4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Avonbooks and HarperVoyagerUS for allowing me to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

🗓️ Release Date: October 28, 2025

✍🏻 Review: I enjoyed this book so much. Coming out is such a personal story and to see Lola struggle with it, was heartbreaking. As much as I hate the Third Act Breakup, the author has written the leads well enough that both sides make sense. You understand why Lola feels betrayed after having people whispering in her ear. You understand why Renee is worried that Lola will never be ready after lying and promising it all. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending and we see both women figure it out together. I also loved seeing the parallels of the songs set to both of their childhood memories was absolutely adorable. Not to mention this story is hella gay which I appreciate so much.

✔️ WLW
✔️ Childhood Friends Reunion
✔️ Celebrity Romance
✔️ One Night Stand
✔️ Secret Relationship

rating — 3.75 out of 5 stars.

this is not exactly a news flash if you’ve read pretty much any other review for this book, but just in case you haven’t, let me start off by telling you: this is basically taylor swift fanfiction. gaylor fanfiction, in particular, and for the uninitiated, i’m referring to the community of people online who believe that taylor swift is queer in some way. this book follows a similar vein – mega famous popstar has spent her whole life/career in the closet, had a disastrous sapphic relationship behind the scenes, etc. as someone who’s familiar with the gaylor theories, it’s honestly kind of crazy how closely a lot of the events of this book follow them (down to the infamous concert balcony video??? come on!!)

i did really enjoy the writing on this one. i felt like the conflicts were developed well and didn’t feel too over-the-top, though i did think lola was a bit overly blind to how controlling gloriana was. the only thing that took me out of it was how closely aligned it felt to taylor! it didn’t ruin it for me or anything, but i do feel like it changed my appreciation a bit in that i felt like i was reading less of an original work and more of an homage if that makes sense? i think if i wasn’t so familiar with the lore it would change things for me! it was still very well written, though, so i would definitely recommend.

Lola and Renee were each other’s “girl next door” (literally) growing up, but when they reconnect in adulthood, it seems like they couldn’t be more different. Lola is one of the world’s most famous pop stars, while Renee is on the verge of dropping out of her MFA program. Sparks fly at their reconnection, and shortly thereafter Lola ends up hiring Renee as the director for the documentary being made about her. Writer’s block, exes, and “management” all feature heavily in their romance and its roadblocks.

This was a great book, a perfect vacation read! Well-written with good character development and an attention-keeping plot, including the balance of a “normal” dating a celebrity.

Two things I thought could have been better:

1. I feel the author could have explored Renee’s relationship with her father and her commitment issues more deeply. This piece felt a little bit trite/throwaway.

2. I think there were some areas in the celeb/non-celeb relationship that could have been a part of the story, primarily FINANCES. Money is big in relationships, and the difference between a grad school dropout barista and someone who can invest fifteen million dollars into something (no spoilers!) must have bearing on a relationship. Would have loved to see them work through that.

My least favorite part of romance novels is the third-act breakup, but in this book it felt way more tolerable than usual — not too long or painful for the reader.

All things considered, I really did love this book, and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends!

Gratitude to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was a somewhat sweet, somewhat funny, lotta bit horny read with an admittedly more likeable side cast than main cast. i liked renee and lola’s relationship and the trope of childhood best friends-to-lovers was cute, but i didn’t understand their angst/break up. i felt like at that point they both could’ve and should’ve actually communicated properly. there had previously been so much open communication and for it to fall apart so suddenly was kind of shocking. i love chloe’s character and i wish we would’ve gotten more of her and lola’s friends as they added so much to the story. overall i think building up the side cast would’ve been helpful to building lola and renee’s characters and making them fleshed out people. for example i could not see kadija being renee’s best friend as they rarely communicated and kadija had a pretty harsh nickname for her that i personally would’ve hated from my best friend. i think it was cute and had nice spice, but missed my personal mark of sapphic romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive this ARC.
DNF at 45%
*Thoughts during* 13% It’s okay so far. A little slow, but I’m excited to see where we go from here.
There isn’t a build up of the feelings Lola has towards Rene and Rene is not confident enough in her work. I took a break so I am unsure if it is mentioned why she took a gap year or why she has so little faith in her skillset outside of getting feedback from her classmates, but it’s annoying with all the back and forth of having to convince her her work will be good.
I’m liking it a lot more now at 31% and hopefully it keeps this trajectory.
At 45% I think I’m realizing that I don’t like books about celebrities. I liked the scenes with her performing and her trying to write her music, but the celebrity politics and the comments from fans is just not enjoyable to me. The characters are fine, the story is fine, but I don’t really care about any of the drama. Lola and Rene already flirt a lot and have already had sex, so I don’t know if I don’t care about their relationship because there is no sexual tension or what, but I don’t really care about their relationship🤷🏾‍♀️. I think this book just isn’t for me, but I can see the potential for this to be for a lot of other people.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
4⭐️

