between Natalia and Ethan are filled with authenticity and emotional depth. I couldn’t wait to finish the book because I just really wanted the two of them to be together.

The story also shines in its portrayal of secondary characters and subplots. The supporting cast is well-developed and multifaceted, adding depth and dimension to the story. Sometimes in romance books, especially shorter ones like this, the secondary characters are often forgotten or are one-dimensional. The inclusion of letters from other classmates adds an intriguing layer of complexity, offering glimpses into the lives and struggles of various characters beyond the central romance.

Overall, "I Wish You Would" is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that will captivate you from beginning to end. With its compelling characters, engaging storyline, and heartfelt themes, it is sure to leave a lasting impression. Whether you're a fan of high school drama or simply enjoy a heartfelt romance, this book is not to be missed.

Eva Des Lauriers' "I Wish You Would" is a gripping and enjoyable love story that will have you engrossed from beginning to end. I am not usually a YA kinda girl, but when I say this book had me in a chokehold! The relationship between Natalia and Ethan is endearing and realistic, and their search for the missing letters is full of unexpected turns that will have you wondering."I Wish You Would" is a beautiful book! This is a must read!

This is the perfect YA romance. It’s written well, and the story is rich with angst. You have 2 best friends to almost-lovers to estranged friends to…

The pace is fast, and if you’re like me, you’ll want to devour the book in one sitting. The ending, unlike many books set during senior year, is hopeful and more complete, which I appreciate. Both Ethan and Natalia are great main characters.

This was such a great YA read. It took a great, in depth look at bullying, family disintegration, evolving friendships, transphobia, consent/boundaries, miscommunication, and the typical complex feelings that come from our teenage years. This took an introspective look at the drive to be the best you can be in high school for fear of failing everyone around you, even though you are a child and shouldn’t shoulder that responsibility….such a great book.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

oh my goodness but this was beautiful! I absolutely adored this book and I want to read it again!
a beautiful and gentle ya story perfectly executed friends to lovers trope.
I am honestly in awe.You should 100% read this! 10/10!

I WISH YOU WOULD is one of those books of young love and hope that you want to live in forever. A story that gives you butterflies and reminds you of your first love. A story that I wish I could read again and again for the first time, to capture those first time feels over and over. I can’t recommend this title enough and I can’t wait to own it and be able to read it physically and mark up all of my favorite quotes—because there are MANY. Five gold stars. If I could give it a hundred, I would.

I had the immense honor of reading an early copy of this novel. I Wish You Would is an achingly stunning novel that follows two best friends over the course of a day on a senior overnight camping trip. Des Lauriers lyrical writing will enchant you from the very first page. This novel is full of angst, longing stares, and shows us how to be brave and true to oneself. I will be selling this novel to absolutely everyone!

I love a nice friends to more story, but add in the element of secrets coming to light over a senior class party and I was eagerly anticipating this one.

Unfortunately, it let me down in a big way. The two leads could not communicate with each other if their lives depended on it and kept jumping to conclusions and making assumptions about each other. I get that they’re teenagers but since the reader can see both of their thoughts, it made their lack of communication more frustrating. There’s not just lack of communication between the couple — neither of them could communicate with their families or friends well either.

I found myself liking the side characters a lot more, especially the friends to the main couple.

Sadly this was a miss for me.

Absolutely fantastic YA Contemporary read! 'I Wish You Would' is a tender, heartfelt tale of family, friendship, expectations, and finding yourself. It also has the sweetest love story between two best friends whose chemistry is off the charts. Sparks fly whether they're bickering or kissing.

This is 'Shout From the Rooftops' good and one of my new all-time favorites. I'm excited to re-read it soon!

Natalia + Ethan = <3

I loved every second of this adorable friends-to-lovers YA romance. The story takes place during senior sunrise a fun tradition for the senior class to camp out together and write letters to themselves. These letters are honest and raw and never meant to be read by anyone else. Natalia accidentally lets a few escape when she's searching for her letter. This means seven people's secrets are sprinkled all over the campsite and possibly hers. Ethan joins her to try to find the letters before they get into the wrong hands but that has its difficulties because they've been best friends who happened to share steam makeout prom night but have ignored each other all summer. Friendships are tested, secrets are shared, and nothing will ever be the same. This is a stunning debut by Eva Des Lauriers.

Oh my god. As someone who is absolutely sucker for best-friends-to-lovers, this book captured the mutual yearning and the pain PERFECTLY.

The book takes place over the course of one short school trip, where tradition is for everyone to write a private letter to themselves answering the question “what would you do if you were braver?” For Natalia and Ethan, long-time best friends whose friendship is on the rocks after nearly hooking up in the name of a backup pact two months ago, the letter is the only place they’ve let themselves write down their true feelings. Not to mention all the other stuff going on in their lives: broken families, secret dreams, and even the possibility of moving away. When a burst of wind suddenly scatters several letters — which may or may not include Natalia and Ethan’s — the two are forced to work together to stop the secrets from getting out, while having to deal with their hearts in the process.

I had absolutely zero reason to worry about the short time frame of the story because from the very first page I was captivated. The book did such an amazing job setting up the backstory with what happened with Ethan and Natalia as well as their individual personalities and lives, showing how their relationship dynamic was and currently is, and then giving us a fantastic roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs over the course of the school trip. There were heart-filled conversations, dramatic fights, tense class activities — and overall there was not one boring moment. The plot progression happened so naturally, and so did the character development during it.

I’ve never had any strong opinions about books in multiple perspectives, but this book is an amazing example of how it should be done. I can’t imagine it any other way. Getting both Natalia and Ethan’s point of view meant I was truly able to empathize with both characters as they each dealt with their own issues; the misunderstandings felt reasonable because their thought processes were explained, and best of all, we got to see both of them pine for each other in their own way. It was everything I wanted and more.

