I liked this story. The romance was written so well and I loved Natalia and Ethan together! Best friends to lovers is my absolute favorite trope. The only thing that brought this down from 5 stars is the overwhelming amount of miscommunication, it kinda just dragged on and created so much drama that was unnecessary. This story is super faced paced and mainly takes place over the course of one day, Senior Sunrise, where 7 lost secrets are threatened to be revealed to shake up the entire class. This story is perfect for fans of the song The Albatross from Taylor Swift's TTPD, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All the Boys I loved Before by Jenny Han, and Pretty Little Liars (without the murders).

I wanted to really enjoy this one - but it ended up just being a bit meh for me. I tend to struggle with friends to lovers - but mostly just hate when people get in their own way over simple miscommunication. The plot also seemed to drag in certain areas - which was frustrating given the timeframe of the story was an extremely condensed timeline.

I do think quite a few readers will enjoy I Wish You Would, but I do think some readers will be frustrated by the wild teenagers, with no plot and all feelings. I wish there was slightly less chaos and slightly more nuance in the story.

However, I will say, I did enjoy the narration and performance of it all.

the miscommunication was a little too much for me. it wasn't the best, but it wasn't completely awful just a bit meh.

This was such a cute ya romance and perfect for the summer! The book uses the miscommunication best friends to lovers tropes.to build the romance between characters, it was a fairly fast-paced read and one I think teens and even middle-aged women would enjoy.

The book takes place over the course of one short school trip, where tradition is for everyone to write a private letter to themselves answering the question “what would you do if you were braver?” For Natalia and Ethan, long-time best friends whose friendship is on the rocks after nearly hooking up in the name of a backup pact two months ago, the letter is the only place they’ve let themselves write down their true feelings. Not to mention all the other stuff going on in their lives: broken families, secret dreams, and even the possibility of moving away. When a burst of wind suddenly scatters several letters — which may or may not include Natalia and Ethan’s — the two are forced to work together to stop the secrets from getting out, while having to deal with their hearts in the process.

There were heart-filled conversations, dramatic fights, tense class activities — and overall there was not one boring moment. The plot progression happened so naturally, and so did the character development during it. It also rang very true, and I can see my high school students eating this book up. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in the book, and you truly get great characterization of both our leads. I feel like I absolutely know the ins and outs. I truly enjoyed the characters, even the side characters are personalized really well; I feel like I know all of them.

There’s maturity to the book as well. Sure, we get our high school drama moments (which I shamelessly love), but we also get their worries about the family and the future, and we see them acknowledging that there’s more to life than romance. The practicality and realism is so beyond what I would have expected, and it added so much depth to their relationship. This is more than just a teen romance. I felt like it gave good advice for teens without being preachy or coming across as preachy, it was just a great story with a lot of learning and growing which readers can learn from.

The narrators Max Meyers and Victoria Villarreal did a great job, and I really felt they added to the story with their narration.

This would be a popular book in my library.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc audiobook to preview.

I wish this was more a college story that high school. I have a hard time reading about the ideas of under age teens talking about sex. Think if it would have been the summer after graduation it would have been better.

What a great surprise this was.

I Wish You Would
Be Eva Des Lauriers
4⭐️

I got this ALC from Macmillan. I hadn’t heard of it but when I got my choices from them for May I thought I’d give it a try. I’m so glad I did. This is the YA romance that kids need and that adults who still enjoy YA are going to love. It’s not fluffy. The FMC and MMC have a lot going on at home and a lot happening in their own heads as they look to graduation and the future.

Deep feelings, real life situations, and a beautiful young love. Definitely recommend.

Audiobook narration was well done. I enjoyed it in this format but recommend it in any.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy. These opinions are my own.

I wish you would features Natalia and Ethan as they are about to begin their final year of high school. They have long been best friends, but things changed after junior prom. And now, neither knows how to talk to the other. But they both pour theirs hearts out in letters as part of a senior class tradition, only for some private letters to go missing.

This book is intense and fast-paced. Most of the action takes place within just a day. It felt appropriate for a YA audience with lots of emotional upheavals, highs, and lows. I had to occasionally pause to take a moment for feelings, but that's because I was swept along with Natalia and Ethan.

Max Meyers and Victoria Villarreal were fantastic narrators. I definitely recommend this audiobook for the young adults in your life (or for adults like me.)

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Max Meyers and Victoria Villarreal. Both of them were perfect for this YA book. The characters were very well developed, and the narration added another depth of realism to them.

The story takes place right before the senior year of Natalia and Ethan. They and many of their fellow classmates are together for an overnight event to kick off the school year. The best friends' lives seem to be falling apart, and their relationship has turned awkward as they hide their truths from each other.

