I can't properly say how bad this book is. The female lead is a waitress in a small New England town who has done nothing with her life and plans to spend the rest of her life there as a waitress, with no family and no romantic prospects.The male lead is a world famous author and lawyer. Tall, handsome, wealthy, but ashamed of a past that makes it possible for Tom and Bree to get together (how else would a man of this caliber fall for a waitress approaching middle age tucked away in the middle of nowhere?).One evening Bree the waitress is badly hurt, and Tom, the man she thought didn't notice her turns out to be the love of her life (even though they've hardly spoken). She DIES in the hospital and gets a message while she's wafting to heaven - she's not supposed to die yet, so she will get Three Wishes to make up for her untimely demise.The tall, handsome, wealthy stranger (aka: Mr. Perfect) single-handedly alleviates the HUGE burden Bree's convalescence places on the 100's of friends she's lived with her whole life. But will he choose the nearly middle-age waitress from the sticks, or go back to his rich, glamorous life? The inevitable happens! Tom gives up fame (but not wealth) and returns to Mayberry. Bree and Mr. Perfect draw closer, the town accepts him, they get married.But back to the book's title. She has Three Wishes. Are they real, or are the things that happen when Bree makes her wishes mere coincidence? Bree can't decide to leave her ancestral home even though Mr. Perfect's home is nicer. Bree's house burns down, so now she doesn't have to make a choice. She wishes to see her mother, not realizing (and none of the close, loving townsfolk do either) that Bree's mother was right there, the whole time.Then Bree wishes to have Mr. Perfect's child. There's a 99% chance that Bree will never have children. But she gets pregnant that night and somehow knows she's pregnant the instant she conceives. And it's not a result of the Wish, it's because they wanted it so much, and deserve it, and are so full of love. As Tom said, "Of course! Who can argue with that?".From here on, the book plods along. It's as if it's trying to draw out the suspense until we forget about the Three Wishes, while constantly reminding us of them. Bree smiles through all the pain and sickness, finally gives birth, then dies for no reason. This leaves Tom alone with their baby.It's enough to make people stop making wishes. Or wish that they'd never read this book.
This little review, I suppose, contains spoilers. It can't help but not, so read with caution.Why didn't I like this book? Yep, the ending. I, too, was looking for a sappy holiday romance type of thing. Sad endings piss me off. They don't piss me off when they are ironically tragic, but when they just seem to be there like a punch in the nose on the end of an otherwise nice chat, yeah, I react. There are some books that end sadly that I think are fantastic, but this wasn't one. I think, in part, because of what the ending meant for the story. Was the story about some weird supernatural phenomenon or not? It's been awhile since I've read this book--probably 10 years at least. But I just didn't like some of the choices the author made because I was making one interpretation and she ended it in a way that felt like there was only one interpretation the reader could take away, and it couldn't be mine. It wasn't that the main character didn't have troubles and sad stuff just happened out of the blue, she had kind of a hard life, but things were looking up for her finally. I'll admit I don't quite remember the details, and maybe I should complain about the quality of writing and the character development, but I was OK with that. It was a rags to riches love story. I just wanted to tell the main character, "Don't worry, yes, bad things keep happening to you, but if you really think you are only alive because an angel told you you have three wishes, well, that's crazy. But I'm sure your new husband will have a good insurance plan and you can get the care you need."Unfortunately, I was wrong.
What do You think about Three Wishes (2003)?
I really like Barbara Delinsky's writing. However, I was disapointed with the outcome of this book. NOT just because it had a sad ending, but because she had the opportunity to show that love could overcome even the worst of circumstances. The three wishes were given to Bree as a gift of more time since her life had been tragically taken from her. I think the story would have been better if at the end, Bree realized that the wishes were not real, but rather the joy that comes from reaching out and claiming happiness is what they were really all about. I knew about 2/3 of the way through how this book would end. I skipped to the last page and saw key words that verified my fears. I then went back so I could see what happened. I didn't like it. I don't like reading sad books. Reading is my escape so I like a happy ending. I know I will read more of her books, but I'll have to give it a while so I'm not hit with another ending like this one.
—Jaime Atkins
I think this has been my favourite Barbara Delinsky book so far!! Fabulous!!!"What if wishes really could come true? It's the question facing waitress Bree Miller when she awakens in the hospital following a blizzard in sleepy Panama, Vermont. Although she can't recall the near tragedy that landed her there, she's overcome with the certainty that she has been granted three wishes. One seems to have come true already; at her side is renowned author Tom Gates, the accident's only witness, who had come to Panama to make sense of his fame and who now makes Bree his cause.Suddenly, the things Bree has wanted most, a home, a soul mate, a family, are within her grasp. But are the wishes real? And if they are, what is their price? As Bree and Tom consider what their hearts truly require, they discover that to live their dreams, they will have to take unimagined risks."
—Louise
I would have given this novel 5 stars but for the ending. What a tear jerker. I can't remember the last time I cried reading a book. This one really brought on the rain. I kept asking myself - 'seriously, did she have to do that?' (I won't spoil it for you by saying what happened) While the author neatly tied up the tragedy in the epilogue I was still left feeling raw. And perhaps that's the brilliance of her writing, her ability to bring out emotion in a gut-wrenching way. I highly recommend it in spite of my disappointment with the conclusion.
—Jeffree Itrich
