Wish I Were Here is a romance with a magical realism twist. I thought some aspects of the story were cute and fun. The main character, Catherine, is a young mathematics professor who is ready to spread her wings with a new dream job at a university and her own apartment. Luca is a young, handsome tattooed doorman at her apartment building.

When Catherine has the worst day ever and Luca comes to her rescue, they begin a tentative friendship that has the potential to become more as they spend time together. There is a mystery element to the story when Catherine is advised that her identity is missing from all the government databases, and she needs to find her original birth certificate to restore her records. She can’t start her new job without resolving the issue, and she only has a short window of time to get it done. 

Catherine and Luca embark on a “quest” to try to find her original birth certificate and the mystery surrounding her unknown birth mother. 

While there are some steamy parts and references in this novel, the writing and some of the situations seemed immature/young. I found myself skimming some of the scenes because they just went on a little long and the content didn’t hold my interest. 

What I liked about the story was how Catherine had herself all figured out, but then showed growth in realizing that a fulfilled life can involve more than she originally thought. 

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.