𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 follows a strange occurrence where, in an odd twist of fate, Catherine Lipton loses her identity overnight. What follows is an adventure to overcome her self set restrictions regarding life and regain her identity with a helping hand from the handsome yet annoying security guard of Catherine's apartment building.

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Ughhhh... I was really looking forward to reading this author's work after having read The Second Chance Year. But this book was disappointing for me.

Even as I read the first chapter, I knew it wasn't for me. The storyline was mediocre and execution was not it. The romance also seemed forced without any actual emotions and overall I didn't enjoy this one.

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3.54 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

This book was okay. The first reason I picked it up because I was intrigued by the magical realism element, however, that turned out to be a bit of an afterthought. The second reason was for the romance, which too was a bit of an after thought. The relationship between the characters needed more development to make you feel like there was actual chemistry between them. Overall, it was a cute read, just was not my fave.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Lucas personality and his family, I would go to their Sunday meal in a heart beat. Sal and the other woman kind of through me off just because I don’t know that it went with the story, but it shocked me each time to find out about them. I love that it ends with the community centers anniversary!

I was not engaged by either the characters or the plot of this book. I tried to enjoy the story, but most of the time I was simply bored. I stopped reading when I was half way through the book.

I enjoyed Melissa Wiesner's last book and was pleasantly surprised at this one as well. This book, like her last one, is not a straight romance. There are nice romantic elements, but it is much more a character driven story. I love magical realism and I think the author does it well.

I liked our male main character better then our female lead (which is odd for me) but the journey we went on was enjoyable. If you enjoyed "The Second Chance Year, you are bound to like "Wish I Were Here" as well.

Rated 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley or the ebook ARC.

This was a lovely read about finding the things that you never knew you were missing. Great story and the little hints of magical realism were enjoyable. A great group of characters and I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Catherine is ready to officially start her adult life. She is going to be a college math professor! She meets with her mentor and is so excited to start! After a crazy, not-so-normal childhood, Catherine loves the simple, organized life she has created for herself. As her start day approaches, human resources has a problem; Catherine doesn't exist. Nothing is in the system any more. How has she made it this far in life with identification that doesn't exist?! Luckily Luca, the doorman at her building knows a person. He takes Catherine under his wing to help her find out who she really is.
While that explanation was very brief, I didn't want to give anything away in this adorable, lovable story! This is my first read by Melisa Weisner and it will not be my last! Wish I Were Here is a great little story that is paced beautifully, has characters that you will want to be best friends, and a storyline that will keep you ready long into the night. Special thanks to Melissa Weisner, NetGalley, and Forever/ Grand Central Publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars for me!

This is such a unique, sweet, and fun book with an adorable diverse cast of secondary characters and a heavy dose of found family!

Catherine is a type-A math professor who has just moved into an apartment building full of (what she hopes) quiet elderly people. When she wakes up one day and has seemingly lost her identity which threatens her new career, she never expected her charming, tattooed, and carefree doorman to be the person to offer her assistance. Luca Morelli not only has the patience of a saint who spends more time taking his elderly pals to run errands than manning the door, he is also extremely well-connected throughout the city through his close-knit family of siblings, cousins, and aunts/uncles. Luca, his family, and Catherine's new neighbors all spring into action to help her get back her identity.

I loved the elderly residents, Luca's mafia family, and adored Catherine's single dad who is a circus performer. Catherine's journey to recover her identity is one of self-exploration and coming to terms with her childhood without a mother. This book carefully explores identity, grief, and finding your passion with a lovely hint of magical realism and a budding romance between Catherine and Luca. The setting, characters, and plot were refreshing and a perfect balance between real and escapist.

10*. This was such a touching and emotional love story. It had some lovely surprises and lessons. This author definitely never disappoints.

This seemed like a cute romance with an interesting plot (Catherine basically loses her identity overnight) but it ended up being more about self discovery with a romance side plot.
Which wasn’t what I expected nor hoped for so that led to some disappointment on my part. 

I struggled to get into the story from the beginning, and I never really connected nor cared for the characters.

The romance between Catherine and Luca was somewhat lackluster, there wasn’t really any chemistry between them and I just wasn’t invested.

Might be because Luca’s character wasn’t very fleshed out at all. The only thing I remember about him is that he had tattoos…
I enjoyed some of the other characters and subplots though.

Overall an interesting story that didn’t deliver for me.

What an adorable book! What a romantic and whimsical story! I loved Catherine and Luca! Can you imagine a mathematician finding out that she doesn't exist?! I love having control over certain things in my life and I totally identify with catherine! Luca is my dream lol! (I'm Italian so that definitely earns some points!)

I loved how they both balanced each other out! They reminded me a little of my parents! They are such a complete opposites and they've been together for years! I love the magic touch! How does somebody not exist?! What happened?! Was there a reason behind all this?! Those questions were filled with genuine and loving curiosity as I read this epic tale!

I love books where personalities come together to compliment one another and Luca and Catherine definitely have that! I love the found family factor! These days family members don't get along and when I read a book I like to see that happening behind pages and ink!


Bravo!!!

Oh, God. I loved with every fiber of my being this book. I loved Catherine, I fully identified with her, and her need for control and peace.

I love when books have secondary characters that have an inteserande part of the story and don't just focus on the main characters and sometimes it's just dialogue between them, and this book delivers that perfectly.
I cried and laughed in equal parts with this book, I'm still undecided if I liked it more than the first one, but I absolutely recommend it.

