This book was cute, magical, and easy to read. It was more general fiction than romance, with the focus being on the heroine’s quest to regain her identity. The romance between the leads didn’t wow me, and I found myself sticking around for the main identity plot, which I enjoyed. The secondary characters also stole the show.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After growing up in a chaotic environment, Catherine is happy to finally be on her own, starting the job of her dreams, feeling completely in control. But when a system error seemingly erases her entire identity, her new job and everything she’s worked hard for is on the line. Now, with the help of her rule breaking doorman Luca, she has to fix the system before she loses it all. But she finds more than she bargained for - not just her identity per the government, but herself.

I loved the way Melissa Wiesner embraces found family and community, and the magical realism pizazz to spice it up. These are some of my favorite tropes and she really does them well. You don’t just fall in love with the MCs, but everyone the MCs care about become a piece of you as well. I will definitely keep reading her books after this and Second Chance Year!

BUT. And this is a pretty big but. At 90% in I fully wanted to give this book 2 stars. Catherine is a, for lack of a better term, anal retentive individual (she gets it from her mother). That in and of itself is fine, and the juxtaposition between her uptightness and Lucas carefree attitudes is FINE. But when Catherine finally gets to have her first day on the job, you find out it’s not her. Almost the entire department at her job seems to be the same way. Why exactly is this a problem? Because it’s the math department within a college, and I don’t care for the stereotypes.

Having always had a love for math and previously studied engineering courses, I can say from experience that people inclined towards mathematical endeavors are not uptight sticks in the mud. My female calculus teacher taught us how to draw ducks out of cursive S’s! She’d probably love a good algae-bra joke. My physics teacher was a Stephen Colbert lookalike who rode a unicycle. Mathematicians, in my experience, have BIG personalities. I personally like to believe there are close ties between math, science, and magic. Some things are wonderful and strange and hard to explain, and isn’t that applicable to all three of those things? Also, it takes a lot of creative thinking for mathematicians to come up with the things they do. To consider them just hardworking sticks in the mud is honestly disappointing.

The story could have been the same with the other teachers being oddballs. Catherine could have compared herself to them, stressing how much harder she worked than her peers and how that helped her get to where she was, and then in the end realizing they had it right all along. There was no need to basically villainize intellectuals. I hope this book isn’t being promoted as a woman in STEM, because while technically she is, it gives such an awful viewpoint of it I can’t imagine it would inspire anybody.

Catherine’s perfectly organized life plans come to a screeching halt when she arrives at orientation for her new job, only to be told that there was a problem confirming her identity. Sure enough, it turns out that her birth certificate is fake, and now her whole future is on the line. The biggest problem? It turns out that the only person with the actual document is her mother, who she has never met. With some unlikely help from her frustrating but flirty doorman, she sets out to make the future she wants for herself.

While there was definitely more romance than magical realism here, the romance was very cute and a lot of thought went into how to make the couple work even though they had such different personalities. Luca worked well as a “careless” character, as he had genuinely good traits to help make up for it. Catherine was similarly well-rounded and easy to root for. The character development seemed to be very conveniently-timed at points, but the story was cute and I sped through it.

The sub-plot with Catherine’s gradual acceptance of her unconventional father and search for her absent mother added extra layers to the story that I enjoyed a lot, though I don’t know if I would make the same decisions she does about the two of them. But I suppose that is part of a Happily Ever After. If you’re looking for a cute, opposites-attract romance with a whole cast of quirky characters, this book is definitely for you. Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC. This is my honest review.

4/5 Never underestimate the power of burlesque.

This was such a unique and interesting concept, and I loved all of the quirky side characters from the building! However, I did find the romance to be a bit sudden and underdeveloped. I also wish we got to understand the magic more throughout the book instead of explained at the end. Without that, the story did feel a bit unbelievable. Overall though, it was a fun read and I did really appreciate the overall message of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Review will be posted on Instagram and Amazon on release day.

This was a super cute and quirky story about a young women who is forced out of her comfort zone.

Brief Description (no spoilers): Catherine was raised by a single dad who went with the flow and didn't take life too seriously and now as an adult she is the complete opposite. She likes her apartment tidy, her files color coded, and to be at least 15 mins early. She has just gotten her dream job as a math professor at the local college and her own apartment. Everything seems great until she fails her background check because apparently she does not exist. Her tattoo covered doorman, Luca, who never actually seems to be at the door offers to help her figure it out.

