I love that I was torn for much of this book but was always rooting for a happy ending, it did not disappoint!

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.

*Thank you to Penguin Random House via NetGalley for the ARC recommendation*

While reading With Love From Wish and Co, I realized I was about 15% of the way in before it dawned on me I didn’t have anything highlighted. It was a bit of a slow start but once it started rolling, the book was so easy to get lost in. In a a good way, not lost like I had no clue what was going on. It was the kind of lost where you’re so absorbed in reading, you’re carefully angling a sip of your supposed hot tea, only to realize it’s gone cold cause you’ve been that kind of lost in this book! I was simply reading for the sheer pleasure of it, and enjoying every bit.

I have several authors that are near and dear to my heart. They reliably take me out of book slumps and I’ve loyally worked through their back catalogue of books. One author being Jill Mansell and another more recent addition, Kate Clayborn. Darke’s writing has a lot of the same flavor as the other two, but she’s got her own intoxicating twist as well, so much so I hungrily devoured this book in 4 days (sadly I couldn’t go any faster as I had a holiday to plan around — how inconvenient!)

I’ve come to realize how much I relish interwoven storylines. There isn’t just supporting cast to boost the main characters, but it’s a whole world enmeshed together. I’ve missed those so much and I was so *shimmy shimmy* pleased when it dawned on me what that familiar sensation was…a parallel narrative!

The premise of WLFW&C centers on Marnie, a bespoke gift purchaser/wrapper whose aspirations of expanding her business into a historic building, with which she has deep personal ties to, sends her inadvertently tangled in the intricate lives of her clients. A costly mistake forces her to choose how to pay, but at what price? With her reputation? Her dreams? Her heart?

There can be parts that are repetitive but I cannot appreciate enough the attention to professional detail that comes with something as simple as a wrapped gift. Darke has a way of describing a scenery so much so that you can see everything unfolding (or in this case…wrapped up!) as if you yourself have stepped through the doors of Marnie’s shop.

I really, really liked this one. It was so cute and made me feel like when I wrap an old, worn robe around myself…just comforting and nostalgic. And I’m so glad to see there’s a couple of other books I get to lose myself in by Darke. I hope when this is published in August ‘22, it’ll be enjoyed by others who like those warm fuzzy feelings too.

I am always tentative when picking up women’s fiction/romance novels, because most of the time they go beyond the cutesy factor and into cheese land for me. This one was one of those. It was a little ~too~ light and fluffy for my taste.

If you are devout to romance and fluffy cutesy novels, I do recommend this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute read! Fast paced and made me excited to read! I love how that chapters were set up! When everything went down, that way really crazy! I loved the ending!

Thank you NetGalley for me ARC of With Love From Wish & Company. Minnie Darke is an author I never heard of and decided to take a chance and I am glad I did. She wrote a wonderfully fun story about different forms of love and different forms of what we call family. Each character was easy to like. We heard everyone's point of view (and not in a confusing manner). I will be recommending this book and look forward to another one from this author.

A quirky, cute story of love, misguided intentions and striving for your dreams. I thought this was a great story.

Random House Ballantine reached out to me via NetGalley and offered me an ARC Copy. At first I was unsure if I wanted to read it. I hadn’t read anything else from the author and thought it sounded interesting. A few days later I decided to give it a go and I am SOOO HAPPY I did! Marnie is a professional gift buyer. Browning up she found out that there was nothing better then a person receiving the perfect gift! In the end she ends up making it into a business.
Everything is going great! She has steady business and is continuing to grow in clientele. One day she is wrapping and getting together her best clients, Brian, gifts. A lovely present for his wife on their 40th year anniversary… and one for his mistress 😵. The packages accidentally get messed up. Marnie is in a hurry to get out of the shop because she found out that the historical storefront building that her grandfather owned is being put up to action. She leaves the shop thinking everything is ok… only to find out a short time later the gifts were delivered to the wrong person! It just so happens that when Brian comes to confront her his son Luke comes with him since Brian has been drinking.
Now Marnie must help Brian get his wife back. So what if she starts to fall for Luke!
I was so presently surprised by “With Love From Wish & Co” Minnie Darkle did a great job and I will gladly be picking up a copy when it publishes and will be looking into more of Minnie’s work

Such a cute, quick and easy read. Really enjoyed this book and storyline! I'm looking forward to more from this author.

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!!