Elle McNicoll has done it again!! Right from the first chapter. I was transported into Lake Pristine and the life of Allegra Brooks. I loved everything about Allegra and think she will be so relatable for so many people. Lake pristine is the perfect place to set a book and then add in the book shop and I’m completely sold!!
Such a wonderful, cute romance read and I love the speaking up for neurodivergency and really showing what life is like. Cannot rave enough about this author and this book is just another in a collection of amazing ness!!

I am such a fan of Elle's books and returning to Lake Pristine in this book was so much fun. I heavily related to fatigue that comes with autistic masking. Her coming into the town with all eyes on her, while wanting to keep a low profile, she ends up falling for one of the locals. Watching them open up about their diagnoses was heartwarming!

Elle never misses.

Every book has something new, a line, a paragraph, a moment, that just speaks to me so clearly and makes me want to scream from the rooftops - why is it so hard for allistics to understand us? Why do they do what they do and why are we the ones seen as with a problem??
But more than that Elle's stories are a joy. Her characters don't exist to be a token or an advocate. They just are. They are characters living a life and experiencing a story the same way nd people in reality do.
These books are so needed and wanted, and Elle McNicoll is such an incredible story teller. We are so lucky to have her telling these ones.

I am very sad to say that this one did not really work for me. I really liked the previous Elle McNicoll books I read but this one did not work. The characters did not feel like they were the right ages. An 18 grumpy booksellers who is seasoned at his job? It just didn't make a lot of sense to me. I did like the romance and the qui pro quo and how the characters evolved but too much of it left me surprised and just wondering why. I still really liked the setting and all the characters but I couldn't fully get into the story because so much didn't really make sense to me. So yes, that was a little bit of a miss for me, but I am really looking forward to reading my next Elle McNicoll book.

I love Elle McNicoll’s books and knew I was going to enjoy this, but I didn’t realise how much I’d adore it! Allegra, the main character, is an actress, spending a summer at her dad’s bookshop in the small town of Lake Pristine, to help with the book festival. She begins an email relationship with one of the booksellers at the shop prior to visiting, and assumes it’s one in particular upon meeting them, as he is very friendly and the other seems very cold and standoffish. She makes friends in the new town and still wonders if this mystery guy is the one she thinks he is, but begins to grow closer to the moody bookseller, who later reveals to her that he is autistic. Allegra herself is autistic but hasn’t told anyone, as she fears what effect it’ll have on her acting career, but when scandal hits, she has to decide who has her back and what she’s going to do with her secret…and her mystery email friend. I LOVED the autistic representation in this, because as usual, the author has done a wonderful job of writing it (being autistic herself), and her YA books are every bit as gripping and engaging as her younger books. I adored this and loved the cameos from her previous book, Some Like it Cold, as it felt like a homecoming. Definitely check this out if you’re looking for a cute autistic love story with conflict and eventual comfort. A fantastic read.

I really enjoyed the first book - Some Like it Cold - so was intrigued to return to Lake Pristine in Wish you were her. I wasn’t disappointed, another great tale featured ND characters and one I will be adding to my high school library.

A romance involving books what else do you need to know? Allegra and Jonah have to work with each other and a great bit of character development for Allegra and her autism

3.5 stars

A totally lovely read with authentic-feeling neurodiversity rep. I did enjoy the getting away from everything feel that the FMCs father’s bookshop brought. The initial triangular and misunderstanding elements weren’t my favourite though. The story brought a ‘geek girl’ vibe with the FMCs fame.
Overall enjoyable but it didn’t hit the high of this authors previous boom book for me.

Brave, heartfelt, and wonderfully original 🌈💖. Wish You Were Her is a bold, emotional story about friendship, identity, and standing up for yourself. Elle McNicoll’s writing is full of heart and honesty, with characters you can’t help but root for. I loved the inclusive representation and empowering message. Perfect for readers looking for contemporary fiction with depth, humour, and a big heart.

