Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a T. Swift fan so that made this a bit hard for me to get through. Overall it was a cute and well written story.

3.5⭐️

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for the eARC - I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review ahead of release day!

When I Picture You was exactly the story that I was craving - you have tangible history from the childhood-friends-to-lovers storyline, the intimacy and vulnerability of creating art with someone who knows the real you, and a journey where both characters grow and become confident in who they are and what they want. I had expected more of a romcom going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by the more serious tone that painted Lola's story in particular. It was great to see so much representation of the misogyny, objectification, and invasion of privacy that a female celebrity endures.

The relationship between Lola and Renee was so well written and served such a great purpose in the larger picture for both characters, giving them something to motivate them and fight for - I loved every second. Both the pacing and the writing style (including the song lyrics!) felt perfect for the story being told - and the ability to not only get across their history but also the vulnerability that Renee brought out in Lola in such a realistic way was masterful. I was truly rooting for Lola and Renee immediately,

I gave this book 5 stars. When I Picture You tackled so many issues in such a well-paced way, while still telling a romantic story between lovable characters... I devoured it in one sitting. I would recommend this to any reader of sapphic contemporary romance, especially if you like celeb or musician romances. I'm not a swiftie but from what I hear from my friends, this would be an especially good one for a sapphic swiftie to pick up!

Bravo!! It's 12:30 in the morning as I'm writing this, but I had to get my thoughts down. This was a beautiful read. I never use that word to describe anything haha.

The book surrounds Renee, an uninspired MFA student, and Lola Gray, a closeted pop star. The author. Sasha Laurens did a really good job of bringing these ladies together without making it seem forced. It felt very natural and the passion they felt for each other was (insert fire emoji). I loved how they were finding each other and still finding themselves in their own lives.

There was a 3rd act breakup up but I would call it more of a break than a breakup. The only thing I wish I wouldve seen is them both seek out therapy. They have deep-seated issues (people pleasing/dad abandonment) that they should have sought professional help for. I had a hard time believing that they overcame that to come back together.

Excited to read more from this author! Thank you for the arc!

Alexa, play “Most Wanted Man” by Lucy Dacus, PLEASE. ON REPEAT.

If you’re looking for a perfect, unflawed sapphic romance, this book isn’t for you, babes. Sorry, not sorry. If you want to smile, laugh, cry (a little), and yell at characters during wee hours of the morning, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Lola & Renee are *HUMAN*, which is a weird thing to include, but I think sometimes romance is a bit too idealistic (I’m probably going to regret saying that, because I do love a quick cliche read).

As a fellow creative, I think this story does justice to examining relationships between creatives, especially if they’re at different points in their career. Lola (good girl, closeted) is more seasoned; she had child stardom and the talent that allowed it to continue into adulthood, but she’s a pop star. With that comes anonymity, secrets, she’s more than an individual- “she’s an industry” (pretty sure that’s a direct quote). Renee (rebel, out) is a girl with big dreams from a small town, trying to follow her passion for filming documentaries. Does she always get it right? No, but she can only follow the path she knows until she finds something else that feels better. With that comes self-doubt, stress from doing it on your own, etc. Both of them are struggling with people pleasing and comparing themselves to others who get to live the lives they want, while being stunted, career-wise.

Matter of fact, Alexa, play the whole album “Forever Is a Feeling” by Lucy Dacus

Dual POV
Opposites Attract
GrumpyxSunshine
Crush on the [girl] next door.
A little forced proximity
A little workplace romance.
Lots of dramatic irony
Spicy (maybe like ⅗ level but very tasteful).

The point I’m making is that you get a little of everything.

A little spoiler, but it’s not important to the main plot: WHEN RENEE FINDS OUT LOLA HAS HAD A CRUSH ON HER SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL & THAT HER FIRST ALBUM IS ABOUT HER. The fangirl in me was squealing!

Oh yeah, I received this as a NetGalley ARC from Avon/Harper Voyage! So happy I got the opportunity to read! Thanks!

Here’s the thing: I can’t get over the ickiness of this being vaguely disguised fanfiction about Taylor swift. The premise itself is pretty basic and doesn’t have to feel like that, but this just oozes it. Most other parts of this book would have been much better for me without that weird layer.

The parts that worked: writing about creative block is hard but I think it works and actually makes sense as a plot device. The chemistry is there between the characters if not a little shallow. It’s very readable. The dialogue is believable for the most part.

That’s about where it ends for me. The timeline feels fuzzy, the main character, Lola, is wishy washy to the point of not being able to understand her. She’s so easily pliable and also unsure. It’s almost unbelievable how much she’s influenced by her manager. I guess what I mean is there’s not a lot of brainpower needed to see what’s coming next. I wish the characters had been given more depth.

