Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 stars for Melissa Wiesner's Wish I Were Here - a romcom of finding love where you least expect it.
We meet Catherine, a mathematician whose life is always in order, is always early everywhere, and lives her life by the rules. Little does she know that her life is about to be turned upside down when her identity disappears. With the help of always late, distracted, and charming doorman Luca, with a lot of adventures, a couple of discoveries, and a big Italian family, Luca and Catherine will find their way back to who she is and discover new things about herself in the process.
The book had a very interesting plot - but I did not find myself engaged with the characters or the couple. I was cheering more for Catherine's own path of self discovery than I was for Luca and Catherine as a couple. I found myself more engaged in the second part of the book, once the story started moving, than at the beginning.
All in all, the book was entertaining. Luca was adorable and easy to fall in love with. Catherine was complex and closed off, and it was great to see her develop into someone more open and loving throughout the story.
Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.
We meet Catherine, a mathematician whose life is always in order, is always early everywhere, and lives her life by the rules. Little does she know that her life is about to be turned upside down when her identity disappears. With the help of always late, distracted, and charming doorman Luca, with a lot of adventures, a couple of discoveries, and a big Italian family, Luca and Catherine will find their way back to who she is and discover new things about herself in the process.
The book had a very interesting plot - but I did not find myself engaged with the characters or the couple. I was cheering more for Catherine's own path of self discovery than I was for Luca and Catherine as a couple. I found myself more engaged in the second part of the book, once the story started moving, than at the beginning.
All in all, the book was entertaining. Luca was adorable and easy to fall in love with. Catherine was complex and closed off, and it was great to see her develop into someone more open and loving throughout the story.
Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely adored this sweet opposites attract romance. This was my first book by Melissa Wiesner but I will be picking up more, I found the writing to be very engaging and it was a quick fun read.
Catherine always needs everything to be perfectly in place, organized, and absurdly early for every meeting she is about to begin her dream job as a mathematics professor. Luca is the doorman at her building and cares more for the people in his life, including all the elderly residents, than he cares for following rules. When Catherine’s identity seems to disappear Luca helps her restore it.
I loved watching Catherine develop through the book as she and Luca got closer and she saw how important he was to the community and the residents, how what she had seen as being unreliable was really him caring more for the individual. I thought it was both sweet and funny with just enough romance. I found the situations with the various Morellis to be funny as well as the hints of how different Catherine’s upbringing was. I generally struggle when there are paranormal elements in a book but I loved the addition here.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
Catherine always needs everything to be perfectly in place, organized, and absurdly early for every meeting she is about to begin her dream job as a mathematics professor. Luca is the doorman at her building and cares more for the people in his life, including all the elderly residents, than he cares for following rules. When Catherine’s identity seems to disappear Luca helps her restore it.
I loved watching Catherine develop through the book as she and Luca got closer and she saw how important he was to the community and the residents, how what she had seen as being unreliable was really him caring more for the individual. I thought it was both sweet and funny with just enough romance. I found the situations with the various Morellis to be funny as well as the hints of how different Catherine’s upbringing was. I generally struggle when there are paranormal elements in a book but I loved the addition here.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗜 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗿 is a delightful magical romance with an opposites-attract twist. Catherine, a meticulous mathematician, finds her structured life flipped upside down when she’s erased from government records and left with no identity. Her only hope for unraveling the mystery? Luca, her charming, free-spirited doorman with connections she could never have imagined. The journey that ensues is thrilling and unexpectedly fun, as Catherine dives into Luca’s world, from meeting with the Italian Mafia to uncovering secrets in hospital records. Wiesner masterfully captures the balance between romance and self-discovery, as Catherine learns that there’s more to life than work. Their growing connection is light, refreshing, and a joy to watch blossom. The story combines the best of magical realism with heartwarming themes, making it feel like a sweet, cinematic adventure.
“Something might seem like a disaster and turn out to be a beautiful, wonderful opportunity.”
Have you ever felt like you didn’t exist? Well, Catherine Lipton is living it!
This brilliant, type-A mathematician is this close to her dream job—until she quite literally vanishes from all government records. No social security number, no bank account… nothing.
Have you ever felt like you didn’t exist? Well, Catherine Lipton is living it!
This brilliant, type-A mathematician is this close to her dream job—until she quite literally vanishes from all government records. No social security number, no bank account… nothing.
emotional
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It the past few years I have come to realize just how much I love a good magical realism book, and Wish I Were Here definitely fits the bill. I loved Catherine as a lead character - her desire to control her life felt very real to me and then the experience of suddenly not officially existing anymore was genuinely scary. Because the entire book is from her perspective, Luca is more of a mystery, but I still found him enjoyable and the wild cast of secondary characters was delightful. Some of the twists felt a bit predictable (although a few did surprise me), but I didn’t find this detracted to much from the overall experience since I was excited to see Catherine make the discovery, even if I as the reader was already a step ahead of her. Would recommend for fans of Ashley Poston or Heather Webber.
