This book was unexpected for me, I love magical realism stories but this one felt more like a women's fiction with a dash of romance and magic. If that's for you, then go for it. But because it wasn't what I expected it was hard for me to connect with the characters and the story felt really slow at times. I rated this a 2.75 and rounded up here. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Melissa Wiesner for allowing me to read an e-ARC of Wish I Were Here. I loved the premise behind the book - Catherine’s identity disappears from all government databases and now she has to fight to figure out what happened and how to fix it. Helping her is the frustrating (but exceptionally hot and kind) Luca. It is very clear from the beginning how different Catherine and Luca are - she is a professor of mathematics and he is an doorman with an artist’s soul (aka she is very rigid with rules and things being in order and he is more easy going and out to enjoy life). Throughout their journey to help Catherine get her identity back, we are introduced to the quirky and fun residents of the DeGreco, Luca’s rather large and connected family, and Catherine’s eccentric father. I would describe this book as magical realism, with a minor subplot of romance (not that Luca isn’t a great person to love). The focus of this book is Catherine and watching her figure out who she wanted to be and what was most important in life. This book is definitely a warm, magical hug. It was a quick read for me and I am so glad I read it - it was a book that hooked me in and made me want to see how things turned out.

4.5 ⭐️'s rounded up

Wish I Were Here is the fantasy book for romance lovers. The fantasy elements in this book are minimal but add a whimsical quality to the story. In this book, Catherine must solve the mystery of her missing identity with the help of her doorman, Luca.

One of the things that made this book special was the characters, especially the older residents of the DeGreco.

I thought Wish I Were Here was an memorable, event-filled read that many readers will enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this opportunity to read this ARC!

When Catherine’s identity disappears, she goes on a mission to track it down with the help of an unlikely support system.

I had a hard time with this one. Some parts I adored and other parts were just weird. Luca was the star of the book for me. He is so kind and caring and doesn’t take life too seriously. But I didn’t feel like there was any chemistry between him and Catherine. I did love how Catherine begins to see there is more to life than work and achievements.

The twist at the end of how her identity went missing was annoying even though I knew it was coming.

Content warning: parental abandonment, death of grandparent, mild language, one fade to black scene.

Melissa is quickly becoming a favorite/auto-buy author for me. Her range is amazing and her stories are always so beautiful.

Short Synopsis:
Catherine is a Type-A, super organized, ultra planner mathematician. But when she lands her dream job, and the HR department can’t process her paperwork, she apparently doesn’t exist in any system and leans on the help of her tattooed doorman, to solve this very unorganized problem.

My Thoughts:
I adored this book. It was just what my heart needed - a fun, quirky light read that made my heart squeeze and felt like a warm hug. Catherine was a bit extreme in her over organization, but I felt like I understood with the chaos of her childhood.

And Luca was just the sweetest tattooed Ted Lasso if there ever was one.

All the neighbors were a delight and this was such a fun book! If you’re a fan of Second Chance Year, Ashley Poston or Sophie Cousens, then you will eat this one up.

What You’ll Find:
Opposites Attract
Meddling elderly neighbors
Magical realism
Tattoos
Self discovery
Found Family

This was a cute read. It was about finding yourself, figuratively and literally.

Catherine had her life all set up and ready until one day she didn't exist in any databases. Luca, the building doorman, helps her to get everything straightened out.

It was interesting to watch Catherine grow and find out what/who is most important to her. I loved the interesting cast of characters.

The only thing that bothered me was at times, the book seemed to be slow.

I loved the book and would definitely read it again.

I was given this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I never cry when I read books & this had happy tears streaming down my face!!!

Thank you Melissa Wiesner and Forever pub for the gifted copy to travel around the entire state for a couple bookish buddies to read. "Wish I Were Here" publishes on October 15.

The coziest rom-com I've picked up this year. Melissa Wiesner's latest story is perfect for when you need something extra light that will easily transport you into a world filled with joy and whimsy. This books purpose is truly to make you feel good.

Plsu...it was surprisingly filled with tons of twists that kept me reading late into the night.

Wiesner tied-in specific elements that made my heart so happy. There is a scene at the end of the book that made me absolutely S O B with happy tears. It will truly live with me forever. (Hint: I normally not a big fan of this in my books but Queen Melissa revived the whimsy of how good this can be [IFYKYK])

OH...I might be bias because I am a S U C K E R for an mmc who has a positive outlook on life and is a talented artists. Enter Luca *swooning forever* He might be the most perfect book boyfriend. He is kind, selfless, creative... did I mention that he is T A T T E D up. I can see you drooling through the computer. It's alright. I am too. (hehe) This golden retriever man is top notch. You will 100p fall in love with him.

