6 Heartfelt Stars!!

Breathtaking and devastatingly beautiful, Wish You Were Here will take you on an emotional journey of life, friendship, loss, love and discovering ones true self worth! Amazing read, definitely going on my top read list for 2017!

It's very rare to find a book that can invoke so many emotions in the reader, it's like looking for a unicorn. When you find that rare gem, you get in your comfy pants, curl up in your favorite place to read; maybe have some chocolate (or wine lol) and a box of tissues and dive in knowing that that the story is going to completely gut you, but you persevere and devour each and every single word anyways. You fall in love and you feel all the emotions that the author wants to portrays through their characters.

That's exactly what this story is, a gem, a rare find, a unicorn of the book world! This story was beautiful, funny, sweet, romantic, steamy, and heart wrenching. You get love and laughter, great friends, family and a love that is so epic, it will stay ingrained in your heart long after you've read the last page.

Adam...oh sweet sweet Adam. How I love him and his epic sweetness!

***Everything before you and I were in that bar is a blur, but everything after is crystal clear. Why is that? Is it because I was so enamored of you that you marked my soul and now I can’t get you out of my mind?"

Charolette feels she is just drifting through her life, not knowing exactly what she wants. She's started so many things, and never finished them. She lives in an apartment with her best friend. Her brother is going to be a dentist following in their fathers footsteps, but Charolette, she's a waitress at a diner and still not sure what direction her life needs to go in. One night with Adam, a night so special, that it's changed her forever.

***"You still don’t know what you’re worth.” He wiped a tear from my cheek and smiled. “So I’m dedicating the rest of my life to proving that to you.”

See, sweetness! May the swooning over Adam commence! Trust me, there are lots of swoon worthy moments.

I can't tell you enough how much I loved this book, and I won't spoil anything, you need to experience it all first hand!

This book has all the feels and will push you emotionally, but so worth the entire ride. Promise!

Wish You Were Here is beautifully written and a great portrayal of love, friendship, family, loss, and finding oneself. All the characters in the book, from Charlotte to Adam to Seth to Helen, down to Charlotte's family members were so well developed and evolved throughout the story that you'll walk away with a connection to them. Adam though was the character that impacted me the most. His outlook on life and how he helped Charlotte evolve throughout the book was amazingly depicted.

There were times throughout the book where a lag was felt and that some aspects of relationships were rushed. Even through these moments I still give this book five stars. This is because of how Renée writes this book with such raw emotion that you can't help but to fall in love with the story. Have tissues close by because there are many moments where you are going to need to have those handy.

Wish You Were Here will quickly become your new favorite book written by Renée!

I was so excited to receive an ARC of Wish You Were Here! As with all of Renee's books she pulls you in by page 1, and makes you fall in love with her characters! This book was no different. I found myself rooting for so many of the characters, and when I wasn't reading I couldn't stop thinking about Charlotte and what was going to happen next. My only advice is have a full box of tissues next to you while you go on Charlotte's journey, and enjoy every word like I did!

I loved this book! Renee seems to be getting better with each book she writes. I didn't think she could top Swear on this Life, then I read this book and was completely blown away!

Reviewed by Rachel McEwan at Kindle Friends Forever

5 Stars Are Not Enough !!

“… everything is reduced to feelings and emotions and actions that don’t need explanation or justification…..”

I’ve been a fan of Renee Carlino since I fell in love with her book covers however when I picked up a copy of Before We Were Strangers in my local store and took a chance it was then I fell in love with her words. I read the blurb and was sold; it sounded like my kind of read. The style of her writing just sucked me in and kept me captive until the very last page. It was then that I bought all her other books and never looked back. Renee fast became of my all-time favourite authors. So when I was offered to a chance to read her latest book, Wish You Were Here, it was a no-brainer! I didn’t even read the synopsis as I just know she will never let me down. However, what I didn’t anticipate was what an emotional roller coaster she would take me on. Never before have her stories hit me like this one. The story line in this read took me on a very personal journey and at times I did have to put my Kindle down and gather my thoughts and take a few deep breaths, oh and also go grab a pile of tissues! My tears just wouldn’t stop and even now writing this review I’m tearing up.

