Jude Deveraux is my favorite romance author. This book is another winner. If you had a chance for a do over would you. Loved this book and her characters

Jude Deveraux has been a staple in my house for as long as I can remember. She was one of those author's my mom was always reading and the first romance book I ever picked up. I love getting to read new things by her and have often gone to the store to grab her newest book on the day it was released. As You Wish was another book of hers that I found completely riveting. I could not stop reading it.

I enjoy Jude Deveraux stories, but this one fell a bit short for me. There were too many characters and storylines, although the premises was decent. Who wouldn't want an oppurtunity at a do over in life?

FINAL DECISION: This book isn't really for me. The intertwined stories of three women combined with time travel/alternate realities was just too odd women's fiction. Not a bad book, but not one I would pick up again.

THE STORY:  Sixty year old Oliva is a newlywed with regrets. Not over her marriage, but over the years she wasted away from the man she loves. Forty year old Kathy is married to man who is in love with someone else. Elise is married to a man who seems to want to get rid of her -- in any way possible. The three end up at Summerhouse with the opportunity to change everything in their lives and make things right.

OPINION: I'm not the audience for this book because something really bothers me about the entire premise of the story. I don't like the "let's have a redo" on stories in general. It's tricky because it feels to me like a cop-out on having to accept the choices one makes. I am often willing to suspend disbelief, but this premise always bothers me.

The multiple storylines also kept me disconnected from all of them. I prefer my books more emotion and this book just felt like a gimmick based on the plot. The story wasn't bad and neither were the characters, but the resolution just didn't work for me. I think someone who was willing to look past the plot twist might enjoy this one better.

On the positive side, I like seeing the Montgomerys.

WORTH MENTIONING: I'm not sure I like the impact of this story on THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL.

CONNECTED BOOKS: AS YOU WISH is the third book in the Summerhouse series, but I haven't read those books. For me, the book is a sequel of sorts to THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review and I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

Three women meet and share the stories of their lives. If they could change th, would the? ARC from Net Galley.

Magical realism, time travel and the Montgomerys and Taggerts should have made As You Wish a can't miss. I think that this book would appeal to Devereaux long time readers, based upon past books and the aspects listed above. I am one of those long time readers and I ended up disappointed. Perhaps it is because there has been so much anticipation for this book, and I had built it up in my mind. I do not think it would stand alone well, and as part of the series, it's a little weak. When I say weak, I mean the characters are not layered enough, they are hard to connect to. I also found the family aspects I look for missing. I always appreciate the superb dialogue in Jude Devereaux books, always appropriate to character and situation. The story itself was entertaining, and I didnt feel the read was wasted, it's just not my favorite.

Jude Deveraux is a superb author and I've always enjoyed her books. I didn't read the other Summerhouse novels but I really enjoyed this one. Who doesn't want to go back and change something in their past?

I have loved Jude Deveraux's books ever since reading A Knight in Shining Armor, but this book was lacking something. I didn't really feel a connection with the characters. Maybe there were too many storylines going on. It was an okay read, but not her best.  #AsYouWish #NetGalley

I've read many books by Jude Devereaux, and As You Wish was equally as entertaining. Compared to her other books, I found As You Wish a bit confusing with the number of characters with individual stories and specifically compared to the other Summer House novel. The story centers around Olivia, and older woman and a newlywed who is struggling with the choices and regrets that her life was full of. She befriends two other women who seemingly have it all in relationships yet are as unhappier (if not more so), than Olivia. The three get a chance to change their past and their lives, but will that make them any happier?

I didn't realize this was part of a series until I was finished with this amazing book. This is book 3 in the Summerhouse series. Olivia, Kathy and Elise meet at Summerhouse and discover that they can go back in time to change a decision that could effect their lives in the future. The only question is are they brave enough to make that change. This is a remarkable premise for a reader to contemplate about their own life. A lost love, an abusive marriage, an unexpected pregnancy are all things these ladies consider. This seems like a great book for Book Clubs and I imagine the discussions will get quite lively. I have been a fan of Jude Deveraux for a long time and this has to be one of my favorites and I'm going to get Summerhouse and Return to Summerhouse very soon. I received this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Pick this one up today.

My review can be found on my GoodReads account at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

Another pitch-perfect book for Deveraux fans. A lovely wrap up that ties many threads of the Summerhill series.

Three woman, all facing life altering decisions, are sent to a private retreat where they share in each other’s life stories, until an unfathomable opportunity arises…they can go back in time and change decisions they made to achieve the life they’ve always wanted. What would you do if you could have the life AS YOU WISH.

