I enjoyed this book very much and felt it was well written. It is a romance story (not my usual genre) and a story of missed chances. The author uses the now and then format to tell the story. Then when Elizabeth meets Tom and falls in love with him, despite being engaged to a man her father feels is a good choice because of his education, social status and career. Elizabeth ends up marrying her father's choice and Tom leaves. For the next 49 years, once a year, Elizabeth finds a crocus and maybe another gift and a note that starts "i wish" and describes some activity that Tom and Elizabeth could do together. The 50th year she doesn't receive a gift, so sets out to London at the last known address she has for Tom to find out what happens to him, the now part of the story.

This was such a heartbreaking book in the best way! There are a lot of books about first love and second chances out there but Adams has come up with a fresh take that is truly romantic. I don't want to spoil the plot but I will say I cried in a way I haven't over a book since Me Before You. If you love a good tearjerker, this one is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a copy to review.

This was a wonderful heartfelt story. I loved the switch in timelines from now to then it gave you just enough each time before giving you more from that time period. Elizabeth and Tom's love kept me reading even through the parts that made me cry.

This is the story of a young teenage romance, that although the couple never married, they never stopped loving each other. I thought the author used the alternating “now” and “then” chapters effectively to tell the story of the couple in their teens and then as elderly people. Although at times the story was heartbreaking, the story of enduring love was very sweet.

I received this as an ARC from HarperCollins. It’s the story of Elizabeth and Tom, who met and fell in love when they were young, but due to life circumstances each married other people. But for 49 years, once a year, Tom would leave a little gift at Elizabeth’s door containing a wish he had for them. When they finally reunite, Elizabeth and Tom try to make all the wishes come true with the time they have together.

Although I did enjoy this book, it took me a long time to read. In the beginning I wasn’t sure about the characters and it took me a while to like them. I did enjoy the last part of the book. Just wish I enjoyed the beginning and middle as much. Thank you HarperCollins for giving me the chance to read it.

This book was well written but I just couldn’t get into it. It was sad and depressing in my opinion.but I know there were other people who really liked it. Thanks Netgalley for this ARC for my honest opinion.

Every year since they met and fell in love, Tom has left Elizabeth her favorite flower with a wish for them attached. It’s Elizabeth’s favorite day of the year, and it’s the fiftieth anniversary of the day Tom promised to love her forever. Will this be the year he knocks? Will it be the year she opens the door? When the day passes and there is nothing from Tom, Elizabeth is disappointed and wonders why? Did he finally give up? Or did they wait too long? Leaving the safety of her tiny village, Elizabeth embarks on a journey to find Tom, basket of wishes in tow. When she finds him they realize how much time has been lost with misunderstandings, small town dynamics, and lack of self-confidence. Is there still time to make all their wishes come true?
A beautiful second chance love story told in a dual timeline alternating between the current time and when they fell in love, this was a story that was both heat-warming and heartbreaking. There were so many times I had tears running down my face.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#littlewishes #michelleadams #thebookclubgirl #bookclubgirls #harpercollins #williammorrow

This is a story of long lost love set aside due to unfortunate circumstances, but never forgotten. This love like none other was acknowledged in the form of a gift, left on Elizabeth's doorstep. It's the 50th year and Elizabeth is impatiently waiting. When she opens the door to find an empty stoop, she sets out to find what happened to her beloved Tom and unravels secrets that have been hidden for decades. While reading, I couldn't help but feel this tale reminded me a little of "The Notebook."

A story of lost (and found) love that alternates between then and now. Thomas Hale has left a crocus and a wish on Elizabeth’s doorstep annually for 49 years, until this year. Elizabeth seeks out Thomas to find out why there was no crocus and wish left on year 50. Is she too late?

This was a sweet love story following two different timelines about a love lost and found again. Usually I end up preferring the past or the present story better, but I loved both timelines equally in this book!

Make sure you have tissues close if you pick up this book. A heartbreaking tale that was beautifully written in alternating chapters of past and present in this heart wrenching love story. The writing was excellent and the characters were lovable (perhaps too much, now that I’ve finished my heart hurts). Elizabeth fell in love with Tom when she was a young lady but a multitude of things stood between them: she was already engaged, their families, and social statuses. Despite living their lives apart their love stayed strong and Elizabeth’s proof is that on the anniversary of the day they first kissed Tom always brings her a flower and a wish for something he wished they could have shared together.

“Love presented itself in all manner of different ways, even in places where she could barely see its existence. Love could be all but invisible, but still it was there ....” - Little Wishes by Michelle Adams

I didn’t expect this novel, with its pretty cover and unusual size, to break my heart. Little Wishes is a British dual lifeline story ("Then" and "Now") of true love separated by 50 years. The "Then" storyline is set on the Cornish coast, and I could easily place myself there since the prose has such a strong sense of place.

I was surprised to read reviews calling it a sweet, quickly-read romance. For me, this was deeply emotional, especially the ‘Now’ timeline. If a reader recently lost a loved one due to a prolonged illness, this novel could be a trigger. While not every aspect seemed realistic, much of it rang true.

