I dnf'd this book pretty early on as both the male and female character were so annoying. The fact the author is trying to build it up that they fancy one another and will fall in love was a joke as I have never read two characters who had less chemistry than these two.

What happens when the universe hits delete on your existence? You team up with a flirtatious doorman, of course!

Melissa Wiesner delivers a quirky, feel-good gem with Wish I Were Here, where a type-A mathematician and a free-spirited charmer find themselves in a whirlwind of chaos, crime-solving, and unexpected chemistry.

Catherine Lipton is all about order, lists, and proving her worth as a professor. But when she literally vanishes from government records (like, poof—no ID, no credit, no job!), her meticulously planned life goes off the rails. Enter Luca Morelli: her infuriatingly handsome doorman, who somehow knows how to sweet-talk his way into—and out of—any situation. He’s her last hope, and while Catherine might rather calculate prime numbers than spend time with him, she soon discovers there’s more to Luca than his charming smirk.

Highlights:
* The hilarious banter between Catherine and Luca will have you grinning like a fool. (Catherine’s eye rolls? Legendary.)
* Luca’s larger-than-life Italian family adds a chef’s kiss dose of chaos—and heart—to the story.
* Watching Catherine break out of her comfort zone (breaking into records rooms? Hanging out in smoky backrooms?!) is pure joy.
* The romance is swoony and sparkling, with just the right balance of opposites-attract tension and heartfelt moments.

As Catherine pieces together the mystery of her erased identity, she also discovers the beauty of letting go, embracing life’s unpredictability, and maybe….just maybe….falling for a man who couldn’t be more her opposite.

Wish I Were Here is the literary equivalent of a rom-com movie night, light, charming, and brimming with feel-good vibes, absolutely loved it!

If you’ve ever rooted for the uptight professor and the laid-back flirt to fall for each other (and who hasn’t?), this book will leave you smiling long after you have finished.

The story is about Catherine, who is a total control freak. She is a math professor who has her life planned to the minute. She’s super rule-bound and, she can’t chill out. What particularly irritated me at first was to see how people were doing a lot to help her, and she seemed very ungrateful for it, always picking out on things just for the sake of control/ perfection. Like, Luca was on his way to give her a ride so she wouldn’t be late for a meeting and 1) she’s complaining about “being late” while still being early and arriving perfectly on time. 2) All you can think about is a freaking elevator and the fact that the doorman was not there because he was out to help you?? Girl, please.

Anyway. Overnight, her entire identity just vanishes. No ID, no social security, no record of her existence. It’s like she’s a ghost. With no one to help her, Catherine has to rely on Luca, who is a little more carefree and laid back. As they try to solve the mystery of her missing identity, she starts doing things way out of her comfort zone, breaking her precious rules. This journey makes her realize how sometimes it’s just a matter of changing the perspective, the good side of not always sticking by the book.

This book was my first Melissa Wiesner book. At first, it was kinda hard to go through with it because the FMC was getting on my nerves. But I pushed it through to see how the story would unfold with the document issues and finding out what was the end of the search of her origins. I was happily surprised when I was starting to enjoy the book getting more towards the middle of the book. Overall, I liked the ending and how things unfolded.

So, if you’re all about slow-burn romances where characters start out rough but then finally start letting their guard down, this one will give you a good time. By the end, you’ll love watching Catherine embrace her inner rebel with Luca cheering her on every step of the way.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed Melissa Wiesner’s The Second Chance year and was excited for Wish I Were Here as soon as it was announced. It really was such a wonderful read and one that leaves you with a huge smile and full heart.

As with The Second Chance Year, Wish I Were Here is a wonderful contemporary romance that’s woven with magical realism. Wisener explains in her author’s note that she wanted to write a hopeful version of a very real, but much more tragic, event where a women found herself being wiped from the system and having no formal or official identity.