There is plenty of teenage angst, but the author has created a beautiful love story that rises up out of all the teenage life drama. I fell in love with both Natalia and Ethan, and my heart ached for them at times. This was a wonderful story!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

A sweetly endearing YA read, filled with the best of friends to lovers vibes, expected, but nicely written, adolescent angst and misunderstanding. I wish you would is a great YA read, it is written with affection for the characters and their age/developmental stage and poignantly narrated by Max Meyers and Victoria Villarreal. I loved the characters, all of the ways depth was add to the secondary characters, and that this felt, in a good way, true to adolescents.
Thank you MacMillan Audio for the free review copy!

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.


@netgalley
#netgalley #iwishyouwould
#bookreview #bookreview #bookrecommendations

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I normally enjoy YA book. However, this book was frustrating. Miscommunication and lack of communication is one of my big pet peeves in books. It’s frustrating and annoying when characters do not talk with each other and only assume what the other one is thinking. This book had a lot of that. The cover is cute, and the book is a good fit for summer read.

I haven't swooned this much over a YA book since Today, Tonight, Tomorrow and Better Than The Movies. I LOVED this so much. The characters were all great, I loved the romance. This plot would make the best movie ever like Netflix needs to jump on this ASAP. There are some more heavy topics in here so be sure to check triggers. Really need to get my hands on a physical copy so I can annotate it! If you need a cute swoon worthy YA go read this!!

I loved the audiobook. It was dual POV with two narrators which is my favorite.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I am always game for a dramatic, angsty YA. I enjoyed the narration a lot, and I needed to know what would happen next! The story takes place over 48 hours to kick off Ethan and Natalia’s senior year of high school.

Ethan and Natalia haven’t spoken since the fateful night of their junior prom, where they almost crossed the line from friends to something more. Feeling awkward and jealous of new friendships formed over the summer, they clumsily navigate the new dynamic between them.

One of the traditions at the Senior Sunrise is to write a private letter that will be thrown into the ocean later that night. When Natalia regrets her vulnerable words, she tries to retrieve her letter and accidentally sets seven letters loose onto the beach. Ethan sets aside the awkward between them to help her find and replace the letters before their classmates find out.

This book had a fast pace and a lot of great characters. The main and side characters communicated about as well as you’d expect 17-18 year olds to deal with their feelings, but this rarely bothers me in a YA story. I thought it was overall a really well-written coming of age story full of angst and drama. The narration was lovely and drew me into the story!

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the ALC. All thoughts are my own.

So, the first thing you will hear from me about I WISH YOU WOULD is please look at this cover! 😍🤩🥹 Some books get the perfect cover, and Eva Des Lauriers’ book is one of them. The cuddle between Natalia and Ethan, the jar of the senior’s private letters, and the private letters blowing in the ocean wind- the perfect representation of what this book is!

I love angsty teen books. Probably because I grew up loving angsty teen shows. But when that tension is right and you know why the character is acting out, but the other character doesn’t, those are my favorite moments. And there are plenty of those in I WISH YOU WOULD because it’s right before senior year starts, so you know there are a lot of pent-up emotions.

You’re introduced to their vibrant friend group as the story unfolds through Natalia and Ethan’s PoVs. It’s like meeting new friends with unique stories and journeys. You’ll find yourself rooting for Natalia and Ethan, getting to know other seniors, and deciding if they’re worth your support. It’s a thrilling journey of discovery.

This is an excellent audio listen if you’re an audiobook person like me! Max Meyers and Victoria Villarreal bring Ethan and Natalia to life so well that by the time you finish the book all you want to do is turn on 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and listen to Taylor Swift sing, “I Wish You Would” to keep you in your feels a little bit longer.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for my ALC!

This book is sweet and beautifully written. It is filled with drama and seat holding moments! I couldn’t imagine if this happened to me! Such an intriguing concept.

Right before summer ends and senior year begins, Natalia and Ethan go on an overnight Senior Sunrise trip to the beach. Per tradition, each student writes a note describing how they'd like to be more brave and walk away. Only Natalia regrets hers and risks removing it. Unfortunately, seven letters blow away unaccounted for and Ethan attempts to help her retrieve them before the others discover her "betrayal".
I liked the concept, the cover is fantastic, and the characters are likeable. But I just could not wrap my mind around all of the refusal to communicate and basing huge - for a teen, especially - decisions on an assumption. I don't typically mind a miscommunication trope, but this got to me in a big way. Otherwise, I think Eva did a good job with pushing at typical teenage angst and those big feelings.
The narration was decent (except Max's female voices - those were not great) and I don't know that I would have finished it if not for Victoria and Max's performances.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