Wow! This book was sweet and sappy and the perfect escape with all that is going on in the world! The plot focuses on lost love, missed chances and the realization that time is running out for a happy life together. I love how Tom left these little gifts and notes about what they missed together for Elizabeth over decades. The missing one on their 50th anniversary of falling in love sets Elizabeth on a journey to find Tom again. This book will give you all of the feels.

Thank you to William Morrow/Harper Collins for an advanced copy of Little Wishes.

Told in the past and present we see how a fifty year relationship evolves when for 50 years their only contact is him leaving her a present on their anniversary of their first kiss. When nothing appears on the 50th anniversary, Elizabeth looks for Tom and they try to make the best of the time they have left.

This was a sweet story of first loves, second chances and life. The premise was sweet, but I was bored through most of the book.

5 stars for this gorgeous read about finding a lifetime love. By the cover, I was expecting a more “cutesy”-type story, but instead I was met with a glorious epic about families, well-kept secrets, and the deep longing that is so rarely found between two kindred souls. Please do yourself a favor and read this one; it’s got a very strong “The Light Between Oceans” vibe, I just got lost in this book. Bring Kleenex.

A beautiful and heartbreaking story about 2 young lovers who are separated for 50 years, but every year on their anniversary, Tom leaves a gift and a wish at the door of Elizabeth's cottage on the Cornish coast. On the 50th year no wish appears, so Elizabeth travels from her cottage to London to find out what has happened. What she finds reveals many surprises along the way and the heartbreaking news that they don't have much time left to make all their wishes come true. I found the premise a little unbelievable - if they had such a strong bond, why did neither attempt to open the door and reconnect for 50 years? As the story progressed it did explain this somewhat, and Michelle Adams's beautiful and descriptive writing style grew on me as it provided an escape to parts of the world I have never visited as well as her beautiful, loving story.

What a heart warming story. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is quite meant to be like... happy. But it was so beautiful

This is the story of Thomas Hale and Elizabeth Davenport. Two young people who weren’t supposed to fall in love. In fact, up until the day Tom saved Elizabeth’s mother from drowning, they likely wouldn’t have crossed paths long enough to fall in love. Elizabeth was already engaged, though far from in love. She was existing, going through the motions expected of her. Thomas had a harder life, his father was an alcoholic who couldn’t hold a job and his younger brother had drowned a few years ago. Tom had to drop out of school and become a fisherman to help provide for his family as his father couldn’t.

They had a few months of love, in alternating timelines we see two stories unfold. One of love blossoming and one of a couple finally reuniting after 50 years apart. We witness how it got to this; how this couple whose love we read about unfolding gets thwarted and how they find ways to stay connected to each other even when they aren’t together,

I enjoyed the author’s writing and reading the ending was rather cathartic, I feel the author must have had personal experience with loss, specifically due to cancer. It was a process that brought to mind both of my grandparents. It was sad and yet, beautiful.

There were a few “twists” that I would say weren’t large surprises but were very fitting. I’ll look forward to watching for this author’s future books as well,

ARC from William Morrow and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very cute story. It’s a story of love reunited. 50 years go by with misunderstandings and lies. Elizabeth and Tom are finally reunited in the late years of their lives. Switches back and forth between the past and the present in order to understand their full stories. Definitely recommend.

I wanted to take a break from something heavy and find a book that would allow me to escape and feel good. Little Wishes is a sweet little story of a love that didn’t quite work out. Tom, a fisherman, jumped in the ocean off the Cornish coast to save the life of a woman who was drowning. The lady had Alzheimer’s and had wandered away from her house. Her daughter, Elizabeth, is engaged to James who is a doctor who is getting ready to take over Elizabeth’s father’s medical practice. Elizabeth seeks out Tom to thank him for saving her mother. There is an attraction between the two and a short romance but obstacles intervene.

Tom moves to London and has a new life. Each year, Tom comes back and leaves a note and a blue crocus on the front stoop. Elizabeth never sees him. On the 50th year, there is no note on the other side of her front door, so she decides to go to London to find Tom. The book alternates between “then” and “now.” I thought the book was sweet but it was too slow. I think it would have been better as a short story or a novella. I can see it as a Hallmark movie. My thanks to Harper Collins William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions in this review are my own.

3.5 rounded to 4

3.5 sweet but heartbreaking story

This book features the popular technique of “then” and “now” chapters to tell the love story of Elizabeth and Tom. We read about their short time together growing up in a seaside village in Cornwall and eventually we learn about the circumstances that tore them apart.

Tom has left the village but returns one day each year with a crocus (Elizabeth’s favorite) and a wish for something the two of them could enjoy together. The two never connect on these annual visits and both are filled with regret. The action really picks up as the appointed day comes and goes with no visit from Tom. Elizabeth sets out to find out what has happened to Tom.

These two make a sweet pair and I wish they would have sought each other out years ago! They were too sweet for me to yell at but a good life lesson here! Don’t sit and pine for your true love, patch things up pronto! And don’t let others around you make your life decisions! Of course, easy for me to say and things were very different during the time these two grew up.