Wish You Were Her by Elle McNicoll felt like a warm, affirming hug wrapped in witty banter and bookish charm. I loved how Allegra and Jonah’s connection unfolded slowly, with their secret emails adding such a sweet, emotional layer. As someone who values stories about authenticity and being seen for who you truly are, this hit me in all the right places. It’s a heartfelt, joyful celebration of neurodivergent love that left me smiling long after I turned the last page.

4 stars

This was a cute romance book. I loved the autism representation. I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters and how they felt like actual teenagers. During the last 50 pages I was a little bored and just wanted the main characters to get together, but I liked the ending and how Allegra revealed her autism to the world.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

Elle McNicoll’s ‘Wish You Were Her’ is a thoughtful and tender look at grief, memory, and love. The concept—a woman using a memory lab to reconnect with her late wife—is original and emotionally rich. McNicoll writes with care, and the story has some truly poignant moments.

That said, it didn’t fully resonate with me. The pacing felt a bit slow, and I struggled to connect deeply with the characters outside the core relationship. Still, I can absolutely see how others will love this—it’s compassionate, creative, and beautifully written. I’m clearly not the demographic for this book, but it was lovely all the same.

Not your average rom com with the main characters being autistic. It was quite interesting reading about how they navigated the world in comparison to others. The reader was rooting for them all the way.

Thank you Netgalley for this amazing arc!
3.5 ⭐️
Wish You Were Here by Elle McNicole was a touching and inspiring romcom about two individuals, Allegra, who is very famous, and Jonah, who is a bookseller in Allegra’s father’s bookstore. Both of these individuals were diagnosed with autism, and this story follows both of them navigating life and their love life with one another. I LOVED how this book followed the Notting Hill and You’ve Got Mail tropes, and I think it was a brilliant idea. I loved the characters (my favorite was Jasper) and I felt like each character was shown very well. I also ADORED the realtionship between Allegra and Jonah, but sometimes it felt rushed, and other times it was very slow paced and I was like JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY OMG. I loved how Jonah is so protective of Allegra and cares for her so much. There were some points in the story where I had to reread to figure out what the author was trying to convey, but that could very well just be me. I think this book covers a lot of very good topics and you should 100% read it this summer!
spice: no explicit scenes, but a couple steamy ones
language: a few words here and there

This is my first book by Elle McNicoll and I really enjoyed it! I am a big fan of hidden disability stories getting attention and as a neurospicy woman myself (ADHD), I related to a lot of what the autistic characters in this book experienced. I don't know if the author herself is autistic or not, but she writes about it with kindness and gentleness in a way that also helps to explain some of autism's nuance to neurotypicals.

From a genre perspective, this is a small town, enemies to lovers epistolary romance and the You've Got Mail comparison in the book's blurb was on point, though I'd hesitate to call this a romcom...romance, yes, comedy, not so much. I loved the bookish setting, the majority of the story centered around a book store and a book festival. While I haven't read any of the author's previous work, there is a cameo from the characters in Some Like It Cold, but I didn't feel like I needed to have read that first to enjoy this, it's completely standalone. I really loved Jonah and found him very endearing and I respected the way Allegra stood up to bullies and set boundaries, something this people-pleaser always struggled with.

There were a couple things I found a bit off-putting but not enough to prevent me from appreciating the story. First, I felt like the author went a little too on-the-nose with some of her autism portrayal. Second, the swear words used in dialogue toward the end of the book felt incongruous with the characters as they hadn't been using them all along and the overall feel of the book was more wholesome. I'm no stranger to swearing, so the words themselves didn't bother me, but more the fact that they didn't feel authentic to the characters. Lastly, this book leans on the miscommunication trope, which I typically hate. While I found it as frustrating as ever in this book, it also felt authentic to the characters due to rejection sensitivity common in neurodivergent people.

Quick note regarding the cover, since this is an eARC. I saw that there were two different covers online for this title and it looks like the primary contender is this almost cubist rendering of a couple embracing versus the more common cartoon drawing that's more in line with the author's other book covers. If I had to choose my favorite, it would be the cartoon drawing. It's more in line with the author's other titles, as I said, but also more common to the romance genre. I'm not sure if I saw the other cover in the store that I would pick it up to read, and that would be sad because it's a great story.

Ultimately, the romance was sweet and rewarding, the story was pretty wholesome, spice level was at a 2 (on page but vague), and the autism rep was well done and will hopefully build empathy in neurotypical readers of the book. Miscommunication is a necessary element to telling this story but it was a little OTT at times, but I still enjoyed the story.

Holy mother of god is this book everything I could have asked for and more. The social commentary, the disability visability, and the beauty of love between Jonah and Allegra. All of it? To die for.

Allegra’s journey of sharing her identity with the world took shape in a way that I had never really thought of before. Given that autistic women really do struggle to get diagnoses and even when they do, they are often ostracized, the story crafted for Allegra was absolutely stunning.

