This book is more or less Taylor Swift fan fiction, so if that isn’t your vibe you likely won’t love it. I found it quite lovely. Right from the gate I felt that Renee was exactly who Lola needed - someone who not only saw past her fame but also through the hyper-pleasant mask she wore. The entire progression of their relationship felt natural and well paced. Above all else I love when characters are wrong, and both Lola and Renee are wrong plenty in this book. It adds a layer of depth and realism to have them have the best intentions and still miss the mark. The addition of fan reactions/internet discourse throughout the book was a really neat touch and made Lola’s struggle/anxiety all the more believable. Overall I found When I Picture You to be a sweet and fun read! Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

When I first saw the title! I was so excited at the prospect of getting to read this. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC! The book was swoon worthy as it was sweeping. Global pop star Lola Gray is trying to desperately get back into her creative process when she reconnects with childhood friend and struggling grad student, Renee. The story follows the two of them as they try to break through barriers in their respective fields. A cozy romance to wrap yourself up in with a cup of coffee in the fall, I’d highly recommend When I Picture You for fans of Ashley Herring Blake and Karmen Lee.

Also can we get some noise for that gorgeous cover?!?! This will definitely be a book I beg my partner to let me buy when it comes out!

An achingly sweet sapphic romance, When I Picture You is the love story of a pop icon and a graduate school almost-drop-out. As they navigate the process of making a documentary and all of the external opinions involved, the two fall in love and grow as people because of it. So so sweet and an absolute must-read!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for access to this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 ⭐️

I’d like to start by saying that the insta-love and immediate hookup tropes are not for me - and that is a me thing! I need some build up to really get into w couple’s attraction, so the fact that Lola and Renee hook up VERY early on in the story turned me off. I need some banter and flirting to really buy the love story - but this is a personal preference!
The spice in this story was very sexy and I really enjoyed those scenes. I love that Lola is pretty femme, as I identify that way and it made me feel seen as a femme queer person.
I do not personally enjoy a huge emphasis on coming out in a queer love story about adults so that was also a bit of an adjustment for me but I can appreciate that Lola is super famous and thus afraid to be honest about her identity (society sucks). Some of the side characters are a bit homophonic at times, (Gloriana) and I understand the need for that in the plot (I guess) but also it’s 2025…. Let’s stop making queer stories so “different” and “alternative”.
I didn’t totally understand how well Lola and Renee were supposed to have known each other prior to working together on Lola’s documentary and I think it would have been good to have more context/backstory on their history.
Overall this was decent and sexy!

if you’re a swiftie, you’re gonna love this one! the alleged queerbaiting, the easter eggs in lyrics, the passionate fanbase- it’s all there. I enjoyed seeing Lola and Renee come into themselves and become more confident in themselves as the story progresses, even if it is a romance.

I thought the book was ok. I did feel like the book was referencing Taylor Swift, which made me not really like the book. The plot was ok and the characters were a little on thee shallow side. This book just was not for me.

Ahh! This story gave me all of the feels.

Renee and Lola are so different, yet they fit together so well. Renee struggles with burnout and worries about her future. She is so funny and real. I love how she doesn't mask how she is feeling. I wish I could have some of the confidence. Then we have Lola. Lola, on the other hand, is guarded and she is struggling with reconciling parts of herself that she has hidden with the person she portrays herself to be to the media.

Upon their reunion, the chemistry was instant. I thoroughly enjoyed their emotional connection as they worked together on Lola's documentary. And although there was heat between them, it did not diminish the personal healing journeys these ladies took. We got a sneak peek into the harsh realities of the music industry and the expectations for queer women. This love story celebrates joy, art, and queerness.

I loved this story. Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for this ARC.

This was such a good sapphic romance that deals with the pressure of coming out to the world as bisexual or queer while being famous. I thought the story line was captivating and cool. The FMC’s Lola & Renee were both fighting some internal struggles and kind of ran into one another at the perfect time. I will say that I didn’t love either character; they were okay but I wasn’t necessarily head over heels over them. I felt like I didn’t have enough background knowledge about each character. You can definitely feel the lust and the love that both characters had for one another throughout the book. I love how the ending of this book tied everything together. Good book and will definitely read more from this author.

This was an enjoyable read following two characters who are both in creative fields as a pop star and filmmaker. Both are struggling creatively for different, but relatable, reasons, leading to a lighthearted but still emotionally driven read. This was a great escape from reality while still reading a realistic fiction novel, which is exactly what my brain was hoping for from the cover and description of this novel.

I absolutely adored Lola and Renee’s love story. The chemistry between the two was undeniable and all of their interactions felt very authentic to me. The way the author explored queer identity and how it can be woven into all of different the aspects of our lives was handled thoughtfully and in a way that felt very true to life.

