One Wish

by Linda Lael Miller

used-good

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Westerns, Historical, Western Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction

353 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.

Reviews

[RD · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is an example of how Linda Lael Miller's writing has deteriorated over the past few years. The story started out somewhat promisingly but less than a quarter way through it just started going downhill. I had to force myself to finish the book, skimming the last third just to get through it.

[Rochelle Rudicil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Linda Miller books but hated the ending of this one. Never understand why the man leave, woman has child (neither new she was preg when he left), and then he comes back after she has had baby and all is forgiven. Whatever!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another great one from LLM! I definitely recommend this one for those who like childhood friends to lovers, and a good family saga type feel in their books. I wish she made this the start of a series, but either way, I loved the story and enjoyed it from start to finish. A+! 💕

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

The beginning of the novel captured my interest fairly well, and I kept wanting to read, because it was pretty enjoyable. Charity was mostly likable, and she had some of the same traits as me, which is always nice to read. She wasn’t one to sit around once she made a decision, and she seemed to be a caring, honest person. I didn’t like her when she snapped at Luke when he came to help out at the church when the children came down with the measles though, or when her fiancé Raoul showed up and she was being rude. Her interest in Luke happened quickly, almost instantly when they met, but it wasn’t the annoying, rushed job most romance authors make, where it’s unrealistic. It was believable and genuine, because Charity would be affected by his touches and his concern for her, and I could see how she was starting to become interested in him because of these moments.

And then things starting taking a turn. Charity was independent and self-reliant in the beginning, but then, as she began to know Luke more, she starts losing that and morphed into the kind of woman I hate: the kind that listens to a man instead of doing what they want. She started getting on my nerves, and I didn’t agree with the choices she made or the way she reacted to things.

Charity, for someone that was innocent, was quite bold, and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like when Charity put Luke’s hand on her breast. That was way too forward, and I hate forward women. It was way too soon for them to be doing that. And Luke was bruised and injured from being beaten by his brother, so it was also the wrong time and place for that. I also didn’t like when she suggested to Luke that they could get married so she could keep the ranch. I don’t like the whole “she has to marry or else” thing, and I sure as heck don’t like when the woman asks the man to marry her. It’s all wrong. When she tried it again later on, and Luke agreed to marry her, I was turned off. The story went in a direction I didn’t care for. Luke made a comment that he was a traditional man that wanted to get married one time, and he imagines himself telling his future wife about this story, that he had to get married so Charity could get her ranch, and to himself it sounds bad. How lovely.

Luke was a jerk at several points, the typical “indolent” and “mischievous” man that’s really just crude and rude, though Luke wasn’t half as bad as most of the men I’ve read about. Charity was talking to her dad, and Luke just barges in and starts questioning him about the ledger, which Charity had said not to do. She gets a little put out, not nearly as mad as she should have been, and he lays down the law about their marriage, saying he’s the husband and he’ll protect her and all that, and she’s the wife and he “suspects she understands her duties fairly well.” How crude and insulting to say the only thing she’s going to do is give him sex. How incredibly chauvinistic. I don’t know why authors like for the man to act that way, but it’s not romantic at all. And he mentions collecting on his wish and Charity actually wants to kiss him. After he treated her that way, she should be mad at him. Here’s another forgiving doormat of a woman willing to take anything, and is too lustful over him to care about any wrong he does her.