I loved the growth Catherine went though in this book. I was done really well, and I understood where she was coming from with her judgements, and how she learned later on how she was wrong. I do think this book was a little light on the romance. It was a subplot at best, which is typically fine with me... but it was clearly advertised as a romance. This was really just Catherine's story.

A cute story about the transformation of an unfortunate situation into a fresh perspective and opportunity for change. The book is a little slow to start in its introduction to the characters and setting, but thankfully picks up once the plot kicks into gear and Catherine's world is turned upside down. It's interesting and often entertaining to see the various avenues that she takes to regain her missing identity and the unexpected individuals who become her allies. I didn't ever feel undeniable romantic chemistry between Catherine and Luca, whose primary characteristic is his colorful tattoos that are mentioned nearly every time he appears; readers are given more information about him during the final act, but I would have preferred this earlier to understand him better. There is a bit of magical realism sprinkled throughout the book, and one particular instance caught me mostly off guard and was a rather lovely reveal near the end. A pleasant enough read that will have me seeking out more from Wiesner in the future.

Wish I Were Here is a warm, hug of a book, with, yes, a sweet romance story line. But really, it's bigger than that. It's about community. It's about family. It's about belonging and making your own space. Wiesner has an effortless writing style that carries the reader easily through the twists and turns of the story, and I really enjoyed her dialogue, especially. Catherine's character growth was done well and by the end, I wanted to move in with the residents of the DeGreco, ArtHouse, and the Morelli family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I’m sad to say I’m disappointed. I was hoping for there to be more magical realism. I was a bit confused with the timelines, as it felt like things had happened in the span of days, but it had been weeks / months. The entire elevator timeline felt pointless and lasted like the first 10% of the book. The whole social security debacle felt like it was drawn out so much. I wish there had been more depth to both Catherine and Luca. I did not feel chemistry between them, and the first kiss felt awkward.

The premise had the potential of being so much more, but it felt short for me. I had a hard time connecting with all the characters, and often felt like not wanting to finish the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the arc. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book I did not understand at first because it said she disappears in the summary, and I was thinking other people could not see her, or perhaps they would not know who she was at all. The cover art makes me believe this as well. Those would have been interesting premises. Going from that, it was a cute book though. I think that too much time was spent giving Catherine crap for wanting to be organized because she had a childhood that was stressful. I also think there was too much mention of Luca’s arm tattoos. What really ruffled my feathers is that in one part this quote “he went from being a pitbull to a golden retriever puppy.” Hey authors, stop categorizing pitbulls as bad. They’re such babies. The people who raise them to be awful are the problems. Not the dogs. It took me awhile to get back into liking the story after that off handed comment. I think I would have liked to know more about the ghosts as well. The one who kept destroying the elevator. So, I think this story missed out on some heart. A satisfying end though.

Wish I Were Here is an opposites attract romance about a professor and a doorman who must restore the magically missing identity. This was my first time reading anything by this author and I can not wait to read more of her books. In the book we have amazing characters that you will enjoy and the world is filled with joy. This was written so very well and the author did a great job balancing reality and fantasy. The book was the perfect cozy rom-com read that reminded me of a Hallmark movie. I highly enjoyed this one and would recommend this one to any romance reader. Thank you to the author Melissa Wiesner, NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review of Wish I Were Here.

This book wasn’t what I expected, but I definitely enjoyed it. I thought the plot was fun and original. I thought the couple was cute, and their journey to find Catherine’s missing identity was fun to read.

3.5 rounded up

This was very cute! Luca was such a sweetheart! I loved how willingly he was to help Catherine no matter how many family members he needed to get involved. This was definitely lighter on the romance but I still found it adorable.

I love magical realism so I knew I was going to enjoy this but the twist with Sal and Mrs. Hartman was not the one I was expecting!

The one thing I didn’t enjoy was how quickly Catherine judged Luca :( I had really hoped she wouldn’t just listen to her mom without explanation. But I did like how it ended and how she grew to accept her dad, Luca and the other performers at ArtSpace and embrace them more in her life/career!

This book left me speechless at the end! I had such a fun time reading it. Luca absolutely is the most thoughtful, caring main male character I’ve read, and all the cute DeGreco residents were charming. I loved that each one was happy and full of life despite their age. The twist at the end was so surprising but also so heartfelt. It was unlike any other romantic comedy I have read. Well done!

Wish I Was Here is by Melissa Wiesner who also wrote The Second Chance Year which I loved! Wish I Was Here comes out October 15, 2024.

