I absolutely loved this book. This story is set in a small town, with a cast of both loveable and hateable individuals. Each character shows representation for personal differences from looks, to class, and everything in between; the most notable being autistic representation. Although this is a romance, at its core, this is a story about Allegra owning her ability and fighting for what is in her best interest.

One of my most anticipated YA reads of the year by a fav neurodivergent author, this one was a You've got mail, enemies to lovers/Notting Hill vibe story that has a famous teen actress trying to escape for the summer working at a book festival where she falls for the bookseller she's been anonymously emailing only to eventually discover it's the grumpy guy she's been spending all her time with.

I loved the focus on the cost sharing an autism diagnosis with others can take on someone, not only personally but in terms of a career. There was also a love triangle aspect and a sweet coming of age romance. Recommended for fans of books like Battle of the bookstores.

While I wasn't a big fan of the audiobook narrator's British accent (I found it harder to follow the story) it did make it more authentic to the books' British characters. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Okay this book was adorable! I loved the dual point of view, the intrigue of mistaken identities, and the small-town bookstore setting. Allegra and Jonah were both so earnest in their love for books and the book festival, and even when they were angry with the other, there was still a sense of respect. I learned more about autism and the different ways it manifests, and Allegra's handling of her delicate position as a famous actress who is also autistic in a world that likes to put people in boxes was so informative. I also loved the cameos by characters from Elle McNicoll's Some Like it Cold! Everything felt so connected. Overall, I loved this book and would totally recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

Wish You Were Her is a heartwarming YA romance with summer vibes, tension, and small-town charm.

Allegra, a teen actress taking a break from fame, teams up (begrudgingly) with grumpy bookseller Jonah at her dad’s bookstore, and sparks fly immediately.

Their romance builds through secret emails and slow-burn vulnerability with enemies-to-lovers banter and soft moments that totally won me over.

I also really appreciated the autism rep in Allegra’s character and how her struggles in the entertainment world were portrayed with care and nuance.

✨ Highlights:
-Realistic and lovable main characters
-Neurodivergent rep that adds depth
-A summer setting that feels cozy and cinematic

The POV transitions got a bit confusing and the third-act drama was a little too much for me, but the heartfelt payoff made it worth it. If you’re looking for a tender, funny, feel-good YA romance for summer, this one’s a win.

Many thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm kind of in the middle on this one and give it 2.5 stars. The pacing was a bit off and I found myself going from super into it, to a bit bored. I did love the neurodivergent representation, but it did get repetitive at times.

Wow this was so wholesome. Loved every second. As an autistic person, I found myself relating so much to Allegra

I get the setup, but I wasn't into the characters enough to want to follow them for a whole book? Of the two, Allegra was more interesting. The side characters were really not interesting. And I didn't like how they keep getting in the way of the two leads interacting. While cute, it was not my favorite.

Did he? Wish his email pen pal was her, that is?

Jonah emails to Allegra show his emotional investment into the hereto unidentified friend turned love interest. Fail to see, however, when faced with physical presence of Allegra any conflict of his feelings.

When her identity is revealed, expected more of Jonah. He seemed to just placidly accept the reveal without anger, recrimination or sorrow.

Then there was the gradual build up as to Jonah’s estrangement with Allegra’s father, only for the reader to be let down as to the why. Then theirs is a mean girl who seems to pop in at odd times driving the plot in one direction then storyline abruptly halts. Also, there is the vapid supposed friend who is to be a contrasting foil to Jonah- just don’t see it.


This ARC was provided by the publisher, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet, fast paced YA romance with great neurodiverse representation - the tag of book lovers meets notting hill was spot on!

Some things I loved - the small town atmosphere and the primary setting being such a cozy bookstore. The anonymous emails being used as the foundation for the romance rather than the more common insta lust style of romance that is common today. The strong cast of secondary characters included truly completed the small town feel as you felt like you knew everyone. It was also refreshing to see that while it was a romance, we were equally growing as individuals and building friendships and overcoming personal struggles throughout the story. No one theme felt overshadowed by another giving this a very coming of age feel that was extremely relatable. The strongest theme however is the neurodivergence, which was handled in a beautiful way that portrayed the strength and the different perspective of how one would handle any given scenario in life rather than it being a weakness that limits our characters. So refreshing to see characters acknowledge their missteps and strive to be better and to not use their neurodivergence as a means to justify their behavior but as a tool to adapt to the world around them and succeed.

This was a great mix of small town charm, the love of all things literacy and just the joys of growing up. I would recommend this book to those who want a fresh take of a slice of life style story of newfound love, friendship and self discovery.

what a sweet, sweet story that address love and finding yourself while addressing autism. I absolutely loved it and found myself so wrapped up in it that I didn’t want to put it down. I am now a fan of Elle McDicoll!

