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Wish
We all have our dreams. But how far would we go to protect themLulu longs for a loving man and father figure for her young son. In a perfect world, this would be her gorgeous boss, Ben Arlington. He is her dream man, and likely to remain so - as he's also a highly sought after gaming industry millionaire, and engaged to another woman.But not for much longer if Ben's cold-hearted mother has anything to do with it. Sofia Arlington has a secret to protect, a secret so potentially damaging she'll do anything to keep it hidden. And now a figure from Sofia's dark past has been silent for too long. Bessie Edwards is determined to get back what's rightfully hers. What she's about to reveal will turn all their glittering lives upside down...
- GenresRomance
448 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 2010
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39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 16, 2010
The Arlington family are the biggest gaming family in Las Vegas. Frank and Sofia Arlington run the show whilst their son, Ben, desires to break free and make it out on his own – just when his father announces his promotion. Daughter Ariel longs to show her parents that she’s just as good as Ben, despite being a girl, and after being passed over for promotion – in favour of Ben – decides it’s time to show her parents she’s more than an airhead. Meanwhile, a figure from Sofia’s past, Bessie Edwards, is threatening to destabilise the entire Arlington family in one fell swoop and reclaim what is rightfully hers, but Sofia is not about to let that happen at all and sets about making everything right within her family and her life once again. Each member of the Arlington family have their own wishes, but can any of them make their dreams come true? And what of Bessie Edwards – just what secrets does she have to tell, and how destructive will they really be to the Arlington family?
Last year saw the first book, Betrayal, by a new author called Sasha Blake. It was all very hush-hush and it was obvious that the author was a pseudonym, and it came out a couple of months later that Sasha Blake is in fact Anna Maxted, author of numerous chick lit books. Because she decided to change the tone of her books, she began using a pseudonym but, for a while, her publishers didn’t want anybody to know (I don’t know why — surely, it would make sense to tell people?). I digress. A few months ago I received Sasha’s new book The Wish and I thought it sounded interesting; not my kind of read, but interesting nevertheless so after admiring the beautiful brown cover I decided to give it a read.
The Wish is split into four different parts; book one, book two, book three and book four and each focus on a certain time. Books one, three and four are all set in present day Vegas and focus mainly on the Arlington family. “Book One” sees the arrival of the woman who could destroy Sofia and her family, Bessie Edwards, and how Sofia deals with her. We also learn about the Arlington/Castillo fight that has gone on between Frank Arlington and Luke Castillo ever since Frank came onto Luke’s turf years back. Then there’s the fact that Ben and Ariel Arlington both want different things: Ben wants to break out on his own, away from the family whereas Ariel just wants to show her parents she isn’t as stupid as they think she is. The opposite happens, though, when Ben gets promoted, leaving Ariel angry and gutted. Finally, we have Lulu, Ben’s PA, who is secretly in love with him… Despite the fact he’s engaged to someone else.
“Book Two” then deals with Sofia’s past, and we learn exactly what happened to her as a youngster right up until how she managed to marry Frank Arlington. Running opposite is Bessie Edwards’ past and we learn exactly how the two came to make secrets with each other. “Book Three” and “Book Four” then deal with the aftermath of everything we’ve learnt and everything comes to an inevitable head. I did wonder why the book was separated into “Books” because that usually doesn’t work for me, but it helps to separate the book up a little bit, as there are no chapters; there’s just gaps between perspectives. I got into the book fairly easily, and was surprised at how in depth it was. I know Anna/Sasha is a British author so a lot of research must have been needed to really get into the grittiness of Las Vegas’s casino world and, although I know nothing about Las Vegas or the casino world (bar what I see in movies/on TV), I thought Anna/Sasha did a great job. There’s a lot going on throughout The Wish but I managed to keep up fairly well. I would have appreciated a list of characters at the beginning of the novel – there are so many – but I did eventually manage to understand who everybody was.
