Genre 📚: YA Contemporary, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Former friends to lovers, Forced proximity, Travel romance, Bucket list
Rep ✔️: Korean American gay main character, gay love interest, BIPOC and queer side characters
CW ⚠️: Loss of a loved one, grief, homophobia, racism
Rating ⭐️: 3.5/5
Ya had me at Before Sunrise meets Heartstopper. YA rom-com Like We Were in Paris follows Ben on his school trip to Paris. The city is special to him, since it was special to his parents, and he’s determined to check every item off his bucket list. But on his first night, he ends up getting lost and getting locked out of the hostel… To make things worse, he’s locked out with his former childhood best friend, Tyler.
The boys decide what the hell, they might as well venture out and work through Ben’s bucket list. They spend an eventful nine hours together, falling for the magic of Paris and, as they get reacquainted, falling for each other. It’s cliché, but hey, Ben lives for the cliché. (He insists on wearing a beret even though it makes him an obvious tourist.) I loved his self-awareness and the way he’d stand his ground, even with Tyler’s teasing.
That said, these two were cute. Cheesy AF but cuuuute. I enjoyed reading their shenanigans throughout the city, getting bits and pieces from their past while feelings were forming in the present. Like every Paris-based romance, it made me wanna hop on a plane and live out my own bucket list.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Like We Were in Paris will be released on May 5, 2026.
Sara Bechtol 