Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
It seems as though Grace and Robbie have been together forever and they have recently entered an exciting new chapter of their lives with the purchase of their first home. But they are at the age when everyone else they know seems to be getting married, even those who haven’t been together as long. The logical next step for them must surely be marriage, at least according to most of their family and friends!
Luckily for them, Robbie surprises Grace with a romantic trip to New York and a most unexpected proposal. Unluckily, Grace does not react as expected unleashing a chain of events that see her relationship with Robbie, along with her professional life, spiralling out of control and into disaster…
Grace is a highly energetic character who loves fashion and is obsessed with old Hollywood movies. She just isn’t exactly sure how to turn this into a career. When she meets Verity, ex-Hollywood costume lady and vintage clothing queen, Grace is instantly taken by her. When Verity tells her that the secret of happiness is to discover her own ‘heart wish’, Grace becomes obsessed with working out what this actually is, with often hilarious, sometimes moving, consequences.
At first I struggled to get into this novel. There were so many witty asides constantly interrupting the action that I found it difficult to see where the storyline was going. This changed sometime after the opening wedding scenes though and once the plot was established – and as Grace’s world came crashing down about her ears – I struggled to put it down!
There are many parts of I Wished For You that are very funny and for lots of laughs it’s worth a read, but at first I just felt that it went a bit over the top. The second half of the novel includes more serious issues that kept me turning the pages, and there is still an injection of humour to lighten the mood!
6/10