I thought that the build up to the primary conflict in their relationship evolved in a way that made sense and the apologies from both characters were appropriate to the stakes of their disagreement.

I think sometimes when books have a setting that includes the glitz and glamour of celebrities it can lean too heavily into the sparkle of it all, but this book did a great job of showcasing the ways that notoriety can present challenges and how stardom can be hard to navigate when you want bits and pieces of a “normal” life.

Another compliment I’d like to pass on to the author is that i really appreciated her handling of the intimate scenes between these two women. It showed care and knowledge of what a sexual experience might be like between same sex partners and what additional dynamics there are to navigate that I find gets lost in a lot of wlw books I’ve read. Some stories give a feeling that the author has no idea what sex between two women even means, and here we were presented with variety and important conversations about their dynamic that (as a queer woman myself) I find are often lacking in books. Amazing work.

My only “negative” feedback is that the ending felt maybe a little rushed from their reunion to the epilogue. I would’ve liked another scene or two of them together prior to the conclusion—but maybe I’m just attached to the characters and greedy for more :)

Amazing book. I was honored to read this book before being published and it’s such a sweet story. Go read it and have all the nice feelings I did. Enjoy!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!
I'm giving this 3.5 stars as I did enjoy reading it, but I didn't love it. It was a sweet but slightly annoying second chance romance. To me the characters read much younger than they are which really irked me. Like I could imagine a lot of the choices both women made if they had been late teens/very early 20s. I did like the artist viewpoint around going after what you love and what truly inspires you, as well as dealing with writer's block and trying to find your way back to what you love doing.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything I would change about this book. It’s about a queer pop star who has a one night stand after a wedding with her childhood best friend, and then hires her to film her documentary. I loved how this was told—seeing Renee thrown into the documentary world of her dreams, juggling her growing relationship with Layla, and seeing Layla grow through her renewed friendship with Renee that turns into something more.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm, I liked this one, but didn’t love it unfortunately. I liked the beginning, but the rest of the story fell a bit flat for me.

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!

Renée y Lola vivían en el mismo pueblo y asistían a la misma escuela; cuando llegó el momento de ir a la universidad, cada una siguió su propio camino. Lola se convirtió en una estrella del pop mundial, mientras Renée, tras perseguir sin éxito una carrera como documentalista, volvió a casa sintiéndose fracasada y perdida.

Cuando se reencuentran años después en la boda de la hermana de Lola, lo que comienza como una conversación incómoda cargada de historia no resuelta, pronto se convierte en una noche inesperada de deseo, conexión emocional y verdades no dicha


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

Okay, so, I liked this one! It was my airport book when I flew home from college, and it was perfect for that. Light, easy, and tons of fun. Probably won't remember it in two months, but I did enjoy reading it!

I will say though, the reviews labeling this as Taylor Swift fanfic have me mildly concerned. I wasn't around for the Kaylor drama, but if this is loosely based off of that, that's kinda weird. Honestly thought i was getting into something Chappel Roan based because of the title, but oh well. Still enjoyed it!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This one’s definitely a slow burn, but honestly, that just made me fall even more in love with the characters. It’s got the perfect mix of feels, laughs, and sapphic spice basically everything I look for in a romance.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Before I get into my review of “When I Picture You”, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the early eARC!

Last year I read Sasha Laurens's book “Youngblood” and LOVED it so I had some pretty high expectations going into this book.

This book had me grasped from the beginning; however, this was very clearly a first-time romance novel for the author.

The smut wasn’t bad, there was just *so* much of it that it started to get old. I felt like the chemistry was solely based on the smut.

And by no means was this book “bad”, I loved the main characters and the plot itself.

Who I’d recommend this book to:
- Larries (Larry Stylinson)
- Gaylor’s (people who believe Taylor Swift is gay)
Because, let’s be real, #lava wouldn’t exist without y’all. (No hate.)

First and foremost, a huge thank you to Harper Collins, Sasha Laurens, and her team for gifting me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When I Picture You was the perfect easy-read romance I was looking for! It read like a Taylor Swift/Miss Americana fan fiction in the absolute BEST way. The characters were flawed but lovable, and their backgrounds gave them much more depth than I was expecting. The pining neighbor to strangers to coworkers to lovers pathway gave nostalgia and comfort but also tension and want as they danced around each other while filming. And of course, the spice was spicing! I love a fast physical burn/slow emotional burn.

All in all, was this romance reinventing the wheel? No. Did I see every twist and turn and expect how it resolved? Yes. But was it worth it and did I eat it up in less than 48 hours? ABSOLUTELY.