Catherine just lands her dream job, but there's one major problem - a background check has shown that she's not who she says she is. She has her identification documents, but they're not lining up with official records. Luca, the doorman in her building, offers to help. Luca and Catherine are not what you'd refer to as two of a kind. Catherine is a planner and prepares for everything. Luca is extremely easy-going and doesn't sweat the small stuff. These two working together to solve the mystery of Catherine's identity is quite entertaining, and Catherine finds herself making new friends during the process. Not only does Catherine finally learn the truth of her identity, but she discovers so much more about herself along the way.

This was a quick and cute read about self-reflection, opening yourself up to change, not taking life too seriously, and the power of people helping people. Most of the characters were so endearing and I felt myself wishing I could move into Catherine's apartment complex. And let me just say, we could all use a Luca in our lives!

Wish I Were Here by Melissa Wiesner is a charming contemporary romcom infused with magical realism. The story follows Catherine and Luca, whose opposites-attract chemistry adds depth to their sweet romance. While the mystery of Catherine’s identity disappearance intrigues, the true heart of the story lies in themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and emotional transformation.

This cozy, page-turning read also explores the importance of work-life balance, prioritizing what truly matters, and the power of found family. Wiesner delivers a delightful mix of heartfelt growth, reflection, and romance, making it an uplifting journey that resonates on multiple levels.

This book was more focused on the fmc than her relationship with the mmc but that didn't bother me because I loved her. I loved reading Catherine's journey. I loved her and Luca's relationship. They had me smiling the entire book. I loved the ending. it made me gasp. I will be recommending this to all my friends.

thank you to net galley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this has a great message. A lot of us can get caught up in our lives and we forget to love and experience different things. There were so many things I could identify about myself in Katherine. Watching her open up and blossom around Luca was so fun. I had a great time reading this.

I really enjoyed this opposites attract, magical realism love story! It’s well written and the story is really interesting. Catherine is a hyper organized math professor, she had a chaotic childhood and as a result likes everything planned out in advance. One day she wishes she could be someone else, and the next day finds out there are no records of her existence.
With the help of Luca, her free wheeling, personable doorman, she tries to find some answers.
Catherine and Luca go on a journey of discovery that takes them to unexpected places. I highly recommend this fun and interesting book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Forever Pub for the gifted arc! All thoughts are my own.

Melissa has such a beautiful mastery of the English language. Wish I Were Here is the best combination of character growth, magical realism, and romance. I absolutely adored every word!

Read for:
- butterscotch candies
- a constantly out of order elevator
- a doorman who is rarely by the door
- a professor who doesn’t legally exist
- tattoos
- found family
- some light breaking and entering

I ended up listening to the audiobook of Wish I Were Here and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like books with some magical realism in it, where it's not the focus of the book, and is just accepted as part of their reality.

I think this was a wonderful book about a woman trying to find herself, literally as she needs to track down her ID, but also metaphorically as she seeks to find her place in the world, and her place in relation to other people - whether it's her dad, her long-absent mother, and Luca, the doorman helping her.

There were emotional moments, funny moments, tender moments. There were times I was cheering for Catherine and times when I was wanting to sit her down and tell her to get it together. And also tell her dad to take some responsibility (which he does, in his own way).

A lovely book and I will definitely read more from Melissa Wiesner.

Thanks to Forever for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

Debra Ashburn Prado <dashburn86@gmail.com>
9:41 PM (0 minutes ago)
to me

📚ARC Review📚💕 Thank you @netgalley, @readforeverpub, and @melissawiesnerauthor for an ARC of Wish I Were Here! I always love a dash of magical realism and this was such a sweet opposites attract romance.

This is a novel from a new-to-me author and I already can’t wait to read more from her. I heard The Second Chance Year is another great one to check out that I’m adding to my #TBR (the short list 😅).

This is the story of Catherine, a newly hired mathematics professor who thrives on order and routine after a less conventional childhood with her single father who had more of an affinity for juggling and acrobatics than parenting. She’s on her way to achieving her tenure-track position before everything goes wrong- her identity is lost and there is no evidence that she actually exists.

She teams up with her handsome and tattooed doorman, Luca, and his well-connected Italian family, to help track down her mother so she can get a copy of her birth certificate and sort out her identity and employment paperwork. As she tries to recover her missing identity, she also begins a path of self-discovery, community, and love. 💕

I loved this one! Luca was such an adorable and lovable MMC and I loved Catherine’s growth in this story. I always love a romance with some magical realism (think Ashley Poston) and this definitely had the perfect amount of magic combined with a sweet found family story. Bonus points for adorable senior citizens!

It was a cute read but very slow and a little lackluster. I liked the overall plot but it needed some thing more. I enjoyed the characters and their personalities and relationship. Cute little beach read.

I loved this book! Catherine and Luca’s relationship developed so perfectly! I didn’t love it as much as Second Chance Year, but I still really enjoyed it!

Catherine’s entirety identity is erased one day. The person who does know her and wants to help her? Her hunky doorman.