Thanks for the ARC.

I loved the premise of this one with a closeted pop star and PR relationships in Hollywood. I liked the chemistry between Renee and Lola and their relationship felt real. The pacing and miscommunication just got to be annoying by the end i was struggling to get through. The conflicts and twists were pretty cliche and predictable. I did like the formatting with the social media comments every few chapters - they felt super realistic and could easily have been taken from a Taylor Swift or Harry styles video talking about queerbating.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i'm a bit on the fence with this one, it was such a fun read but i kept wanting a bit more from it? overall it was lighthearted and will make you giggle at times!

Years ago, Lola and Renee were friends. Nothing happened, but they grew apart. And now Lola is a pop star who needs a director for her documentary, pronto, while Renee is an MFA student struggling with burnout...who happens to need a film project in order to graduate. Sparks fly—but Lola is in the closet, and both women quickly find themselves in uncharted territory, and in over their heads.

What worked for me here: The setup is fun. I mean, pop-star-as-protagonist is always fun (I have no interest in living that kind of life—never mind the lack of talent—but reading about it is fun), and the "documentary" brings another how-the-other-half-live layer: the version of a documentary Lola's team want is so image-managed that it's not really something I'd call a documentary at all. Lola is famous, but whatever limited story she has is not one her team wants told, so their goal is basically a bunch of shots of Lola looking pretty and cooing over babies. The documentary is not realistic...but Lola's team's desire for something unrealistic is. I also like the way Renee's MFA trajectory pans out—I won't say much about that, because it's a question throughout the book, but it keeps things interesting.

What didn't work so well for me: The word "panties". A lot of stereotypes at play, from Renee's MFA cohort to the way Ava is written. I'm not sure how much better (morally, if that's the right word—I'm not talking about directing skill) Renee is than her cohort, though; early on there's mention of a Sweet Sixteen party filming job that Renee took, in which she decided to make it "real" by filming (and cutting into the edit) a fight between the parents. It's a sort of throwaway line, and it's meant to be funny, but what it tells me is that she lacks a sense of circumstance—she doesn't know when it's appropriate to push her vision and when it's appropriate to do the job she was hired for. That would be a great starting point for a character arc, but it's not really something Renee learns from throughout the book. I'm also not a fan of "bad communication" conflict—and here they're both pretty bad communicators. Renee's genuine desire for Lola to be able to be her authentic self gets tangled up in Renee's MFA pressure, and Lola's learned inability to say no means that she is very rarely fully honest with anyone. This *is* addressed in the book (to a point), but it did kind of leave me thinking that by the end of the book they're not really in a place to be in a serious relationship, let alone one that will play out on a very public stage.

Overall, then, a mixed bag but an energetic one. Plenty of spice here, for readers who like it explicit...and plenty of Taylor Swift–coding (and probably coding for other pop stars whose work I'm not familiar with) for the Swifties.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

This book is a slow burn, but you really get to know and love the characters. This book is the wonderful mix of emotional moments, humor and sapphic spice that I love in a romance novel.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you follow any kind of pop culture, this story sounds familiar in some way. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking about the #Gaylor/#Kaylor Swifties who believe with every fiber of their being that Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss were an item. Just like the #Lava Truthers, they connect lyrics, photos, and everything they can to connect a relationship in their heads.

I really enjoyed the way Renee and Lola's relationship really came together. They had a thrilling and sexy one night stand, then oodles of pining after Renee started filming the documentary. I'm glad Sasha Laurens focused on their reconnection before the two of them became a real item. Their relationship was never going to be perfect. It was always going to be complicated, for all the reasons laid out in the narrative. They always had at least one person on the outside working against them. And Lola couldn't give into her happiness enough. Renee wasn't perfect either, but I think she tried hard to get Lola to be honest with herself. It was easy to see the third-act-breakup from a mile away.

My biggest critique for the writing is that some of the Interstitial, social media comment pages are going to age poorly. They use a lot of very current internet slang and references.

When I Picture You was a super sweet story. It's romantic but also tells a story of a pop star coming out.

I thought the romance here was adorable. Definitely a feel-good, make you smile kind of romance. These two were so sweet and adorable together.

Some things plot-wise were predictable but that didn't lessen my enjoyment. I still found the the story touching and hit all the right notes.

A delightful read.

This was a super cute delightful read! I enjoyed both of the main characters and felt their POVs were distinctive enough that it was easy to tell who we were with. I think the act 3 plots were a little predictable and overused, but what romance doesn’t have that at this point? The end was mushy which is what my heart needed even if I rolled my eyes here and there. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book and I look forward to whatever Sasha Laurens writes next!