I absolutely loved this.
Both characters slowly grew on me but I fell for them both and I was so invested in their entire relationships, to each other and to their families and friends.
It was honestly one of the best romances I've read in a while. I loved everything about it, I could picture the setting so well and it was such an integral part of the story. I just had the best time with this and felt everything they felt. I will, without a doubt, reread it and I can't wait by more books by these authors. I could not recommend this more.

If you were to ever read one of Rachael or Alyson's books, it feels as if you are part of their story line. You are a character in the book. Any book by these two authors will make you swoon and you will be invested from the start. What do you do when your past comes back to haunt you? Or better yet, to make you into the girlfriend of your dreams? For Caroline, she's had a long crush on her best friend, Arden. Well, Caroline gets her heart broken when Arden leaves four years ago and never looked back. Until, Arden comes back to her home town, a scheme come up by her agent, and has Caroline be her fake girlfriend for an article published by Caroline herself by a major publishing company that would help her get into her dream school, Colombia. Only until things don't go as planned and they both relive the memories of what they could have been.

Arden only realizes a few days after their agreement ends and Caroline leaves her high and dry in LA, that she does in fact love Caroline and maybe she wants something different from her life. Other than a random girl every night, all the fame, publicity, stories about her. Maybe she can have both.

This story is the perfect Christmas romance that you need to read. Not only because it is funny and whole heartily genuine, It leaves you with the question of is fame really worth all the sacrifice and happiness in your life.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this novel for a truthful review.

When Arden James, Hollywood starlet, hits a roadblock in her career, she comes barging back into the life of her childhood best friend, Caroline, in this heartwarming Christmas romcom.

Overall, I loved this. It was charming and full of heart.
, and I loved seeing multiple queer relationships represented, even in a small town high school. I absolutely LOVED Caroline’s feelings about being Jewish in such a Christmas centered town and world, and my one complaint is that I wish she dove into that a bit deeper. The writing was fun, the story was wonderful, and the different POVs had clear voices that made them easy to follow.


Review will be posted on Instagram 10/2. Goodreads review available now.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This book was fine. I didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked this duo’s previous book. I think it was maybe a little long as it dragged quite a bit in the middle. Overall, I’d recommend this to a high school age student looking for a holiday read.

‘Tis the season for holiday hijinks in the newest sapphic rom-com about a rising star and a small town girl going on twelve fake holidates from the New York Times bestselling authors of She Gets the Girl, Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick! This is a great novel with an easy going plot, enjoy it really much.

Make My Wish Come True by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is a funny, sweet, and emotional holiday fake dating story. The story focuses on childhood best friends Caroline Beckett and Arden James. They grew up in a small, Christmas-focused, town in Pennsylvania. Arden left to pursue her dream of acting and left the town and Caroline behind. Now to get the role of her dreams Arden needs to convince a director that she is still a small-town girl at heart with the best friend turned girlfriend to prove it. To do this, Arden comes home for Christmas and convinces Caroline to help her by publicly dating her for 12 days.

This book did a great job with the fake dating trope. The reasons it gave for why both characters would agree to this felt plausible, especially Caroline’s. The characters had obvious chemistry, and their scenes together had the right amount of tension. There was a strong group of supporting characters that were fun to read about as well.

The emotional growth and maturity of the main characters was one of the strongest points of the book. This book showed both who Arden and Caroline were in the past and what they could be like in the present and future.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, cozy holiday read. If you’re a fan of fake dating and holiday adventures this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick for the ARC.

Cute and cozy. The plot isn't groundbreaking, but their story was cute. It's definitely my favorite celebrity romance I've read. Arden was annoying but her arc was satisfying. The setting was very cute. and their tension was crazy. There were a couple of scenes that weren't very realistic and took me out, but overall it was a fun time!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. I’m so glad I was able to read this book early! It was super cute. Arden James is an infamous teen actor with a party girl reputation for liking pretty girls, drinking, and drugs. When this reputation messes up her chances of getting her dream role, she and her agent make up a lie to make her seem more ‘homegrown’: Arden is going back to her small town to spend the holidays with her long term girlfriend Caroline. Unfortunately, Arden and Caroline never actually dated, and they haven’t spoken in four years.
Caroline Beckett has a lot on her plate: being part Jewish in a town that’s obsessed with Christmas; her aspiring journalism; applying to Columbia; and realizing the cute head cheerleader might want to be more than friends. Then her former best friend turned Hollywood star Arden blows back into town with an absurd ask…fake date her until Christmas to help Arden repair her image. That means twelve snowy holidates with the girl Caroline was in love with. At first it seems fine, but old feelings may rise up again. I wasn’t sure if I would like this a whole lot, but it ended up being a nice read!

