Taking us back to Lake Pristine, this is a small town romance between a famous actress and a bookshop assistant. Characters from the first book are present and integral to the plot. Good story and great old and new characters. Fast read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was a cute romance but quite heavy-handed in its messaging. That said, appreciate the representation of neurodiverse characters.

I. Loved. This. Book. It is not only a beautiful, refreshing source of some authentic and well-rounded ND representation, but it’s also just a really fun, captivating, sweet-but-not-saccharine, surprisingly rich story. The characters are nuanced and not one-dimensional, as so often happens with attempts to have some neurodiverse representation in lit. The plot weaves and winds, but not so much that it’s dizzying. Character development is excellent, and by the end of the book, I was left imagining where Allegra and Jonah and their friends were headed next, not assuming we’d seen them to their final destination. This is always a pretty great accomplishment for an author to succeed at, in my opinion!

I absolutely loved Wish You Were Her and can’t wait to recommend it to my readers! Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-arc. What a treat!

This book captured my heart in every way I didn’t expect. The way Elle McNicoll writes is tender and genuine, making every moment between Allegra and Jonah feel so real and alive. I loved how the story embraced Allegra’s autism not as a hurdle but as a beautiful part of who she is. It made the romance even more meaningful because it wasn’t about changing or hiding, it was about finding someone who sees you completely and still chooses you. I adored how the story explored the desire for normalcy and the courage it takes to be vulnerable when you’re used to keeping walls up. I found myself laughing, feeling tender, and rooting for them every step of the way. The writing style is warm and inviting, making it impossible to put down. The romance gave me all the feels with its mix of sweet, funny, and honest moment. I can’t recommend this enough for anyone who craves a love story that feels fresh, real, and deeply heartfelt.

Wish You Were Her, by Elle McNicoll takes place in Lake Pristine, the setting for Some Like It Cold (McNicoll's previous excellent novel). Allegra Brooks is 18-years old and is looking forward to a summer off. She starred in a hit tv show when she was younger and shot to success. The endless public appearances and constant criticism (which always seems to stand out more than the accolades) are getting to her and she just needs a rest. She is weary of masking her autism and fearing she would lose jobs. Her father lives in beautiful Lake Pristine and runs a struggling book store. He's delighted to have Allegra visit for the summer, especially when she offers to help with the annual Book Festival. She makes contact with one of the booksellers via email. The two strike up an anonymous relationship discussing books, then life, then everything. When she finally arrives in town, expecting to be under the radar, small town dynamics make that impossible. Allegra becomes the subject in gossip and preconceptions as well as jealousy and misunderstanding. She also makes some good, solid friends including several characters from "Some Like It Cold." All the while Allegra continues her email correspondence with the bookseller, a sweet, romantic boy is definitely not the grumpy Jonah Thorne. Jonah is also neurodivergent and struggles with the uproar caused by Allegra's arrival and the changes she makes, even though she's able to use her contacts to save the Book Festival. He's also hurt by the indifference that comes suddenly from Allegra's father who had been his mentor since he started hanging around the book store. And what is he supposed to do with all these feelings he has for Allegra? This is a sweet, sensitive story. McNicoll has a clear, modern storytelling style and I love that she brought in characters from her previous novel. This is novel for young adults but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think everyone should read it, and discuss the novel - i learned a lot and being able to identify with all the characters could help change young people's perception of neurodivergence.

Wish You Were Her is such a sweet YA romance with a meaningful look into the challenges that autistic girls face daily - professionally and personally. The main theme of this book is a desire for acceptance simply for who you are. The You’ve Got Mail plotline is driven by this theme as we learn that Allegra Brooks, our superstar, oft-misunderstood FMC, just wants her penpal to like her for her and not the shiny, perfect mask she puts on for the world.

The third person perspective truly lends to empathizing with and understanding each character’s motivations for their actions, which is particularly helpful whenever we engage with our MMC, Jonah Thorne. Jonah comes across as perpetually surly and direct to others (especially towards our FMC, at first), but his inner monologue reveals the complicated layers behind his bristly exterior and humanizes him further.

I absolutely adored the insight into Allegra and Jonah’s autistic experiences as they felt so incredibly real and relatable. I am neurodivergent myself (although not autistic) and have worked within the space of disability and special education, so seeing their thought processes and feelings laid out unfiltered is refreshing and validating.

McNicoll also masterfully crafts metaphors that perfectly depict Allegra and Jonah’s emotions. I was in awe of how hauntingly beautiful her prose was and honestly highlighted a ton of passages because, my gosh, how incredible!

