Such a delightful story!!! I really enjoyed all the characters, their interactions and surprises and believable life stories. This was a fun and fast read, I especially loved Marnie's occupation. It's nice to read a book without vulgar language and just a hint of sexual intimacy! I am recommending this book to all my fellow readers for a nice Summer read! Thank you, Minnie, for a great story. I look forward to reading more of you writing artistry!!! Thanks, Net Galley, for the wonderful suggestion!!

This is a delightful rom-com, but more romance than comedy. Marnie Fairchild is the daughter of the black sheep of a well to do family, cast off when her father gambles them into poverty. But Marnie is driven and has created a successful business of being a personal shopper for others too busy or inexperienced in gifting others. She delves in to their lives to find the perfect gift and then wraps it up so nicely. She is also the keeper of secrets. One fateful day, she mixes up two boxes being delivered for a wife’s monumental anniversary and the husband’s mistress’s birthday. Needless to say, the husband and wife’s marriage implodes. Fallout from this threatens Marnie’s business and her goal to buy back the historic building that her grandfather owned. Marnie, ever the business person, devises a way to rectify her mistake and help her most important client’s marriage rekindle. But Marnie also meets Luke, the handsome son of her client and an attraction is born. Luke doesn’t agree with what Marnie does as a buyer and calls her an emotional fraud, taking advantage of others. While love blooms, Marnie is torn and it is jeopardized with Marnie secretly still helping Luke’s dad, Brian, trying to win back his wife with continuing to buy the just right gift to her heart. Will all these mechanism’s work? What will Luke do when he discovers that Marnie is helping his dad whom he faults for hurting his mother?

A fun and light read, this story went fast. I did skip through some of the story where I felt it was too fluffy or not important to the story line. The characters were predictable and a bit tired: the husband outraged that his marriage was in jeopardy and faulting not himself but an employee, the wife being clueless of her husband’s actions, the mistress believing that her arrangement was acceptable by all parties. Overall, this is not a book that you would remember down the road, but it was a delightful way to spend a rainy afternoon and curling up to read it. I’m not sure that I agree with how it ended or “wrapped” up. It was just okay.

Many thanks to #netgalley #withlovefromwishandcompany #minniedarke for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the opportunity to read Minnie Darke's With Love from Wish & Co.

I Loved it!

I was completely drawn into the story along with the characters. Unusual, interesting, off-beat and totally enjoyable.

I did not want the story end. I love these people. ❤

This was very sweet book with characters I wanted to root for. What begins with a somewhat sitcom scenario — the wife gets the gift intended for the mistress and vice versa. — it becomes more genuine and heartfelt. Marnie, the gift buying consultant works to help the unfaithful husband win back his wife while she begins a relationship with the man’s son. His relationship with Marnie as well as another character were some of my favorite of the book. I wished reading this on a plane and had to dig out some tissues since I was a bit misty eyed.

Marnie Fairchild has built a successful business with Wish & Co., her gift wrapping and gift buying business, but she could use a larger space and she has her heart set on the old Fairchild & Sons building, where her grandfather had his shop. Since his passing, the building has fallen into disrepair, especially after a fire ravaged the building. The building is owned by her uncle, who would prefer to tear it down and build something modern and expensive, but cannot because of the building's "heritage" designation. Marnie's father was the black sheep of the family and after he got the family's financial firm enmeshed in scandal and then died in an accident, Marnie and her mother were ostracized by the family. So, she cannot count on her uncle doing her any favors regarding purchasing the property. However, Marnie has learned that her uncle plans to sell the building at auction in two months, which means she needs to keep her business doing well so she has the best chance of obtaining the necessary funding to win the auction. This goal becomes infinitely more difficult when a mix-up occurs involving her best customer, Brian Charlesworth. His wedding anniversary is the same day as his mistress' birthday. Brian has been paying Marnie a tidy sum to purchase gifts for family and friends on his behalf, and he has referred a number of his friends to her for her gift-buying services. However, the gifts for his wife Suzanne and his mistress Leona accidentally get mixed up, and when his wife opens her gift at their fortieth wedding anniversary party with their family and closest friends, the affair is revealed.