Alyson Derrick also wrote Forget Me Not, which I highly recommend.

Holy Christmas joy explosion!! Even though it’s spooky season I’m getting a jump on my Christmas reading with this glorious YA gift from the NetGalley gods and Simon and Schuster goddesses.
If you love wholesome holiday joy and YA vibes you are going to love this book as much as I did. It’s giving Hallmark small town, Heartbreaker warm fuzzies, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before quirky- was it made for me?

Caroline Beckett lives in a small PA town known for their Christmas kitsch (her brothers even own a Christmas themed bar despite being Jewish). She’s crushing her senior year; she’s the manager of the girl’s basketball team, applying to Columbia, has the best group of friends and is vibing with a cheerleader who’s been harboring a crush! From the outside you’d never be able to tell that four years ago Caroline was completely ghosted by her best friend (and super crush) Arden.

Arden James lives alone, emancipated from her delinquent parents, in LA. A small town girl who left PA to find fame and became a teen actress superstar. She found success but at what cost? When she gets called out by a famous director for being a hot mess will a scheme to fake date her old best friend Caroline be enough to get her the role of a lifetime?

Oh yes, we’ve got friends to lovers, enemies to lovers AND fake dating and no, this is not too many rom com tropes, this is the perfect combination and it all takes place in a snow globe. This book is so cute and dreamy and I can’t wait for everyone to have this on their holiday reading list!

This will be a prefect read for the holiday time. Readers will love snuggling near a fire with their favorite warm drink and getting lost of the romance of Arden and Caroline. Arden leaves the small town of Barnwich to pursue an acting career, but she loses her touch with who she really is. She almost gets the acting job of her dreams, but says she is dating someone from her small town and that she is headed there for the holidays. The director wants pictures and an article about this time. Caroline is surprised by the return of Arden. She is skeptical of her return and if it will be 12 days and another vanishing act. Before you know it, you will be swept away by this romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Non-spoiler synopsis: Make My Wish Come True follows Caroline and Arden on their journey to rediscovering friendship and love across 12 days of dates during the winter holiday season, enveloped in a cute small wintery holiday town. Caroline and Arden were the best of friends, but when Arden moves to Hollywood and makes it big, they fell out of touch. Arden’s known for being a bit messy, so to land a serious acting role, Arden and her publicist craft a story about how she’s dating her hometown best friend and her time at home over the holidays will prove that she’s a perfect fit for the new role. Imagine Hallmark Christmas movie, but make it sapphic.

Make My Wish Come True is the cute, wholesome, sapphic winter holiday YA romance we all needed this holiday season! When I got approved for this ARC, I squealed! I was so excited and started reading it immediately. It did not disappoint! This book encompasses so many of my favorite tropes: faking dating, small town, enemies-to-lovers / friends-to-lovers (but actually really friends-to-enemies-to-lovers), and second chance romance. I felt immersed in this cute wintery town and the plot was beautifully laid out, switching between Caroline and Arden’s POVs (which y’all know I’m a sucker for dual/multiple POVs). I loved the characters; the character development felt very real and seamless – many things mentioned earlier in the book often came back into play later or were mentioned later and I really enjoyed that. I think a lot of LGBTQ+ books push the whole coming out experience / queer people are different / have different struggles narrative, which is not a bad thing because there are very unique things that queer people experience and those stories should be told, however I loved how this book made being queer so normal and did not push the struggles of a heteronormative world on the FMCs. Instead, it took the time to briefly explore some other aspects of identity (e.g., race, religion, class). There were also lots of silly little moments that made this especially fun to read! (I’m thinking particularly about the first date and the hot chocolate competition, but there are plenty others!) This book really had me giggling, blushing, and kicking my feet! I was absolutely obsessed the whole way through.

Please read MMWCT this winter holiday season, or sooner if you just couldn’t wait like me; it publishes on October 1st!! And if you do, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

This book was so sweet and magical! It perfectly encapsulates the complexity of a small town, finding a great balance between authentic and idyllic. I enjoyed how different the MCs were while still meshing in a natural way. At the same time, they are so quintessentially teenage, and it’s so heartwarming. I was rooting for them the whole time! Overall, this was a sweet love story that had me ready for the holidays 3+ months early!

(3.5/5 stars)

This was a very sweet holiday romance that I enjoyed somewhat. It was more dramatic than I was expecting it to be, but I still had a good time.

Even though these two main characters are together for twelve days, I still think the romance was kind of rushed. The yearning and falling in love felt like it happened so fast and I was honestly caught off guard. I found Caroline to be way too trusting of Arden, and Arden to be so ‘go-with-the-flow’ when I feel like she shouldn’t have been.