Now the cons: Pacing was a bit inconsistent. It was slow to get into the story, and particularly to get used to McNicoll’s writing style. Her writing is gorgeous, but takes a chapter or two to truly settle into comfortably. Once we get to the second or third chapter, the story takes off and it’s a quick, fun ride until we get to somewhere around the two-thirds mark. Then we face a more slow, bumpy ride until the end. The whole book was incredibly enjoyable, but the pacing did make it a bit more challenging to get through at times.

Personally, I wish that the story leaned into the You’ve Got Mail plot line more, as it had the potential to be used further without detracting from the originality of this novel. It just felt like we got to the acme of that trope and then the story lost its footing for a bit. We continue to get references to the epistolary flirting for the second half of the book, but it mostly gets dropped and doesn’t get picked back up until the very end. I was not very satisfied with the way that was handled, as it could have been utilized a bit more to help further Allegra’s thrive for acceptance, but the beginning unfolding of the trope was perfect and so, so fun.

All in all, this book was incredible. I loved it and recommend it if you enjoy You’ve Got Mail, misunderstood grumpy MMCs, gorgeous prose, and an honest, raw look into some of the challenges - and beauty - that comes with neurodivergence.

This was a good book, I really enjoyed the story and I cant say That I have read this author before. I am sometimes reluctance to try new things, but this one was a good bet.

This was a really sweet coming of age romance. Allegra is a true superstar, confident, kind, true to herself, and an overall super fun character to be in the POV of. Jonah is the sweetest under his initial grumpy veneer, and the perfect “I’d do anything just to see her smile” kind of boyfriend, which was so endearing and adorable. Outside of the romance, the focus of the book lies on what fame can do to young lives and how unwelcoming society as a whole can be to neurodivergent minds.

The book did leave me wanting a little, however. The strange tension between Allegra’s dad and Jonah didn’t feel fully explained. It had the potential to be an exciting plot point, but the reveal felt pretty underwhelming and didn’t do George any favors. I also found myself wanting more buildup to Allegra and Jonah’s reconnection, and while I know she was sick during it, it felt a little too hazy and non-intentional, and intention is something I would have loved to see from her at that point in the book.

Two things: First, the nighttime bookshop scene had me omg-ing in the margins. And second, Jasper Montgomery has my heart. She’s the perfect big sister character who acts as a much-needed guide throughout the latter half of the book. I also just discovered she has her own story, in Some Like It Cold, and reading more Jasper sounds like such a treat!

Review 9/10🦋 This book was so cute! I absolutely loved it.

I’ve read a handful of books by Elle McNicoll and while I love the middle grade reads I couldn’t get into the YA book I previously tried so I was a bit hesitant about this one. However the plot seemed like more my kind of story and I ending up loving the characters a lot more!

This story follows a famous young woman named Allegra as she decides to spends her summer helping her dad’s bookshop with their upcoming book festival. She needs a break from celebrity/working and hopes to find it in the small town her dad lives. But what she finds instead is a cute and grumpy bookseller who seems to be the only one not star struck by her. Obviously some (slow burn) romance ensues💗

I absolutely LOVED the double autistic representation in this one, both MCs were autistic and it was so well done. I adored Allegra and Jonah. The book is YA (I would technically say new adult) but I found the characters to be very mature and often kept being surprised they weren’t in their mid 20s.

The town this book takes place in is the same one from the first YA by this author I read (Some Like it Cold) so there were some crossover characters which was fun! I overall enjoyed the town and people in it a lot more in this book. I like when authors write book in the same setting. It’s enjoyable to see the world fill out as you get to know everyone various areas more deeply.

Overall this was a joy to read, highly recommend to romance readers🥹🥰

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book!

P.S. I can’t believe I caught this picture with the most beautiful butterfly during my visit to the butterfly garden this weekend😍🦋

P.S.S. This song is made for Allegra and Jonah🥹 I’ve always liked it but I recently heard it on my shuffle while I was reading this book and it fit so perfectly! You must listen and if you love it read this book! Or if you love the book check out the song☺️

Wish You Were Her was such a great read! It follows Allegra, an 18 year old actress who is taking a summer off of fame and acting to live in a small town and work at her father's bookstore. Allegra meets some friends and co-workers at the bookstore and has to navigate social relationships while being incredibly famous.

The autism representation in Wish You Were Her was so well done!! I so appreciated how it was part of everything Allegra did (because it is!!) - that mask sliding into place and the toll it can take not just mentally but physically as well. As a reader I could feel her visceral discomfort in certain situations. It's truly different from a neurotypical experience.