Charity turned a sniffing, sniveling baby and I was so disgusted I just skimmed and scanned much of the rest of the book, not caring what happened at all. Vance, Luke’s brother, slaps her and makes a mark on her skin, not an actual cut that drew blood, but just enough to where a mark was left (I guess the author wanted Luke to have something to be mad about, but didn’t want Charity’s skin marked too bad, convenient) and as soon as Luke comes home she shows him the mark, like a total baby. I expected her to not say anything at all, to do the brave, self-sacrificing thing, and Luke would just find it on his own. But no, Charity shares it in the typical whiny, babyish fashion. Luke, of course, gets mad, and starts to go after Vance. Charity repeatedly clings to his arm and pulls him back, not wanting him to go into danger. Well what did you think was going to happen when you showed him the mark on you, you big idiot? If you don’t want him hurt, then you shouldn’t have told him what happened.
Luke goes back to the house with her, and Charity knows he wants something as interesting or whatever as going after his brother would have been, so they have sex. Except when Charity wakes up Luke is gone and there’s a note that says only “sorry, stay here” or something like that. Charity is rightfully mad, so I expect her to go out and confront things, to try to help Luke, and then get mad at him. But lo and behold, she does exactly what Luke told her to do, and stays right in the house with the door barred.
Higgins, the corrupt marshal, comes to the door and it was so incredibly obvious that he was lying about Luke having been shot, but Charity rushes out with no questions asked, and walks right into the trap that Vance had set. He orders his men to tie her up, but not to touch her. Miller wants a little danger, like ropeburn, but not enough actual danger, like rape or torment. No, she won’t go that far to her little baby Charity. Not that I wanted Charity to get raped, but it was kind of odd that Vance specifically ordered his men not to do that. I thought he was supposed to be evil. Again, it was just convenient.
Luke comes and busts Charity out, like we expected anything different. And Charity isn’t mad at him at all. Even though he lied and used sex as a means to distract her, knowing she would fall asleep afterward so he could sneak out, she says not one word to him about it. She turns into a crying little whiny idiot who looks at him with tearful eyes and says “I was scared.” Oh boy, save me from helpless, cowardly women. And Luke acts like the burns around her wrists and ankles where the rope cut her are just the worse things in the world. Charity cries as he puts rum on them and it burns. Need I say more about the annoyances she caused me? How about some real scars, something actually plausible to cry about?

It had all the characteristics of a cookie-cutter romance, with the grinning, suggestive, indolent bordering on insolent male, the female that’s supposed to be fiery but isn’t, and “evil” villains that surfaced when convenient. The whole business with Luke’s brother was just odd to me. The story didn’t need it at all. Then Luke just leaves, because that was what he was going to do in the beginning. It was just stupid. And of course Charity was pregnant. Gosh, I’m so sick of that.

I didn’t like how Charity treated the situation with Raoul. She was insensitive to his feelings and treated him with anger when she should have been gentle. She stated over and over again that she would never choose him and she would always want Luke, which was cruel. She didn’t deserve Raoul at all. He was too good for her, and the author only used him for a little jealousy on Luke’s part, and to make Luke like a martyr, doing what was best for Charity and telling Raoul to marry her. What a complete joke. And Raoul pursued Charity until the end when Luke left, saying he would take her even though he knew she had slept with Luke. Yeah, right. Raoul had looked at Molly, the doctor, and the doctor had been caught looking at him too. And Charity remarked that Raoul was in love with Molly and he didn’t know it. You’ve got to be kidding me. For convenience’s sake, just have him “love” another woman the whole time, but be unaware of it. And when the main woman he thinks he loves get with someone else, have him marry the woman out of the blue.

I’m not sure why all the crap was in here about Jonah, and Blaise, and Genesis (boy, what names) and Charity’s mom who was thought to be dead—turns out she just left—no, wait, she’s really dead now. It was just dragging the story down and getting use sidetracked from the main story…oh wait, there was no story. Luke wanted to kill his brother and collect a bounty…and Charity wanted to run the ranch. What a plot!