Wish You Were Her is a sweet story of finding love and finding your true self. It centres around Allegra a famous 18 year old actress returning home to escape the bad side of fame and to help her bookseller dad run a book festival. Jonah is a young man who works at the bookstore and finds comfort in his correspondence with an unknown pen pal. Jonah is autistic and tries to ignore how some people view him. Over the festival Allegra and Jonah find they are kindred souls who truly get each other. Part Nottinghill, part Shop around the C9rner and Cyrano Wish you Were her is a wonderful old-school comfort reads. Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy. This is my honest review.

Title: Wish You Were Her   
Author: Elle McNicoll    
Genre: YA   
Rating: 4 out of 5

18-year-old Allegra Brooks has skyrocketed to fame after starring in a hit television show, and she's the overnight success that everyone's talking about. They just don't know she's autistic. Now, all she wants is a normal teenage summer.

Her destination for escape is the remote Lake Pristine and its annual Book Festival, organized by the dedicated but unfriendly senior bookseller, Jonah Thorne.

In small towns like Lake Pristine, misunderstandings abound, and before long the two are drawn into high-profile hostility that's a far cry from the drama-free holiday Allegra was craving. Thank goodness for her saving the increasingly personal emails she's been sharing with a charming and anonymous bookseller who is definitely not Jonah Thorne . . .

I enjoyed this read. I mean, I enjoy most books centered around bookstore (not all), so it had that going for it, but I liked Allegra and Jonah, too. I’ll say I did not care for Allegra’s dad at all, and her mom was barely in the story, so it wasn’t just because her dad was still pining over that lost relationship. He was just kind of a jerk, and I never really understood why. I liked how we saw so much of Allegra and Jonah’s struggles separately, as that gave me a much better glimpse into their minds and lives—and what it can be like for neurodivergent people.

Elle McNicoll lives in London. Wish You Were Her is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 8/26).

4.5/5

This was so, so cute. I loved Allegra and Jonah so much, the writing was beautiful as well. I love reading books with neurodiverse MC’s, I feel like there aren’t enough of them. I cannot wait to read more from McNoill.

4 stars

(thank you netgalley for the arc )
(publishing in us August 26th 2025)
(out it the uk rn !!)

so I was really debating on requesting this as I wasn't the biggest fan of some like it cold but I do like Elle's other books . I actually found jasper and Arthur much more relatable and generally better characters in this book than there own .
now onto this book I loved joah and Allegra's story I felt the autistic representaion was very good , and I loved the storyline . but Im not quite sure on why George fired Jonah ? but I have to wonder why is this trope not used more I loved small town boy x major celeb .
I really liked the charctors (well most not simon and the other two girls I forgot the names of )
and I'm so glad they didn't fall for the miscommunication trope !

Such a beautiful story! The representation of autism was done so tastefully and respectfully. As someone who is both on the spectrum and works with children on in the spectrum as well I get nervous reading any story where a character is portrayed to have autism. I grew so fondly of Jonah the moment I met him. Even before he confirmed his diagnosis I recognized the signs and felt like I needed to defend him at every turn. The characters are very complex and enjoyable for the most part. I recommend this book for someone who’s enjoyed Archers Voice but loves a good stable YA story.

If I could get this book 16,000 stars I would. I do not think there are any spoilers in this review but I deeply apologize if there are. I did my best to refrain from giving any spoilers.


Thank you Net Galley and Wednesday Books for this treat! Elle McNicoll is incredibly talented.

This is a romance book with two main characters.

We have Allegra, who is a famous actress and she’s really tired of being in the spotlight and needs a regular summer so she goes to the small town where her father owns a bookstore.
The other main character is Jonah, the love interest, and he works at the bookstore.

Not only do you get a mix of a bookstore romance, you also get a love letter romance in this book.

You also get witty banter, sarcastic comments that are fresh, and criticism that speaks to societal standards as a whole in a way that is incredibly profound. Many times I feel messages in books tend to not hit the mark in quite the same way.

I am extremely picky with romance books in particular, and this book I need on my shelf immediately. I thought the cover was too pretty for the book contents to actually match, but this is one of those instances for the book is genuinely phenomenal.

I’m at a loss for words between the execution of the storyline the development of the characters the dialogue the pacing - this is going to be one of my favorite books of all time.

I have never really seen myself in books before or related to characters very much and this is one of those books that I actually saw myself in and because of that, I cried several times both in feeling seen and in feeling empathy for the character and in just experiencing the story. Genuinely a work of art.

This is a wonderful book to read if you want to learn more about what it is like to have autism I think this book does it really well (there’s a lot of books I have read that show it in a blatantly insulting degrading way or barely really show it at all).

This book is phenomenal and I’m so incredibly happy that I was able to read this ARC. I heavily recommend this to romance lovers.

Please know this book doesn’t have open door spice in it but it’s also about 18-year-old’s so I was going to be slightly uncomfortable as a reader if there was going to be explicit scenes so understand that this book is a lot more about character development, and the relationships and these people finding themselves in a really beautiful way.

I will not be able to stop thinking about this book for a while and I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this romance book.

Tropes I could personally identify:
-Summer romance
-Actress and book store worker
-Book lovers
-Small town
(I would not identify this as enemies to lovers or friends to lovers. It’s very complex and an in between. I loved it)

While there is ableism in this book, it’s never tolerated. It was called out.