In order to keep Brian Charlesworth as a client and to realize her dream of obtaining the Fairchild & Sons building, Marnie has to help Brian win back his wife. This becomes much harder when Marnie meets Luke Charlesworth, Brian and Suzanne's son, and a relationship develops. Luke is very upset to learn that his father has been employing a gift buyer, especially as the gifts he had received via Marnie's choosing were perfect for him, and he believed that his father, with whom he had had a turbulent relationship, was finally starting to understand him. Luke believes that Marnie has stopped working for his father, and while she wants to tell him, the right opportunity never arises. When he inevitably finds out, Marnie is forced to decide between love and her long-held business dream. Adding another twist to the story, Luke is confronted with the ramifications of a decision he made sixteen years ago, which will be life-changing for him.

The characters in the story are great -- Marnie, Luke, Ivy, Suzanne -- even some of the more minor characters (relatively speaking) such as Saski, Mo, Leona, and Cameron. I particularly liked the interactions between Marnie and Saski (Bunny and Peach), Luke and Ivy, and Marnie and Luke. I enjoyed seeing the evolution of a number of the characters. Even Brian, the philanderer, becomes a more sympathetic figure as he does his best to try to win back his wife, including demonstrating that he really does "see" and "understand" her, despite his past "blindness." I would certainly recommend this story.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This was a breath of fresh air. It truly has been a while since I've read a romance novel that I've enjoyed, namely because I always have trouble with the main characters. Luke and Marnie were adult, kind, and seemed like all-around genuine people that I had no trouble connecting with. The book progressed naturally, and I found myself genuinely, actually rooting for Marnie the whole time.
I've never heard of a gift-delivering service, namely because I simply don't think I'm wealthy enough to afford one, but Darke does a great job of drawing you into the world. The characters are all relatable, lovable people, and the relationship isn't blown-up or dramatic, just lovely and romantic.
This is a great book. I have very few complaints aside from the pacing since I thought it was a little longer than I thought it needed to be. Besides that, Darke has excellent control over prose and plot, and this was such a heart-warming read, especially with the parallel plot lines of maternity and a renewal-of-love plot.

4.5 stars rounded down.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this book contains multiple storylines that weave together and each contains love in some capacity. the base of it all really fascinated me- marnie owns a business handling gift-buying for clients whether they don’t have the time, the capacity, or ideas for such a venture. she studies their lives and knows people like they’re her own circle. she is involved in a mishap and gets intertwined with the family. the book takes on ethics, infidelity, and what it takes to chase a dream.

it took time to fall into this book. my emotions slowly evolved as the sentences piled. i felt there was a careful build, a steady easing into the world we got to know- but the end quickened. in my mind the last few chapters had a lot to secure, a lot to perfect. i didn’t feel the story close. it feels very open to me, which may be the intention, but that only means my mind is left spiraling and wondering. the jump after the auction shocked me. i wanted to know that time and everything that unfolded. i wanted to feel the restoration taking place in the relationships and in her professional pursuits. much of the story is focused on the attempt at healing what is broken, but there is only a glance at the enjoyment of restored harmony in the last few chapters. with the love i have for these characters, for this story, i am only left wanting more.

Thank you @penguin for providing me this arc. A women in a rich neighborhood in Australia has a business that she buys presents for high end clients. But what happens when she mixes up the mistress’s birthday present with the same client’s wife anniversary gift? The book makes you think about ethics and is there a point that outsourcing is too much? I loved this book and suggest this to anyone who loves chicklit stories

A delightful easy read, though maybe anxiety inducing at some points, but it has everything you need. Family, marriage, affairs, will they won't they be together, etc. I love the fact that the author didn't drag out certain scenes, or recap events we already went through and instead jumped ahead.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early read in exchange for my honest review.

This book while lighthearted in some areas was also very heavy in other areas. It starts with Marnie, the owner of Wish & co., wishing for her dreams to become reality. But, unfortunately for her, her dreams are on the line when a simple error causes one of her clients marriages to consist thoroughly. Throughout this book you get to see growth from all of the characters within this story. You get to watch characters work through their heartbreak while others experience new romance and others experiencing parenthood for the first time. Honestly, I surprisingly enjoyed this book. It feels like a good book for a bookclub. The author’s writing style is so detailed it leaves quite a bit of unpacking to be done throughout the read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

This book was excellent from start to finish - and by finish I mean the accolades in the back were even delightful. Such a great book about two very different upbringings and having to do what it takes to make it. So many themes throughout this book that I enjoyed. This was a very easy read that kept me enthralled wanting to know what was going to happen next. Deception was abound but some for good reason. Big fan!!