Jonah is a quiet, broody character and has a soft side that comes out only when he is comfortable. I loved his character and how much more we got to see of him as the storyline progressed. The quiet observations he made of Allegra were everything. I love him.

A truly tender and heartwarming read. Thank you Wednesday Books and Elle McNicol for the advanced review copy.

This is how you do representation! I absolutely loved this book with nods to Notting Hill and You've Got Mail, while making its own mark with likeable, flawed characters who felt like just the right amount of young & adult. I absolutely loved this one that showed so many parts of being autistic along with a beautiful love story, plus lots of books!

2.5 rounded ded up
Started off well, but rapidly became too hard to read. It git so boring that I started skimming. Almost a dnf but I hoped for improvement. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This was a new author to me and I enjoyed this fun, sweet read! I enjoyed the dynamic of them and how they matched each other perfectly. All in all a amazing read! Enjoyed and would read more from this author.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A YA contemporary mashup of Notting Hill and You've Got Mail with autistic rep? Sold!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I gave this 3.5 stars rounded up.
It took me a little bit to get into it, but once it got going, this book was so good and engaging. I loved the small town setting and the characters Allegra met were all so varied and interesting. The enemies-to-lovers arc was fun to watch. I found the writing to be so compelling, lots of cool quotes that I want to highlight once I get my hands on a physical copy.
Allegra and Jonah were both compelling leads and passionate in their own ways, and it was great to see them develop throughout the story.
I was kinda disappointed that we didn't get as much development from Allegra's dad and we didn't really get to see him try to grow the bond with Allegra or get a well-developed explanation for his treatment of Jonah. His character felt kinda flat, and I wanted more interactions with him and some more explanations for some of the decisions he makes throughout the story.
From about the 25%-75% mark, I was eating this up and was so curious to find out what happened next. But it felt like the last quarter of the book dragged on a little bit, I think because some of the tension dropped. And some of the plot points of the story felt kinda forced instead of natural, but hopefully that will all be polished by the time the physical book comes out. (***Spoilers***Especially the part where the photographer sneaks pictures of them; I felt like Allegra would've been more aware of things and more careful, so it felt forced for plot reasons. And the drawn out "no, he doesn't actually like me, we're just friends" got a little old after a while and I wish she had realized things sooner.***End Spoilers***)
This is technically the second book in a series, but I had no problem jumping directly into it; it stands well on its own.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend.

This is what I expect from a YA novel and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. With the exception of the great autism/adhd rep, this book was somewhat of a letdown for me. The comparison of the movie "You've Got Mail" in any book description gets me every time because it's one I love and this one does have elements of the movie. I love a good email exchange/epistolary type of novel and I enjoyed that part of this book but I didn't really feel myself loving any of the characters. While I felt for Allegra, I didn't always understand her actions or motivations. Overall this book didn't really make me feel much of anything. I know many readers will adore this one but sadly I'm in the "it was just ok" category with this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 rounded up. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. the romance was really cute, and I loved the aspect of a celebrity being dropped into a small town. I thought the first half of the novel was engaging and expected to rate it really high. However, there were a few aspects that just didn't work for me. First and foremost, I hate You've Got Mail, and I naturally hated it happening in the book. I also didn’t like the lack of detail surrounding Simon being a jerk because she didn’t know how to feel about him in person, but I felt we never really saw how bad it was since it was only in a handful of moments and barely at that. I also didn't like that Allegra uses her fame to help her friends, but there's one specific post that genuinely upset me because there was a reason the girl didn't get what she wanted. Anyway, I enjoyed the romance aspect of the novel so much that I can overlook most of the things I didn't really enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I wanted to love this but had trouble connecting with the story! Wished the characters were a bit more developed.

There was a lot that I loved about this one - the autism representation, the nods to Notting Hill and You've Got Mail were fun, and the story was overall cute. However, I felt like the characters should have been older. Even 21 would have made more sense. A few too many side characters, and the story was going either too slow or too fast, where it felt like I missed something. Overall, a cute concept and GREAT representation but I just needed a little something else to the story.
Thank you Netgalley and the author and publisher for this eARC.

Welcome back to Lake Pristine! Wish You Were Her is another 5 star read by Elle McNicoll. This is a beautifully written love story with very real and relatable characters! Must read.

This book was neutral for me. I had a good time at the beginning, but it fizzled out when it got closer to the middle. It wasn't exciting, and I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. There were random details revealed about them that we never saw ourselves.

Overall, this book was okay for me. I would have liked more detailed characters and more of a twist on the "You've Got Mail" plot.