Wish I May (New Hope #2) by Lexi Ryan

I grew up wishing on stars. My father taught me to believe...in destiny, in magic, in happily ever after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters together. Now, seven years later, I'm returning home, grieving the death of my mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never intended to stay. I don't want to deal with my father, who is so invested in the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don't want to face William Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I've done, and the future I lost. This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my secrets close so they won't hurt him more than they've already hurt me. But he wants to be in my life. He wants what I can't bring myself to confess I sold. He wants me. I find myself looking to my stars again...wondering if I dare one more wish.


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First line:

 Cally tilts her face to the starless night sky as if waiting for its kiss.

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Source:

ARC from author

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Rating:

4 wishes out of 5

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I'm glad I waited until I read Unbreak Me to write this review. I love Will so much more now, and I loved him a lot before. Reading the first book, though both could be stand-alones, brought more meaning to this second book. Will totally deserves love. Cally actually loves him. She'll do anything to protect him from her past.

Cally is just in town to settle her sisters in with her dad, then she's going back to Las Vegas to resume her job as a massage therapist. But when she runs into Will, she wants to remember how innocence and love feel. So she agrees to go out with him, though it's a bad idea. She and Will struggle against rumors in town. Cally struggles with assumptions made about her business. Finally, Cally's past catches up with her, and it just make break her and Will.

Cally is a strong young woman. She has done some things she's not proud of to keep her family off the streets. But at the same time, she raises her sisters right and protects them from her choices. She teaches them not to let a man rule their life, to never doubt their worth. She's strong, but broken. Almost defeated by her decisions. Will doesn't see that at first, he just wants to see the girl he fell in love with seven years ago. Eventually, he comes to realizes she's different, but he loves her for her changes.

Personally (although, I suppose all reviews are personal opinions), I think the New Hope series is a good illustration of small town life. Everybody knows everybody, rumors abound, and if you're an outsider or go against the status quo, people are nasty to you.

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