Wish Books In Order

Publication Order of Wish Books

Wish Series

The American bestselling author Barbara Freethy is well known for her unique style of contemporary romance novel. Pushing the genre forwards for a number of years now, she has found a huge amount of success with her stories involving love and passion. Using elements of suspense as well, she really knows how to build upon the tension too, giving her narratives a very real and immediate sense of impact upon the reader. Creating a number of series as well, she has managed to build her worlds with care and precision, and this goes the same for each of her characters too. One series that has really come into its own over the years, is that of her ‘Wish’ series of novels, as they perfectly encapsulate what it is that she is about as an author and what she has to offer. Following the basic narrative thread of wishes, these romance titles all share the common theme of wishes as the overall guiding the force. Each title itself is a stand-alone novel, providing a fun and casual read that will definitely leave the reader feeling good long after they’ve put it down. This also means that they don’t need to be read in any particular order, as they’re all easy to pick up at any one point or another.

These novels have run for over three titles so far and counting, giving the readers exactly what they have come to expect from the author. There is also an omnibus compendium edition too, which collates all three titles into ‘The Wished Series Boxed Set’, collecting them altogether. A complete series, it ran from 2011 to 2012 and, although there hasn’t been any releases since, it does have plenty of room to continue expanding upon.

A Secret Wish

Published on the 8th of December in 2011, this would herald the arrival of the ‘Wish’ series, with this being the first. Introducing the franchise ostensibly, it manages to convey what’s to come, whilst also providing a stand-alone romance story that’s easy and fun to read. With a colorful cast of characters, it manages to entertain and capture the reader’s imagination with both wit and confidence.

Three women in San Francisco decide on their birthdays to make a birthday wish that will change their lives forever. The first woman, Liz, is just about to turn thirty and, whilst she’s a successful nurse with a good job, she wants a partner to be by her side, which is when she meets a handsome stranger. Then there’s Angela who lives within a large Italian family, as she has no baby yet at thirty-five, something which has put a strain on her marriage, but then things change when she is unexpectedly mugged one night. Lastly there’s Carole who’s fast approaching forty, as she discovers her husband with another woman and her children are nowhere to be seen, but then she returns to her mother meeting the man who once had his heart broken by her. What will they all find on their birthdays? Will they find the happiness that they’re searching for? Can they make a truly secret wish?

Just a Wish Away

The second title in the ‘Wish’ series, this follows straight on from the thematic premise of the first, paving the way for the third. Coming out through her own publishing label, this was released by Barbara Freethy herself. It was also published on the 30th of March in 2012.

Whilst they were just twelve years old, the young Braden Elliott and Alexa Parker would make a wish one day while walking along the beach. Finding a seemingly empty bottle they uncorked it saying it was a genie and were both sprayed in the face with a cool sea mist. Moving ahead fifteen years, the two of them have wholly different lives, as they return once again to Sand Harbor, following a break-in at Alexa’s aunt’s store. Not the same person that he once was, Braden has also changed, having served in the military with a number of demons of his own. Can they recapture the flame of innocence that once burnt between them? Will they manage to get over their own inner pain? What will become of them both as they discover that what they’re searching for is just a wish away?

When Wishes Collide

Released through the ‘Fog City Publishing’ imprint, this would come out on the 23rd of August in 2012 to much acclaim. Marking the third and last entry of the ‘Wish’ series, it essentially wraps everything up in a fairly conclusive and roundabout manner. Providing another stand-alone story, it also provides more of the same, whilst also moving in its own direction at the same time simultaneously.

Feeling that everything has been taken away from her, Adrianna Cavello is facing a life without her boyfriend, following a break-in at her restaurant, whereby his life was cruelly cut short. Months later she decides upon making a wish after throwing a coin into a wishing fountain, as everything seems to be on the line. With his own set of problems, Wyatt Randall is also making a wish at the fountain, after his ex-wife kidnapped their daughter two years earlier, and both Cavello’s and Randall’s coins clash. This then leaves them to help each other out and find what it is that they are looking for, as they both learn to love once more. Will they be able to help each other out though? Can they put the pain of the past behind them and heal their broken hearts? What will happen when wishes collide?

The Wish Series

Really capturing what it is that Freethy is about as an author of contemporary romance novels, this series is a great place to start for any newcomers to her work. Letting the reader in gently, it whisks them up and sweeps them off their feet with its intoxicating and inventive romance stories. Whilst these may follow many of the more traditional tropes of the genre, Freethy also manages to make the most of it all by really turning the genre and the template on its head, creating something new in the process. This goes some way towards explaining how it is that they have come to be so beloved by countless readers worldwide, and will continue to be successful for years to come.