Romance

Buying gifts for people can be stressful. Marnie Fairchild has turned what many people find troublesome into a thriving business. She is saving every penny she can to buy the building where her grandfather once ran his own business. It should be easy because she is family, but her uncle considers her a black sheep and puts the building up for auction.

Distracted by the news, Marnie accidentally sends the wrong gifts out. Her largest customer's wife gets a gift intended for his mistress. No fixing that one. The customer of course is furious and pulls his business, his referrals have also started pulling their business, which Marnie cannot afford if she has any hopes of buying the building at auction.

Her solution is to help her customer, Brian, get back together with his wife. She has been buying gifts for the woman for years and feels that she can aide Brian in fixing his marriage. While this is happening Marnie gets friendly with Brian's son Luke. They have a quick connection and since he is a woodworker, their creative interests align well. Trouble is Luke thinks Marnie is no longer buying gifts for the family and calls what she does a form of emotional fraud.

Here is where the book and the relationship stopped working for me. We have had several hundred pages in developing the story and the relationship. Luke seems really opposed to what Marnie does. He goes to the effort to better understand her work, but still finds the whole process distasteful. There always has to be some kind of conflict for the relationship, so of course, he discovers that Marnie is still helping Brian buy gifts. It causes a giant rift. The problem is he gets over it pretty darn quickly. Luke and Marnie's relationship issues get solved and Luke helps save the day in barely the blink of an eye.

The ending took what was a really good novel to just mediocre.

Another original and engrossing read from Darke. I had no idea how it was going to wrap up (ha!), but I truly enjoyed finding out.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Marnie is the brains and talent behind Wish & Co, a gift buying/giving service for busy people. Today, she’s wrapping an anniversary gift for the wife of her most lucrative client, and a birthday gift for his mistress. What could possibly go wrong?

When Brian’s 40 year marriage implodes from the mixup, he first threatens to blacklist Marnie with all his friends, but then agrees to let her “fix” his marriage with a campaign to win back his wife.

This Australian novel explores what one will give — and give up — in the name of love. Very well done! Recommended. #WithLoveFromWish&Co #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

This was a fun and light read, but it seemed to drag a bit too. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, it could have just been fewer pages.

While the cover almost deterred me from reading this book, I'm glad I decided to give it a try. It was a light, charming romantic story that was just what I was looking for in my next read. Right from the start I was drawn into Marnie's story. While a little predictable, the story kept me reading. I look forward to reading other books by this author. Thank you netgalley for this ARC.

Romance, infidelity, secrets, and the ability to find a great gift are elements that kept me reading this charming story. Marnie owns a gift giving business. She is detail oriented and does all she can to find the perfect gift for each of her customers. One day however she makes the biggest mistake of her life when she mixes up two gifts for her biggest client. Marnie has to do everything she can to fix this mistake or lose out on her dream of owning the building her grandfather once owned. What Marnie does not expect is to find romance and a chance at true happiness. However everything comes with a cost.

What I liked about this book is that it wasn't just about Marnie. We got to know several other characters and what their perspectives are as the story unfolds. I also felt like I understand gift giving a little better after reading this book. The novel takes place in Australia and I loved learning just a little more about life in Australia. There were also a couple photographs at the end and a recipe that I thought was a great touch by the author. A very charming novel!

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Kathleen Quinlan for this advance copy!

I was hooked from the beginning. I loved all of it. All the characters had depth and you got them. Read this book.

This book is addictive, and while that definitely had to do with the great plot and characters, I also have to give credit to the writing and setting. Minnie Darke’s writing style is so easy to be absorbed by, and the immersive setting hooks you the second you start.. The chemistry between Marnie and Luke was undeniable and the banter was divine.
Overall this is very well done, with such a relatable tone that allows the book to feel both lighthearted and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

With Love from Wish & Co. By Minnie Darke

My goodness I absolutely loved this story.

This is literally perfect in every aspect whether its writing style, plot, characters, pacing, EVERYTHING
Marnie and Brian's characters were was simply engaging. And I loved getting to know them better.
Minnie Darke's writing is hard to escape from! Once I started I couldn't stop.
The writing style and plot, is smart, charming, engaging, and intentional.
A fun read and for my first time reading this author I really couldn't stop reading this book.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Random House/Ballantine/Dell,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.