It’s fair to say that most of the characters that make up The Wish aren’t exactly saints. Although I’m sure that to run a casino in Vegas, and to make it as a casino owner, you can’t exactly do everything by the book so I suppose that attriutes to the fact that the majority of characters throughout The Wish are kind of nasty. Sofia Arlington is without a doubt one of the nastiest characters I think I’ve ever come across. The way she treats everyone, and the things she does to people, are just disgraceful and I didn’t like her at all. I felt so sorry for Frank Arlington, Sofia’s husband, because despite being dimwitted he didn’t seem too bad, certainly not bad enough to have a wife like Sofia! Two characters I really did like were the Arlington children, Ben and Ariel. With so many characters to keep up with, those two were the ones I really cared about, along with Lulu, Ben’s personal assistant. Bar those three, I wasn’t a huge fan of anyone else, and there were definitely more characters than that to keep up with. But whilst I found the other characters (Sunshine, Bessie, Luke Castillo) integral to the story, I didn’t think much of them as people. Either Sasha/Anna wrote it that way, or I just didn’t get their appeal at all.
The Wish is fairly well written, and is definitely different to Anna’s works under her real name, which were far more chick lit than her new style of books. I’ve only read one of Anna’s books so I probably couldn’t say if the writing style is similar in any way but suffice to say if I didn’t already know it was Anna Maxted then I never would have made the comparison. A few of the plot twists and devices were a bit twee and convenient, but the majority of the book was definitely grittier than I expected, and the ending was quite literally stunning and the book went off with quite a bang. I forgot what I was reading for a moment, I must say. I didn’t know what to expect when I started The Wish but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m glad I decided to give it a read rather than letting it sit, unread, on my bookshelves for a long time. The Wish really is worth picking up, it’s a fantastic family saga and is well worth a read.
Last year saw the first book, Betrayal, by a new author called Sasha Blake. It was all very hush-hush and it was obvious that the author was a pseudonym, and it came out a couple of months later that Sasha Blake is in fact Anna Maxted, author of numerous chick lit books. Because she decided to change the tone of her books, she began using a pseudonym but, for a while, her publishers didn’t want anybody to know (I don’t know why — surely, it would make sense to tell people?). I digress. A few months ago I received Sasha’s new book The Wish and I thought it sounded interesting; not my kind of read, but interesting nevertheless so after admiring the beautiful brown cover I decided to give it a read.
The Wish is split into four different parts; book one, book two, book three and book four and each focus on a certain time. Books one, three and four are all set in present day Vegas and focus mainly on the Arlington family. “Book One” sees the arrival of the woman who could destroy Sofia and her family, Bessie Edwards, and how Sofia deals with her. We also learn about the Arlington/Castillo fight that has gone on between Frank Arlington and Luke Castillo ever since Frank came onto Luke’s turf years back. Then there’s the fact that Ben and Ariel Arlington both want different things: Ben wants to break out on his own, away from the family whereas Ariel just wants to show her parents she isn’t as stupid as they think she is. The opposite happens, though, when Ben gets promoted, leaving Ariel angry and gutted. Finally, we have Lulu, Ben’s PA, who is secretly in love with him… Despite the fact he’s engaged to someone else.
“Book Two” then deals with Sofia’s past, and we learn exactly what happened to her as a youngster right up until how she managed to marry Frank Arlington. Running opposite is Bessie Edwards’ past and we learn exactly how the two came to make secrets with each other. “Book Three” and “Book Four” then deal with the aftermath of everything we’ve learnt and everything comes to an inevitable head. I did wonder why the book was separated into “Books” because that usually doesn’t work for me, but it helps to separate the book up a little bit, as there are no chapters; there’s just gaps between perspectives. I got into the book fairly easily, and was surprised at how in depth it was. I know Anna/Sasha is a British author so a lot of research must have been needed to really get into the grittiness of Las Vegas’s casino world and, although I know nothing about Las Vegas or the casino world (bar what I see in movies/on TV), I thought Anna/Sasha did a great job. There’s a lot going on throughout The Wish but I managed to keep up fairly well. I would have appreciated a list of characters at the beginning of the novel – there are so many – but I did eventually manage to understand who everybody was.
