A second chance sapphic romance between a rising star and a small town girl who have to go on twelve fake dates together to convince everyone they are in love despite their past. Arden James is Hollywood's rising teen actor and she is known for her reckless reputation and for partying hard... but her reputation might cost her her dream role. Her publicist tells her to make a lie to convince the director that she's the perfect small town girl that would be great for the role... but that means going back to her actual small town and facing her ex best friend and the one girl she's always had a crushed on and left behind. Caroline Beckett adores her small town life, she's working to get into her top journalism program and trying very hard to avoid all news about her former best friend/first crush, Arden. Yet when Arden suddenly shows up and asks Caroline to be her fake girlfriend for twelve holidates in their Christmas obsessed town and let Caroline write an article on Arden.... Caroline agrees. Yet this means that they'll both have to face their old feelings and hurts as well as the undeniable crushes on each other... but as the holidates begin to feel real, can they make a relationship work when they live two completely different lifestyles? This was a a very second chance best friends sapphic romance and I loved the Christmas vibes of this one. This was a cute read and one that would make a fun one for the holidays. I loved that no matter what Arden and Caroline did really love one another despite the years apart and it was sweet to see them finally get their happily ever after. This would make such a cute Christmas rom com! Highly recommend for your holiday TBR.

Release Date: October 1,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE BY ALYSON DERRICK & RACHAEL LIPPINCOTT 

I've read books by both of these authors separately but reading a romance CO-WRITTEN by wives? Who are in love? I'm literally misting up just thinking about it. And the book is SO EXCELLENT it makes it even better!!!

Caroline is fighting her "am I trapped in my dying small town existence" worries during her senior year in high school. Arden is struggling to sort out if her bad girl persona is just who she is now as she balances Hollywood life with all she's had to abandon to get it. She gets an opportunity to star in a role to change everything. The catch? She needs to go home for the holidays and be the subject of an article about how she's finally public with her "long-term girlfriend" and former bestie, Caroline who hates her for leaving, by the way. 

They come to an agreement: fake dating for Arden to get her dream casting in exchange for Caroline getting to write the article, which is sure to help her get into Columbia and away from the small town Arden escaped from with barely a word four years ago. But with the distance that's kept the other away evaporating over hot cocoa contests and late night karaoke, both find themselves wondering why this fake relationship feels so real. And when reality creeps in again, will they be able to face it?

Here were my very fave things about MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE:
Christmas-obsessed hometown
Unrequited crushes
I never forgot you not even once
WRITING AN ARTICLE BUT ACTUALLY FALLING IN LOVEEEE

#amreadingromance #bookstagram #review #romancebooks #romancelandia #romancereader #romancereads #books #bookrecommendation #simonandschuster #arc #netgalley

Make My Wish Come True follows Arden James, an up-and-coming actor, looking to finally snag the biggest role of her career. At first, it seems like a shoo-in but all the bad press surrounding her recently almost causes her to lose it. To save face, her agent pretends that she has a girlfriend, Caroline back home and the two are going to spend the holidays together.

The director agrees to give her another chance and Arden has to go back home to face everything she left behind and convince Caroline to fake-date her. At first, Caroline is still hurt from how Arden left but she agrees if she can write an article about Arden. Arden's agent pulls some strings and the two embark on the 12 fake dates of Christmas.

From the start, it's clear Arden and Caroline still have chemistry. Ultimately, it's a PR mission to make Arden look as good as possible. However, as most of us know, their feelings aren't so fake and the two quickly start to develop stronger feelings than just friendship. Coupled with the setting of Barnwich being the Christmas capital of Pennsylvania, these two have so many great dates from a hot chocolate contest to sledding to caroling.

I also enjoyed how Caroline was Jewish and she spoke about the struggle of not feeling like Hanukkah got as much love as Christmas in her town. While things did play out like a Hallmark Christmas movie in the best way, Make My Wish Come True was such a fun read, perfect for the Christmas season and those craving some sweet sapphic love.

If you haven't picked up anything from Rachael Lippincott or Alyson Derrick before, then make sure that Make My Wish Come True is on your list for the Christmas season.

I absolutely loved this.
Both characters slowly grew on me but I fell for them both and I was so invested in their entire relationships, to each other and to their families and friends.
It was honestly one of the best romances I've read in a while. I loved everything about it, I could picture the setting so well and it was such an integral part of the story. I just had the best time with this and felt everything they felt. I will, without a doubt, reread it and I can't wait by more books by these authors. I could not recommend this more.

If you were to ever read one of Rachael or Alyson's books, it feels as if you are part of their story line. You are a character in the book. Any book by these two authors will make you swoon and you will be invested from the start. What do you do when your past comes back to haunt you? Or better yet, to make you into the girlfriend of your dreams? For Caroline, she's had a long crush on her best friend, Arden. Well, Caroline gets her heart broken when Arden leaves four years ago and never looked back. Until, Arden comes back to her home town, a scheme come up by her agent, and has Caroline be her fake girlfriend for an article published by Caroline herself by a major publishing company that would help her get into her dream school, Colombia. Only until things don't go as planned and they both relive the memories of what they could have been.

