I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this book early. This book made me think and I felt like I could see the pages play out in a Hallmark movie. This read kept me turning the pages. I am so incredibly grateful for the early opportunity to read this one! Thank you!

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.
Darke has chosen an interesting concept for this interwoven story. Readers meet Marnie who is a professional gift buyer with her own company. The entire story spins on an error she made with two gifts. Her main customer has her purchase two gifts - one for his wife and one for his mistress. Somehow, the gifts get mixed up and cause serious issues for the rest of the characters. Romances progress and break apart for all four main characters - Marnie & Luke, Brian & Suzanne. These characters begin as stereotypes but Darke continues to reveal more about each so readers see beyond the surface.
A light summer read that combines humor with characters who are forced to look at themselves and their lives to decide who they want to be and what they want.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

With Love from Wish & Co. by Minnie Darke is a light hearted read. I thought this book sounded really cute. I found the characters hard to like and the story hard to get into. Overall, it was a good story and perfect for a weekend read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I adored this sweet little book! With Love from Wish & Co. tells the story of Marnie Fairchild, a boutique owner who specializes in custom gift-buying and gift-wrapping services. She dreams of expanding her business into a historic building nearby that her grandfather used to own, but her dreams may be dashed when she makes a mistake that could bring her entire company crashing to the ground.

"To be unseen meant freedom, but loneliness. To be seen meant connection, but vulnerability. Why was nothing easy?"

To start things off, Marnie is the first book character I've ever encountered who does my dream job, and reading about the life of a professional gift-giver brought me so much joy. The author made this career sound even more wonderful than I'd already dreamed it up in my head to be, and taking a mini-vacation from my own life to experience the world of professional gifting was utterly delightful.

"There were few things in life she loved so much as a happy ending to a gift-giving story."

Not only that, but a secondary character, Suzanne--the world's best cook, gardener, party hostess, homekeeper, mother, and grandmother--was one of the most endearing characters I've ever read about. I adored her more than I can even describe. I want to be Suzanne when I grow up, with her perfectly-planned luncheons and her beautifully-tended roses and her delightfully-coordinated kitchen appliances and her food-and-wine budget that spares no expense. The way Minnie Darke captured Suzanne's love for her family, and a crowded table, was just beautiful and so heartwarming to me. I felt so seen.

"We are fortunate to live in this beautiful house, in this lovely part of town, to have nice things. But the true blessing, for me, is in the people around this table and the relationships we all have. This is our wealth: our children, our beautiful grandchildren."

I don't typically choose books that wrap up so neat-and-tidy, like a Hallmark movie, but sometimes the mood just strikes, and this one was absolutely the right choice for when you want a feel-good story that is sweet and romantic. My only hangup was the way infidelity was treated throughout the story. I wish it could have been different. Even so, I still really loved the book!

——

A huge thank you to Minnie Darke, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Reading this book felt like watching a Hallmark romance—a quality one for sure, but insta-love and everything tied up in a neat little bow. So if that’s what you are in the mood for, it’s a warm tale of love and forgiveness. My favorite thing was the theme of gift-giving and what it means to people and why. I’m a gift giver and feel like a gift can show that you truly know someone and think of them, but many people don’t give it much thought, either receiving or giving. The story offered wonderful insight on this topic that would be perfect for a book club discussion.
I don’t usually share content warnings, but the plot deals with infidelity, and I wasn’t sure it was handled with the most care. I could imagine a reader who had personal trauma relating to infidelity being put off by this book and its choices/consequences. Since the couple dealing with infidelity was the B plot, it didn’t get as developed as it probably needed to be.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a really good book about sending presents to the wrong people and trying to make everything right.

With Love from Wish & Co. by Minnie Darke was a cute book though at times, a bit slow. I found myself skimming through some of it. The characters are likeable though and I did want to find out what happens in the end. Cute summer read. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the e-galley in exchange for my review.

I have read all three of this author's books and while I really liked the others, I LOVED this one. Marnie and Luke were just so likeable, it was easy to root for their HEA. I also really enjoyed the side stories involving Ivy and Brian and Suzanne. It was truly a delightful story with believable conflicts and stakes but light enough to keep a smile on my face almost the entire time.

3.25/5⭐️

Marnie Fairchild is the owner/operator of a high-end gift shop and also serves as a personal shopper for wealthy clients. She dreams of buying and restoring her grandfather’s partially burned shoe repair shop. When a mixup with a gift threatens to lose clients, it also threatens her ability to possibly bid on her dream property.

Luke Charlesworth is a timber furniture crafter with a disappointed father and a surprise arrival out of the blue. These two meet, there’s romance…but also secrets that might keep them from a HEA and Marnie from her dream.

I must admit to mixed feelings on this one. I liked Marnie’s independent spirit and her dedication in reaching for her dream, but she also does a couple of things that bothered me and seemed to contradict her personality. I also found the romance a bit rushed.

Overall I think I’d rate it as a good book but not a great one. However, I’m sure others will have a higher regard.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Dell for providing the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Great summer read! A bit slow-ish at times but overall, a nice story. The story is relatable and I found myself thinking about some of my own obsessions when preparing for others.

