All I Ever Needed: A Friends-to-Lovers YA Holiday Romance

by Sarah Swartz

When Esmeralda Carter's longtime crush asks her out days before Thanksgiving, she feels on cloud 9. After being single her entire life, the thought that her first boyfriend would be the guy she liked the most couldn't make her happier. But dating The Clay Pierce isn't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when the warnings from her best friend, Nathan Reed, start meeting the spotlight.

Nate felt neglected when Esme began to spend all her time with Clay and doing all the holiday festivities that Emery Hill, Massachusetts has to offer with Clay. Such as building a snowman, looking at the Christmas displays, and ice skating. All activities Nate thought would be tradition with Esme.

When Nate is told by the duos English Literature teacher to read his poetry assignment in front of the class, Esme learns that he has been keeping things from her. And they told each other everything. Such as the severity of his mom's terminal illness and his admiration for a mystery girl.

When the true nature of his poems come to light, Esme must reevaluate her friendship with Nate and her feelings for Clay. Hoping not to lose her best friend along the way.

"All I Ever Needed" is a sweet, holiday friends-to-lovers romance that delves deeper into unrequited love and the impact of our choices.

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2025

About the author

Sarah Swartz was born and raised in the town of Endwell, New York and has recently moved to Woodruff, South Carolina in 2022. She started writing on Wattpad at the age of sixteen after she saw a YouTube user mention the site. She decided to make an account and show support to this user. Shortly after making her account, Sarah decided to try her hand at writing. Her first book was called A Summer to Remember which was first published on Wattpad in 2012 but wasn't completed until 2015. She went on to write more than twenty Wattpad stories- only eight of them being full-length novels that she tolerates- since she joined and she is still an active user on the site. She continues to show support to the writer who introduced her to Wattpad in the first place. Wattpad is where she made the final decision that she wanted to have a career as a writer. Her use of storytelling and character caught the attention of several readers. To this day, she focuses much of her time and attention on completing edits and getting them ready for publication. When she's not writing, she can be caught most likely reading a good book or trying to find inspiration for a new novel. You can follow her on Instagram (@authorsarahswartz) and Twitter (@SarahTSwartz)