On the opposite hand is Jonah, who presents to me as a stereotypical autistic man who is open about his identity and is unashamed for how he sees/views/experiences the world. The duality of the experiences of Allegra and Jonah really brought about some interesting points for me and broaded my horizons.

Similarly, the development of their love story and how their individual needs come together to create such a beautiful relationship of young love had me re-reading passages and chapters in awe of the pining these two felt for each other without even knowing.

All in all, i wholeheartedly loved these characters, the story, and the overall messages about disability, intimacy, and love that McNicoll shares. I would 100% recommend this to anyone and everyone. Thank you Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for early access to the arc in return for an honest review.

This was such a sweet rom-com, perfect for summer vibes! I love a good enemies to lovers trope, and the MMC being a bookseller is always fun to read!

Wish You Were Her made me wish that I hadn't wasted my time reading this novel. The potential of having an autistic main character was part of my initial draw to the book, but I'm really at a loss for what I read. Everything was too disconnected and weird; this is a no for me.

This book was actually so much cuter than I expected and I ended up really enjoying it. The book is a cute small-town, enemies-to-lovers story with a lot of neurodivergent representation.

Allegra is a famous actress who decides to spend the summer in a small town working for her dad's bookstore. Jonah is her dad's employee and the story starts with them exchanging anonymous emails when she reaches out to the bookshop email to ask her dad a question and gets Jonah's response instead. When she arrives in Lake Pristine, Jonah is immediately rude and unwelcoming, and she doesn't even consider that he's the stranger she's been exchanging friendly emails with. Jonah's attitude towards her only gets worse and she doesn't even consider that Jonah may be her mystery pen-pal, instead assuming it is the other employee, Simon.

While Allegra and Jonah quickly become enemies, it also becomes apparent fairly early on that they understand each other in a way their peers do not. Jonah is only mean because he's uncomfortable with his feelings towards Allegra and Allegra is only responding to the way he is towards her. The enemies-to-lovers works so well with this book as Jonah is actually aware he's rude towards her due to how he feels, and they're young enough to where it actually makes sense. They actually had incredibly cute chemistry and understood each other on a level neither were used to, as they both have autism. The autism representation felt very real and both characters explored how it impacted them differently, but also similarly.

Overall a very sweet YA romance that goes beyond surface level attraction and includes some of the better autism representation I've read in books.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: August 26, 2025

Adorable small town YA romcom with great neurodivergence rep! A bit enemies to lovers, the MCs have great banter back and forth. Heartfelt and entertaining, with You’ve Got Mail meets Notting Hill vibes!

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Elle McNicoll for the opportunity to read this ARC! I was so heart warmed by the featuring of neurodiverse characters throughout this book. It’s something you don’t often see in romance books, and perhaps that contributes to people not considering the struggles that neurodivergent people face when navigating not only platonic interpersonal relationships, but romantic ones as well. The characters were endearing, the side cast was enjoyable… and then of course there were the more frustrating and flawed side characters that really made you want to shake the ignorance right out of them. I really appreciated this story and hope to read more by this author in the future.

This was such a cute YA small town romance and I absolutely ate it up!

Allegra is an 18 year old actress taking a break for the summer at Lake Pristine to help her father run a book festival and help out at his bookstore. Unfortunately, she has to work with the grumpy and cute bookseller Jonah. Their arguments and disagreements are such a spectacle and there’s so much tension between them. But neither of them has a clue that they’re emailing each other under behind the scenes and forming a wholesome bond. I love a good secret email/secret identity trope because it’s so fun and exciting to see when they finally realize their true identities.

The chemistry between Jonah and Allegra was so good and I loved every moment between them! Their relationship develops from two opposite ends and their vulnerable moments made me fall in love with the romance in this! As a neurotypical reader, the autism rep was interesting and I felt that it was done quite well as an own voices story. I really loved the meaningful discussions framed throughout the book. And that epilogue was everything!!

I also enjoyed the book festival setting in this because it definitely hit the vacay and summer vibes. It initially felt weird that they’re both teenagers given their behavior(or perhaps I’m just older now) but I wonder if would’ve enjoyed this more if they were college students. However, it was interesting to read about Allegra’s experience as a successful teen actress and seeing alot of her struggles in the industry with her autism. I really liked her character because she always stepped up for the right things and her development had me cheering for her.

I just wish the identity reveals happened early on because it dragged on for a while. The miscommunication between Jonah and Allegra had me wanting to shake them both😭. There was a third act conflict from a different circumstance but I wasn’t too upset because the reconciliation made up for it.

I’m not sure if it’s the digital format of the ARC, but the transitions between Jonah and Allegra’s POVs were confusing sometimes because it was missing that separation. It would improve the reading experience if there was a clear distinction between the start of a new POV.

Other than that, this was such a fun and adorable YA romance and I’d recommend it as a summer book!

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.