The Garden of Forgotten Wishes

The best thing about it was the deep immersion into English village life, from lardy and Jaffa cakes to Morris dancers and panto. About 80% of the book was gardening and 20% was romance, which is okay if you know that\’s what you\’re getting into, but you don\’t from the synopsis. I found the gardening interesting here and there, but grew frustrated plowing through it all (so to speak) to try and find the plot. And one of my least favorite plot contrivances reared its ugly head, in which Marnie hides a secret from Ned that she thinks is going to affect their relationship. She knows hiding it is a mistake. Her friends know it\’s a mistake. We all know it\’s a mistake. And when the secret\’s revealed to Ned unexpectedly, it turns out that keeping him in the dark was … wait for it … a mistake. It makes you lose respect for her and the book.

As with others I too had to call Amazon to get the correct book; but once I did it was just a delight. Once again Ashley creates a charming village inhabited by interesting people. And in this book we were able to follow the restoration of an historic garden…and to be honest I\’d have loved to read another volume on the garden renovation as it continues. I was truly sorry to see the end of the book. If you\’re looking for a relaxing backyard read in the midst of all the gloom and doom this summer let yourself be carried away to the gardens in England.

Trisha Ashley has always been one of my favorite writers — she\’s got reasonable plots (though they are getting a bit formulaic), engaging characters with great senses of wit and humor as well as creative personalities and the ability to capably get through various jobs and projects. There are decayed stately homes and quirky \”characters\” as well as some interesting locations and situations. There is much to recommend them and there is even a sketch of a large and very interesting garden with many parts in need of several dedicated workers to bring all of it back to prime condition. Unfortunately, although the book is all about an old garden and lots of different plants and shrubs there is actually very little information about them individually. Further there are brief descriptions of lots of different garden areas and out buildings but what would have helped immensely was a quick sketch of the whole property with annotated buildings, streams, plants, waterfalls, paths and other locations. and gardens — so handy for keeping track of what and where everything is. Further there is Caspar the cat who takes moves in on Marnie and despite being a total stranger takes over, following her everywhere — all of which seems to achieve no logical purpose except as a distraction. I did love the cat but why and what remains unanswered. While this book is enjoyable and good hearted,, it could have had better editing to remove multiple repetitions of various comments and conversations. It does stretch on a bit and is unnecessarily repetitious which makes it a bit tedious………..still it is an intelligent read and not just a half witted romcom. .

First things first – shame on the one star reviews that start out, \”I love this author…\” and then go on to complain about something that is either Amazon\’s fault or the publisher\’s fault. Fair enough if you don\’t like a book and you feel the need to tell the world. But if you love the book and love the author, be careful about taking it out on them. If you read the one star reviews of this book, you\’ll see that they relate to a problem **on the first day of release** with the ebook. NOT the book itself. OK, off my soapbox! This is a delightful book and one to take your mind off your worries (and we all need that). Trisha builds these wonderful worlds with words. And no, the stories aren\’t sappy. The women are realistic, the relationships are interesting. And the gardening – oh, this one makes me want to move somewhere where I can have a wild garden to tame. I highly recommend sitting down with something cool to drink (or a cup of tea) and settling in, Trisha does it again!

Initially I too was electronically sent the wrong book, like so many others Fortunately it was fixed and several hours later I was able to update and receive book I paid for. Now, about the book: it\’s marvelous! The characters are well drawn, and the description of the setting is lovely, and the plot twists are engrossing.I think this is one of Trisha\’s best books! Do read it and you will fall in love with Trisha Ashley world like so many other readers.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member