“I realised that right now is all that matters for everyone….”

The beginning of the story starts at a gentle enough pace when you are introduced to Charlotte and her bestie, Helen. They are living and working together at local restaurant and enjoying their freedom after college. Charlotte has no idea what to do with her life and has had a series of disastrous relationships with the opposite sex. You could say she’s in a rut and needs to take a chance on life but she plays things safe. But, one night she takes a leap of faith with a guy she’s just met. They both experience an all-consuming instant attraction and what transpires is nothing short of life changing.

“Everything I did in the past was safe.”

Adam is spontaneous and a total whirlwind and this makes Charlotte feel brave, which inspires her to move out of comfort zone. He’s recently moved into the
neighbourhood after leaving his high powered law career. Their night together is surreal and the stuff of fantasies but there is something she cannot figure out about him but pushes this to the back of her mind because she totally mesmerised. I think at this point in the story something felt off but like Charlotte I couldn’t pin it down. After their night together ends quite abruptly Charlotte puts it down to a one night stand and moves on but as that night has such a profound effect on her thoughts of Adam are never far from her mind.

“Do you believe in soul mates, Charlotte?”
“I think so.”
“Do you know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think we have soul mates but I think we can have more than one ….”

I’ve written quite a reviews in my time but never found them hard until this one. I’m a lover of sharing quotes as I think they add something special to your thoughts and feelings of a book but this time I’ve been very careful as so many I love give the plot away and I believe you must go in blind!

The secondary characters in this read fitted in very well and were very extremely well developed. Yes, this story is an emotional one and thought provoking albeit, humour was evident and at times brought much needed levity at just the right moments. I especially loved the way her relationship with her brother, Charles (Chucky), developed and changed for the better. At first I didn’t like, Charles, nevertheless in the end I loved him.

“ Love is an inside secret joke. Only the two of you have to understand it.”

This book is written entirely from Charlotte’s point of view and at times this did niggle me as I was itching to get into the minds of the other characters but when I finished I realised it would have been a mistake. The reason for this was this was Charlotte’s story. Never before has the saying, it’s not about the destination but all about the journey and this book is shining example of that. This author has delivered a heart breaking, emotional but bittersweet read and one that will stay with me for some time. If you are already a fan of Ms. Carlino’s work then you’ll adore it however, if you have yet to read her work then get ready as she will spoil you rotten!

I have love every single book Renee Carlino has written and I am ecstatic to report that Wish You Were Here is as fantastic as I hoped it would be!!!!!

Living in Los Angles, Charlotte finds herself tolerating her job as a waitress and finding herself very unlucky in love. Upon randomly meeting Adam, a handsome stranger, Charlotte feels an immediate connection. Shocking herself and her bestie Helen, Charlotte has a very unexpected and uncharacteristic one night stand with Adam!!! The night was magical and couldn't have gone better...until the morning!! When they woke up, Adam was cold and distant. Any fairy tale ideas Charlotte had built overnight in her head crumbled!! Charlotte left his apartment that morning and intended to walk out of Adam's life permanently...or so she thinks!!!

Renee Carlino is a master storyteller!!!!! When I started With You Were Here I wasn't sure what direction this novel would take me. I had a couple theories on how I thought the plot would play out, but I was totally wrong. I LOVED what Ms. Carlino had planned for Charlotte!!!!! The entire novel was completely original and was perfectly paced. I don't want to touch on the storyline anymore than I have because this book is written so cleverly and I wouldn't want to spoil anything!! I will say that by the end, I was blown away!! The different emotions I had throughout this book was plentiful and the feels were enormous. Wish You Were Here is a 5+++ star read that will stay with you long after you finish!! This book is a sure thing-- go 1-click it!!

Heartbreakingly fantastic. Swollen eyes and a full heart. Hallmark Renee Carlino and I can't wait for what is next.