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White Lies and Wishes
White Lies and Wishes
Apr 20, 2025 11:54 AM

Author:Cathy Bramley

White Lies and Wishes

What happens when what you wish for is only half the story...?

Three strangers and a funeral, that’s all it takes for these women’s lives and wishes to intersect. Death has a funny way of showing you what you really want out of life… or so they say, anyway.

Jo is flirty and a little after thirty, but what she really wants is to get her business back on track and conquer her fear of heights. That’s what she’ll say when asked, anyway. She has things to prove and finding love can always wait…

Sarah has the best of both worlds, baby in one hand and job in the other. All she wants is to get that promotion, then all those missed bath times will be worth it. So she says, anyway. She can’t stop to think about it too long or she might drop something…

All Carrie wants is to shift the excess pounds and look good for summer. Wearing a bikini is all she has ever desired. So she has always said, anyway. But it’s not the only weight she’s carrying, dark secrets from her past are threatening to surface…

So the three unlikely new friends set themselves a deadline to get their lives in order; juggling blokes, babies and bikini bottoms along the way. There’s nothing to stop them from achieving their dreams – except those little white lies we all tell…

A feel-good romantic comedy that's guaranteed to make you smile - perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Trisha Ashley and Katie Fforde.

Your favourite authors have loved reading bestselling Cathy Bramley:

‘Delightfully warm with plenty of twists and turns’Trisha Ashley

‘Engaging characters and a sweeping romance. This is delightful!’ Katie Fforde

‘A witty, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy’ Miranda Dickinson

‘The perfect romantic tale, to warm your heart and make you smile.’ Ali McNamara

Reviews

A testament to the transformative power of friendship, White Lies & Wishes is a life-affirming read which will make you feel like anything is possible.

—— Daily Express

Wonderfully warm, honest and insightful, this story is an enjoyable as a choccie biscuit dipped in your tea. We loved it.

—— Isabelle Broom, Heat

I love all of Cathy’s books, and this one was no exception. It’s full of charm and warmth, heartbreaking revelations and laugh-out-loud moments.

—— Cressida McLaughlin

Warm and funnyWhite Lies and Wishes is a celebration of the power of friendship.

—— My Weekly

So wonderfully life-affirming, a true tonic that will warm your heart and quite possibly inspire you to make your own wishes come true … I loved it.

—— Alexandra Brown

A wonderful book that is full of true friendships, dreams and the desire to laugh. I think I may have just found one of my new favourite books.

—— The Writing Garnet

A gorgeous, heart-warming and life-affirming delight

—— Rachael Lucas

It made me want to seize the day! Life affirming with a very happy ending.

—— Jo Thomas

I LOVED this book SO MUCH! It by far surpasses me saying that it's my favourite Cathy Bramley...just amazing. I can't tell you how refreshing it was

—— Donna Trinder - Bookish Bits Blog

A joyous thing to read.

—— Press Association

Engaging characters, a stately home and a sweeping romance. This is delightful!

—— Katie Fforde

Set amid the 2008 financial collapse, Pitoniak's assured debut explores the cost of realizing-and misinterpreting-one's dreams . . . Navigating terrain-love and youth, college and city life-that's often oversimplified, Pitoniak eschews cliché for nuanced characterization and sharply observed detail. Evan and Julia ring true as 20-somethings, but Pitoniak's novel also speaks to anyone who has searched among possible futures for the way back to what Julia calls 'the person I had been all along'

—— Publishers Weekly

Pitoniak's well-plotted, character-driven, interior-focused novel captures the knowable angst of the unknowable possibilities of modern young adulthood

—— Booklist

Pitoniak expertly captures both the excitement and the oppressive darkness of being young and at sea in New York City, the unsettlingly thin line between freedom and free fall. Deeply empathetic-and always engaging. A bittersweet coming-of-age drama and a portrait of an era

—— Kirkus

The Futures takes place on the cusp of the 2008 market crash, and so perfectly encapsulates that time of life when everything was just beginning, when you had no idea who you were or where you were going

—— Popsugar

Pitoniak maintains her keen eye for the universal insecurities facing her generation today, from romantic uncertainties and the relative benefits and downsides of hedge fund and nonprofit jobs to the emotional effort it requires to negotiate the predetermined facts of one's upbringing with the person one chooses to become

—— Harper's Bazaar

Pitoniak's debut focuses on that time of life that is at turns both exhilarating and terrifying: right after getting out of college, when you're forced to confront who you are and who you want to be, when you know life is just beginning, but you're also starting to feel like many of your options are fading away

—— Best New Books of 2017 , Nylon

Pitoniak's precise and incisive powers of observation gives us a book with startling grace notes

—— NPR.org

Anna Pitoniak's inspired debut centers on two recent college grads who move to New York City together during the 2008 recession and watch their relationship change drastically

—— Instyle

The One is one of a kind – and singularly good.

—— Barbara Copperthwaite

A fresh, compelling, psychological thriller that will keep you guessing!

—— Mandy Baggot

insanely brilliant

—— Gillian McAllister

pacy, thrilling and very original. The plot is fabulous

—— Askews Newsletter

A page-turning psychological thriller with a difference, this is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

—— Irish Examiner
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