WISHING WELL by LILY WHITE

“By standing where you are, you have a relationship with me already. Not only that, but you are my last victim, the woman who will forever mourn the last life I took. I will die in three days, but you will live on in your grief…and your hatred. And For that, I will also live on, until the day you take your final breath. It’s poetic, is it not?”

Wow…what a brilliantly written clever and compelling story. The synopsis had us intrigued yet it does not do this book justice. So dark, twisted, passionate and emotional. This Author sure likes to play with the minds of her readers and we applaud her for it. Wishing Well felt unique and we were hooked from the start as the words flowed flawlessly. This review is as always spoiler free and we really do wish every reader to go into this story blind.

‘His grin was malicious, and inviting. A man with no qualms for the pain he caused, for the games he played, for the lives he manipulated, Vincent took pride in his achievements – if they could be called that.’

Vincent Mercier was an enigma. Living his last three days on death row, he’s the only hope for journalist Meadow Graham to discover the truth about his relationship with her twin sister and the circumstances of her untimely death. A charismatic Frenchman with an air of arrogance, aloofness and a compelling and controlling personality. Meadow immediately understands her sister’s reluctant attraction to this man despite him being a murderer awaiting execution.

‘…for this moment it was a means to an end, a moment I briefly wondered if Penelope would remember as the beginning of her fall. From grace. From independence. From a life lived with her own thoughts and desires leading her way.’

Through flashbacks we learn the story of how Penny came to live in the hotel owned by Vincent Mercier. From the dirty streets all alone into a world of luxury and hidden intentions. Everything comes with conditions in life though, and for Penny none were more life altering. Meadow must now relive her sister’s life through the words of a killer.

‘Someone had to love this gentle beast of a man. Someone had to see the light that could exist at the end of his dark tunnel and then take him by the hand to show him.’

The way in which Lily White wrote this story was so brilliant it has a subtle manipulation of mind and heart. You barely see it coming but then it’s suddenly there staring you in the face unapologetically. A plethora of lies, secrets and haunting erotic lust and love. The behaviour shrouds the heart and the true intentions of everyone involved. What a magnificent story which takes a much written about trope and turns it on its head. We highly recommend this to readers looking for something different yet who still craves romance, passion and those unrepentant anti-hero’s we hate to love. Wishing Well has a real beating loving heart and such soul residing in the core of darkness.

“The reason I always loved fairytales was because of their perfect timing, despite how unrealistic that timing might be. And this story is a fairytale, I hope you know that…..However, in this particular fable – although there is a prince, there is a maiden, there is a villain, there is a kiss, and there is a sunset – the perfect timing is tied to its tragedy.”