And it infuriated me to no end that Charity rushed headlong into a marriage with a virtual stranger, whom she knew barely anything about. There again, the author used convenience time and time again, saying things like “Charity had judged him long ago and found him trustworthy,” or “Charity knew that to be false,” or “she didn’t think that was true at all” in regards to Vance claiming that Luke had actually killed their father, or some such thing, or that Luke had killed someone. Excuse me? You’re having a character instantly believe that something is true or not true, based on nothing, instead of taking the time for them to question or investigate it? Wow. The laziness of this author knows no bounds. And there was one wild story flying around that Luke had skinned a man because he beat a whore, and Charity remarks that it wasn’t true. But when Luke attacks her captors she said it just might be true. Well which one is it? I waited for her to come out and ask him, and she NEVER did! Wtf? And she doesn’t find out until nearly the very end that Luke was a bounty hunter, and she doesn’t have a word to say about it! You married a freakin bounty hunter, an occupation she was not okay with, and she doesn’t confront him about it at all—ever. That makes sense.

I thought Luke was going to be different. I expected a sweet romance with a caring man, like I was led to believe in the beginning. But the author shaped him into the standard jerk of today's romance novels, and it ruined the story for me. The author sabotaged her own work by jumping on the bandwagon and using the same mold that nearly all romance authors have used before her when creating their own characters. Just once I'd like to see an author use their own brain to create a man that actually cares about how the woman feels.

Oh, and the love scenes. Omg! They were so lacking it wasn’t even funny. I expected so much more. The sex was over in like half a page, or at the most a page, if I remember correctly. And there were no details, no descriptions of what was going on. There were just stupid sensations and flowery speech, and it was so unsatisfying. I waited so long or these 2 to come together and that’s all I got. I hate when romance authors don’t write out the romance and blow over it like they’re bashful of the subject. That’s what a romance book is about!
I expected Luke to be a virgin, because they’d met when he was 11. Naturally, I thought he would remember her and be faithful to that moment. Silly me. We spend a great deal of the novel without those unsavory distasteful comments about the man’s past, and then Luke makes a comment that if he hadn’t met Charity he would’ve gone to a place where women specialize in that or whatever, and that was disgusting. So you’re traditional enough to want to marry only one woman, but you’ll sleep with countless whores? How respectable, and what a true gentleman. And Charity, the virgin full of bountiful knowledge on the subject, realizes when she sleeps with him that he must have been with women to share their “tutelage” on the matter, but has no thoughts on the subject, like she’s completely okay with it. Okayy.

The ending was utterly ridiculous. Charity had so much to be mad at him about, and the author just kept with her theme of convenience. She has Charity be happy that Luke is back, and not mad at all that he left her for 13 months and missed out on her baby’s first 5 months of life. Yeah, you don’t have anything at all to be mad about. It made me sick, the ending of this book did.

And the "one wish" kept surfacing again and again and again, until I was sick of hearing about it. They brought it up like 5 times, and I kept expecting him to make his freakin wish, which he didn't end up doing until the epilogue. And he wishes to love her and protect her for the rest of her life. How nice. Wanna know what my one wish is? That I hadn't wasted my time on this mediocre sleep aid.

I don’t see myself reading a Linda Lael Miller novel again, because this was dry, boring, and as steamy as lukewarm water. The plot, what little there was, was overshadowed by side characters and their own dramas, and then all of a sudden—BAM! The epilogue is before you and the story is being raced to the finish line with a happily-ever-after ending that is enough to make you want to puke it’s so perfect.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your typical historical romance, no surprises here. I do think that the way the author had the characters get together at the end was kind of ridiculous. It seemed like she ran out of pages and had to quickly tie up everything.

[N.W. Moors · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charity and Luke meet as children and then again years later. She's the privileged daughter of a wealthy rancher and he's a bounty hunter.
This was one of those books that starts out very promising and gradually goes downhill to an epically bad ending. The character arcs never progressed but actually declined as the story goes on. I've read some of the author's contemporary western romances and thought they were pretty good, but this one was not for me.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming home was never easy but with a name like Shardlow, know for his murdering father and his thieving half-brother, Luke never expected anyone to be happy to see him again. Finding Charity Barnham, the daughter of a powerful rancher up a tree made him remember what he had been through as a young boy. A moment with Charity could not change his plans, he had to track and take down his older half-brother no matter who he had to fool to do it. She had heard the stories but she was not prepared to find out the type of man Luke really was, the stories just didn’t seem to match the man she was getting to know and surprisingly was beginning to fall for regardless of what her fathers wishes were.

