The Secret Wish List

Does true love really exist, or is it just a cliché? Can a single kiss really change your life?

At 16 Diksha, like any girl her age, finds her life revolving around school, boys and endless hours of fun with her best friend. But one day all that changes. What starts as an innocent crush explodes into something far beyond her control.

Eighteen years later she finds herself at the crossroads of life. Urged by a twist of events, a wish list is born. But can a wish list help her piece her life back together? Will she succumb to the tangled mess of an extramarital relationship?

Once again Preeti Shenoy brings an extraordinary story that tugs at the heartstrings, with insight and wisdom, as she explores the delicate matters of the heart. The Secret Wish List is a captivating, engrossing, racy tale about following your heart, chasing your dreams and the meaning of friendship.

©2012 Preeti Shenoy (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

simply Yessss

We meet Diksha at sixteen - at that tender age where life feels like it revolves around boys, school, and a best friend who understands you better than anyone else ever could. Shenoy takes us straight back into the chaos and intensity of high school an first love, and we experience it with Diksha. However, one mistake, one moment, and her life begins to unravel before our eyes.

Running alongside this teenage version of Diksha is the woman she becomes eighteen years later. She is now a wife. A mother. And heartbreakingly, very little beyond that. Time has passed, but somewhere along the way, her sense of self has quietly disappeared. She feels stifled - by her marriage, by her responsibilities, by a life that no longer feels like her own.

When life throws yet another curveball, Diksha creates a wish list. But this is not a whimsical, throwaway New Year’s resolution or a half-hearted attempt at change. This wish list is a lifeline. A glimmer of hope. A small but powerful act of rebellion against the idea that this is all her life will ever be. It carries with it a promise - that reinvention is possible, even now.

I absolutely loved this book.

Let me be very clear: I absolutely loved this book.

As a reader, I felt suffocated within Diksha’s life - and I mean that as the highest compliment. Her constraints become yours. You feel the weight of expectations, the quiet compromises, and the slow erosion of self that so many women experience but rarely articulate.
What I loved most was watching Diksha grow. Her evolution feels earned, messy, and deeply human.
I am especially obsessed with the support system surrounding her - because Shenoy shows us just how transformative the right kind of support can be.

The novel beautifully explores the tension between personal ambition and familial or marital expectations. What stood out to me was how respectfully this was handled. Shenoy never dismisses or mocks tradition, nor does she blindly glorify it. Instead, she acknowledges its complexity. Not just in India, but in many cultures, some customs persist because they work - for some people, in some contexts.
Having a different opinion does not give us free rein to hate on those systems, and this nuance is something Shenoy navigates with remarkable care.
Power dynamics between men and women are subtly but firmly challenged.
The deeply human desire for fulfillment - not only as a parent or partner, but as an individual - is brought to the forefront. And the difference a good support system can make is illustrated in ways that feel both realistic and hopeful.

Above all, this was an utterly transportive read. I loved the classic gossiping aunties, the wide-eyed innocence of Diksha and her best friend, and the way her bubbly spirit continues to peek through even in the darkest moments. That quiet, persistent spark of hope stayed with me—and by the end, it felt infinite.
This is not just a story about second chances. It is a reminder that it is never too late to want more - and to allow yourself to reach for it.