Author: Rachael Johns
ISBN:Â 9781489261519
Copy courtesy of Harper Collins Australia
Just One Wish is a fabulous novel of family love, sorrow, secrets, betrayal and heartbreak.
This story is set in Melbourne Victoria and brought to life by 3 generations.  This book is through the eyes of granddaughter Geraldine (Ged) and also involves her grandmother Alice, whom she calls Gralice and her mother Sappho (Marie).  A secret kept for over 50 years changes the dynamic of this close loving and family.Â
Alice was turning eighty and during her celebration she surprised Ged and Marie with tickets for a girls cruise to reconnect as a family. Gralice and Sappho didn’t always see eye to eye and Sappho was resentful of her upbringing. Ged on many occasions found herself stuck in the middle of her mother and grandmothers. On the cruise that was meant to bring them all closer together a hidden fifty year secret and betrayal tear them apart.
The book shows the complexity in all families and the ups and downs of life and how we overcome them. The book is filled with sadness, laughter, joy and warmth. You will be caught up in pregnancy and paternity tests, lesbian tendencies, secret lovers, scandal, illness, adultery, estrangement and regret.
Racheal Johns has written another brilliant novel which I highly recommend.
Thank you HarperCollins Publishers Australia and B&L for the opportunity to read and review.Â
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Just One Wish. You can read their comments below, or contribute to the discussion by leaving your own feedback.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books. Â
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
Just One Wish was a delightful & easy read – I was able to knock this over in one weekend. It was funny & thoughtful with quite a few things happen that I wasn’t expecting so surprising also.
I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to Harper Collins & Beauty & Lace for such a great read!
Thank you for the chance to read Just One Wish by Rachael Johns.
This was as interesting book featuring a grandmother Alice, daughter Sappho and granddaughter Ged. Alice invites them on a short Elvis themed cruise for her 80th birthday. It is a chance to connect a bit and spend time together. Even though they are such different people this works to a degree. On the cruise a secret comes to light which could change everything.
Alice is a feminist and as a response to this Sappho becomes a superb stay-at-home Mum. Ged seems to be somewhere in the middle in more ways then one. Life decisions have trickled down to affect the entire family and continue to do so. A lot of changes happen in a short amount of time. I don’t know how the average person would deal with so much.
Even though there are extremes the reactions are considered and do take in many topics, marriage and what it means, lifestyle choices and how what you do can affect many people. I couldn’t relate to all the situations, but loved the people involved and how they came to their decisions – a book I would most definitely recommend.
Just One Wish is about three generations of women; Grandmother, Mother and Daughter and a rollercoaster of family dramas and secrets.
Alice a fiery grandma known as Gralice (grandma Alice), is a renowned activist of women rights and very career driven in the sciences field. Her daughter Sappho is the polar opposite. A domestic goddess with her own blog and thousands of followers. Then there is Ged, the granddaughter and the glue that holds the family together. The story is written from her perspective as she navigates her way through family life, career and relationships. Three equally likeable characters with their own quirk’s and life events unfolding.
This book was bombshell city with lots of plot twists (some predictable but a few curve balls). It was emotional, funny, with even a few steamy scenes. I have read previous Rachel Johns novels, so I was delighted to receive another. I highly recommend this as it is an easy and entertaining read.
Thanks Beauty and Lace Book Club and HarperCollins Publishers for the reading and reviewing opportunity.
Just One Wish by Rachael Johns, fabulous read. I really enjoyed the tale of three generations. This should definitely be turned into a movie. Would love to see it on screen, could become a favourite
Just One Wish is another fantastic novel by author Rachael Johns. It is an easy and enjoyable read. But be prepared for needing some tissues!
Ged is the lead character in the book and through her we meet and explore the relationships between 3 generations of women in her family. Each has their own secrets and truths they are too scared to share. It takes a lot of love and courage but they find their way through it together as a family.
The story line is one a lot of people can relate to – should the truth always be told or are there times it can do more harm than good? And what happens when the truth eventually comes out?
Definitely another hit by Rachael Johns and one I’m thankful to add to my bookcase thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harper Collins Australia.
I cannot praise this book enough! I love Rachael Johns and was super excited to sink my teeth into her new novel. Just One Wish ticked all the boxes for me, it contained romance that wasn’t super sooky, a story line that hooked me in and an ending that made me happy 🙂
I enjoyed the lead characters and how they are completely different, I also found myself trying to envision the hunky eye candy lead male character haha
5/5 stars yet again for Rachael Johns
Thank you for the fab review Beauty & Lace and HarperCollins, it was wonderful to not be reading a text book for a few days 🙂
Just One Wish is a story of three generations of women – each with their own story to tell!
The Grandmother is a strong feminist (and scientist) while the mother is a famous domestic goddess. The book however is told from the daughter’s perspective as she navigates life with these two role models. At a crossroads in each of their lives, the three women embark on a celebratory trip together sparking life-changing consequences and exposing secrets.
A book full of love, sadness, laughter and drama – I found all of the characters likeable and the book was a light an easy read.
I am a huge fan of Rachael Johns and was stoked to receive a copy of this book to review – it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Thanks Beauty and Lace and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review this book.
‘Just One Wish’ by Rachael Johns was a lovely story to read. I really enjoyed how the stories from three generations of women were woven together and all the little surprises made for a book that was hard to put down once I’d started reading.
My only complaint is reading published books that have errors in them. This book had two grammatical errors and then another where they called the place where the parents lived by the wrong name.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me read this book. There was someone else who mentioned this would be a good story for a movie and I totally agree! >:o)
Just One Wish by Rachel Johns is a fabulous read. It is the story of three generations starting with Alice the grandmother known as Gralice a renowned activist for women’s rights. Gralice’s daughter Sappho a domestic goddess who has her own blog with thousands of followers; and then there is Geraldine known as Ged the daughter and granddaughter. Ged is the family member who holds the family together.
The story goes through many stages in their lives, and is full of love, courage, sadness, happiness and laughter.
Just One Wish had a great story line and I enjoyed the characters and the roles that they played. The story begins when Alice invites Sappho and Ged on a cruise for her 80th birthday. She is hoping that it is a chance that they can spend quality time together. Whilst on the cruise a secret that has been hidden away for many years comes to light and this could change their lives forever. Will it stay a secret?
I have read a couple of Rachel Johns novels and have enjoyed every one of them and this is no exception. I highly recommend Just One Wish to everyone to read.
I loved Just One Wish- an easy book to read, with storylines that I wasn’t expecting.
It covered lots of topical subjects, but was still a beautiful story about the strength of families .
I was surprised by the ending- a must read !!