I loved some like it cold so I was excited to read this book too set in the same time/town as some like it cold! Our girl jasper even makes an appearance. I felt as though this was more spicy than the first however still wasn’t explicit or too detailed.
I love the autistic representation in these books, nice to see not everyone being/seeing/feeling the same.
Would highly recommend these books to my son and his friends as I feel they would definatly help them feel seen!
The bookish references in this story were iconic too I loved reading this book and seeing the characters following their dreams and hearts!!
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Elle has done it again! A beautiful romance with autistic main characters. That not only explores being neurodiverse, but also fame and how people are treated because of it.

I don’t think there is an Elle book that I couldn’t love, I was so easily drawn into the world of Lake Pristine and the array of characters. I loved how this book had so many beautiful ways of writing that I highlighted so so many bits! I love how her books give neurodiverse characters the chance to shine, to fall in love and to find their happily ever after when so many books don’t do this.

A beautiful love story.

Another thoroughly charming small town romance from Elle McNicoll as we return to Lake Pristine and its lovely bookshop, Brooks Books. Allegra battles with the struggles of a life held in the limelight, young and lonely and in need of a break and some normalcy. This brings her to Lake Pristine and into the path of Jonah Thorne, a prickly bookseller who can’t seem to say the right thing. The sparks are definitely flying between these two as they continue to clash in person, but with a You’ve Got Mail twist, they’ve very much on the same page by email.

I loved getting to know Allegra and the small and big things that make her who she is - the highs and lows of her childhood fame, her passion for books, her kindness and loyalty, the challenges she tackles every day as an autistic woman and not knowing whether to share those parts of herself with the world, her longing for the life experiences of people her age. She’s a fantastically layered character, fleshed out with humour and fear and love. Despite the rocky relationship between her and Jonah, these two are a fantastic match and I adored how big Jonah’s feelings were for Allegra, those nuggets he dropped which showed them, all those moments we cringed along with him (theirs was not a meet cute!) and championed his protectiveness. At times he’s certainly frustrating with his gruffness and his inability to play nice with Allegra but his behaviour and reactions are so human that it’s simply a sign of Elle’s talent for writing characters who feel like they could step off the page.

With wonderful side characters (fans of Some Like It Cold will recognise some), blossoming friendships, and a lovely small town, it’s got it all!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Wish You Were Her by Elle McNicoll, a NetGalley review. Allegra Brooks is an actress and has been from a very young age, now 18 she desperately needs a break away from fame so she heads to Lake Pristine where her father owns a bookshop. However Allegra gets more than she bargins for when she clashes with Jonah Thorne. I’ve heard great things about this author and was aware when I requested this book that it was classed as a YA book, on Amazon it says for 12 years and up. For me this is a good enjoyable read but sadly that’s it. I think it’s aimed at the right age, because I found it a bit tame. Allegra and Jonah are both autistic, which I thought was great, it’s rare that you read about autistic characters and I think as a YA book it would be great for opening discussions about autism. But it lacked for me any depth, basically I felt that it was a romance novel with two main characters that happened to have autism. I thought the book could have perhaps had more depth to it, been a bit grittier, talked more about the struggles for people with autism, the differences these two people could have had in that respect because autism is different for everyone. I hate to say this because i did enjoy the book but it talked about autism on more of a superficial level of that makes sense, with no depth to the subject. I did like the fact that books and reading was a big part of the story but sadly it was very predictable from the start. As a woman in her 40’s I was never this books target audience however I believe YA fiction is that transition from kids books into more adult themed books, books that will capture young people’s reading and their future reading and I don’t know if this is a stand out example of this, especially when at best all I can describe this book as is nice. I’ve given it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the subject matter as I do think/hope it will start discussions, it’s unusual to read books with autistic main characters and as romance books go it was an enjoyable read. Not sure I would recommend it going forward. Not the best read this year but certainly not the worst 📚📚

Another fantastic book from Elle McNicoll. A book that made me feel seen and understood in ways in which I rarely find I am. And what a beautiful way to celebrate the special relationship that can only happen between autistic people, where you feel truly understood.

