5 Stars

I loved this so much; it’s the quintessential YA romance and it was perfection.

We start with a very angsty teen moment... the will they won't they of friends turning into something more and then flash forward to months later as our two main characters navigate the aftermath of that moment.

Natalia and Ethan have been BFFs their entire lives and when a pact they made somewhat ends in awkward disaster, they are both desperate to heal the weird rift happening. As they participate in the senior beach camping trip where their entire class writes down secrets to burn, Natalia and Ethan might be most scared for their own secrets to come to light. Then, the secrets start to get out thanks to some meddling and maybe winds of fate. Ethan and Natalia join forces to get the secrets back and are forced to talk through things thy've been avoiding all summer.

Imagine this story as the moments we don't often see in a miscommunication trope. We start with the miscommunication and then fast forward to a story of the main characters working through the stupidity of that miscommunication in real time. This story takes place over 24 hours during the camping trip and is a dual POV story, so the alternating chapters really help push the story along quickly. I loved the overall setting and secondary characters and honestly think this story would make an amazing Netflix/Prime YA Summer movie of everyone's dreams.

I highly recommend the book and can't wait to read more of Eva's books in the future!

This was a fun cute read. It held my interest for the most part. Some of the characters weren’t developed as well as i have hoped. I doubt I’ll ever reread this as it didn’t connect with me but i would recommend it as light reading material

Natalia and Ethan have been best friends for years. They know each other so well. But after what almost happened between them the night of junior prom, they haven’t talked all summer. Now senior year is starting and it’s time for Senior Sunrise. Each student writes down how they want to be brave and deposits the letters anonymously in a jar. At sunrise, the letters are all burned.

This year, Senior Sunrise is a whole 24 hours, with a campout on the beach. And a whole lot happens in that day. Natalia and Ethan have opportunities to finally talk about what happened on prom night, and how each really feels for the other. Each is also facing stresses both at school and at home. It’s a make-or-break time.

The book description says this is a drama-filled love story, and that definitely true. There’s SO much drama on every single page. It felt like a lot to me, and I often thought it was more than would happen in real life. But I’m an adult, with my teen years far behind me. When I stopped to think about it, though, I could remember a few events in my adolescence that condensed a lot of feelings into a short time.

That being said, I just didn’t enjoy the book. So much drama, so much angst, so many intense feelings and experiences all crammed into a short space. I think I prefer stories that give more time and space for lightheartedness. But if you’re into YA drama, I Wish You Would is well-written and captures well how it feels to be a teenager.

thank you to the macmillan for the ARC!

what drew me to this book: 1) "i wish you would" is a taylor swift song, and 2) senior sunrise is a tradition at my school. for these two reasons, as well as the intriguing summary (i am a complete sucker for friends-to-lovers) i was incredibly happy when i got approved for this ARC. my expectations were very much met: i got a sweet YA romance and some good high school vibes (no taylor, though). i did enjoy ethan and natalia as a couple, despite not being a big fan of the miscommunication trope. however, what shone about this book for me, especially upon reread, was the cast of supporting characters, whose storylines really fleshed out the book (everyone needs a friend like rainn). i do hope my senior sunrise is nowhere near this dramatic, but it sure is good for the plot.

Keeping this short and sweet, like the book - I Wish You Would was cute, angsty, and unputdownable. I equally enjoyed the perspectives from both Natalia and Ethan. While miscommunication isn't my favorite plot point, I think it was well-explained and appropriately used here.

loved the premise of the book and the execution was done well, but i think comparing it to TATBILB set my expectations really high as it's one of my favorite YA series. but overall i think it was cute and was pretty well paced despite it being slow burn/miscommunication heavy

Second chances...

Natalia and Ethan are getting ready for the senior sunrise event that welcomes the class back to their last year of high school. They’re both dealing with family issues and their confusing almost-hookup after Junior Prom. The two have always been best friends; it possibly turned into something more, but neither Ethan or Natalia are willing to talk to each other about it at all. When each senior writes a letter that’s meant for their eyes only and the letters accidentally get loose, secrets start coming out about classmates. The chaos will make or break Natalia’s and Ethan’s chances to build a relationship.

Likes/dislikes: I like the romance in the story. I had fun getting to know Natalia and Ethan. A fun, sweet story.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Language: R for 169 swears and 51 f-words.
Violence: PG for fight.
Ethnicity: mostly white with Latina main character.

thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the ARC of this book. all opinions are my own.

I wish I could put into words how much I enjoyed this. What a great book. Highly recommend.

I love a friends to lovers story. And this one was addicting! Touched some tough topics (transphobia, revenge porn, cheating) but was a good story.

This is a very sweet summer YA book (that is mostly clean). It has all the cliché YA tropes, which is a good and a bad thing. I love the idea of camp, secret letters, and teen shenanigans, but omg the miscommunication. I’m fine with miscommunication, but 90% of the book being based off of it?! No thank you. I also just didn’t feel compelled to keep reading this one. Talia and Ethan were fine but didn’t make me grin or swing my feet or anything. I will honestly probably forget this book in about a month.

3⭐️

THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER!
The 24 hour time period, the drama, the angst, the love!!!
The most well done miscommunication trope I've ever read!
I'm obsessed with Natalia and Ethan and wish I could read about them forever!
This book transported me back to my high school years in the best possible way.
I have no notes of this book. Its completely wonderful and will be your favorite beach/pool/river read this season.

Sometimes, a YA romance can be rough, but I fully enjoyed this book and it may be the best one I have read in a while.

The angst and character development was delightful and you could feel exactly how each character was feeling throughout it.