In Wish I Were Here our MC Catherine loses her identity just as she is about to start a prestigious and hard earned job as a maths professor. Having had a rather chaotic upbringing Catherine cannot wait to have everything in place, and yet when she gets to orientation she finds she no longer exists!With no ID and no other options, Catherine reluctantly accepts help from her exasperatingly laid-back - and infuriatingly attractive - doorman, Luca Morelli. Before long, by-the-book Catherine finds herself bending all the rules with the charismatic Luca - from taking meetings in smoky bars to breaking into hospital record rooms - and having a surprising amount of fun.

I really enjoyed Catherine’s story and how, through difficult circumstances, she was able to rediscover parts of herself she’d had to suppress and how she found a community in which she felt she truly belong. There is a wonderful found family element to this story, alongside an appreciation that familial love can present itself in different ways. This is a story that highlights the different ways that people are there for one another, even if perhaps you (Catherine) hadn’t realised or indeed appreciated it at first.

The slow burn, closed door, romance between Catherine and Luca was so wholesome. Their opposites attract chemistry was brilliant, and my goodness was Luca there for Catherine when she needed him.

This was such a great read and one I’d definitely recommend.

Oh how i adored this book and these characters and having read a second chance year last year I have decided that Melissa Wiesner is now a must read author for me!

Catherine is a planner and likes everything in order and so when her entire identity disappears and it seems that Catherine has never existed she must get to the bottom of it. Luca is laid back so much so he drives Catherine crazy, but she's in a bind and needs his help and in the process has a lot of fun...

Such a fantastic story, I can't wait for more!

This book weaves in some magical realism as we see Catherine’s identity disappear, leading her on a hunt not only for key documents but also for herself. Luca is the fun, friendly and much-loved doorman of her building and when Catherine’s troubles start, he’s right there with her on her quest to fix the mix up with her identity. I loved the community feel in this story, as we see all different characters come into play and there are a few quirks that added to the sweetness of the story. I can’t say I really liked Catherine’s character, and I honestly couldn’t see how her and Luca fit together so I wasn’t rooting for this romance at all, and wished I could have found some chemistry, or even a good fit of personalities. The story (and characters) also seems to minimise what seems very much to be an unstable childhood for Catherine. Plus the whole plot revolves around the search for a key document that they think can be found in a certain place, but to me its location made absolutely zero sense and I needed this to be justified. So all in all this story didn’t blow me away but there were certainly parts I enjoyed.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I loved this!! Thank you so much for the chance to read it. It was so cute, and maybe we all need some ghostly interference??

From the synopsis I was really looking forward to this read! Catherine is someone who plans everything - a chaotic childhood has moulded her into an adult who needs order and stability. This, however, is thrown into disarray when her entire identity disappears. Antics ensue when she enlists the help of her handsome laidback doorman Luca in proving she does in fact exist.

Luca seemed sweet from the offset - sensing her anxiety and giving her solutions. He is a such a multi depth character - from the outside he seems to be carefree and unburdened by responsibility. But I think the opposite will be true, that he actually takes great care in his job and looking after the building. He definitely has more going on than his facade reveals.

Catherine somehow does the impossible - she’s an organised and rigid character but she’s not unlikable. You can see where her need for organisation and scheduling comes from - her tumultuous childhood - and that her need for order is her way of dealing with it. She forms bonds and connections with everyone she meets, and it’s through this ‘found family’ that she begins to realise she was never alone.

I was intrigued by her dad’s steadfast reluctance to talk about her mom - there was clearly something else going on there. And provided a stark contrast for all the other relationships she has in the novel.

One of the main things I loved about this was the fact that the romance was almost secondary. The main overarching storyline was Catherine’s loss of identity and her journey to ‘find herself’ again. Because of this I found the side characters to be really well developed and this just gave the story as a whole more depth and meaning. It wasn’t just about two people falling in love - that was almost a by-product, it was about the FMC finding herself and her community.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I adored the characters and the plot was really well developed. I would definitely recommend!

ARC copy provided by Headline & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Something might seem like a disaster and turn out to be a beautiful, wonderful opportunity."

Math professor Catherine Lipton's carefully planned life goes up in smoke after her identity mysteriously disappears. She reluctantly accepts help from her carefree and infuriatingly attractive doorman Luca Morelli to get her life back on track.

