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claudiacantread's review against another edition
4.0
This is Aladdin fanfiction and it worked for me.
So this book poses the question that I know we have all just been secretly dying to ask: what if the genie was a hot lady instead of Robin Williams? Turns out it’s a kind of cute and fun romance! And ok there are actually quite a bit of changes other than the hot genie lady thing.
‘Zara’ is the aforementioned genie who is found in her lamp after hundreds of years by the thief Aladdin. Aladdin uses his wishes to set up a plot to avenge the death of his parents at the hands of Not-Jafar (but really Jafar). We get plenty of call backs to the movie and general myths and stories of Aladdin but with new added flair for most characters.
I think the book heavily relies on the likability of Zara, who I found very enjoyable. Her inner voice is strong and well written with a mixture of naïve feelings and older wisdom. A character that has lived a long time but without actually connecting to anything for most of it. Zara and Aladdin are cute and their chemistry works. The side characters are fun and good shout outs.
My only real complaints are that it had a weaker second half, the build up was much more fun than the actual conclusion. It was definitely cheesy but like…it is what is.
Conversation Question: do you have a favorite retelling?
Spoiler for the ending:
I do hate stories where women lose their powers at the end to be with men. This wasn’t nearly as egregious as the WORST example of this ever (*glares at Leigh Bardugo*) but it was still kind of disappointing. Aladdin, at least, wouldn’t have cared either way and was never scared/jealous of her powers which makes it a little better.
So this book poses the question that I know we have all just been secretly dying to ask: what if the genie was a hot lady instead of Robin Williams? Turns out it’s a kind of cute and fun romance! And ok there are actually quite a bit of changes other than the hot genie lady thing.
‘Zara’ is the aforementioned genie who is found in her lamp after hundreds of years by the thief Aladdin. Aladdin uses his wishes to set up a plot to avenge the death of his parents at the hands of Not-Jafar (but really Jafar). We get plenty of call backs to the movie and general myths and stories of Aladdin but with new added flair for most characters.
I think the book heavily relies on the likability of Zara, who I found very enjoyable. Her inner voice is strong and well written with a mixture of naïve feelings and older wisdom. A character that has lived a long time but without actually connecting to anything for most of it. Zara and Aladdin are cute and their chemistry works. The side characters are fun and good shout outs.
My only real complaints are that it had a weaker second half, the build up was much more fun than the actual conclusion. It was definitely cheesy but like…it is what is.
Conversation Question: do you have a favorite retelling?
Spoiler for the ending:
I do hate stories where women lose their powers at the end to be with men. This wasn’t nearly as egregious as the WORST example of this ever (*glares at Leigh Bardugo*) but it was still kind of disappointing. Aladdin, at least, wouldn’t have cared either way and was never scared/jealous of her powers which makes it a little better.
joonswifey's review against another edition
3.0
this was nice. i like the story of aladdin, and it was a good retelling. i wasnt awed. it was a quick read tho, and very fun.
jessicapietro's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the writing in this book. Beautiful language and descriptions.
ashleybhaley's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
"'Love is a path lined with roses... but it leads to a cliff's edge, and all who follow it tumble to their doom. You will not find your happiness there.'" - Jessica Khoury - The Forbidden Wish
This was a cute YA retelling of Aladdin. I found myself comparing all of the characters in the book to the movie trying to figure out who Jafar or Jasmine would be. The only name that is kept is Aladdins, so it leaves room for the story to be unique and stand on its own.
I liked that the book took an alternative route and was written from the perspective of Zahara (the jinni) and I was really rooting for the romance that developed between the characters.
Now I must warn you, Fantasy is not really my gig, so I found parts of both the very beginning and very end slightly confusing when the characters were working out the differences between the Jinn and Human worlds, but other than that it was very enjoyable. And it's a standalone.
"'Love is a path lined with roses... but it leads to a cliff's edge, and all who follow it tumble to their doom. You will not find your happiness there.'" - Jessica Khoury - The Forbidden Wish
This was a cute YA retelling of Aladdin. I found myself comparing all of the characters in the book to the movie trying to figure out who Jafar or Jasmine would be. The only name that is kept is Aladdins, so it leaves room for the story to be unique and stand on its own.
I liked that the book took an alternative route and was written from the perspective of Zahara (the jinni) and I was really rooting for the romance that developed between the characters.
Now I must warn you, Fantasy is not really my gig, so I found parts of both the very beginning and very end slightly confusing when the characters were working out the differences between the Jinn and Human worlds, but other than that it was very enjoyable. And it's a standalone.
heyjudy's review against another edition
3.0
~3.5/5
I really wanted to love this book, but it was just okay.
