Christie Ridgway is a wonderful new discovery for me. In fact, I liked Wish You Were Here so much, I’ve glommed two of her previous novels (and I’ve already read one and liked it). Wish You Were Here is a sweet romance that can be funny, touching and frustrating all within a few pages.

Yeager Gates goes to Abrigo Island to recuperate after an accident that left him blind. Since Yeager is an astronaut, that pretty much ends his career. He needs to find a way to deal with his loss of sight and the thing he loves most – flying. Zoe Cash and her sister, Lyssa, run a resort on the island. Zoe fancies herself a matchmaker, but with six of her matches ending in divorce, she needs to succeed with Yeager and his friend, Deke, to maintain her reputation. She doesn’t count on being drawn to Yeager herself.

Zoe is entertaining. She tries to take care of everyone but herself. There is a wonderfully close bond between Zoe and Lyssa. They were orphaned when Zoe was about 18, and they had to immediately deal with a life-changing situation. Zoe is also passionate about the firetail fish that appear on Abrigo’s shores every year. While there is some doubt about their reappearance, Zoe desperately believes they will return.

Yeager is just yummy. While devastated about the loss of his sight, he’s immediately attracted to Zoe and goes after her. It keeps him from focusing completely on his loss. He charms and romances Zoe while trying to figure out how to win her heart. He also has a slightly amusing inflatable friend to talk to when Deke’s not around.

The chemistry is apparent between Zoe and Yeager. Zoe smolders when Yeager is around, and he gets turned on simply by her smell. They each try to help the other once they figure out what problems need to be solved.

The secondary romance between Lyssa and Yeager’s friend Deke is interesting and sweet, but the instant and cosmical attraction was a little much. Lyssa is a very serene, confident woman, and Deke can be gruff when he’s trying to resist her. He’s convinced he’s too old for her, and Lyssa must convince him otherwise.

There was one small thing that bothered me. Zoe’s reason not to fall in love and her refusal to acknowledge it was a bit thinly developed. How she finally comes to terms with her problem, and how Yeager helps her, however, make for touching moments.

All in all, I enjoyed my first novel by Christie Ridgway. It was sweet and touching, and I can’t wait to read the one I found tonight!