It’s fair to say that most of the characters that make up The Wish aren’t exactly saints. Although I’m sure that to run a casino in Vegas, and to make it as a casino owner, you can’t exactly do everything by the book so I suppose that attriutes to the fact that the majority of characters throughout The Wish are kind of nasty. Sofia Arlington is without a doubt one of the nastiest characters I think I’ve ever come across. The way she treats everyone, and the things she does to people, are just disgraceful and I didn’t like her at all. I felt so sorry for Frank Arlington, Sofia’s husband, because despite being dimwitted he didn’t seem too bad, certainly not bad enough to have a wife like Sofia! Two characters I really did like were the Arlington children, Ben and Ariel. With so many characters to keep up with, those two were the ones I really cared about, along with Lulu, Ben’s personal assistant. Bar those three, I wasn’t a huge fan of anyone else, and there were definitely more characters than that to keep up with. But whilst I found the other characters (Sunshine, Bessie, Luke Castillo) integral to the story, I didn’t think much of them as people. Either Sasha/Anna wrote it that way, or I just didn’t get their appeal at all.
The Wish is fairly well written, and is definitely different to Anna’s works under her real name, which were far more chick lit than her new style of books. I’ve only read one of Anna’s books so I probably couldn’t say if the writing style is similar in any way but suffice to say if I didn’t already know it was Anna Maxted then I never would have made the comparison. A few of the plot twists and devices were a bit twee and convenient, but the majority of the book was definitely grittier than I expected, and the ending was quite literally stunning and the book went off with quite a bang. I forgot what I was reading for a moment, I must say. I didn’t know what to expect when I started The Wish but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m glad I decided to give it a read rather than letting it sit, unread, on my bookshelves for a long time. The Wish really is worth picking up, it’s a fantastic family saga and is well worth a read.
September 27, 2022
The story is fine and kept me captivated while it lasted. Overall, it really isn’t anything special. It reuses a lot of old soap opera tropes and the prose are pretty typical for its genre. A good airplane read.
October 27, 2011
If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be? We find out the characters deepest and darkest secrets in this book and can figure out what they wished for. But just because you wish for something, doesn’t always mean it’s going to work out for you the way you want it to. Wishes are fickle things, there are so many loopholes as our characters find out.
Sofia Arlington, she has it all. The wealthy husband, two lovely children and a thriving casino business in Las Vegas. What more could a woman want? Sofia would want it remain the way it is for all time, but unfortunately her secrets do not remain hidden and as they surface it causes a whole lot of heartache.
Ben Arlington, son of Sofia and brain behind the family business. He is the one that has kept the business afloat with his profound business acumen. Ben gets engaged to Sunshine who is basically the female version of him except she a bit more ruthless. But is this what Ben really wants and wishes for? You will have to read to find out.
Lulu loves Ben Arlington but he is also her boss. She would love to have Ben as a permanent fixture in her and her son’s life. Ben is her dream man. But will her wish be fulfilled?
I don’t particularly have a favourite character from this book. I liked and hated them for different reasons. Sofia I hated because she was so ruthless and conniving. She didn’t care who she hurt as long as she got what she wanted. Ben, I adored his character as he was just so sweet with Lulu’s son and was always nice to her. He wasn’t a bad man and even when life threw him some curve balls he swung the bat and knocked them out of the park. Lulu, she is so sweet and kind. She knows when and where to make herself heard. She was misguided once by someone but she was able to rectify her mistake before it was too late. Sunshine, I didn’t hate or like this girl. She is too much like her mother to like her but her circumstances made her who she is and I can’t hate her for that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s a great book to take with you whilst travelling our out and about and have some time to kill. The book didn’t take over my time or enthral me but it did catch enough of my attention to let me see it through to the end. Which I am glad I did, even though I was able to figure out the plot half way through. I kept reading just to prove myself right. So lesson to be learned from this story, be careful what you wish for. Now, what would you wish for?
