Wish You Were Here

Renee Carlino

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Wish You Were Here by Renee Carlino

Released: August 15, 2017

Pages: 320

Publisher: Atria Books

Overall: 2.5/5

Plot: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Setting & World-Building: 1/5

Emotional Investment: 3/5

"I promise to love you forever. As long as there is love in this world, we will be part of it"

I love Renee Carlino, I really do... but this book didn't cut it. I tried so hard, but emotionally I could not connect.

Quick Summary: Charlotte is a carefree, adrift 27-year-old who changes jobs all the time and has lived her life with no commitment. She lives with her childhood best friend and has been barely holding it together. That is until a random out of the blue one-night stand. She meets Adam that day and he finally sees her. Their one-night stand is like from a rom-com, filled with hope until it isn't. The next day she's getting the cold shoulder and being dismissed. As she tries to move on with her life, she still remembers that one night. As one encounter unravels what she thinks of the night, she no longer knows what is going to end.

Okay, so first this story has a weird love triangle going. There are two men in this equation with Charlotte but not really at the same time. I personally preferred the other man over Adam and it upset me how Charlotte kind of led the other man on. I get that nothing was official but like if that was me I would feel so hurt, and then guilty because of what was going on with Adam. Because of this, I lacked any emotional connection to this book. I usually cry with this trope and this book just didn't cut it for me.

There's not much I can write for his review because literally, everything I want to say includes a spoiler. One thing I really liked about this book though was Charlotte's character growth. In the beginning, she was lowkey annoying and way too flingy and dependent. But like through the events of the book which were understandably traumatic she grew into her own and no longer cared what others thought about her. She was finally confident in her own skin and when she ended up with who she ended up with it was a good move for her character.

I loved Charlotte's relationship with her brother and parents because it felt realistic. Her brother was so funny and genuinely seemed like a good support system for her. Her dad was all tough love which is often difficult but it caused a greater appreciation for the bond they did eventually form. Her mom was a hoot and was the optimistic, all my children are gods parent and it made me feel so happy.

I know this is a short review, but there is literally nothing I can say about this book without feeling anything. I just had a lot of indifference towards it and it made me sad.

Quotes

"Love is a wordles secret; it's an inside joke. Only the two of you have to understand it"

"I want to be young with someone. That's why Mom and Dad work; they have the fantasy of themselves"

"When you love someone, whether it be your family, friends, partners, whatever, it's like planting a little seedling of yourself inside of their hearts"