1889, Washington Territory - Pride, is the normal reason for any distance between loves in these historical novels, and this one is no different. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. There was something about the writing that occasionally had me shaking my head - as to say ‘why was it worded like that’. Liked how strong and determined Charity was and how in the end Luke made better decisions. I felt the ending should have been a little different, didn’t seem entirely finished to me even though it was the typical ’happily ever after’ scenario. First Linda Lael Miller I have read, I will probably read another if I come across one that sounds good, but I won’t rush out to get one.

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt over complicated. No one ever said what they actually felt. I heard a military leader say that you don't want an equal, fair fight; you want to dominate to protect your team. The so called feared gunslinger didn't believe it. It didn't make me think he was a good guy. It made me feel like unneeded drama.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book a lot. Though I didn't think that it was quite as good as her Stone Cleek series. The characters were funny and whe writes them very real. I love Miller for that. The story wasn't contrite or predictable. It set a nice pace and kept you interested. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steamy western. The story of Luke Shardlow and Charity Barnham. When these two were children, Luke saved Charity when she fell in the creek, and she granted him one wish. Luke returns as an adult. Luke is a bounty hunter chasing his half-brother, Vance. Shoot-em-ups and Beat-em-ups ensue.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love in the western frontier. Romance, drama, gunfights, blackmail, secrets; an interesting book from cover to cover. If you like westerns, you will love this novel. I didn't want it to end, but was happy with the ending!

[Darlene Infantino]

Ranching, romance, love all in one book!

[Prairie Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read from Linda Lael Miller ... This wasn’t her best but I’ve yet to find anything I could label as her worst. That book has to be written by this author. I just love all of her stories ... her works are the surest bet for any reader who loves historical romances set in the 19th century American West. If you like your fiction with a dash of spice and aren’t fond of squeaky clean and ‘inspirational’ stories, pick up one of her yarns and you’ll be a loyal reader after the 1st chapter.

I have my list of attributes that draw me to a particular offering in this genre. This one lacked a few but had the rest: a bounty hunter, ranches, a heroine struggling to hold her own in a male dominated society, a hero who hails from the wrong side of the tracks finding himself in love and more surprisingly loved in return by a woman he feels he isn’t worthy to have. There are also the plot thickening components to add to the mix like the hero’s worst enemy who uses the hero’s feelings for the heroine to exact some revenge; along with the nemesis who wants the heroine and isn’t afraid to reveal his feelings - and you want to dislike him but you just can’t and neither can the hero; the heroine’s strong willed and protective father; blended families; buried secrets and surprise babies. Indeed all the food groups are present here so I consumed it all and left the table feeling wholly satisfied but wanting a little dessert (a Linda Lael Miller novella would do the trick I think).

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing I have liked about Linda’s writing is that she puts you into a western setting and she keeps you there. I love the general outline of the book and the storyline. I do like the friendship that begins with Luke and Charity and develops into more but the pacing is so slow. Their are too many back and forth’s between characters.
I also thought Luke was sweet but also kind of wooden and one demential. I kept reading half way in, but really continued to wish this was like some western movie I could watch on screen and didn’t love it written out. They don’t make sweet little western movies enough anymore. The whole drama moments between Raol and Charity and then Luke would have literally been so much better as a movie scene. It read so cinematically but also it bored me reading it. I wanted to see it more than read this story.
The ending was a melodramatic mess.

[Malika-Liki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after reading an entry on endearing western romance heroes by Stacey Kayne in pettycoatandpistols.com . I do love when the characters are from opposite side of town like in apache flame by madeline Baker and I did love their interaction.
I also loved the fact that she was a strong character and that she named her daughter Mariettan, I just appreciate her more
I would have loved to discover a little bit more more about Molly the doc and how Raoul found out that he finally, loved her.