A tender, sapphic love story set against the backdrop of fame, self-discovery, and queer identity.

This charming romance between a popstar and a documentary filmmaker blends second chances, childhood history, and the very real challenges of coming out in the public eye. Lola and Renee’s chemistry is electric, but what really makes this book stand out is its emotional depth and nuance. Their journey is messy, heartfelt, and deeply human.

Lola’s struggle to balance privacy with authenticity in the face of intense fan speculation adds a smart layer of commentary about queer celebrity culture, while Renee’s artistic pursuit and self-doubt keep the story grounded.

Perfect for fans of celebrity romances, friends-to-lovers stories, and anyone looking for a sapphic romance with heart, heat, and meaning. The online discourse woven into the narrative is a unique and timely touch.

This was the absolute cutest read of May. I loved this book sooooo much! Their chemistry was so amazing. It gave fan fiction vibe which I loved. The spicy scenes were amazing as well.

To say I loved this book is an understatement. I stayed up far too late to finish it because I couldn't put it down. Renee and Lola's relationship was a whirlwind with a solid foundation, and it was an interesting take on a sort-of friends-to-lovers/famous person-regular person kind of romance. Despite the romance starting suddenly and getting intense quickly, the relationship never felt rushed because I think the build-up to their getting together was well-paced. I love that, by the end, Renee and Lola were their own separate individuals making their own choices while still being in a relationship and trying to make each other happy.

I always appreciate books that surround singers that don't make me read the lyrics - I have zero creativity when it comes to making up melodies, so every time I read lyrics in a book, I feel like I'm reading slam poetry (and I'm reading it poorly). The lyrics that were mentioned were important to the plot, and I was able to parse out the vibes of the songs based on the description.

I also really loved the characters - even the background characters were endearing. It also felt like the readers were supposed to have very black-and-white feelings about the characters - if you were supposed to love them, you loved them. Characters you're supposed to hate, you hate. I love a clear directive on my reader feelings lol.

However, as always, there's a couple of things I didn't really loooove, and that's what knocked the book from 5 stars to 4.5 stars. One was the third act break-up. I get it - it was definitely very necessary for Renee and Lola to grow as people, but I personally hate it with a passion. Additionally, sometimes the other famous people we met were simply there to regurgitate feminist takes on POC in Hollywood or Queer people in the music industry or the exploitation of naive women - the dialogue in those scenes always felt more like an infographic that an actual conversation between humans.

And the last thing I have thoughts about is (not necessarily good or bad thoughts- and I am NOT saying this is what the author intended) that Lola Gray, Lo-Lites, and the #LAvaTruthers felt like a thinly veiled Taylor Swift, Swifties, and the sector of Swifties that wholeheartedly believe Taylor is closeted and has had relationships with several of the women in her life. A lot of Lola's key traits (good girl, writes her own songs, specializing in love songs) feel really similar to Taylor's trademarks. Lo-Lites love to dissect every song Lola writes to find out the identity of the muse, much like Swifties do after every new song. And the LAva Truthers...a lot of their conspiracy theories and dialogue I think I've seen with my own eyes on Twitter. Once again, I don't have any negative or positive feelings about it, I just caught the similarities as an avid Swiftie!

Overall, great book. I will definitely be recommending it to anyone that breathes. Thank you to NetGalley, Sasha Laurens, Avon, and HarperVoyager for the eARC!

This book is a compelling sapphic romance, the tension between the two leads is exhilarating. I also loved the artistic inspiration each character provided to the others' work. The tension around coming out is not my favorite storyline in romances, but I still enjoyed getting to know the characters and watch their relationship develop.

This book was incredibly predictable—and honestly, that’s part of what made it so enjoyable. It’s the kind of cozy, low-stakes read that feels like curling up with a rom-com you’ve seen a dozen times but still love.