I also love when there is a best friend “pact” scenario as well so that was the perfect twist to all of this.

ARC Review!

📖:
Friends to lovers
Romance
Meant to be
Secrets
Beach setting
Forced proximity

This is a young adult book / teens. I really enjoyed this story. And I am so glad it read it. I think this book shows a lot of the different struggles teens go through when they are facing change and trying to learn how to start a different kind of relationship. Throughout this book I was able to see the 2 main characters grow in many different ways but a big one was their communication. This felt in the beginning like the miscommunication trope; and with young adults it shows how these things can really happen - and when we have a bit of miscommunication there may be times when giving explanations can be harder than it sounds.

I give this book 4 ⭐️ I think YA/ teen readers will enjoy this read.

SPICE:
There is no spice in this book but there is mentions of spice and there’s kisses. 😘

LANGUAGE:
There are a few cuss words but it’s not all over the book.

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU
- if you don’t mind having a story with miscommunication being a big part of the beginning.

- if you love YA BOOKS

- if you like it when there’s a lot of character development + secrets.

- if you like the friends to lovers trope.

I really needed a candy romance book right about now, so I was really glad to find this one on my list. The short chapters make it especially binge-able, and the tension between the two estranged best friends makes it easy to keep reading well past bedtime (which I did.)

I like that Natalia is an artist and that her art impacts the story. There are moments when she describes how she’s feeling in terms of art or color. Ethan, by contrast, drifts into sharing strange facts when he’s stressed, which is really cute.


Almost the whole story takes place during an overnight camping trip for the rising senior class at Natalia’s and Ethan’s school. The first couple of chapters take place a few months before, and the last chapter takes place long afterward, functioning sort of like a prologue and epilogue.

The romantic plot of the story holds a lot of tension, with Natalia and Ethan recalling a kiss from months earlier that neither is sure whether the other regrets. The senior camping trip marks the first time they’ve seen each other in a while, and it creates a kind of forced proximity. The secret letters part of the story added some interesting components and quirky side characters and subplots.

Fans of J.C. Cervantes will probably like this quick, intense love story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Eva Des Lauriers for this ARC!

Wow wow wow! I absolutely loved this read! For a slow burn, it was anything but- every chapter left me wanting more. It was a perfect blend of suspense, romance, and high school drama. Des Lauriers did a fantastic job transporting me back to high school and awakening the intense emotions that come with being a 17 year old discovering love, passions, and friendships. I was laughing reading some scenes remembering those exact moments in my own life- hello nostalgia!

For a quick but enticing read, this YA story is a perfect fit for anyone who loves young love and watching teenage drama unfold!

The quick cut: A guy and girl who are best friends have their prom night go wrong and avoid each other all summer. That ends when they have to work together to find escaped letters.

A real review:
Thank you to Henry Holt and Co for providing the arc for an honest review.

Feelings make everything complicated, especially when you're best friend is a different gender than you. For Natalia and Ethan, they nearly ruin their friendship on junior prom.

Natalia and Ethan have been friends for a long time. On their junior prom night, they make a mistake that causes Natalia to avoid Ethan and Ethan to wish he could take his actions back. When they spend a summer apart, they meet again for a school tradition where the seniors write letters to themselves. Except Natalia accidentally lost a few and needs to get them back. Can they do it together? Or be apart forever?

I actually really loved the first half of this book and it really fell apart by the end. These two are friends with a lot of unspoken truths between them. They needed to get those out, but the problem is that if these were really their issues - I seriously doubt their friendship would've lasted this long.

The chapters go back and forth between Natalia and Ethan narrating. Each one gives you a glimpse into what they're experiencing internally. I quickly got frustrated with their inability to be honest to each other. Some of the melodrama was distracting rather than adding to the story.

I did like the concept here, but you needed a lot more editing and character development to make that work. Right now, all I can see are the plot holes and mistakes littered all over the page.

A fun concept with a flat execution.

My rating: 3 out of 5

An absolutely pitch perfect depiction of first love and all of the angst and emotion tied up in it! I devoured this book and felt so much for Natalia and Ethan. A truly amazing debut!

This book was so nostalgic. It sent me right back to those breathless moments of drama and first love from high school. Eva perfectly captures the terror and drama of a high school ritual gone wrong and all the hurt feelings unearthed because of it. The characters are so real and flawed and I loved every moment of this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute YA story set during an overnight at the beach for incoming seniors. There are a few flashbacks scattered throughout that help round out the story and explain some of the current situations. Ethan and Natalia are best friends, but after almost becoming more following junior prom, they've been avoiding each other until now.

The author really captures that teenage feeling that what you personally are experiencing is the best/worst/most intense ever and that no one else can possibly understand. I really enjoyed this story and I think the YA audience will love it.

I fully admit that I requested this on NetGalley because it has a Taylor Swift song title (and a 1989 one at that!), but it was so, so good. Props to this book for being the first young adult book I've even attempted in a long, long time that didn't drive me up a wall. Don't get me wrong, I've never wanted to smack two characters upside the head as much as I did Ethan and Natalia and tell them to just talk to each other, but they're in high school! High schooler are notoriously bad communicators!

This book did such a great job encapsulating how pressing and world shaking every tiny little thing feels when you're in high school (Senior Sunrise has to go off without a hitch! Ethan can't know Natalia's in love with him! Natalia can't know Ethan's in love with her! Etc.) and how you feel like No One will understand anything that's going on. And then you finally, /finally/ talk to your best friend or your parent or your sibling and you realize that they would have understood the whole time, and all of a sudden everything is more manageable.

Very sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!