‘When I Picture you’ is a story about embracing your true self and learning to be unapologetically authentic.

the chemistry between Renee and Lola was electric from the very start and grew into such a beautiful and trusting relationship.

with a compelling plot and excellent character development, ‘When I picture you’ was an excellently written piece of work that i found incredibly difficult to put down!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ eARC
The writing in this was genuinely strong, the drama felt natural and not too over-the-top ✍️ I did find Lola a little too unaware of how manipulative Gloriana was, which got frustrating 😬

What threw me a bit was how much it echoed Taylor. It didn’t ruin the story, but it did make it feel more like a love letter than something original 🎤 If I wasn’t so familiar with the references, I think I’d have connected with it more.

Still, it's super well-written and worth a read! 💫

This is a lovely sapphic love story - childhood friends to lovers vibes, with the additional pressures of fame and coming out. The storyline was gorgeous, the spice scenes were pretty good and overall it was really well written and enjoyable. The characters were marvellously crafted, too!

Let’s start by addressing the swiftie elephant in the room: yes, there is clearly a lot of Taylor Swift inspiration here. That is, a lot of inspiration from Taylor Swift, the brand, and the fandom that comes along with it, if not necessarily Taylor herself.

Which is where I think the balance is just right! Lola and Renee feel fresh and original, while their circumstances seem very familiar. There’s an element of ‘what-if’ to their story as well, and an acknowledgement of the very real pressures and invasiveness that closeted celebrities face.

Putting to one side the Taylor of it all, this was such an enjoyable read! Lola and Renee’s chemistry was sizzling from the start, but their relationship still felt like it had a very natural progression. They were both well-fleshed-out characters, and the highs and lows of their relationship didn’t feel forced or manufactured. It would have been nice to see a bit more of the supporting characters, but they still had a strong presence through the story.

Overall this is a great read, perfect for binge reading on holiday like I did!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

When I picture you is a nice story about Lola who is a singing sensation and Renee who is a hoping to make film producing a reality. With a shared past they reconnect. With Lola not out to her fans but wanting to this does cause tension between the two but Renee does want what is right for Lola and Lola doesnt want to upset Renee.
All in all a nice easy to read book. Thank you for advanced copy.

“Sometimes it’s not about making your partner happy. It’s about being there for them when they aren’t.” I ate this book up I loved it from early on I devoured it, I do see parallels other readers have noticed from online fandoms but I think this book also stands on its own. I really enjoyed the relationship, how they grew apart in high school and then ended up reuniting. I enjoyed the patience Renee had but also how she ended up making decisions to help herself. The way they worked together through filming of a documentary and opening up more and more to each other but Renee was holding too much back as she just wanted to make Renee happy. There was a lack of communication at points but I feel like they managed to work on what they wanted as individuals to find what they wanted with each other. It's about standing by someone whilst they fight their own battles and this is what this book did. This was exactly the lightness I needed.

When I picture you follows Renee Feldman and Lola Gray. Renee is at a family friend’s wedding and is embarrassed when she sees Lola there as her childhood neighbour has become a pop star but she is a film school drop out. Lola is struggling writing the songs for her new album particularly as she went through a secret relationship and then a secret breakup. Renee and Lola spend the night together after the wedding and Lola invites Renee to film her new documentary with the promise that nothing romantic will happen between them. Sparks fly, feelings develop and Lola decides to tell her true story in the documentary but that means coming out and revealing her relationship with Renee.

This was good. The writing was strong and this was an easy book to read. I enjoyed the relationship between Renee and Lola, they definitely had sexual chemistry and a lot of the worries Lola had about coming out are definitely real particularly with her being famous. I love how many sapphic romances are being published and I definitely think this is a strong one and I would recommend this. I’m giving this 3.5 stars. This was enjoyable but my only issue with this was that the romance was a bit too focused on the sexual chemistry rather than substance and that’s not always my favourite thing.

I liked this book! It's not necessarily going to the top of my list of favourite sapphic romance novels, it's a little cliché in places and some plot threads felt like they could have been developed more - but overall it was an enjoyable read that kept me engaged and rooting for the main characters to get their happily ever after, with the added bonus of having some important things to say about creative block and being queer in the public eye. (I gave this 3 stars but i'd give it 3.5 if I could give it a half star - above average but not quite in 'favourite' teritory)