It was hard at first for Catherine to go along with Luca's plans to get her identity back. While she was a perpetually early rule follower, he was a perpetually late free spirit 😂 He had his merits as he opened up his world to Catherine and showed her the meaning of community and what matters more in life.

I loved the romance between them. There was the undercurrent of attraction that simmered as they had meetingd in bars, broke into a hospital file room and even faked food poisoning 🤭 I won't complain about Luca's tattoos. They were a paid actor 😍

It's in trying to get back her identity that Catherine discovered she had much more to look forward to and cherish in her life. The spritely elderly people at the community center and her building, the performers at ArtSpace and the big Morelli family brought that much more joy and meaning to her life.

I loved this book. The magical elements were beautiful. It was such an easy read. Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5⭐
Steam level: 1🌶️ Kissing only

A lovely book about romance, but more than anything self discovery after the main protagonist lost her identity and needed help from a man she would have never asked it from before.
She's all for organizing and being there on point, a grumpy perfeconist.
He's a sunshine who doesn't take everything in life that seriously.
A good book for anyone who needs some guidance in life.

Oh this book was a good one, Catherine's story was completely intriguing, let see losing your identity is something to worry about and more so when you are a perfectionist like her, I liked her story, she was a character that I really liked her personality and having what happened to her was a breath of fresh air for her because she realized that there is a lot more out there than being 100% correct, when she joins forces with Lucas (and almost all his family) she realizes that he is not the man she thought he was, well yes, he is a little bit irresponsible but for the right reasons, and the more he helps her the more she has feelings for him and let me tell you that I loved that so much, the two of them made a very cute imperfect couple and I liked that. The secondary characters that helped so much to Catherine (the older people) were the ones that stole the whole book because of how adorable they are, the found family here was spectacular and is something that our main character needed. The whole plot twist I saw coming but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book, definitely a very good read.

📌I received an e-arc through netgalley, and this is my honest opinion/review of it.

Opposites attract when a buttoned-up professor is forced to team up with a carefree doorman to restore her identity, which has magically disappeared from all records, in this sparkling romance about enjoying the life you have.

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Wish I Were Here from Headline Eternal and I absolutely loved it! This was such a cute, heartwarming comedic romance which I couldn't put down. The story follows the FMC, Catherine, while she is on a journey of self discovery trying to recover her lost identity with the help of her handsome and charming doorman, Luca. I loved the main tropes which included opposites attract, found family and magical realism. There was a strong sense of community throughout the book and some of the side characters were so sweet as well. I really enjoyed the ending and found myself feeling pretty emotional, especially from reading the epilogue.

I highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, easy to read romance especially if you're in a bit of a reading slump!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute and charming read, I thought Catherine and Luca were polar opposites but he 100% brought the real personality out of Catherine. I liked the storyline of finding her mum and getting back her identity. The side characters felt really special in the book and I was shocked at the end with the whole Sal storyline! Overall this was a lovely read thanks for the arc 🙂

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the ARC

An original and amazing novel. I thought the concept was really fascinating and enjoyed seeing how it all played out. The writing and pacing was really good. The characters and the relationship was adorable. The chemistry was sizzling. I also highly enjoyed the mystery of the ID-theft part.

The plot, characters, and setting were so well-balanced—it kind of gave off sweet, cozy Hallmark movie vibes. I genuinely enjoyed reading it; it was charming and heartwarming.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#WishIWereHere #NetGalley

I really enjoyed to is clean romance novel. I did guess early on about the identity of one of the characters, but I didn’t guess the why’s of our heroines mother. There were some funny moments, some sad moments, but overall it was filled with heartwarming moments. I lovely story I’d happily recommend

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

I read this book in like four hours and honestly, I don't regret a single thing even when I had to sacrifice my sleep for it.

'Wish I Were Here' was an enjoyable book with complex and interesting central protagonists. It explores themes of finding a family and opposites falling in love with each other. There's a magical element in the story and I didn't even realise it or expect it because I was so engrossed in the story. I do, however, wish that the story explained how the magical elements worked.

