Review: Wish You Were Here by Beth K Vogt

Alison Denman is marrying Seth Rayner in five days, and is having second thoughts about the frou-frou dress with the huge train that her future mother-in-law ‘encouraged’ her to buy. She’s having second thoughts about the 350-guest wedding. She’s having second thoughts about the bouquet. She’s looking at her board of ‘Wish You Were Here’ postcards from Seth’s older brother, Daniel. But that’s got nothing to do with why she’s having second thoughts… and then Daniel kisses her while helping pack up her apartment five days before the wedding. And she kisses him back. Now what?

My initial impression of Seth was that he was too good to be true. I found myself quite disliking him as Wish You Were Herewore on. Part of me didn’t like the idea of Alison leaving her long-term boyfriend at the altar; another part of me saw that there was something a bit ‘off’ about him, so didn’t want Alison to get back together with him.

I liked Seth’s brother, Daniel, although I am always a bit hesitant about too big an age gap between a couple (and, at eight years, this was pushing my limits). But Daniel is a gentleman with a strong code of personal honour, and I could respect that about him.

As Wish You Were Hereprogressed, we found out more about Alison, about why she was prepared to marry Seth, the safe choice, and what happened that made ‘safe’ such an important choice for her. We also met Alison’s best friend, Meghan, who knows the secret even Seth doesn’t know…

Despite the almost-cliché ‘Runaway Bride’ beginning, this book is a fun debut novel. I found the beginning almost too fast-paced, in a ‘I had trouble catching my breath’ kind of way. But it calmed down and turned into a very enjoyable story of a young woman trying to sort out what she wants from life, unimpeded by a boyfriend/finance with a very strong personality, fighting an attraction to his older brother, and trying to reconcile herself to the God she has all but forgotten. While this is a Christian novel, the Christian element is quite understated. An enjoyable debut.

Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.