I also found the writing to be repetitive, especially with the yearning and falling in love. And the ending too, which of course I won’t give too much away with the details. While this was very sweet, I found a lot of the elements of the novel to be cliche and even it was done on purpose I still just wasn’t vibing with it.

Now I did love Caroline and Arden together. They were so cute together and I just loved the way they communicated. It felt so realistic and they had good chemistry. SO many romantic scenes that I had a fun time reading.

This is a great cheesy holiday romance that brings all of the holiday feels. A book for those who like light-hearted, sweet romances that are also kind of eye-rolling but in a eye-rolling while smiling way.

A very cute, sapphic story for the holidays! I really enjoyed SHE GETS THE GIRL and FORGET ME NOT, and this book falls right in line with the authors' previous works. I thought the supporting characters were good and appreciated the charming setting of a small Pennsylvania town (PA pride!). There were moments that I wished were fleshed out more, like Arden's Hollywood partying, and I often thought that this story would work better in the adult genre. Although MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE didn't hit as well for me as the other books did, I still recommend it for anyone looking for a cozy, romantic read!

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I found it to be entirely too similar to She Gets The Girl. I find hometown girl gets swept away into stardom and forgets her roots to be boring and unoriginal. I both understood why Caroline was pissed at Arden but found the "pissed off" attitude dragged on way longer than it needed to. At the end of the day if I'm more rooting for the 3rd option (Taylor the cheerleader) than the actual love interest I think something must have failed.

Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick are an iconic combo, absolutely dominating Sapphic YA Lit. Every one of their projects, combined and individually, reflects the love they have for writing and for each other. MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE is no exception. Perfect for the holidays, this book is everything you could want: fake dating, celebrity romance, and gay romance! It got me into the Winter / Christmas spirit far too early.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! Such a cute romance and, more importantly, such a cute YA lesbian romance. When I read books like these, I’m sad that they weren’t around when I was young. I can think of so many people in my life who would’ve loved to see themselves in books and probably would’ve felt way better about who they really were sooner. Glad these books are out there now. Caroline and Arden are childhood friends whose friendship dissolved when Arden left and got famous and never came back. Now Arden’s image needs a change, and her agent decides a cozy hometown romance with Caroline is just what she needs. Cue the cute holiday dates and a second chance at love for them both. While I found this refreshing and sweet and loved all the representation and support and love within, I did feel it wasn’t all realistic. But…it didn’t ruin it for me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a LGBTQ romance novel that was so lovely all around and that would appeal to any lover or romance, even straight, not-teen me. I look forward to recommending it to young people who need it in their lives. FYI profanity, talk of casual sex, underage drinking, and crappy family situations (delightfully balanced by some good ones)

Great YA book, but also very YA for a plot that feels like it's about adults. You get every thought they have about each other and not much else. Will make a great Christmas rec!

This achingly beautiful ya sapphic holiday second chance romance story follows Caroline and Arden as they reconnect 4 years after Arden left to pursue a career in acting in their small town of Barnwich. Caroline grieved the loss of her best friend turned crush and never could get over why Arden never bothered to call, text, email, or return back to their small town to visit. Arden did anything she was told in order to get famous and become an actress, even if that meant leaving everyone and everyone behind in the only place she truly felt like herself. When Arden auditions for a role that could literally change everything, including her bad/party girl image, she and her manager devise a plan for Arden to fake date her childhood friend Caroline so that she can prove to the director how much she deserves this new role. If Caroline agrees to go along with Arden’s plan, she could get an opportunity of a lifetime to publish an article for Cosmo that will surely get her that boost in her application to her dream school Columbia for journalism. Unfortunately things turn a lot more complicated when Arden and Caroline start spending time together and slowly reconnecting and putting the pieces together of just how much they mean to one another. After 12 “fake” days of dating, Caroline and Arden are faced with the difficult reality of what it would mean if they were truly meant for each other.

I love how much heart this story contains and how well I could just transport myself into this story. It's full of so much emotion and love, you really can’t help but fall for this small town and everyone who lives in it. Even though the town was based on years of keeping up traditions, I’m glad the authors incorporated different faiths and religions into forming new traditions and adding even more to the beloved town. The hot chocolate making contest, cutting down your own Christmas tree, sledding, caroling, Christmas tree lighting, and mom and pop shops, made the setting and atmosphere so fun, enchanting, and relatable. Honestly this book could easily be made into an amazing hallmark film and even into an adult story with some smut too!


