When I Picture You
Perfect for fans of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE, Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry!
Also coming in
Brazilian Portuguese, German and Spanish!
UK - September 25, 2025
Michael Joseph / Penguin UK
UK Pre-Order Here
Add the UK Edition on Goodreads
US - October 28, 2025
Avon / Harper Collins
B&N | Amazon | Bookshop
Add the US Edition on Goodreads
How long have they been in the middle of their love story?
​
A big-hearted and sexy queer rom-com celebrating the kind of sweeping romance that inspires our favorite love songs.
​
Renee Feldman is desperate for a fresh start. She’d hoped to rediscover her creative spark by taking time off from her MFA in documentary film. Instead, she’s stalled. Barista-ing doesn’t chip away at her debt, her thesis project is nonexistent, and if she doesn’t re-enroll next semester, she’ll be out of the program.
​
Pop star Lola Gray is supposed to be the songwriter of her generation—but she hardly feels like it anymore. It’s been a year since her secret relationship imploded, simultaneously breaking Lola’s heart, annihilating her plan to come out, and plummeting her into writer’s block.
​
But when Lola sees Renee at her sister’s wedding, all that stress comes to a grinding halt. Lola’s teenage crush on the fearless lesbian next door was so overwhelming, it secretly inspired her debut album. Lola and Renee haven’t crossed paths in a decade, but that night sparks fly.
​
Renee is still processing the hottest—and most unexpected—one-night stand of her life when Lola surprises her again. Her team is producing a documentary alongside her next album, but the director they hired is a creep. Lola needs Renee to replace him…and filming starts in a week. With her thesis deadline approaching, Renee knows this is her only ticket to graduation.
​
As Lola and Renee reconnect, there’s no denying the feelings they have for each other or the renewed creativity it inspires. But neither realizes how hard it will be to tell their love story in an industry that sets a narrative of its own.
​
​
Praise for When I Picture You
​
"Sasha Laurens’s adult debut, When I Picture You, is both a glitzy, warm former-friends-to-lovers celebrity romance, and a meditation on the connections we form to and through art. Renee and Lola’s story exists where the familiarity of childhood friendship and the vulnerability of a new relationship meet; that terrifying moment between feeling stuck and embracing the things that free you. Perfect for anyone who has ever religiously followed a pop star’s personal life, then wondered about the human behind the celebrity.” — KT Hoffman, author of The Prospects
"When I Picture You is a touching portrayal of love, celebrity and the joy and bravery of living your truth. Sasha Laurens writes with her whole heart, and I devoured this book in one day.” — Katelyn Doyle, author of
Just Some Stupid Love Story
​
“YA author Laurens (Youngblood) makes her adult debut with this queer, campy escapade into the world of stardom and its accompanying rigmarole. Childhood friends Renee Feldman, now an MFA student in documentary film, and Lola Gray, international “princess of pop,” are reunited at Lola’s sister’s wedding, where sparks fly all the way into a passionate one-night stand. After Renee sneaks out the next morning, she doesn’t expect to hear from Lola again—until Lola calls to ask her to direct a documentary film about the making of her next album. From there, the tension is twofold: first, as director and subject, feelings entering into the mix could make things messy; second, Lola is closeted, and her fans are already dissecting her every move and song lyric for clues about her sexuality. Laurens peppers in plenty of Easter eggs that will put fans in mind of Taylor Swift, though she tempers the real-world parallels somewhat by making her heroines down-to-earth and even nerdy at times. Readers looking for a spot of escapism will find everything they need here.” — Publisher's Weekly
​
​