Wish You Were Her by Elle McNicholl (2025)
No surprise that I tore into this one and finished it in a day, having previously raved about Elle McNicholl's previous charming small town romance, "Some Like It Cold".
Once again, she takes us back to what's now one of my favorite fictional comfy-cozy destinations, the beautiful Lake Pristine. (For me, I'm thinking it must be due to the town's main attractions, the Arthouse cinema, the picture postcard lake and now....that bookstore.)
And once again it's an irresistible, clutch-your-heart story about a neurodivergent teen girl who struggles with first love, declaring her own identity and coping with the anguish of how she's perceived when dealing with the outside world of 'neurotypicals'.. (But this time, this particular girl doesn't find herself alone on the autism scale.)
Allegra Brooks is an 18 year old universally adored superstar of TV shows and films, with her dedicated, possessive fan base unaware that her guarded, sometimes distant demeanor comes from her autism. Seeking a much needed summer respite from the public eye, she returns to her home town of Lake Pristine to work in her father's bookstore. And she's arrived right at the start of the town's nationally popular summer book festival, sponsored by her dad and managed by his young, masterful (and prickly) bookseller Jonah Thorne.
Allegra and Jonah right away clash personalities as if lifelong enemies, while each separately find solace and friendship in their comforting, anonymous e-mail friends. Anybody care to take a wild guess as to whom each of them has been communicating with on line, while they snap at each other in person?
If this all sounds like 'Gilmore Girls', 'Notting Hill' and 'You've Got Mail thrown into a blender, you've got the idea. Allegra cultivates some new friends and one cruel enemy while Jonah holding on to own secrets, can't help succumbing to this one-of-a-kind warm hearted girl. When Allegra's fame threatens to overwhelm them both, you can expect to find yourself racing through the pages as you anxiously cheer them on.
As in her first Lake Pristine romance, author McNicholl creates her autistic characters with enormous compassion and insight, so you find yourself falling in love with them at the same time they're falling in love in the story. . Anyone seeking the kind of romcom that won't hesitate to make you go, "Awww....", head for Lake Pristine ASAP.
Once again, she takes us back to what's now one of my favorite fictional comfy-cozy destinations, the beautiful Lake Pristine. (For me, I'm thinking it must be due to the town's main attractions, the Arthouse cinema, the picture postcard lake and now....that bookstore.)
And once again it's an irresistible, clutch-your-heart story about a neurodivergent teen girl who struggles with first love, declaring her own identity and coping with the anguish of how she's perceived when dealing with the outside world of 'neurotypicals'.. (But this time, this particular girl doesn't find herself alone on the autism scale.)
Allegra Brooks is an 18 year old universally adored superstar of TV shows and films, with her dedicated, possessive fan base unaware that her guarded, sometimes distant demeanor comes from her autism. Seeking a much needed summer respite from the public eye, she returns to her home town of Lake Pristine to work in her father's bookstore. And she's arrived right at the start of the town's nationally popular summer book festival, sponsored by her dad and managed by his young, masterful (and prickly) bookseller Jonah Thorne.
Allegra and Jonah right away clash personalities as if lifelong enemies, while each separately find solace and friendship in their comforting, anonymous e-mail friends. Anybody care to take a wild guess as to whom each of them has been communicating with on line, while they snap at each other in person?
If this all sounds like 'Gilmore Girls', 'Notting Hill' and 'You've Got Mail thrown into a blender, you've got the idea. Allegra cultivates some new friends and one cruel enemy while Jonah holding on to own secrets, can't help succumbing to this one-of-a-kind warm hearted girl. When Allegra's fame threatens to overwhelm them both, you can expect to find yourself racing through the pages as you anxiously cheer them on.
As in her first Lake Pristine romance, author McNicholl creates her autistic characters with enormous compassion and insight, so you find yourself falling in love with them at the same time they're falling in love in the story. . Anyone seeking the kind of romcom that won't hesitate to make you go, "Awww....", head for Lake Pristine ASAP.
5 stars (*****).
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