Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

Denise Grover Swank is on tour with CLP Blog Tours, and I am sure glad she is! I could not put down Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. I started it at eight in the morning, and by eight that night I was already 67% finished- and I worked a full day! I kept pulling my Kindle out whenever I got a free minute because I couldn’t stand not knowing what would happen next. The main character is Rose Gardner, a twenty-four year old woman who seems more like she is a young teen from her sheltered life she has been forced to live. Her ‘Momma’ has been a controlling, overbearing, and quite selfish mother, and Rose’s life revolves around keeping Momma happy.  Rose also has visions, often pretty mundane things like where someone misplaced their keys, but is shaken one day when she sees a vision of herself- dead. Instead of her vision coming true, her Momma ends up dead, and Rose is considered a suspect. Now, Rose has to figure out how to live life on her own, how to clear her name, and how to figure out the delicious next door neighbor Joe, who always comes to her rescue but seems to be hiding a secret.

Rose’s character is super sweet yet painfully shy and seriously clueless about the world. She makes a bucket list when she sees the vision of herself dead, thinking that she doesn’t have much time left. The things she wants to experience are what many take for granted: play in the rain, get a cell phone, get cable TV, kiss a man. It’s a little heartbreaking to read about such a nice person who has lived her life under such tight constraints. I was friends with Rose from page one. The story only gets better as you read on, full of twists and gasping moments and a sweet love story that I wasn’t sure how was going to turn out until the last chapter. This is the debut from Denise Grover Swank, and I know she has three more in the series in the works, and I absolutely cannot wait to read them. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes has easily topped my Favorites for 2011, and I highly suggest this Southern mystery for your bookshelf, it will not disappoint!