The characters Catherine and Luca were really sweet together. Catherine was a bit unbearable at times but I think she is the one character who has a lot of character growth towards the end. Luca was just a sweetheart. He was there for Catherine no matter the occasion and never complained about anything. Perfect. 10/10.

I look forward to reading more of Melissa Wiesner's upcoming books! Loved this so much!

I liked the beginning of the book (though it is a bit slow), because I could actually relate to Catherine so much. Her anxiety at being late, the horrible feeling of someone poking fun of their for it was written so well and in a realistic way. I was very hopeful that the story would stay true to her need for order and not try to "loosen her up". Alas, it was not to be. The storyline itself is completely fine, though it could have used more depth. Similarly Luca wasn't really fleshed out and seemed like more of a symbol than anything else. Like the universe sending her a manifestation of what she is lacking.
What really soured this book for me, is the ending. While it was predictable, I still felt let down. Catherine realizes that she her being such a rule follower is preventing her from seeing the human aspect etc etc. That part would be completely fine, but it comes at the expense of showing nuance. Catherine completely erases all of the hardships her upbringen caused her and basically absolves her father of all wrongdoing. It's one of my least favorite storylines to have a more "uptight" character become more relaxed and basically come to the realization that they needed to change. Again, middle ground would be fine, but two things can be true at once. In some aspects Catherine could be more relaxed, but being too relaxed is also bad. Her father caused them to be homeless numerous times, never accepted true responsibility, did whatever he wanted, placed an insane burden on her as a child, and was completely reckless. Who brings A CHILD to burning man??? In the beginning Catherine is rightfully resentful about all of this, but by the end she's like "oh my God I had such a great upbringing!". Bitch you're traumatized.
Same thing with Luca. While, yes, there are great explanations of all the times he sort of flaked, we never hear them from him. Catherine doesn't know all of the facts and without them, she (again, rightfully) calls him out for being irresponsible. It does turn out there were reasons, but why does Luca never explain himself? Why does Catherine have to be the one to apologize? She didn't really do anything wrong. If my doorman (which I don't have) lost absolutely crucial mail from my bank FOR WEEKS, caused me to fall over bikes more than once, etc I would be expecting him to be forthcoming with some explanations instead of him being like oh trust me, you're just being too narrow. It's just disappointing. In the end, it's only Catherine who adjusts. Catherine that loosens up. There is not one scene of Luca or her dad being like "you're right. I should have been a bit less laid back and actually followed the rules/accepted responsibility". At least use a goddamn coaster! As often as Catherine thinks about that, there really could have been more consideration.
Please leave my rule following women in peace. We do not need another book about how they can be less annoying/uptight/boring. They wouldn't have to be so rigid, if the men in there life could just do the bare minimum.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

Catherine has finally figured it all out. She got a new apartment and is about to start a new job. She’s all set. Then her carefully calculated life starts falling apart. One thing after another goes awry and at the social security office she discover there’s no evidence she exists at all. Forced to make quick work of finding her birth certificate Catherine reluctantly accepts help from Luca a the doorman at her building with more connections then anyone could’ve expected. Forced to step out of her comfort zone Catherine may discover that the “real” her is someone she never expected.

I have to start off with the plot. It’s unique, it’s fun and most importantly a good staring point that can easily be built upon. For obvious reasons Catherine gets slightly obsessed with solving the mystery of her lost identity which made the beginning of the story slightly monotonous. However as the search moves forward the book gets more interesting. Catherine goes thru some life altering events that has a big impact on her character development which is my favorite part of the book. And there’s also the blooming relationship between Catherine and Luca. They’re really good together despite all their differences.

There are so many interesting personalities in this one, all of Lucas family members, the sweet seniors living in the neighborhood and Catherine’s dad. I’d love to see another book from the same universe. The ending surprised me a bit so that was a pleasant surprise. I’ll definitely check out some of Weisners other books after reading this one!

Read this if you like
💙Found family
🔥Opposites attract
✨Character growth
📖Romance with a touch of mystery & fantasy

I would say this is a 3.5 for being an enjoyable read!
I loved the supernatural elements fun and the range of characters were great. There were parts that felt a little slow but overall it was a great first read for me from Melissa Wiesner and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for more.