As for Caroline and Arden, I loved them both individually and together. They were both well developed, I felt like I really knew them, and I especially loved how cute they were with each other. The 12 fake dates were adorable and sweet just like them. Yes Arden did take a little more time to like and understand, but once you know why she did everything she did, you can't help but grow to love her just as much as Caroline. Even though Taylor has a soft spot in my heart, I know Caroline and Arden were meant to have their second chance. Even though it took a while to get to the romance, it made the wait totally worth it after that first kiss. I appreciated how well written both Arden and Caroline were, with just the right amount of maturity mixed in with the emotions and brain of teenagers who have complicated lives and don’t always make the right decisions in the moment. Even though most teens don’t have the experience of being a young, famous Hollywood actress, everything Arden went through, especially the horrors of being taken advantage of and not knowing how to handle fame, were told in a way that made her feel relatable. For example, having to move away from your childhood hometown and friends, having shitty parents, learning how to balance work and your personal life, and making decisions for you, instead of for someone else. Caroline was your favorite hometown girl who you automatically root for, I mean how can you not love a girl who works at a diner just to help her best friends grandma out, or someone who doesn’t have an athletic bone in her body somehow makes the game winning basketball shot to send her team to the playoffs, and even someone who was so hurt by her best friend’s betrayal, was able to find a way to forgive her and let her into her heart again.

Side characters too were absolutely phenomenal and well written. From Arden’s Grams, Caroline’s sister Riley and older brothers, Taylor, Maya, Finn, Austin, even the old ladies who tried cheating in the hot chocolate competition! Arden’s Gram Edie was so darn loveable, you could just feel how torn apart she was about Arden leaving, but yet loved her so much and was always there for her. She was so hardworking and hilarious too, so I’m definitely glad Arden gifted her the corvette because she totally deserved it. I cannot say enough good things about Taylor, man I loved her, she is the sweetest most caring head cheerleader I have ever read. Maya was so funny, I loved how she had Caroline’s back and her tough love towards Arden. Both Austin and Finn were sweet, funny, and a perfect couple. Caroline’s brothers were also very caring and supportive, with such great personalities. Riley was one of my favs though, you couldn’t help but love her personality and how much she loved Caroline. All the characters really were incredibly authentic, played their part extremely well, and just made you feel like you were part of the town.

In terms of romance, there was definitely lots of angst and pining, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I wish there would have been a tad more romance after Caroline and Arden finally realized their feelings for each other. The chemistry was great, nothing wrong with the set up, but again, I just wanted more time with them two together, especially given there was no epilogue! Even though it was a bit predictable, that didn’t stop me rooting for them all the way. I can understand how it would seem off putting to others that as soon as Arden returns, Caroline basically jumps at the chance to be with her, even though she completely broke her heart without any explanation. Even with all that in mind though, there is clear love and tender heartfelt moments between the two that make them truly worthy of a second chance romance. Their dynamic together had you feeling all the feels, joy, hurt, sadness, and a deep love based on years of friendship. I loved how Arden helped Caroline grow and do things outside her comfort zone, and how Caroline wasn’t afraid to call Arden out on her bullshit. Each had their own flaws and triumphs and once you read that final article that Caroline writes, you can’t deny how they bring out the best in each other.

Overall, I cant recommend this amazing story enough, it truly has you gripped from the start and doesn’t let go. Between the immersive small town, loveable and authentic characters, intriguing plot line, and holiday joy that is emitted on every page. Which is why this is by far one of my favorite YA sapphic holiday romances I have ever read!

3.5⭐️

I am a sucker for a heartwarming holiday romance and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this YA sapphic holiday romance! This story had an abundance of small town charm and I loved how the story was a celebration of honoring long held traditions and building community with others to establish new traditions that are more inclusive.

I really loved how supportive and fiercely protective Caroline’s friend group was and how they were always looking out for each other, always ready to defend or encourage. These characters brought humor, charm, and heart to every page.

Caroline was such an endearing character and I think many readers will relate to her - how she is an extremely loyal friend and sister and a driven student with big professional dreams, but who sometimes finds herself on the fringes, nervous to take a chance and make herself a main character. I enjoyed seeing her growth as she found her voice, took a chance on herself, and stayed true to her heart.

What I didn’t love was Arden’s storyline. I cannot fathom the pressures she felt growing up in the public eye, especially when she lacked support from her parents (they’re the worst) and her agent (Lillian is garbage), but I really wanted to see more growth and healing for Arden. After not being in contact with Caroline for four years, I shared in Caroline’s frustrated when Arden showed up and expected her to go along with a plan to fake date… and rehab Arden’s image. Like, what?? I think Arden loved Caroline in her own way, but had a crummy way of showing it.

Overall, there were some heartwarming moments of friendship, family, and community and I loved the warm fuzzies that come with the winter months when the twinkle lights and snow feel like you’re in a snow globe.