Arden only realizes a few days after their agreement ends and Caroline leaves her high and dry in LA, that she does in fact love Caroline and maybe she wants something different from her life. Other than a random girl every night, all the fame, publicity, stories about her. Maybe she can have both.

This story is the perfect Christmas romance that you need to read. Not only because it is funny and whole heartily genuine, It leaves you with the question of is fame really worth all the sacrifice and happiness in your life.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this novel for a truthful review.

When Arden James, Hollywood starlet, hits a roadblock in her career, she comes barging back into the life of her childhood best friend, Caroline, in this heartwarming Christmas romcom.

Overall, I loved this. It was charming and full of heart.
, and I loved seeing multiple queer relationships represented, even in a small town high school. I absolutely LOVED Caroline’s feelings about being Jewish in such a Christmas centered town and world, and my one complaint is that I wish she dove into that a bit deeper. The writing was fun, the story was wonderful, and the different POVs had clear voices that made them easy to follow.


Review will be posted on Instagram 10/2. Goodreads review available now.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This book was fine. I didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked this duo’s previous book. I think it was maybe a little long as it dragged quite a bit in the middle. Overall, I’d recommend this to a high school age student looking for a holiday read.

‘Tis the season for holiday hijinks in the newest sapphic rom-com about a rising star and a small town girl going on twelve fake holidates from the New York Times bestselling authors of She Gets the Girl, Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick! This is a great novel with an easy going plot, enjoy it really much.

Make My Wish Come True by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is a funny, sweet, and emotional holiday fake dating story. The story focuses on childhood best friends Caroline Beckett and Arden James. They grew up in a small, Christmas-focused, town in Pennsylvania. Arden left to pursue her dream of acting and left the town and Caroline behind. Now to get the role of her dreams Arden needs to convince a director that she is still a small-town girl at heart with the best friend turned girlfriend to prove it. To do this, Arden comes home for Christmas and convinces Caroline to help her by publicly dating her for 12 days.

This book did a great job with the fake dating trope. The reasons it gave for why both characters would agree to this felt plausible, especially Caroline’s. The characters had obvious chemistry, and their scenes together had the right amount of tension. There was a strong group of supporting characters that were fun to read about as well.

The emotional growth and maturity of the main characters was one of the strongest points of the book. This book showed both who Arden and Caroline were in the past and what they could be like in the present and future.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, cozy holiday read. If you’re a fan of fake dating and holiday adventures this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick for the ARC.

Cute and cozy. The plot isn't groundbreaking, but their story was cute. It's definitely my favorite celebrity romance I've read. Arden was annoying but her arc was satisfying. The setting was very cute. and their tension was crazy. There were a couple of scenes that weren't very realistic and took me out, but overall it was a fun time!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. I’m so glad I was able to read this book early! It was super cute. Arden James is an infamous teen actor with a party girl reputation for liking pretty girls, drinking, and drugs. When this reputation messes up her chances of getting her dream role, she and her agent make up a lie to make her seem more ‘homegrown’: Arden is going back to her small town to spend the holidays with her long term girlfriend Caroline. Unfortunately, Arden and Caroline never actually dated, and they haven’t spoken in four years.
Caroline Beckett has a lot on her plate: being part Jewish in a town that’s obsessed with Christmas; her aspiring journalism; applying to Columbia; and realizing the cute head cheerleader might want to be more than friends. Then her former best friend turned Hollywood star Arden blows back into town with an absurd ask…fake date her until Christmas to help Arden repair her image. That means twelve snowy holidates with the girl Caroline was in love with. At first it seems fine, but old feelings may rise up again. I wasn’t sure if I would like this a whole lot, but it ended up being a nice read!

Alyson Derrick also wrote Forget Me Not, which I highly recommend.

Holy Christmas joy explosion!! Even though it’s spooky season I’m getting a jump on my Christmas reading with this glorious YA gift from the NetGalley gods and Simon and Schuster goddesses.
If you love wholesome holiday joy and YA vibes you are going to love this book as much as I did. It’s giving Hallmark small town, Heartbreaker warm fuzzies, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before quirky- was it made for me?

Caroline Beckett lives in a small PA town known for their Christmas kitsch (her brothers even own a Christmas themed bar despite being Jewish). She’s crushing her senior year; she’s the manager of the girl’s basketball team, applying to Columbia, has the best group of friends and is vibing with a cheerleader who’s been harboring a crush! From the outside you’d never be able to tell that four years ago Caroline was completely ghosted by her best friend (and super crush) Arden.

Arden James lives alone, emancipated from her delinquent parents, in LA. A small town girl who left PA to find fame and became a teen actress superstar. She found success but at what cost? When she gets called out by a famous director for being a hot mess will a scheme to fake date her old best friend Caroline be enough to get her the role of a lifetime?

Oh yes, we’ve got friends to lovers, enemies to lovers AND fake dating and no, this is not too many rom com tropes, this is the perfect combination and it all takes place in a snow globe. This book is so cute and dreamy and I can’t wait for everyone to have this on their holiday reading list!

