Review: 'I Wished for You' by Amy Huberman (2013)

‘I Wished For You’ is the story of Grace who is at that age where there are six weddings a year and the question on everyone's lips is: who's next? She and her boyfriend Robbie seem the perfect fit, but when he unexpectedly goes down on bended knee, Grace freaks out. Cue the mother of all meltdowns.

On top of that, Grace's passion for fashion is not exactly fulfilled by her job - dressing well-to-do ladies with way more money than style. Cue - in her addled state after the bended knee fiasco - losing it in work, with disastrous consequences.

Into Grace's train-wreck of a life comes Verity - ex-Hollywood costume lady and vintage clothing queen. Verity is not called the Vintage Vixen for nothing: she has seen it all and done it all and her life makes Grace's look about as exciting as Songs of Praise. Verity tells Grace that the secret of happiness is to discover her 'heart wish'. If only Grace could work out what her heart's greatest wish really is ...

When I was contacted by Penguin about Amy Huberman’s new novel ‘I Wished for You’, I immediately liked the sound of the book. I wasn’t familiar with Amy Huberman’s work; her first novel ‘Hello Heartbreak’ was published in 2009, became a bestseller and was nominated for two Irish Book Awards in 2010. After doing some research on the Internet I especially found people applauding Amy Huberman for her humour, which made readers laugh out loud, so I was looking forward to sitting down with ‘I Wished for You’ and see if I’d enjoy it!

Grace has been together with her lovely boyfriend Robbie for years and they seem to be perfect for one another. However, Grace’s 30th birthday is nearing and people around her keep asking her when she will be the one walking down the aisle; a question Grace clearly isn’t ready for yet. So when Robbie proposes to her, Grace doesn’t know what else to do than to say ‘no.’ Looking for a new challenge in her life, she ends up in a vintage clothing store which is run by an older woman named Verity. Grace tries to focus on other things in her life, but it is Verity who tells her about people’s ‘heart wish’, the one thing they long for in order to find happiness, and Grace knows she will have to discover her own ‘heart wish’ in order to find what she has been looking for all this time.   

It took me quite some time to really get into the novel, but as soon as I was, I really enjoyed the plotline and wanted to continue on reading to discover what Grace would do to find her ‘heart wish’ and whether she would be able to find it or not. I liked Grace, even though she managed to really frustrate me at some points. I think she’s a main female character a lot of women will be able to relate to, and I personally loved her passion for clothes and old films. The references to female figures like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor and the amazing pieces of clothing they wore, really added a special touch to the book. The secondary characters in the novel are also fantastic; I specifically liked Lisa, who is Grace’s hilarious best friend, and Verity, the shop owner who almost becomes like a fairy godmother to Grace. 

I have to admit I had to get used to Amy Huberman’s distinctive sense of humour at first, but she definitely made me laugh out loud multiple times. I love how her funny side gives the book a specific Amy Huberman feel, which shows that she clearly has her own unique style of writing. ‘I Wished for You’ is a witty, light, fun read that is a thoroughly enjoyable mixture of chick-lit, vintage clothes and romance, and I’m personally quite curious to see what Amy Huberman will come up with for her next book!

Rating:8/10