Deedee invites her friends, Gina and Rosie to celebrate her impending 'big' birthday with her in New York. She has been feeling a bit lost and misses her husband Joe greatly. Will this break give her what she needs?

On arrival in New York, Deedee struggles to remain positive, but a surprise gift changes everything.

I loved this story - the friendship between the women shone through and the New York setting worked perfectly.

This book is the second book in a series, although it can be read as a standalone novel, I definitely recommend reading the previous book first.
This is a lovely book, with nice characters and a great setting. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my arc.

Wish You Were Here is the second book in the ‘Come Away With Me’ series but could be read as a standalone without any issues.
The story follows Deedee who is about to celebrate her 70th birthday and decides to do so by going to New York with her two friends. Deedee is still grieving the death of her husband and she gets reminders of their time together whilst away on holiday and ideas for where life should take her next.

Alex Brown is a great writer and in this book she combines nostalgia, romance and the reminder that age is only a number and life is most definitely for living with Deedee’s story.

There’s plenty of possibility for more books to come in the series and I will definitely be reading them as and when they are released.

In this fun new novel about female friendships and second chances at love, readers follow Deedee, Gina, and Rosie at a critical point in Deedee’s life: her husband has recently died, her travel agency is in a bit of a lull, and a milestone birthday is approaching. Inviting Gina and Rosie to celebrate her birthday in New York City, Deedee hopes that this trip will give her the vacation she needs and help her feel closer to her late husband. When they arrive in the city, however, Deedee is surprised by a secret gift, Joe’s childhood beach house in the Hamptons, and a few other secrets she wasn’t expecting to learn about on this trip. With a host of great characters and a bunch of secrets on this New York trip, this book brings readers along on an emotional rollercoaster where secrets and happy endings are on the itinerary. Gina, Rosie, and Deedee’s friendship is really interesting and complex, and readers definitely get the impression that they have been friends for a very long time. Readers will love the centrality of their friendship and their solidarity with Deedee as the events -- both planned and unplanned -- of this definitely unforgettable trip unfold.

What a truly lovely book this was.

I really enjoyed catching back up with Deedee, Gina and Rosie, as they come together to celebrate Deedee's 70th birthday in New York.

Little do they know their trip is going to distracted by surprises beyond the grave by Joe who must have been the world's best man. From memories of him, and just what he had planned for Deedee, it's clear he was a gentleman, a romantic and all around good guy.

It's good to see how the friends are all dealing with various things in their own lives, and just how much Deedee develops and changes over the course of this trip to New York. It was great to see her zest for life getting stronger the whole time.

This was such an enjoyable story, and I loved Rosie's enthusiasm for hoping to see all the places made famous by movies. And I loved the descriptions of McDreamy too!

This is a gorgeous story, and a joy to have read.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Just the book you want to read on a summer holiday. It had every element needed to make a good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book and it ticked all the boxes with what i love from a book There was a great, addictive storyline and it was wonderfully written and I honestly couldn't put it down.

DeeDee, Gina and Rosie go on a girls escape to New York City. A story of friendship, secrets and fun. A great beach read!!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cozy, heartwarming, delightful book. I really enjoyed it!

As we visit Dee, Gina and Rosie again, the the unlikely friends take a trip to New York for Dee's 70th birthday.
The trip becomes bittersweet for Dee as it stirs memories of fun times with her late husband Joe and question her feelings for old flame Yiannis.
A lovely read with some bold and fun characters, with lots of twists and turns along the way, I couldn't put it down!!

I have read a lot of Alex Browns books in the past and I felt her whole style had changed in this book.
Not realising this was a second in a series I still enjoyed it.
DeeDee is fast approaching 70 and feels after losing her husband Joe 4 years ago she needs to do something to mark the occasion.
After recruiting her 2 friends Rosie and Gina to go back to New York where she feels closest to Joe they embark on a trip which turns out to change DeeDees whole life.
A heartwarming story about true friends and how they can stand by you no matter what.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this lovely warm book.