This is a slow building story that in the end had me completely hooked. If you don't like cheating the beginning of this book is going to be as hard for you as it was for me. But, I have to say I was utterly riveted to the three women's stories about 1/2 through. NOT AT ALL WHAT I EXPECTED BY THE SYNOPSIS!

I received this copy of As You Wish from HARLEQUIN - Romance (U.S. & Canada) - MIRA. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars
Written by: Jude Deveraux
Series: A Summerhouse Novel
Sequence in Series: Book 3
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: MIRA
Publication: March 6, 2018
ISBN-10: 0778307611
ISBN-13: 978-0778307617
Genre: Romantic Comedy with a SCIFI twist

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I can sum up this story in one sentence:Three women who have bad marriages get the chance to have a do-over.  But the true nature of the story is that As You Wish is a What If story. What If you had chosen someone different? What If you had responded differently to situations?

The friendship and support between the women is beautiful to see, and some scenes were perfectly written (I love the skinny-dipping scene). The three weeks that the women have in their "What If" scenario was a mixed result for me. For Elise, I found it hard to believe that her parents would act the way that they did, but Alejandro is a keeper. Kathy's story seemed to break the rules that had been explained before she went back, without any effects. Olivia's story had a sweet conclusion. Overall, the book felt like three short stories bound together by one really long introduction, but one of my favorite short stories ever ("Matchmakers" from The Invitation) is from Deveraux so that is a compliment. Now that I am finished with this book, I have a yearning to read A Knight in Shining Armor again and revisit some other stories of the Montomgery/Taggert books. They are always a pleasure.

Full review published at http://www.readingobsession.com/2018/03/31/as-you-wish-by-jude-deveraux/

This was not interesting to me which is a shame because Deveraux is such a fabulous writer.

Ms. Deveraux is one of my favorite authors. I've spent delightful hours buried between the pages of her wonderful stories.

The last book in the series brought Kit and Olivia together finally after a lifetime spent apart due to stubborn youthful pride. This one brings Olivia together with three other women and in a strange twist of fate all three women have a chance to go back in time and re-write history to create a new future for themselves.

Each woman's journey is chronicled individually making it seem almost like one's reading three short stories that had a joint kickoff and ending. Olivia and Kit were supporting characters in the previous book plus Kit is one of the famous Montgomery's so its inevitable Olivia and his story carried the most meaning for me. I struggled between the old past, the rewritten past and the new future even as I rejoiced in Olivia's new future. If you find my statements confusing then you can totally understand how I felt in the story.

I love twists and turns that take me off the beaten track and help me discover all kinds of hidden treasures. The twists in this story almost proved to be too much for me. Not my favorite of the books from this author.

As You Wish by Jude Devereaux. I read the book in one night. I started reading it Friday after work and finished it at 2 o’clock in the morning. Jude does an amazing job of representing women, their friendships, and their insecurities. The premise behind the story is that three women share their stories and have the ability to go to the Summerhouse to make changes. What would you do if you could go back to any point in your life for three weeks? What changes would you make if any? It’s a romance but it’s also a women’s fiction. The book was so beautifully woven together with the women, their stories, their struggles and their regrets. If you’ve read Jude Devereaux‘s previous books then you’ll recognize several of the characters from previous books. For those of you who like a clean book; I would not classify it as clean. The women reminisce and long for the crazy in love experience to also include the physical aspects.
I think this would make an excellent book club selection. Each of the women’s lives and their struggles could be discussed. What decisions would you have made? What time in your life would you go back to? I literally could not put the story down. It grip me emotionally. I wanted each of the women to have a happy ending.

This is the third book in the Summerhouse series. I enjoyed this light reading romance. Highly recommended for fans of Debbie Macomber and Sherryl Woods.

As You Wish review
I enjoyed this latest installment of the Jude Deveraux Summerhouse series. Once again characters are contemplating their life choices and fate. For this reason, I do consider this more women’s fiction even though there are happy endings all around. It was a little slow to start but once I got in to it I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great storytelling and now I want to go back and read the earlier books again.
I appreciate how she also included Kit Montgomery and therefore linked to THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL and other novels featuring the Montgomery family. The parallels between the lives of the three women were interesting. While each woman was in a different stage of their lives, they all had a marriage that wasn’t a love match. This led to each have a routing value all their own. I was waiting for them to overcome the obstacles put in front of them such as a greedy stepson or a self-involved husband. I won’t tell you how they accomplished these things but trust me, you will enjoy it.