Review: Great book from a new author
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2012
My 4.5 review from GuiltyPleasuresBookReviews:I so love finding new authors to read, I especially love it when an author I already read and enjoy recommends a book for review.  So first, I must thank the lovely and talented Tamara Morgan for suggesting I read As You Wish by Elyssa Patrick.  Secondly, I must thank Elyssa herself for writing a truly engaging, humorous, and steamy novel.  I'm especially excited because this is her first book and for a first book it is well written, has good character development, and a spectacular plot.  Anyone who reads my reviews knows how vital I find those things in any book.Aubry Riley is a rock star, he's sarcastic, he's arrogant, he's sexy, and at times he appears uncaring.  He's had a rough 6 years; his wife died, he spiraled in to drugs and alcohol, he's been through rehab, his music isn't working, and he's trying to reconnect with his family including his 6 year old daughter and his sister.Portia Jackson is a florist trying to save her family's business.  She talks a lot, she's funny, she has a quick sense of humor, and she doesn't really take crap from anyone.  She's learned that having four extremely over protective brothers.  Oh, and she has a strange fascination/ fear about wolves attacking her!These two meet in a less than obvious way and from the start there's an attraction.  Portia lets Aubry know she knows who he is but she in turn tells him she doesn't really like his music.  So begins the dance between these two. I really loved the scenes between Aubry and Portia, the verbal volleyball was fantastic.  Between Aubry's sarcasm and Portia's wit and wicked sense of humor I often found myself amused and laughing out loud.  They were really fun to watch.  Aubry at times is just rude and mean.  Thing is, I don't even think he realizes it in the moment.  I guess the good thing is he's usually remorseful even though he's really, really bad at apologizing or accepting fault.There are so many characters in this book and all of them go into making this story even better.  I'm not going to mention them all but Portia's brother Finn and her best friend, Laura have a secondary romance that was somewhat amusing and kind of came out of left field.  Aubry's sister's father in law, Gabe, didn't have a huge part but his words made a major difference to the plot line so I feel he deserves a nod.  Not to mention he has a really funny part that again had me cracking up.This book is romance done right; there was a lot of buildup until they actually "do the deed."  (They don't get around to it until the 80% mark on my Kindle so...yes, some heavy anticipation!)  They spend a lot of time engaging in foreplay in both the verbal and physical sense but they also spend a lot of time just getting to know each other better and discovering what's important to the other person.Now for the reason I'm giving this book 4.5 stars instead of 5.  We got an epilogue but it didn't clear up all the loose ends and so I finished the book saying to myself but....what about??  There were just so many unanswered questions that frankly will probably always drive me and other readers insane.  I want to know what happened between Finn and Laura.  Where will Aubry and Portia live?  Is Aubry's daughter, Roxie, going to live with him or still live with his sister and her husband? Does Aubry's career get back on track?  To be fair though, this isn't the first author that's left me feeling this way but it's something I really wish author's wouldn't do.Elyssa Patrick has written an amazing debut novel that is destined to be a favorite for romance readers.  A fantastic and diverse group of characters, clever dialog, and an engaging plot makes As You Wish a story you'll want to enjoy many times over.  I'm so thankful I was asked to read and review this book and I'm really looking forward to future works from this very talented author.