I’m also just so impressed with the characterizations of both our leads. I feel like I absolutely know the ins and outs of their dreams, their habits, their fears — and not once did I feel information overload, or that I was being told and not shown. Even the side characters are personalized really well; I feel like I know all of them.

There’s a really fantastic maturity to the book as well. Sure, we get our high school drama moments (which I shamelessly love) but we also get their worries about the family and the future, and we see them acknowledging that there’s more to life than romance. The practicality and realism is so beyond what I would have expected and it added so much depth to their relationship. This is more than just a teen romance.

I can’t praise this novel enough, but just know that it’s been a long time since a book has given me such butterflies. I Wish You Would is a book that reminded me exactly why I love reading about love.

I was lucky to read #IWishYouWould as a #Netgalley ARC and it cost me a sleepless night 💜 I love when that happens- especially since this time, the characters were having their own all-nighter!

This book took me back to my late teens, when the world seemed full of possibilities and my soul bursting with feelings. Well, not much of that has changed 😅 I loved the vulnerability, the connections, and every word of the love story!

If you are looking for a fast-paced romance, this is the one. Not only does it have a cute YA romance, but it is so plot-driven by the characters and their secrets and lives, it makes for a book that is tough to put down. Seriously. I read the second half of it in one sitting. And, while many people my age steer clear of YA because it is cringey and they can’t relate to it anymore, please give this one a shot. This was one of the few YA novels that while still feeling young and cringey, it also made me long for high school. And that is saying something from me, I was never a cool kid in school. But this story simply impacted me so much, I couldn’t help but wish that I could go back to those years and live a little more fearlessly. An incredible read, absolutely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exhange for an honest review!!!

I adored this book!

Beautifully written. Natalia and Ethan are easy to empathize with and are extremely lovable. I am sucker for dual POV’s and this book was no exception! I loved getting dive deep into who Natalia and Ethan were as individuals and how they were together. Their relationship is so sweet and easy to root for. You can easily see why they’re drawn to each other and how well they balance each other. I enjoyed the pacing, it was exciting and helped build tension. The supporting characters of the book were so full of life and well-realized. Special shout-out to Rainn, Sienna, and Prashant- they’re fantastic!

I really enjoyed this YA romance. Perfectly encompasses young love and all its feelings. The swoon moments were wonderful, the jealousy and gossip aspects of the story made you really feel how much you were rooting for Natalia and Ethan. Loved being able to read the actual letters and getting to see everyone’s true feelings. Added great depth to the side characters which was important for this storyline. Overall, a great debut and can’t wait to read more!

I Wish you Would by

💌Young Adult
💌Dual POV
💌Takes place over 24 hours

✍️Things to note: this book covers very heavy and mature topics such as divorce, coming out, recovery, societal pressures, sex (none explicitly written), contains explicit language (f***, d*mn, etc)

📚Diverse, through provoking, unique📚

I was enthralled with this book. Honestly, it’s the first book I’ve read in awhile without having to depend on using the audiobook to push through it. The writing was fastpaced and entertaining. I loved getting an intimate look inside Ethan and Natalia’s minds.

The author did a wonderful job of encapsulating everything teens struggle with and helping to destigmatise talking about these issues. As a mental health professional, I was so excited to see so many diverse topics brought up and explored within the book. I loved the raw interactions between characters and the growth they all went through.

I’m not normally a fan of friends to lovers, but Natalia and Ethan stole my heart💖

I loved this one!

Thank you to Net Galley, Eva, and Macmillan children’s for this advanced copy!

I'm not even totally sure where to begin with this book. Whenever an author has a debut book, I don't know what to expect, what their voice is like, how their prose is written. It's a gamble almost every time. But by the second page of Eva Des Lauriers' debut I Wish You Would, I was absolutely hooked! I'll admit that I'm not usually a big young adult fan mostly due to the fact that I despise the miscommunication trope. And, let's face it, young adults miscommunicate ALL THE TIME. But the way Des Lauriers used the idea of miscommunication as a way to protect others from disappointment rather than solely a plot device was MAGICAL.

The tension between Natalia and Ethan was intense and I was waiting with bated breath when the dam would break and BOY DID IT EVER. Des Lauriers drives the reader through a rollercoaster of emotions and more than once I found myself crying, laughing out loud, and shocked. This story was stunningly poignant and tugged on all the heart strings I have.

And don't even get me started with the characters. From the two main ones to all of the side characters who are affected by Natalia's attempt at finding her senior letter. There were twists and turns and every personality was unique and beautiful.

Eva - you have a forever reader in me. Bravo on this first novel. I can't wait to see what you've got next.

Thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan publishers for the e-arc that allowed me to dive into Natalia and Ethan's compelling story.

The narrative unfolds with all the quintessential elements of high school drama—enemies, best friend jealousy, and intricate parent situations. The author skillfully weaves these threads into a captivating tapestry, creating a story that resonates with the highs and lows of adolescence.

Natalia's character, the class president, becomes the focal point through which every character's story intertwines. As a two-year college post-grad, I found Natalia's journey relatable, brimming with creativity, passion, and energy. She embodies the stereotypical "good girl," navigating the challenges of high school with grace and resilience.

Ethan's story adds depth to the narrative, offering a thought-provoking and empathetic perspective on imperfect families and the pitfalls of seeking relationship advice within them. His character emphasizes the messiness of young adulthood, highlighting the complications that arise when romance is mixed with a school trip.

In this emotional rollercoaster, the author delivers a heart-wrenching tale that will resonate with fans of sad stories. This book is not just a high school drama; it's a poignant exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery during the tumultuous teenage years. Overall, a must-read for those who appreciate well-crafted narratives that tug at the heartstrings.