It was interesting reading this knowing a bit about Elle McNicoll’s experience as an author and seeing what she’s drawn from her own life experience. It is incredible what people think they can say to people just because they’re autistic and famous. And this book really shone a light on that.

On a non-autistic note, I loved seeing Lake Pristine again. I loved the book festival and the plot surrounding it. But most of all, I loved seeing Allegra’s character come together. How she was similar to Jasper in some ways, but in other ways very different.

Overall, I loved this book and look forward to returning to Lake Pristine again in the next one.

I don't even know where to start with this. It's rare that I read a book I resonate so deeply with - despite having a very different life to the characters!

I guess this is what representation and feeling seen feels like ❤️

I have ADHD and likely autism too so there were so many parts of this that I really resonated with. The way autism is discussed and how both Allegra and Jonah go into their personal experiences with it. The feeling of being on a different frequency to everyone else was very relatable. And while their struggles with autism or rather people's reactions to it were clear, they were also unapologetic which I really liked. There were so many parts that just hit home and spoke to me deeply. It was a bit bittersweet as I wish I'd had this book when I was younger - reading about someone like me could've been life-changing.

The massive Notting Hill and You've Got Mail fan girl in me was kicking her legs!! The whole story was so cinematic and I could so easily picture it. The ending especially was surreal but nice 😉 and felt like it was out of a movie. I was rooting so much for them and it took me right back to reading YA romance as a teenager.

The setting was really lovely!! Very small town which fits perfectly with the cinematic feel of the book. The emails and the bookshop and even Jonah's old fashioned mannerisms really captured something that modern media often doesn't. It felt like old rom coms but with autistic characters and interesting perspectives on journalism and the media. I think the mishmash of the two worlds worked so well as opposites but also similar in judgement from local gossip and social media.

Just stunning. Thank you Elle McNicoll.

Elle McNicoll is easily one of my favourite authors so when a bookish YA romance was announced I could not wait to read it because I knew that I would almost definitely love it and I was not in any way disappointed by it.

Wish You Were Her follows actress Allegra Brooks who when she decides she needs a break she goes to her dad’s small town Lake Pristine for the summer book festival where she immediately clashes with the local bookseller Jonah and soon enough Allegra is convinced the charming bookseller she has been emailing can’t be Jonah.

This was a book that I read really quickly and really loved. There was a book festival I really wanted to visit, characters I would love to spend time with and autism representation that I continue to love.

Along with fantastic stories that I love, one of my favourite things throughout Elle McNicoll’s books is the brilliant representation. This book has two autistic lead characters which was really special to read, you got to see two different but similar perspectives on being autistic which you don’t see a lot of in books with neurodivergent representation.

I loved the romantic plot line in this book. It was great to watch the characters get to know each other better both in person and through their emails. There were also a couple of scenes where one took after the other one that just made me so happy to read.

It was so nice to be back in Lake Pristine. It is a small town that I love, full of characters who I would read books and books about. The book festival element was really interesting to read about as someone who loves attending book festivals. There were also some discussions I loved particularly around genre, romance and crime books. It was also so nice to read about the characters that I loved from Some Like it Cold again, particularly Grace, Jasper and Arthur.

Jonah and Allegra were both characters that I connected to quite a lot while I read this one but on top of that they felt really well fleshed out giving them depth that didn’t just spark from their diagnosis.
This book felt full of a wide range of characters who were all very different but I do think they created some interesting conversations including about what it is like to be an autistic person in the spotlight and constantly having to hear people’s opinions of you.

I absolutely loved this one and will be recommending it as much as possible over the summer, it is another book that really does feel perfect for summer. Every book I read from Elle makes me more excited for the next and I truly cannot wait for every book she releases because I know I will love them.

Thank you to Netgalley and First Ink for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to the author, Elle McNicoll, NetGalley and the publishers, Macmillan Children’s Books, for a digital ARC of this book, which is out on 5 June.