Thank you so much Wednesday books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would like to preface this by saying I’m autistic. That being said, I think—more than anything—this book is more of a case study in the difference between autism in men vs autism in women than it is a love story.

Jonah is brash, doesn’t try to nor care to conform to societal expectations, is incredibly and continuously disrespectful, and I can count on /one/ hand how many times he’s apologized for said disrespect throughout the entire book.

Allegra spends her entire life shrinking herself down, masking, forcing herself out of her comfort zone, molding herself into who others want her to be, continuously apologizes almost instinctually even when she’s not at fault, and is a chronic people pleaser.

I also believe the synopsis of this novel needs to be more clear about the fact that this is an enemies-to-lovers novel because it reads more like strangers-to-friends-to-lovers. Because if I knew that this was enemies-to-lovers, I would’ve never picked it up. Maybe if I enjoyed that trope, I might like this book. But then again, maybe not. Sue me, but I prefer for love interests to be nice to each other

Most of the characters were very unlikable. Allegra and Jonah spend almost the entire book taking turns lying to each other for literally no reason I can see other than justifying the 350-something page length of this novel.

Jonah is incredibly rude to Allegra from their very first meeting and just…keeps being rude. He never apologizes for it. In fact, for some reason, all his friends are the ones who keep apologizing to Allegra on his behalf as if that ices the burn. Then when he tells her she’s pretty, he’s suddenly like “oh I can’t stop thinking about you, tell me you feel it too.”

This book takes place over the span of 3 weeks—/maybe/ 4—and 2 of those weeks are spent with Jonah treating Allegra like she’s dirt at the bottom of his shoe. But somehow from day 15 to 21, when Jonah reveals he’s autistic, Allegra for some reason decides that somehow absolves him of his ill treatment towards her and they start falling in love?

Allegra’s dad, George, who’s the store owner, is which apparently is a complete 180 from how he used to treat Jonah for the past 3 years, for a reason that’s so idiotic that all I could really do was sigh.

I also don’t like how the subject of autism is being portrayed in this book. It’s handled as if we’re some alien species or something. It’s constantly used as an answer rather than what it actually is, which is just a small facet of what makes a whole person. Jonah is an asshole because he’s autistic. Allegra starts liking Jonah because he tells her he’s autistic. Allegra is cold because she’s autistic. Allegra and Jonah are perfect for each other because they’re autistic. Give me a break.

Overall, this novel left a very sour taste in my mouth and I’m very disappointed at the execution of this novel.

This was a really sweet and romantic book! It definitely shows that there is someone for everyone in the world. I love how it represented autism and neurodivergence. It was a long read, but totally worth it! Allegra and Jonah were absolutely perfect and it was a fantastic enemies to lovers story.

“Wish You Were Her” by Elle McNicoll
A Must Read, for certain sure!!
This is one sweet read. Yes, it is a romance; but I got so caught up in the story I forgot that I read it was a rom-com and shed a few spontaneous tears, a couple of times. I kept forgetting the prime characters were 18 year olds who had already spent years living with harsh realities and bullies and non-friend friends. Everyone should be lucky enough to have at least one true friend, more than one would be even better. Happy Reading ! !

"Admiration is calm and quiet, obsession is loud. Obsessed with love or hate, it doesn't matter. It pushes to the front of the line, either way."

-5 stars-

Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Rivals
- Love triangle
- Small town
- Dan/Serena relationship (Gossip Girl)
- Autism rep!!

Spice:
2/5

Eek!
Oh my gosh! I'm in deep love with this book. I swear, it checked off every single thing a romance book should check off.
This book is perfect if you want a summer romance with Gilmore Girl vibes mixed with Gossip Girl along with a twist!
I love the whole concept and plot of this book. It drew me in immediately! The writing of this book is so good. I love the way it was written in dual POV third person! The plot was easy to follow and this is going to be my new go to summer read!
I can't even, with Jonah. He's like my dream boy. He's a huge book nerd, and- you know what, I don't even need to say anymore that about tells you just how swoony he is. On the topic of books, I forgot to mention that the book is based in a bookshop!! Which just makes the book like 10 times better!
I love the angsty banter Allegra and Jonah have in the very beginning of the book. Like this is some A+ banter. I was giggling and kicking my feet because they were soo cute!
Allegra, I loved her too! I loved getting to see what it would be like to be an actress! Another amazing thing I like about this book was the way both of them were autistic! I loved the representation in this book!!
Overall, an amazing book that is a great summer read with writing that draws you in and some great tropes that you can't not love!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher/author. All opinions remain my own. Thank you so much for the ARC!

“It was impossible to describe Allegra. He knew the human. The girl with the mole on her neck. The girl who would only say "bless you" twice—if you sneezed a third time, she was silent. The girl who picked at her lips when she was nervous. The girl who carried her own hot sauce around. The girl who stared off into space, sometimes for minutes on end. The girl who only made eye contact when she was listening to you, rarely when she was speaking to you.