This is inspired by Aladdin, with the main character being Zahra, a genie stuck inside a lamp that thief Aladdin finds. Aladdin wants revenge on the vizier who killed his parents, and he also wants to be in love with the princess Caspida, so he can be prince. Zahra just wants her freedom, and she wants to not fall in love with a human after what happened last time.
I did appreciate all of the backstories. There’s a reason for Aladdin wanting revenge, there’s a reason for why Zahra is inside the cave, we get to see the people living in the city and the poverty and who they really want ruling. There’s real cruelty, to the people, to Aladdin, to the vizier. There’s war, and there’s consequences for action, including magic ones to Zahra.
While the story is quite different from Aladdin, there are a surprising amount of similarities and plot points made in reference, and I appreciated that.
One problem I had with the book was the pace. Zahra has a time limit on what she has to do to get her freedom. She has about a month. And yet for almost that entire month but the last two days, she wastes it, and there’s very little mention at all of her working toward it. It drove me crazy. So little even happened for the first half of the book.
My other problem was the romance. I so badly wanted to love Zahra and Aladdin. But I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t feel their chemistry, and I barely even felt anything for Aladdin’s character at all. He just seemed too under-developed. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that I started feeling any intense emotion from Zahra at all, let alone real romantic feelings for Aladdin. I wish all of the book had been that intense, if not more so.
It was just okay. I wanted so badly to love this book, but it was just okay in the end, sadly.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
I really wanted to love this book, but it was just okay.
This is inspired by Aladdin, with the main character being Zahra, a genie stuck inside a lamp that thief Aladdin finds. Aladdin wants revenge on the vizier who killed his parents, and he also wants to be in love with the princess Caspida, so he can be prince. Zahra just wants her freedom, and she wants to not fall in love with a human after what happened last time.
I did appreciate all of the backstories. There’s a reason for Aladdin wanting revenge, there’s a reason for why Zahra is inside the cave, we get to see the people living in the city and the poverty and who they really want ruling. There’s real cruelty, to the people, to Aladdin, to the vizier. There’s war, and there’s consequences for action, including magic ones to Zahra.
While the story is quite different from Aladdin, there are a surprising amount of similarities and plot points made in reference, and I appreciated that.
One problem I had with the book was the pace. Zahra has a time limit on what she has to do to get her freedom. She has about a month. And yet for almost that entire month but the last two days, she wastes it, and there’s very little mention at all of her working toward it. It drove me crazy. So little even happened for the first half of the book.
My other problem was the romance. I so badly wanted to love Zahra and Aladdin. But I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t feel their chemistry, and I barely even felt anything for Aladdin’s character at all. He just seemed too under-developed. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that I started feeling any intense emotion from Zahra at all, let alone real romantic feelings for Aladdin. I wish all of the book had been that intense, if not more so.
It was just okay. I wanted so badly to love this book, but it was just okay in the end, sadly.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
shezz's review against another edition
4.0
This was really really good!
This story is almost a retelling of Aladdin but focuses on the genie. And a female one at that. and it was amazing. You could really see how both Zarha and Aladdin grow as characters and how their relationship formed from needing each other to survive, and to accomplish their own goals to love.
Zarha's connection to her past was also amazingly done because you could really feel her talking to her past friend, and empathise with her past regrets and current situation's. I have seen this done a few times but it was executed here flawlessly and added that extra element to the story.
If you're after a book about an all powerful female genie who saves the world on her own terms this is is the book for you.
This story is almost a retelling of Aladdin but focuses on the genie. And a female one at that. and it was amazing. You could really see how both Zarha and Aladdin grow as characters and how their relationship formed from needing each other to survive, and to accomplish their own goals to love.
Zarha's connection to her past was also amazingly done because you could really feel her talking to her past friend, and empathise with her past regrets and current situation's. I have seen this done a few times but it was executed here flawlessly and added that extra element to the story.
If you're after a book about an all powerful female genie who saves the world on her own terms this is is the book for you.
rachbarn98's review against another edition
2.0
I really did not feel this book. The romance was very cliche and shallow, as were the characters, the plot, etc. Maybe this would have been a good book for a preteen or younger, but I found myself wanting more depth, more feelings, better writing. The fact that a ton of reviewers who I love and trust gave this four or five stars chips away at my security with their reviews. At most, this is a three star book. When will I ever be able to trust a reviewer again?? On to the next book.
cuckleberryfins's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! I love retellings; they give me life. This one was exceptional. I would 100% recommend to a friend