Allegra Brooks is eighteen and one of the biggest stars in the world. But having been in the entertainment business since she was thirteen, she’s craving a normal teenage summer. With some time off between movies, she decides to spend time with her father in the small town of Lake Pristine, working at his bookshop and helping out with the town’s literature festival. She initially falls out with Jonah Thorne, one of the booksellers (and organiser of the festival) and the two spend several weeks at each other’s throats. Simon, another young bookseller, seems more like Allegra’s type, and she hopes that it’s Simon she’s been carrying on a secret correspondence with.

I read three YA books over a week and this was the weakest of the three. That’s not to say it’s a bad book – it’s engaging and kept me turning the pages - but it does have flaws. I found the characterisation and characters’ motivations weren’t always realistic. Allegra appears to be a perfect character. Although she’s a movie star, she’s humble, down-to-earth, hard-working, kind, an excellent communicator, doesn’t bear grudges etc etc. I imagine that the author wanted to show a positive representation of an autistic character, and I think it’s particularly useful to show that someone with autism can be highly emotionally intelligent – but I found myself hoping that Allegra would have at least one minor character defect. Meanwhile, Simon’s character is portrayed inconsistently – it felt like he became immature very suddenly – and George’s explanation for being distant towards Jonah felt unlikely. There’s also a minor character in the novel (whose name I can’t now remember) whose sole purpose is to say bitchy things to other characters and try to stir up trouble. In the same way that no one is perfect, I don’t think anyone is totally flawed, so this felt unrealistic, too.

I thought that the neurodivergent representation was really important – it’s so unusual to find a romance novel with two neurodivergent leads. It's clear that the author is passionate about conveying her experiences as a person with autism so that things become easier for others. However, I thought that passion actually made the book unbalanced at times - there are passages where the narrative goes off-topic for a bit - but I'm not a teenager or autistic, and the book might land differently with its intended audience.

If you want to read a romance with excellent neurodivergent representation, or you want a positive portrayal of autism, I would recommend this.

The story was a fun escape - and I think readers can learn some great messages from it. Overall, I’d recommend this one - Young adult, ‘enemies’ to lovers, ‘you’ve got mail’, small town, autism rep.

This was a cute small town YA romance - I’d recommend if you’re looking for a quick read with neurodivergent representation and a cute enemies to lovers story with a ‘you’ve got mail’ feel.

I really liked the MMC Jonah - he puts his foot in it when they first meet which sets them up for a rocky beginning, but he has his reasons. He loves books and wants to be a writer - no short term goals of leaving his small town life. I really enjoyed his character and the representation he provided.

“She had never enjoyed walking into rooms. She always felt a little unwelcome. Becoming famous had done nothing to change that. Her world had, ironically, shrunk. The bigger your name becomes, the more strangers will start to use it. Then one day you realize you haven’t heard a loved one say it in for ever. They’ve given up trying to be heard over the din of the crowd.”

Allegra became famous at 13, now 18 and struggling with the media side of fame. Autistic but no one knows so is sometimes portrayed negatively in the media - as they don’t know why she acts how she does. She’s spending the summer in a small town, at her dad’s bookshop, to get away from it all. She wants to try and carve her own slice of life - make friends and find love - to just not feel so alone. Again, she provided such good neurodivergent representation and I liked her character.

Loved the small town bookshop setting and the mail correspondence sections. The theme of friendship was particularly strong in this book, and I adored the friends she made and the relationships she developed. This was a strong point for me.

Overall, I’d recommend this one - Young adult, ‘enemies’ to lovers, ‘you’ve got mail’, small town, autism rep.

ARC copy provided by Macmillan Children’s Books & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Another absolutely delightful and informative romcom from Elle! I loved this one every bit as much as Some Like It Cold and was so happy to be back in Lake Pristine with so many familiar faces (including Jasper and Arthur). Allegra and Jonah made great love interests, and of course I loved the bookshop/bookseller angle - but mainly it’s great to read gorgeous, warm romances with neurodivergent leads and great representation. It definitely makes me feel like I’m understanding a little more.

Also love the brilliant friendships which are every bit as important to the story as the romance. Would absolutely recommend!