The real charm came from Lola, who felt like a queer, slightly dreamy version of Taylor Swift (in the best way). Reading from her perspective was delightful, and I found myself smiling at her inner thoughts and how she navigated the story. Renee, on the other hand, came off a bit whiny and grated on me at times. Both characters, in fact, leaned heavily into naivety that felt more frustrating than endearing, especially in moments where a bit of common sense might have gone a long way.

That said, despite the eye-rolls and predictability, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The book was easy to read, cute, and had a lightness that made it a perfect escape for a weekend afternoon.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

When I Picture You by Sasha Laurens hooked me from page one with its heartfelt, swoon‑worthy romance between aspiring documentary filmmaker Renee Feldman and global pop star Lola Gray. The childhood best friends reconnect after a decade apart to document Lola’s next album, and as emotions simmer, sparks fly against the backdrop of stardom’s spotlight.

I swooned and swooned over the way Renee supported Lola, gave her so much patience, and had such a deep level of care during their intimate moments. Some of the sex scenes were my favorites that I’ve ever read, both in the way they were written and the parallels between my own relationship and theirs.

Although the third-act breakup was a bit predictable and frustrating to witness, I appreciated that each character worked through and recognized their flaws without immediately jumping back to one another. Their eventual reunion felt earned and genuine, not contrived.

All in all, When I Picture You is a tender, emotionally honest romance that had me rooting (and swooning) the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet read. However, the reflection on the media and how they represent women and sexuality did get a little repetitive and redundant at times, and I felt we could have dived in deeper. The romance was nice, but it did feel too instantaneous, and I would have preferred the romance to start later in the book. Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A swoon-worthy, sapphic romance between two childhood friends who reconnect after years of not speaking to each other on a chance encounter.

I liked basically everything about this book, but there is one aspect I loved so much: Lola's coming-out journey. I do not relate to the celebrity part, still it was so engrossing. Read it and thank Sasha Laurens after.

thank you netgalley & the publisher for the eARC :)

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

this was a very cute sapphic romance!! i really liked how it talked about how it can be hard for people to come out. i also adored the childhood friends to lovers trope in this as well as renee & lola’s banter!

i did however find that it read a bit like a fanfic, particularly with the interstitials. i do understand that social media can play a part when writing a novel that has a character that is a celebrity, however it was a little off-putting seeing emojis and fans arguing in an actual novel.

overall, it was a fun read! i would recommend it to those who are looking for a quick sapphic romance read

When I Picture You was such a sweet and swoony read, and I absolutely devoured it. Definitely a new favorite!

Renee has no fucks to give, and Lola gives too many, what could go wrong? “Walk Away Renee” does not do relationships, but exceptions are made for the girl next door, who, yes, happens to be a mega star.

Probably because I am a swiftie and chronically online, hard to not notices the big time Taylor influences here: Lola lore, Easter eggs, and per chance a closeted queer (where my gaylor gals at?). At times the comparison felt so commonplace it was almost boring, but Lola’s character is definitely unique and her growth and coming into herself throughout this book made you cheer her on along the way. I hard to relate to navigating bisexuality—people think you’re making it up, being greedy, or trying to hop on a trend. I adored Lolas coming out story, from her introspection and hesitancy to finally just not giving a F.

This book is in third person, which I don’t usually mind, however there was a (smexy) scene where the names felt receptive and it was distracting.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC, truly adorable story 🥰

The narrative was skillfully crafted and captivating, with remarkable character development that unfolded beautifully and it draws you in from the very first page.

It has quickly secured a place among my favorite reads of 2025, leaving me thoroughly captivated throughout.

As a member of the queer community, I found a deep connection with Lola's journey. The struggles she faces resonate with my own experiences, making it a truly affirming read that allowed me to feel understood and represented.

From the very first page, I was completely captivated and found it impossible to set aside. The emotions conveyed were authentic, allowing readers to connect deeply with the experiences portrayed. Highly recommend.

I extend my gratitude to Netgalley and Harper/Avon for providing the Earc in exchange for my honest review.

This was good! Some parts dragged a little bit and some of the characters were annoying at times but overall it was solid.

Review also on goodreads.

A moment for the Chappel title, please. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

This was adorable and sexy and cute and so much fun! I had a great time with this book!! I loved these two women and their relationship together