This book is about finding yourself as much as it is about finding love. The story was fun and the characters were good to root for.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this book! The premise was so unique which is honestly hard to come by! Even the opposites attract element and how she executed it, felt completely original and fresh. I loved how the author really let the character’s chemistry shine through as they went on this adventure to find Catherine’s identity. Luca was a perfect golden retriever mmc and I loved how he helped Catherine to find a balance in her strict rule abiding schedule and view life through a different lens. The found family aspect was so beautifully done as we meet the senior members of the apartment building and community where Luca and Catherine reside. I appreciated the lessons at the heart of Catherine’s quest to not only solve the matters of her missing identity, but to find herself along the way. The novel wrapped up beautifully with a subtle magical arc woven seamlessly in. I can’t recommend this book enough and I know I’ll be thinking of these characters long after! Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for this #gifted ARC!

🪄✖️☕️

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the arc of Wish I Were Here, out now!

This was such a fun read??? I was so intrigued by the synopsis that I had to request it right away.

This follows Catherine who follows an hourly to-do list. She sticks by the book, follows the rules, and stays to her schedule any deviation is a misstep. When she wishes to be someone else, her whole identity goes missing, her SSN isn’t real, her birth certificate turns out to be a fake, and her academic record is missing. Meet Luca. The insanely hot but infuriating and never sticks to a schedule doorman of her apartment complex.

Their personalities end up sticking to each other, feelings begin to linger and the mystery is solved together. I adored finding out more about Luca, I’ll admit I was stressed with him. While I’m not exactly like Catherine, I do like having things in an order. So I understood Catherine’s frustration with her dad and Luca. Catherine was someone I related to. I truly enjoyed reading her thought process and how the way she thought about things was similar to my thinking. She definitely had things stacked up against her so to see Luca help her take the load off in his own way and finding the invisible strings in their lives was truly amazing. I honestly had the best time reading💙

🪄 Opposites attract
🪄 STEM FMC
🪄 Found family
🪄 Magic/mystery
🪄 He’s sunshine she’s grumpy

Cat, a type-A, perfectionist is completely thrown off when she applies for a job only to get rejected because there is no record of her existence, anywhere. When the same thing happens at the Social Security office, Cat has to figure out why her identity seems to be missing. She reluctantly enlists the help of Luca, her building’s sweet but chaotic doorman, and they two go on a wild adventure trying to solve the mystery of her missing identity.
This book had my heart from the moment I realized the main character and I share both a name and a nickname (even down to the spelling!!!) My love for this story only grew from there. I adored every single moment of this messy journey. From the incredible character development, the sassy cast of side characters, and the beautiful found family, this book was written in a way that truly captivated me, and even though magical realism is usually not my jam, this book does it so well I couldn’t help but love it. I laughed out loud, I teared up a bit, I truly felt all the feels with this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the advance copy.

This was a fun one! Catherine realizes that her identity has suddenly been erased from everything! Her new boss thinks she is a fraud, her bank closes her accounts, and her birth certificate turns out to be a fake. Catherine is lost and devestated, but when the typically flirty door man decides to step in and help, they find themselves on a wild journey to find out who Catherine truly is.

I loved this book. I liked the little magical parts sprinkled in. Not only was this a fun little romance, this was a true discovery into Catherine and her past.

A definite must read.

Cover: super cute but not too cheesy

I read The Second Chance Year last year and really enjoyed it. I don’t usually read books like that but I love how the author helps us see that all things are possible.

Wish I Were Here felt similar to her other in the sense that it’s about second chances. I think it’s a good reminder that we don’t have to just be one thing but live our lives fully. The scenes with Luca were so fun and I could see it playing out in my head thanks to the writing.

I loved the moments with Sal.

I’d definitely recommend if you are looking for something lighthearted and fun. Thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Wiesner and Forever publishing. I have written this review voluntarily.

Catherine plans every detail of her life. She had a chaotic upbringing and maintaining order is essential to her life now. On the day she is supposed to start her new job as a mathematics professor, there is a problem with her paperwork. As she starts to dig into it, she realizes that her identity has gone missing. No one can track down who she is. Her building's doorman, Luca, offers to help her find a solution to her most unusual problem. To find her missing identity, Catherine will need to unpack her past and let go of her perfectly organized life.

This is such a sweet book. I saw a lot of myself in Catherine and really loved Luca's character. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I loved seeing how the story came together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC of Wish I Were Here.

Wish I Were Here is a fun opposites attract love story with a sprinkle of magical realism.

Catherine is a type A math professor whose life goes sideways when she finds herself deleted from government records. Since she doesn't legally exist, she runs into bumps with her new job, credit cards, and bank. She tries to get things straightened out with the help of Luca, the free spirited doorman to her building.

This was a surprisingly sweet story, that was thoroughly enjoyable the whole way through. I found Catherine extremely relatable and loved watching her growth through the story. The side characters in this book were fun and the magical realism element was a good add to this book.

4.5 stars

A really cute and sweet story of self discovery. The romance aspect felt like more of a subplot and unfortunately, for me, the chemistry between Luca and Catherine was a little underwhelming. I don't see myself remembering much of this book in the next couple of weeks... and that's sign I just didn't connect with the characters or the story in a meaningful way.

Overall, this is a sweet read, with a great message, and is worth giving a shot!

Wish I Were Here is a magical romance full of self discovery. When Catherine loses her identity, her perfectly planned life starts to unravel and she can't seem to put the pieces back together. Luckily Luca, the doorman in her new building, is there to help her figure out her true identity.