In the old days, gifts such as flowers meant more than just the sentiment of 'flowers are pretty'. Asian women were limited in their freedom to communicate and wrote delicate notes on the folds of fans and fabrics to passage messages. In the pioneer days, Quilt patterns told family stories. Graffiti on trains told hobos whether a place was safe or intolerant. Everything is for a purpose, everything has a story.
Have you ever seen something, and you think to yourself "I have to have it!" ??
Having said all that, I have so far--bear with me--this book could have been so much more. Deeper. A good yearning and longing are missing.
It is a clean and sweet romance novel. Marnie runs a little shop for her wealthy clients to give meaningful gifts but with little thought on their part. In steps Marnie who knows who needs what and what it will mean to them but she screws up--unlike her-- and she draws interest to herself.
And though she is conflicted she doesn't seem to possess any way to un-do it and well, Happily Ever after.

I love how this story was tied in with a real historical building; that was a sweet aspect.

Overall, this book started off all over the place with several different story lines that intertwine. It was a little chaotic, but definitely grabbed my attention. I really liked Luke and Marnie together. The middle of the book was pretty slow with a rushed ending. The epilogue with Leona seemed random, but I liked how the author included a cake recipe from a real person.

All in all, it was a cute story, but I wasn’t super interested by the end.

With Love for Wish & Co by Minnie Darke follows our main character, Marnie Fairchild who has the interesting job of being a professional gift buyer. She finds the perfect gift, wraps it, and has it delivered so that her clients never miss a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion. One of her biggest clients, Brian Charlesworth has two gifts to be sent out on the same day. One to his wife for their fortieth wedding anniversary and one to his mistress for her birthday. When Marnie founds out that her dream of owning her grandfather’s historic shopfront potentially could become a reality, she isn’t as careful as she normally is about the parcels and the gifts end up with the wrong women. Since the only thing these women have in common is a relationship with Brian, it is very evident that the gifts ended up in the wrong place. Now Marnie has to try and save Brian’s marriage, plan out how she is going to bid on the shopfront, and still keep her other clients happy. On top of all this. Marnie starts to really enjoy spending time with a guy. Unfortunately, that guy is Brian’s son Luke who has a huge secret of his own.

As you can tell, this plot has a lot of moving parts. While I can appreciate a romance that has a lot going on, it did sometimes feel like there was too many plot threads without enough resolution. This was a long romance, over 400 pages, in which our main characters didn’t get a lot of page time together. There was just so much other things that were focused on. We got povs from several of the characters which made it hard to feel connected to the main romance. Also, with cheating being a big plot point in this book, the scenes that were supposed to be funny kind of left me with an icky feeling. I wish that the gift mistake would have been something else besides a secret mistress.

That being said, there were several things that I did enjoy about this book. Luke’s story and dilemma he had was really good. I loved the aspect of Marnie being a professional gift buyer. As someone who’s love language is gift giving, I saw a lot of myself in her. The amount of times I have spent hours looking for the perfect gift for some is tremendous so seeing a character give that much thought into gift giving was nice.

I would say this is a very middle of the ground romance. The romance is not the main point of the plot, it is much more focused on what the characters are doing themselves and the romance is secondary. I know a lot of people like that dynamic in a romance. This is also a very clean romance. Very fluffy without a ton of angst so if that sounds like something you would like, it is worth picking up.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, I was provided an ARC of With Love From Wish and Co by Minnie Darke via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*****Publishing August 16, 2022****

Marnie Fairchild, owner of Wish & Co , makes sure every detail down to the wrap is considered when selecting the perfect gift. When a mix up occurs at Wish & Co, a gift buying service for the wealthy, where the mistress recieves the wife gift and vice versa, will this be the beginning of the end for the company? Can Marnie smooth things over to make it better?

Luke, the son of Brian and Suzanne whose marriage is destroyed by the mix up is left to pick up the pieces. He is struggling with his own life secrets. Will he be able to figure out his own life despite the chaos? Will he be able to tell his parents the secret he has?

A charming, witty and fun story that will even have you laughing at times!

The plot didn't seem quite like it knew what it was doing for the first half. The pace was too slow and the story disjointed, but it eventually came together. The characters also felt like they jumped from one extreme to another in their relationships between each other with little interaction

I'm not going to lie, I wasn't too sure about this book at the beginning, but once we finally got there the story picked up and I ended up invested in the secondary characters as well, except Leona I'd have been fine without going into depth in her character. This book is as much family drama as it is romance. In fact, the family drama was my favorite part of the story. Minnie writes beautifully and draws you in to her story so that you just have to finish it.

Thanks Netgalley and Random House Ballentine for the free arc!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was a fun read about pursuing your dreams and the tangled webs we weave. This was enjoyable

Cute and fun but left me wanting a liiiittle more. The characters were enjoyable and I did like the plot I just felt like it was a little too much fluff and left something to be desired. I will say I liked the additives in the book that definitely made it more engaging. If you're looking for a lighthearted romance to charm you, I definitely think this is the one for you.

My heart was captured by Minnie Darke's book With Love from Wish & Co. It is a clean and sweet novel that romance readers do not want to miss.

Synopsis:
Marnie is a business woman who owns a gift store. She shops for wealthy customers, picking out specialty gifts tailored to their loved ones' individual tastes. Today Marnie is sending gifts ordered by her most valued customer to his wife and mistress. Marnie has selected the gifts with painstaking care and sent them to the two women. How can anything possibly turn out wrong?

With Love from Wish & Co. is a heart touching book with humor liberally sprinkled in. I resonated with the setting and characters in the story. The emotions evoked by Darke's writing are highly relatable. The author triggers a wonderful balance of warm feelings without being too overdramatic. This story will melt your heart. It is the ideal summer beach read.

With Love from Wish & Co. by Winnie Darke is available on August 16th.
(5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, for allowing me to review this engrossing book. I love every page of it!