This was an equally sad and hopeful read. The main character came across as strong and beautiful and the description of the beach house had me longing to move there. I was routing for the main character to find love again and the fact that it happened with her best friend eventually was beautiful.

DeeDee travels to New York to catch up with friends to celebrate her seventieth birthday, she is now a widow and her travel agency business is floundering, but whilst in New York she discovers that her late husband has left her is childhood home, a beach house. This story takes you along her journey of self discovery with the help of her best friends.

I couldn't get into it from the very beginning. I typically like stories of a fresh start, second chance, late-in-life new beginning. But the writing style wasn't for me. The main character wouldn't speak up when she should, and I cant imagine at that age not having found your voice. I DNF'd it.

Wish You Were Here by Alex Brown
This was an interesting read.
Turning seventy isn’t easy, physically or emotionally.
Deedee Meriman is trying to revitalize her travel agency, and looking for her next chapter as her big birthday approaches.
A widow that has avoided rejoining the world, she heads to New York with her friends, Gina and Rosie, to celebrate and hoping to find a new path.
Secrets were unwrapped as the celebration continued over several days.
This was a story of celebrating love and a full life, and finding new love with second chances.
Deedee gets more than she bargained for when she discovers a big secret left behind by her late husband.
The beginning was slow and a little hard to connect with. There was so much reminiscing that it somewhat blocked the reader, leaving them to feel like they missed the story. It wasn’t until the last 1/3 that things got really interesting and redeeming. I enjoyed it, but overall, it was just okay for me. I didn’t connect with the story like I would have liked to. 3/5⭐
I would like to Thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this novel.

Such a heartwarming story. I love the main character. I love the references to her late husband and navigating life after his departure, whilst also trying to navigate life as an aging woman. This story definitely had laughs, romance, emotions, depth, character development. All the things you hope for in a good book.
I found it very easy to read. I feel my age group might be too young for the target audience but I would definitely recommend it to other age groups in my life. They would love this!
Thanks NetGalley

It took until half way through this very slow moving book for something interesting to happen. The pace did not really pick up, but it was more enjoyable to read. The latter chapters held some lovely surprises.

I really enjoyed this book—it was such an engaging and relatable read. While at its core it's a romance, what stood out to me most was how beautifully it celebrated the strength and importance of female friendships. Just when I thought the plot was going in a predictable direction, a twist came that completely shifted things and kept me hooked right through to the end. I did find the ending a little brief, but the epilogue did a great job of tying up the loose ends in a satisfying way. The New York setting added so much charm and atmosphere—I could practically picture the streets as I read. A lovely, heartfelt story overall.

While I enjoyed Wish You Were Here, it really didn’t set my heart on fire. This is a gentle, reflective story about learning to live with grief and loss, about friendship and about lifting others up when they need a boost. It is set mostly in New York City and highlights some of the attractions there. The plot has enough twists to keep you interested but I thought it lacked tension and never felt compelled to read on when other aspects of my life cropped up.
I loved that Deedee, the main character in this story, was nearly seventy. It’s wonderful to see people of around my age taking centre stage in novels, and Deedee certainly does that. While she’s still missing her husband Joe four years after his death, she’s still a vibrant woman and a force to be reckoned with. Her two friends, Rosie and Gina are wonderful supporting characters and I loved that while Rosie was able to help Deedee with some of her problems, DAeedee was also able to help Rosie. The male characters in this story are also beautifully rounded and interesting.
While I wasn’t driven to keep finding out what happened next, I did finish the story and it ties itself up nicely at the end. If you’re into gentle, meandering stories with nice characters, this book should suit you well.

The story centres on DeeDee who is stuck in her life. She misses her husband and her travel business is floundering.
The story is set in New York and was well described you felt you were there.
Her friendships are important and they are supportive and show it isn't always blood relatives who are the closest or the ones who see you through.
The Hamptons beach house makes you want to go there.
Just a really nice story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.