[Jeanne Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Linda Lael Miller's from way back. She never disappoints. What a wonderful book One Wish was to read. A strong, proud farming family along with a historical rebel family. We always know how it's going to end, right? Or we could always hope, anyway. I was rooting for Charity from the start. A kind, loving soul who would do anything (well, almost anything) for her dear Father Johan. With twists and turns, some family tragedy and a bit of love (definitely love) thrown in, this book had me riveted to the very end. You did it again, Linda. I highly recommend this book! Enjoy!

[Jane A Diles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed One Wish; Linda Lael Miller is an excellent western writer. To me, the point of the storyline was the fact that Charity grew up lonely and believed in fairy tales, either a book or ones she made up. And in a true fairy tale there is always a nice beginning, then evil things happen and either the heroine or hero needs to leave but then always comes back for the love ever after ending. And this is what this book was about. To me, Charity was the perfect heroine of her fairy tale and Luke was definitely the epitome of a fairy tale hero. Well done!

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ranchers, gun fights, bounty hunters, local saloon, and, the girl men fought over. That’s an 1800’s western by this author who is excellent in writing a great story. Charity and Luke knew each other as children and now fifteen years later, they reunite as adults. Of course, also in the picture is another local rancher. It’s a great read and I loved every minute of it. Thanks to the author for the special deal on the book that made it even easier for her fans to obtain.

[Jennifer Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for some violence against the leading female in the book, this wasn't a bad story. I usually get bored easily with historical romance or book set many years ago but not this time. The couple of plot twists helped keep the story interesting and moving along. It wasn't overly predictable or cheesy.The ending was actually very nice. The book cover had nice colors. This book had a little more substance than some romances I have read.

[Zane Morton-Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charity just loves fantasies. Little did she know, she was about to live in anything but ferocious reality. As she grows up, she meets her one and only crush; Luke Shardlow. Problem was, he was such a mystery, who knew what he was doing? As Luke and Charity fall for each other, Luke's past catches up, threatening everything Luke loves. Will Luke stay, or will he run away form the fight?

[Raeann Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical for Linda Lael Miller... GREAT

I am a huge fan. She did not disappoint me here. I love the characters and the story moves along at a nice pace. I kept picking it up intending to read a few pages. Three or four chapters later I would make myself put it down for a while. I highly recommend this book.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Wish was OK. It seemed more like an older book that something recent by Miller. It felt like someone editing out a bunch of sentences that I felt like I missed much of the actions. The slow scenes dragged but the action scenes seemed like they were missing something and went to fast.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Wish

Entertaining,and enjoyable! I liked the strong woman as we know that is what it takes to make things happen. Linda Leah Miller keep them coming, I haven't read a single one of your books I haven't enjoyed.

[Trudy Fagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great romance with lots of excitement!

This book was romantic and about a ranch and good looking cowboys and beautiful woman! It emphasized the importance of family and of knowing yourself and forgiveness.

[Linda Winner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Label Miller never dissapoints!

Cute story! Really liked the childhood meeting and the adult reunion as well as the villain's reckoning. The eventual recognition of his place with Charity and fate by Luke was satisfying too.

[Sandra Newton]

Wonderful story I have read more than once

A creative entertaining and exciting story. I love the cowboys and their strong women that they try to tame. Linda was born to tell stories. I highly recommend you pick any title by her and start reading.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💖💖💖💖💖

[Arlene Iannazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ole fashioned love story..

Great read for a winter night! The characters will end up going straight to your heart. Predictable novel but kept my attention enough to read in one day. Beautiful descriptions of the west. A excellent story for book club discussions.

[Marilyn Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally read non-contemporary stories, but enjoyed this one and found it hard to put down.

[Tolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical Western Romances always make me happy. Great Characters! Just good and fun.

[Linda Carroll-Bradd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy stories where the hero and heroine have a past. So many people and beliefs stand in the way of Luke and Charity and the satisfaction was seeing them bat each one down.