Drama ensues, secrets revealed, connections made and romances ignite. This is a cute realistic fiction story, seeped in friendship and romance drama. I liked that this whole book takes place within two days, and even with the short time frame you’re really able to see character growth. Even the secondary characters are well thought out and have depth. Basically the entire story is a miscommunication plot, so if you aren’t into that sort of thing I’d avoid this one. For the most part I didn’t mind it, but sometimes it did get a little old. There were also a lot of cliche moments, but if you can be accepting of them it was ultimately a nice coming of age novel with a heavy dose of romance. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this. The narrator for Natalia was spectacular. I was less impressed by the narrator for Ethan. His voice was a little aged for the character and his intonation of female characters I found to be a bit grating. If you are looking for a cute summer read with some friendship drama and romance, I recommend this one.

3.25 stars - liked it, but didn’t LOVE it. I received the audiobook from NetGalley as an ARC. Like many other reviewers, the title, which is also the title of a Taylor Swift song, caught my eye. However, it reminded me of why I’m not a big romance reader - it felt a little too obvious from the moment I saw the cover.

Beautiful, talented artist and class president Natalia is best friends with attractive, popular basketball player and prom king Ethan. They’re such good friends that when she’s in his room on prom night, it’s noted how Ethan subconsciously runs his fingers on her arms while they’re talking. So what do you think is going to eventually happen? We get both of their POV’s in this YA romance that is mostly based on a miscommunication trope.

The bulk of the setting happens a few months later, when the last summer before senior year is almost over and their class is at the locally legendary “Senior Sunrise” event. I give the author points for making some original subplots within the more cliche main romance story. There are a lot of nuances with the characters’ friends, frenemies, and otherwise. Natalia has an anxiety or panic disorder that’s all too relatable and Ethan has a brother struggling with addiction. However, it’s almost cancelled out because there is just SO much going on. Both protagonists have family drama happening they haven’t told anyone about. Neither of them has told their respective “other” best friends anything about their obvious feelings for each other. It is realistic that teens keep some things to themselves, but it’s unrealistic to me that 2 high schoolers would go through all that and their other best friends know NOTHING about it. Some of the subplots just felt a little unnecessary and not totally fleshed out (like one student who is drunk at the gathering and seems to just exist to make a transphobic slur and yell at another character for getting his problematic adult friend fired). Too many emotional swings happen in a 24-hour period. None of the adults at the Senior Sunrise have a clue what’s going on. And although Natalia is a scholarship student and Ethan literally is nicknamed “Ethan-pedia,” they do not seem to have the brain cells between the two of them to exchange a sentence without a major misunderstanding until about 3/4 through the book. The whole “what if our friendship is ruined if we go from friends to something more” logic is spoiled when your friendship literally sucks now because neither of you are talking to each other.

Overall it was a sweet little read, and I’d recommend if you are actually more into romance stories than I am and don’t mind some tropes..

Let me start by saying I am not a huge fan on 24 hour books. I think most are done terribly and leave a LOT for the reader to fill in on their own. If I had realized that this was going to primarily be a 24 hour book (with some minor flashbacks and an epilogue) I would have probably not request it.

The audiobook was not great. I think the man voicing the part is way too old and sounds exactly like someone in their 40s from another audio book I had just finished. It was very uncomfortable given the setting. The female narrator was ok but I couldn't get past the male narrator.

The miscommunication trope was the central plot and it lasted WAAAAAYYYY too long. Also, everyone is a cheater apparently? The whiplash of the constant will they/wont they with their communication annoyed me to NO end. That being said, I kept reading. So for that alone I will give it 3 stars. I was angry and annoyed at it all and kept reading.

I think the book definitely gives off the vibes of Taylor's I Wish You Would. I dont know if that is a good or bad thing honestly. I think overall, I was not impressed and did not feel like we got anywhere by the end of the story.

Thank you so much MacMillan for the audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this. I honestly loved how quick of a read it was and enjoyed that the story got to the point in a timely manner.

I will say, this is heavy on the miscommunication trope, as in the plot wouldn’t exist if the main characters had a single conversion. Putting that aside, it made sense for two teenagers who have been friends forever to be uncomfortable sharing their developed and accepted feelings for the other without being positive that they were reciprocated.

I lived for the teenage relationship drama. The friends being supportive and just doing what was requested of them, no questions asked - truly iconic.

I loved the way the narrators portrayed these characters. Their cadence and emotion kept me involved the entire time.

If you’re looking for a super quick, enjoyable ya novel that shows you the world is only as scary as you let it be, then I suggest you pick this up!