I have a confession... starting this book, I thought that the juggling and circus people being a huge part of Catherine's life was fairly bizarre BUT I really ended up loving it. I thought that it worked well with the message that the author was trying to portray to the reader PLUS it made me appreciate and love a specific character deeper.

Speaking of lessons and messages, the one in this book is finding solace and love through the community around you was absolute perfection. Sometimes we get lost in routine and forget to open our eyes to what surrounds us daily. Through the eyes of Catherine, we end up learning to appreciate the people, place, things and moments that make up our lives. It will make your heart swell. There is a scene with a book club that will resonate with you and personally made me squeal out loud.

✨ Magical Realism
✨ Goofy
✨ Light Read
✨ Ashley Poston fans will L O V E
✨ Opposites Attract
✨Found Family
✨ Reverse Grumpy Sunshine
✨ Lil Bit O' Mystery

If books that feel like a hug, have magical elements in them and will make you burst into happy sobs by the end are your jam than you probably should pre-order Melissa Wiesner's newest romance!

I really enjoyed The Second Chance Year, so I jumped at Wish I Were Here. I think I actually like Wish I Were Here more than TSCY, which is saying something as it was also a five star from me. I was so worried going into WIWH that Catherine would end up doing a huge turn around and actually now she's going to be completely opposite how she was, but this was written with much more nuance than that. I also was worried about Luca at first, because there was a moment very early on when he could have ended up as a jerk who only saw his own point of view as important, but when he saw something was actually Catherine, he backed down. I love Catherine and Luca so much. They're really sweet and I believed them as a couple.

The side characters are also wonderful. There's a whole cast of interesting characters and I didn't feel like they were just there to be quirky. They all added to the story and even if they only had a small amount of page time, felt like characters that were in the world that existed outside of that time.

Melissa Wiesner is absolutely an author I will be continuing to follow and I'm already looking forward to whatever she cooks up next. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a sweet story about someone finding themselves and love along the way.

What happens when a wish comes true? For tightly-wound, Type-A Catherine Lipton, the answer is a great big headache.

Finally landing her dream job as a mathematics professor on a tenure track, Catherine is delighted to start her organized, adult life. She moves into a quiet, affordable apartment in a complex filled with mostly elderly residents and an unreliable elevator. Sure packages were often delayed, the mailroom was a disaster, but at least the building has a doorman! A dreamy, tattooed doorman who is rarely at his post. Luca, beloved by residents, can instead be found running errands for apartment dwellers or sleeping on the floor behind his desk.

All is mostly well until Catherine makes a silent wish to be nobody, just for a break from her rigid lifestyle. When she shows up for orientation at the university that just hired her, she is shocked to be told there was a problem with her paperwork. The problem? Catherine doesn’t exist. Not according to any official database. She, along with Luca’s extended family, set out to right the wrong - but they better hurry, because Catherine’s job and entire life is on the line.

An adorable read by the same author who wrote The Second Chance Year, Wish I Were Here is a delightful follow up novel.

This book was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it. The found family aspect of this book is lovely. I thought the variety of characters this book offered were great. The Morellis and the burlesque group were all a fun addition to the story. The book is being called a romance. Unfortunately, most of the book felt as though the romance was just a background piece to the main story of Catherine finding herself. I wish the romance had been more of the focus and that the author had played around with the magical realism a little bit more. It’s not a story that I’ll revisit, but it was sweet. I would recommend it to someone looking for a quick read to cleanse their palette after a rough book.

This had such a fun array of characters. I loved the way everyone interacted. There was definitely a found family with both the DeGreco and the Morelli’s. I felt that all the characters had multiple layers to their personality. I related a bit to Catherine and her relationship with her father because I grew up in a similar way minus the circus.

This was my first read by Melissa Wiesner (hi name twin) and I ate it up!!! I love an opposites attract romance & enjoyed seeing how Catherine’s relationship with Luca helped her loosen up and mellow out a bit while also seeing that being laid back does not mean being unreliable. I also enjoyed learning more about Luca and how he actually is the person everyone depends on, it was so sweet and I loved it. Please sleep under the front desk forever king.

I will add that though I loved the ghostly element, I would have liked more of that magical vibe throughout, maybe specifically with the entire erasing of her identity… I think it would have been fun or interesting if that was more magical than just a computer glitch explanation. Or at least just more commitment to the magical realism genre.

Thank you NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC!!!

DNF at 15%

Thanks to the publisher for making this available on Read Now, but I'm over Catherine. Already can't stand her or care about her journey to become less Type A or resolve her generally shitty view of people. Luca will probably deserve better.

Having loved this authors first book, I was very excited for this one! The cover is super cute and the premise sounded great. I did expect more romance so there’s that. It was very light on the romance which I didn’t expect from the cover. I loved all the characters. I enjoyed the magical realism. Not my favorite from the author, but still a fun and enjoyable read!