Disclaimer: This book was given to me to review from Transworld (Between The Lines) as part of their Summer Reading Challenge. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.
Sofia Arlington, she has it all. The wealthy husband, two lovely children and a thriving casino business in Las Vegas. What more could a woman want? Sofia would want it remain the way it is for all time, but unfortunately her secrets do not remain hidden and as they surface it causes a whole lot of heartache.
Ben Arlington, son of Sofia and brain behind the family business. He is the one that has kept the business afloat with his profound business acumen. Ben gets engaged to Sunshine who is basically the female version of him except she a bit more ruthless. But is this what Ben really wants and wishes for? You will have to read to find out.
Lulu loves Ben Arlington but he is also her boss. She would love to have Ben as a permanent fixture in her and her son’s life. Ben is her dream man. But will her wish be fulfilled?
I don’t particularly have a favourite character from this book. I liked and hated them for different reasons. Sofia I hated because she was so ruthless and conniving. She didn’t care who she hurt as long as she got what she wanted. Ben, I adored his character as he was just so sweet with Lulu’s son and was always nice to her. He wasn’t a bad man and even when life threw him some curve balls he swung the bat and knocked them out of the park. Lulu, she is so sweet and kind. She knows when and where to make herself heard. She was misguided once by someone but she was able to rectify her mistake before it was too late. Sunshine, I didn’t hate or like this girl. She is too much like her mother to like her but her circumstances made her who she is and I can’t hate her for that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s a great book to take with you whilst travelling our out and about and have some time to kill. The book didn’t take over my time or enthral me but it did catch enough of my attention to let me see it through to the end. Which I am glad I did, even though I was able to figure out the plot half way through. I kept reading just to prove myself right. So lesson to be learned from this story, be careful what you wish for. Now, what would you wish for?
Disclaimer: This book was given to me to review from Transworld (Between The Lines) as part of their Summer Reading Challenge. I have not been paid to review this book and everything I have said is of my own honest opinion.
August 21, 2010
This is the third book that I have read for Transworld's Summer Reading Challenge. Whilst I have enjoyed my previous two books this one sadly fell a bit short for me.
I had some problems with the structure of the novel. It is divided into 4 books, and then these are divided into small sections of between a few paragraphs and a few pages. Each little section is labelled with where the action is taking place and vitally when. This is not a book written in a linear fashion, the first book in particular jumps forward and backwards. Unfortunately I found this off-putting and had to flick back a number of times to work out what was going on.
The plot is Las Vegas centric, complete with scandal, warring families and secrets threatening to bubble over. To begin with I enjoyed the plot but as the book progressed I found myself sighing as it got more outlandish.
"The Wish" is not a book that I would normally have picked to read, and that is the beauty of this Reading Challenge. I'm glad to have given it a try but it isn't one for me.
I had some problems with the structure of the novel. It is divided into 4 books, and then these are divided into small sections of between a few paragraphs and a few pages. Each little section is labelled with where the action is taking place and vitally when. This is not a book written in a linear fashion, the first book in particular jumps forward and backwards. Unfortunately I found this off-putting and had to flick back a number of times to work out what was going on.
The plot is Las Vegas centric, complete with scandal, warring families and secrets threatening to bubble over. To begin with I enjoyed the plot but as the book progressed I found myself sighing as it got more outlandish.
"The Wish" is not a book that I would normally have picked to read, and that is the beauty of this Reading Challenge. I'm glad to have given it a try but it isn't one for me.
August 18, 2014
This was split into four books and the first part I found really hard to get into but it picked up by the second book. I know typically books in this genre tend to be far fetched but this really was stretching the realms of possibility
August 24, 2012
Only took two days to read. Really good read.
January 23, 2013
I would have tiled it as THE SECRET..nice easy read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews