MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE

Estranged best friends fall in love amid holiday cheer.

Hollywood actor Arden James hails from the small town of Barnwich, where she and Caroline Beckett grew up as best friends. Four years ago, Arden left to pursue her career in Los Angeles and never returned, leaving Caroline heartbroken. Now, in an attempt to prove her small-town authenticity and land a role she desperately wants, Arden comes home at Christmastime and convinces Caroline to fake date her for 12 days. In exchange. Caroline gets to write a Cosmopolitan article about the experience; the byline will help her quest to study journalism at Columbia. As they progress through their dates, from stealing a Christmas tree to sampling unusual hot chocolate, their romantic feelings for one another resurface. But as they grow closer, their real lives feel further and further apart. The backdrop of Barnwich makes for a believably charming holiday setting, populated by pleasant people and ample Christmas traditions (Caroline, who has one Jewish and one Catholic parent, even finds a way to celebrate both sides of her heritage). Arden and Caroline, who alternate first-person point-of-view chapters, feel like real teenagers, each with relatable struggles and desires, and their relationship unfolds in an organic, well-paced way. Their palpable chemistry lends verisimilitude to the story’s many tender romantic moments. Caroline presents white; Arden is implied biracial and was raised by her Korean grandmother.

A swoonworthy Sapphic holiday romance.