The Wishing Hill: A Novel

This book snapped up my attention, kept me company, and made me feel good through eleven hours of crowded, noisy, international air travel. The novel was a delight--warm, intelligent, psychologically wise, and big-hearted.This is an engaging book about relationships--especially about the good and bad decisions we all make as we struggle to find our way in the world of complex human connections. It is a book that teaches us to embrace our own imperfections so that we are capable of accepting them in others.In "The Wishing Hill," Holly Robinson weaves a sensitive tale of three very different women. The story is told alternately from the points of view of two of the main characters, both strong and capable women: Juliet, a beautiful 40-year-old artist of bright, bold-colored Mexican landscapes; and Claire, an elegant, warm-hearted, 70-year-old retired businesswoman. The third woman, Desiree, is Juliet's flamboyant, self-absorbed, former-actress mother and Claire's next-door neighbor. We get to know Desiree through her interactions with the other two leading characters and through stories we hear about her from the people who have known her best. The reasons for this become clear as we learn more about this 72-year-old celebrity's ferocious and convoluted personality.This is a quiet, compassionate, character-driven novel of inner psychological drama. Don't expect any thrills or fast-paced action, but do expect to be totally swept up in the lives of these characters. This is a compelling book, one I didn't want to end. The three leading women and their female friends become real within the pages of the drama. I felt close to them. As I learned about the difficult decisions each woman had to make in her life, I tried to understand and accept them.Although the author shows considerable talent in making realistic female characters, her male characters are far more stereotypical. In fact, a few were just too good to be true! But isn't this something we women love in books? Obviously, this is a book about the interior lives of women; it was designed to cater to the tastes of women. It is understandable that many of the male characters fit the stereotypical types that women frequently talk or dream about. If the author had written complex male characters, the novel would have been twice as long and it could have lost its clear and simple focus. The author is certainly capable of writing realistic male characters; I have to assume she just did not choose to do that here for good reason. For me, it worked.I don't think I should reveal too much about the plot. It is enough to know that the novel focuses on the lives of Juliet, Claire, and Desiree. We learn about the significant emotional crises that each has weathered through their lifetimes. During the arc of the novel, there is a common crisis that all three women must cope with together. In the end, the crisis is resolved and we feel we understand these women and their decisions. We accept them. And through that process, we discover more about the common humanity we share.Ultimately, this is an uplifting book about acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness. It is light reading pleasure with an encouraging and refreshing psychological theme. I recommend it.

I love this writer's writing. She is new to me, and I will look for more books by her. She has a way of describing what she is seeing so that it is clear to the reader and even lovely. She also pays attention to details and harkens back to those details later in the book tying things together. Bravo. this is the story of a girl who is given away and abused. She grows up; finds her own power; moves to Mexico; discovers she is a very good and accomplished painter. A divorce forces her to go back home to New England to examine her past. She is pregnant by a chance meeting with a Mexican gardener, and her mother, who is really her aunt lives next to her mother who she thinks is her aunt! All of this is revealed with wonderful humor and poignancy when her aunt/mother is confined to a nursing home with a broken hip. It is not a great novel, but a lovely novel to read on a rainy day, or a good beach read.

The Wishing Hill is an utter delight. The characters are as real, demanding, infuriating, and lovable as your own family. The story is fast-paced and seamless, though it moves from past to present, and from Mexico to New England. One of the main characters in a painter -- and the writing itself has the light and painterly touch of a good watercolor. But, despite all its many surface pleasures, this is a deeply moving story about the journey of life, the challenges of being a single mother, the nature of family, and the need for acceptance and forgiveness.Holly Robinson obviously has a big heart. I hope many readers find their way into the warm embrace of this lovely first novel.

I love Holly Robinson's books. So easy to read and enjoy. I like how she writes stories of families, and makes them feel so real to the reader. I read Beach Plum Island, and loved it, and was NOT disappointed with The Wishing Hill. Keep on writing Holly.

I loved this book. Rarely do you find a book that has strong real life characters anyone can identify with and a plot that keeps you up at night reading to the end. The Wishing Hill kept me from knitting while I had to keep reading. This is the ultimate praise from an avid knitter. I've already pre-ordered Holly's next book and hope for a sequel to The Wishing Hill to find out what is next for the characters in the book.

This novel is about family. We all have skeletons which makes this somewhat relateable. The mother-daughter relationship is a complicated one and doubly so in this book. In families we are bound together by our history as this book once again proves.

I finished this novel this morning and loved it! Everything about it. The characters were very true-to-life and realistic, both with flaws and good qualities. I felt like I knew them personally. I loved the storyline and enjoyed the author's writing style very much. I also loved both settings of Mexico and New England.If you're looking for a very enjoyable women's fiction novel, I can highly recommend this one. Now I'm looking forward to Robinson's next release.

Great book with rich characters. The struggles between sisters, and again with mother and daughter were both heartbreaking and uplifting. Interspersed with life lessons such as Chinese checkers. You can have a great strategy, but the only problem is that all the other players are trying to do the same thing. Other peoples choices are conflicting with yours! (Good one).

The story is all about family and how the "hidden" truth makes a world of difference. To learn that you live next door to your birth mother when you are pregnant with your own baby changes the way you look at life

This was a truly great read. I would like to read more of her books.

Good read.