A great story about Catherine finding herself while also finding love, though the romance portion of this book certainly isn’t the main part. I really didn’t connect with the relationship that formed between Catherine and Luca, which made it hard for me to enjoy this story at time. Otherwise, a quick read!

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC!

Thank you to Forever for the advanced reader copy and traveling ARC. These opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed The Second Chance Year and jumped on the chance to participate in a traveling ARC for Melissa Wiesner's newest novel, Wish I Were Here.

Catherine is a mathematician and about to begin a job as a tenure-line professor. She is the type of person who plans everything, is incredibly organized, and always shows up early. And then her life goes awry. Suddenly, her university can't verify her identity, and the DMV and other government offices insist she doesn't exist.

I found this story so beautiful and profound. This is women's fiction featuring Catherine's journey to find her identity both literally and metaphorically. There's a lesser storyline that includes a romance. I found Luca, her building's doorman to be a fantastic character and foil to Catherine. I didn't see a lot of chemistry, so I liked his character more than him as a love interest.

This is a book that made me think about what matters most and what achieving a balanced life would entail. And it includes just a touch of magic. I would enjoy reading it again, now that I know the ending. I know I will be sitting in my feelings about this one for a while, and I love that the traveling ARC means I have a built in book club to discuss it with.

I loved this story! I will definitely be looking into the authors backlist for more favorites.

Catherine is such a relatable character. She’s gone to the opposite of her circus of a childhood and is a little uptight. She’s a little grumpy and very much giving herself the structure her childhood lacked.
Luca, sweet, sweet, Luca is the doorman at Catherine’s new apartment building. The building with a predominantly older crowd. He’s a completely golden retriever and seemingly carefree.
When Catherine’s identity somehow disappears and her job is in jeopardy, Luca is first in line to help. She also gets a little help from his large family, neighbors, and people from Catherine’s past. The journey to recover her identity is definitely one of self discovery as well. As the two become closer, maybe she’ll find more than what she expected.
I laughed out loud and got emotional in parts. One of the best representations of found family in a contemporary book I’ve seen. And the hints of magical realism just added a little something special.

Thank you to Melissa and Forever for allowing me to read early. All thought and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wish I Were Here follows Catherine, a type-A math professor and her tattooed and flippant doorman, as they work together to uncover Catherine's magically missing identity.

Overall, this book was a cute, low stakes, feel-good read that had feelings of Ashley Poston. However, there were just some things that, personally, made it hard to connect with the characters and their storylines. To start, I had gone into the book thinking it was a romance-focused book, and while the romance between Catherine and Luca is there, it feels more like something that is happening on the sidelines. The real focus is on Catherine and her journey of self-discovery, and though I really appreciated that insight and introspection, I had gone into it thinking it was something it wasn't, which threw off the reading experience for me. I want to be clear, though, that this was my own fault. Had I picked the book up knowing more of those details I would have probably saved it for another time.

Secondly, I had trouble believing in the relationship between Luca and Catherine. Since the central focus was on Catherine and her journey, Luca's character didn't feel as flushed out as it could have been. He felt a little one-dimensional, and while I understand that he didn't need to be such a focal character since it wasn't his story, but I do wish we could have gotten a little more out of him. All that I can recall is he has a huge family, has tattoos, and has that dog in him (a golden retriever).

This was a good book, and I will definitely be looking for more from this author, but this one just missed the mark a little for me personally.

Wish I Were Here by Melissa Wiesner is marketed as a magical realism tale and voyage of self discovery. In this book the main character Catherine believes her life is set - she lands her dream job and has just moved into a nice apartment building. Overnight her life is upended when her identity disappears from the government databases and her job is threatened. Her doorman, Luca, helps her navigate this unknown and prove her existence to the disbelieving agencies.

Overall the book was a cute, easy read though there were some parts that seemed slightly lackluster. While the self-discovery aspect of the story rang true, the magical realism element seemed forgotten or forced in most of the story. Mostly the plot seemed driven by a clerical error not mystical forces. With the heavy emphasis of magical realism in the blurb this was a bit of a let down. The main characters also seemed to be missing something - a bit of depth or background (in the case of Luca). But while the leads may have needed just a slight more piazza the supporting characters saved the day. The residents of the apartment building were fun and entertaining. The supporting characters that helped Catherine on her journey really stole the show.

The book as a whole was a quick, fun story. While there were somethings that had me wishing for more, in the end I was satisfied and the story kept me reading until the end.

Clean and refreshing love story of 29 year old Catherine, on the cusp of a stable and longed for academic career (to balance out her circus of an upbringing) and the intriguing community she discovers: Luca the tattooed and seemingly irresponsible doorman and a cast of delightful octogenarian residents.