This will be a prefect read for the holiday time. Readers will love snuggling near a fire with their favorite warm drink and getting lost of the romance of Arden and Caroline. Arden leaves the small town of Barnwich to pursue an acting career, but she loses her touch with who she really is. She almost gets the acting job of her dreams, but says she is dating someone from her small town and that she is headed there for the holidays. The director wants pictures and an article about this time. Caroline is surprised by the return of Arden. She is skeptical of her return and if it will be 12 days and another vanishing act. Before you know it, you will be swept away by this romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Non-spoiler synopsis: Make My Wish Come True follows Caroline and Arden on their journey to rediscovering friendship and love across 12 days of dates during the winter holiday season, enveloped in a cute small wintery holiday town. Caroline and Arden were the best of friends, but when Arden moves to Hollywood and makes it big, they fell out of touch. Arden’s known for being a bit messy, so to land a serious acting role, Arden and her publicist craft a story about how she’s dating her hometown best friend and her time at home over the holidays will prove that she’s a perfect fit for the new role. Imagine Hallmark Christmas movie, but make it sapphic.

Make My Wish Come True is the cute, wholesome, sapphic winter holiday YA romance we all needed this holiday season! When I got approved for this ARC, I squealed! I was so excited and started reading it immediately. It did not disappoint! This book encompasses so many of my favorite tropes: faking dating, small town, enemies-to-lovers / friends-to-lovers (but actually really friends-to-enemies-to-lovers), and second chance romance. I felt immersed in this cute wintery town and the plot was beautifully laid out, switching between Caroline and Arden’s POVs (which y’all know I’m a sucker for dual/multiple POVs). I loved the characters; the character development felt very real and seamless – many things mentioned earlier in the book often came back into play later or were mentioned later and I really enjoyed that. I think a lot of LGBTQ+ books push the whole coming out experience / queer people are different / have different struggles narrative, which is not a bad thing because there are very unique things that queer people experience and those stories should be told, however I loved how this book made being queer so normal and did not push the struggles of a heteronormative world on the FMCs. Instead, it took the time to briefly explore some other aspects of identity (e.g., race, religion, class). There were also lots of silly little moments that made this especially fun to read! (I’m thinking particularly about the first date and the hot chocolate competition, but there are plenty others!) This book really had me giggling, blushing, and kicking my feet! I was absolutely obsessed the whole way through.

Please read MMWCT this winter holiday season, or sooner if you just couldn’t wait like me; it publishes on October 1st!! And if you do, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

This book was so sweet and magical! It perfectly encapsulates the complexity of a small town, finding a great balance between authentic and idyllic. I enjoyed how different the MCs were while still meshing in a natural way. At the same time, they are so quintessentially teenage, and it’s so heartwarming. I was rooting for them the whole time! Overall, this was a sweet love story that had me ready for the holidays 3+ months early!

A very cute, sapphic story for the holidays! I really enjoyed SHE GETS THE GIRL and FORGET ME NOT, and this book falls right in line with the authors' previous works. I thought the supporting characters were good and appreciated the charming setting of a small Pennsylvania town (PA pride!). There were moments that I wished were fleshed out more, like Arden's Hollywood partying, and I often thought that this story would work better in the adult genre. Although MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE didn't hit as well for me as the other books did, I still recommend it for anyone looking for a cozy, romantic read!

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I found it to be entirely too similar to She Gets The Girl. I find hometown girl gets swept away into stardom and forgets her roots to be boring and unoriginal. I both understood why Caroline was pissed at Arden but found the "pissed off" attitude dragged on way longer than it needed to. At the end of the day if I'm more rooting for the 3rd option (Taylor the cheerleader) than the actual love interest I think something must have failed.

Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick are an iconic combo, absolutely dominating Sapphic YA Lit. Every one of their projects, combined and individually, reflects the love they have for writing and for each other. MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE is no exception. Perfect for the holidays, this book is everything you could want: fake dating, celebrity romance, and gay romance! It got me into the Winter / Christmas spirit far too early.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! Such a cute romance and, more importantly, such a cute YA lesbian romance. When I read books like these, I’m sad that they weren’t around when I was young. I can think of so many people in my life who would’ve loved to see themselves in books and probably would’ve felt way better about who they really were sooner. Glad these books are out there now. Caroline and Arden are childhood friends whose friendship dissolved when Arden left and got famous and never came back. Now Arden’s image needs a change, and her agent decides a cozy hometown romance with Caroline is just what she needs. Cue the cute holiday dates and a second chance at love for them both. While I found this refreshing and sweet and loved all the representation and support and love within, I did feel it wasn’t all realistic. But…it didn’t ruin it for me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a LGBTQ romance novel that was so lovely all around and that would appeal to any lover or romance, even straight, not-teen me. I look forward to recommending it to young people who need it in their lives. FYI profanity, talk of casual sex, underage drinking, and crappy family situations (delightfully balanced by some good ones)

Great YA book, but also very YA for a plot that feels like it's about adults. You get every thought they have about each other and not much else. Will make a great Christmas rec!