This book is about Catherine who while having a rough start to her morning bumps into her building’s doorman, Luca, and later when she discovers her identity doesn’t exist, her birth certificate is a fake, and she can’t start her new job as a math professor, Luca is the only one who can help.

This book was fine but I didn’t love it. It was a quick read. It had a little bit of the magical realism element like in The Second Chance Year but it doesn’t make as much sense as in that book. I liked the Morelli family, they were fun. I didn’t get a lot chemistry between Catherine and Luca. I found the secret behind why she had a fake birth certificate kind of anti climactic.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

Catherine is on her way to be a tenure track professor of mathematics, when her identity magically disappears. With the help of Luca, her building's carefree and devilishly handsome doorman, Catherine embarks on a journey to validate her existence.

The highlight for me was the community the author built for both Catherine and Scott. Catherine was raised by a merry band of artists. And Scott by his massive family, even if some of the members aren't his blood relatives. I enjoyed the cast of elderly residents in the DeGreco building. They made the building seem like such a warm and inviting place to live.

Overall, Wish I Were Here was a quick cute read that touches upon sexism in the workplace and gentrification in larger US cities.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and lighthearted book about finding yourself. I enjoyed the subtle hints of magical realism and how Catherine's character grows. I did think the romance was going to be more prominent, but I will say the scenes with Catherine and Luca were all very fun and sweet. Overall, an enjoyable story.

The story had so much potential but it fell flat for me! I found it hard to get into and felt like the story was incredibly drawn out with an anticlimactic ending. I really enjoyed the family aspect of the story and the evolving relationship between the main character and her father. Others might love this book but it wasn’t for me!

Wish I Were Here is a romance with a magical realism twist. I thought some aspects of the story were cute and fun. The main character, Catherine, is a young mathematics professor who is ready to spread her wings with a new dream job at a university and her own apartment. Luca is a young, handsome tattooed doorman at her apartment building.

When Catherine has the worst day ever and Luca comes to her rescue, they begin a tentative friendship that has the potential to become more as they spend time together. There is a mystery element to the story when Catherine is advised that her identity is missing from all the government databases, and she needs to find her original birth certificate to restore her records. She can’t start her new job without resolving the issue, and she only has a short window of time to get it done.

Catherine and Luca embark on a “quest” to try to find her original birth certificate and the mystery surrounding her unknown birth mother.

While there are some steamy parts and references in this novel, the writing and some of the situations seemed immature/young. I found myself skimming some of the scenes because they just went on a little long and the content didn’t hold my interest.

What I liked about the story was how Catherine had herself all figured out, but then showed growth in realizing that a fulfilled life can involve more than she originally thought.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a cutie little romance with an interesting plot. It was a little slow going in the beginning for me but once I was into the story, I was IN. I really liked the main characters, Catherine and Luca and enjoyed watching them grow throughout the book. We have a grumpy, organized, workaholic FMC and a sunshiny tattooed MMC. Although, I do wish Luca was a bit more flushed out as a character. Overall though, I really enjoyed it!

“What if instead of always grabbing for the juggling pins, I just let them all drop?”

I am a big fan of books with magical realism and absolutely loved Melissa Weisner’s, The Second Chance Year so I was very excited to dive into this one!

The story begins with Catherine, a mathematician who thrives on order and lists, who starts a new job and learns that her employment paperwork can’t be processed because, according to all government records, she doesn’t exist. After many failed attempts to rectify the situation Catherine turns to her doorman and friend, Luca whose well connected family steps up to help. As Catherine and Luca begin to untangle the mess that is Catherine’s life, they soon realize that not everything is as simple or as straightforward as it seems.

The colorful cast of characters (think Only Murders in the Building) was by far my favorite part of Wish I Were Here. The residents of the DeGreco were perfectly written and endearing right from the start. As for the rest of the story, I am going to be honest and admit that I really struggled with this one. I wanted to love it but the idea of losing one's identity and having to deal with the stress and anxiety of that was a concept so uncomfortable to me that I felt like I couldn’t actually enjoy the book because of it. As a rule follower like Catherine, I found myself stressing about how horrible the entire situation was and I couldn’t stop worrying about what was going to happen next despite recognizing that there would likely be a happy ending.

The writing was very well done though, and I think that it might be a good fit for someone who is better able to embrace the magical aspect and immerse themselves in the story without anxiety. If you read this one, I can’t wait to hear what you think!!