This was such a cute read, I flew through it! I really liked the writing style and loved all the side characters. The humor was nice too!

loved this romance about found family and finding love when you aren't looking. she ends up not being in the system for a job and deals with trying to paperwork about her birth certificate. she finds love and realizes things about her life.

Sometimes you need a push to help you change your perspective.

Poised to start a new position as a mathematics professor, tightly-wound Catherine Lipton’s plans are turned upside down when her government records disappear. Her Social Security number, driver’s license, and birth certificate are deemed fake. As far as the government is concerned, Catherine Lipton doesn’t exist, and without proper documentation, the university can’t file the paperwork for her job.

Tattooed, charming doorman Luca Morelli and his many, many connections come to Catherine’s aid. He seems like her opposite, but maybe the two can strike the perfect balance together and point Catherine’s life in the right direction again.

Read for the found family, the sense of community, Luca’s huge heart, a touch of magical realism, and the hug of an ending.

Full disclosure: Catherine has a very driven, Type A personality, and her perspective on success is highly achievement-based. By the end, she has learned to broaden how she defines success and living, but throughout the story, she does judge both herself and those around her using her original definition.

I received an advance copy of the book from Forever and NetGalley and had access to a traveling ARC copy as well. All review opinions are my own.

3.75⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️

Such a fun rom com with opposites attract. Another hit from Melissa Wiesner! So many fun characters and little story lines.

For type-A mathematician Catherine Lipton, growing up with a free-spirited single dad who worked part-time as a clown was more than a little stressful. So as an adult, the only place she’ll allow for variability is in her data sets. Everything in Catherine’s life is ordered, from her lists to her lesson plans at her new job as a college professor. Catherine’s carefully calculated life goes awry, though, when the university’s human resources system rejects her employment paperwork. Soon after, her credit card is declined. At the Social Security office, Catherine makes a shocking discovery—she’s disappeared from the government’s records, and there’s no evidence she exists at all. Catherine can’t seem to convince anyone she’s a real person, even though she’s standing right there in the flesh.

Catherine knows she can’t count on her dad, and the university is only concerned with who will teach her classes. The one person who offers to help is Luca Morelli, her attractive but aggravating doorman who spends more time flirting with Catherine’s neighbors than he does enforcing the building rules. The older residents might fall for Luca’s charm, but if he can’t keep bikes out of the lobby or put packages in their designated area, how can he help Catherine get her life back?

Left with no other options, Catherine reluctantly agrees to enlist the help of Luca’s well-connected Italian family. Soon, Catherine finds herself following Luca into the back room of a smoky bar to meet a Mafia man named Vito, breaking into the records room of a local hospital, doing a little light stalking, and having a surprising amount of fun. She also finds herself growing closer to Luca, who makes her laugh and challenges her well-ordered ways. As Catherine begins to unravel the mystery behind he

This is a fun story. It has great character development. Would be a good book club book because if the great characters. I devoured it.

Give me all the gentle magical realism books for 2024. This book, I’ll be honest, at first I just could not figure out where it was going. I took Sharon Peterson completely at her word on her recommendation, and I was lost until we got to the DMV. I hung in there because I was basically wheeze laughing at the very first coffee spill. Thank GOD I did!

Catherine and Luca are the embodiment of opposites attract. They were giving Monica and Chandler vibes. While I loved their romance (which is fully closed door by the way), I absolutely adored Catherine falling in love with her community. Isn’t it so good when we open our eyes and find contentment with exactly what we have?

I don’t want to get into the magical realism aspect of this one too much, because spoilers are lame. Let’s just say— we all have a little magic in us that we bring to the world? Does that entice you to read it? It should.

✨Magical Realism
🤹‍♀️Found Family
✨Meddling Grandparents
🤹‍♀️Closed Door
✨Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine

Thank you to Net Galley and Melissa Wiesner for an ARC of this book. Loved it.

3.5 ⭐️

Wish I Were Here is a heartwarming story of finding out who you are and what you truly want from your life with a bit of magic sprinkled in.

Catherine is a type-A math professor with big career goals, and Luca is her building’s free spirited doorman with a big heart and lots of connections throughout the city. After a not so stellar ending to a business meeting, Catherine makes a wish that throws a wrench into her whole life, and Luca is there to help her put things back to how they should be.

I loved The Second Chance Year from Melissa Wiesner, so I was really excited to read her follow-up Wish I Were Here. Unfortunately it was a bit lackluster and forced. I didn’t love Catherine’s character and found her behaviors to be unrealistic. I wasn’t invested in their romance. I would have liked to see the very beginning of Catherine and Luca’s interactions with each other (when she first looked at the apartment to rent) versus being told what happened. It almost seems like that was an afterthought.

Thank you Melissa Wiesner, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Wish I Were Here. Available Oct. 15, 2024

Traditional format 📕 (digital). Catherine lands her dream job of a math professor only to find out her identify has disappeared during the on boarding process. There is no record of her existing while trying to process her social security number.

While attempting to prove her existence she befriends and soon fall for Luca, the doorman in her apartment building.

This story had great potential but I found it to be a struggle to identify what gendre this book was. The romance between Catherine and Luca lacked chemistry and that part of the plot was rather a bore. What I did like were the other charming characters and some of the other sub plots in the book.

I struggled a little with my final rating of this book but I landed on a slightly above average 3.5/5. It was a cute story that had a lot of potential but just fell a little flat for me overall

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.