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renee_c's review against another edition
5.0
5/5 more reviews at reinereviews.blogspot.com !
After trying to read a few books that just weren't doing it for me, I found exactly what I was looking for: a fantasy novel with themes of freedom and loyalty, friendship and responsibility, led by an amazing cast of characters.
The Forbidden Wish is sold as an Aladdin retelling, but it is much more than that. Khoury has loaded it with history and intricacies so that the story is completely new. Zahra, our lead jinni, is direct, strong, and vulnerable. I love how Khoury made sure we never forget that Zahra isn't human, but at the same time incited sympathy. The mystery of piecing together the sins of the past and exactly what crimes were committed kept me eagerly reading. Following Zahra's fight for freedom and watching her scheme to achieve her own goals all while staying within the limitations set on her made me a loyal fan of hers.
I also adored Aladdin and Caspida, and I wish they had gotten even more of the spotlight. Our eyes were always focused on Zahra, but in our peripheral vision Khoury allowed us to see how Aladdin and Caspida were each strong and complete characters. We got glimpses of how much was on each of their plates and could decipher the reasoning behind their actions-- a sign of good writing that Khoury was able to show us what Aladdin and Caspida felt and thought, even if Zahra didn't specifically acknowledge it. The Forbidden Wish could definitely be re-written from either Aladdin's or Caspida's point of view, and it would tell a different story that I would 100% want to read.
The ending may be a little bit of a stretch, but is overall a small imperfection. The Forbidden Wish mixes the complicated navigation of courts and lies, duty and freedom, and love and loyalty. I would highly recommend it, particularly to fans of The Winner's Curse and Strange the Dreamer. Plus, who can ever say no more Aladdin?
After trying to read a few books that just weren't doing it for me, I found exactly what I was looking for: a fantasy novel with themes of freedom and loyalty, friendship and responsibility, led by an amazing cast of characters.
The Forbidden Wish is sold as an Aladdin retelling, but it is much more than that. Khoury has loaded it with history and intricacies so that the story is completely new. Zahra, our lead jinni, is direct, strong, and vulnerable. I love how Khoury made sure we never forget that Zahra isn't human, but at the same time incited sympathy. The mystery of piecing together the sins of the past and exactly what crimes were committed kept me eagerly reading. Following Zahra's fight for freedom and watching her scheme to achieve her own goals all while staying within the limitations set on her made me a loyal fan of hers.
I also adored Aladdin and Caspida, and I wish they had gotten even more of the spotlight. Our eyes were always focused on Zahra, but in our peripheral vision Khoury allowed us to see how Aladdin and Caspida were each strong and complete characters. We got glimpses of how much was on each of their plates and could decipher the reasoning behind their actions-- a sign of good writing that Khoury was able to show us what Aladdin and Caspida felt and thought, even if Zahra didn't specifically acknowledge it. The Forbidden Wish could definitely be re-written from either Aladdin's or Caspida's point of view, and it would tell a different story that I would 100% want to read.
The ending may be a little bit of a stretch, but is overall a small imperfection. The Forbidden Wish mixes the complicated navigation of courts and lies, duty and freedom, and love and loyalty. I would highly recommend it, particularly to fans of The Winner's Curse and Strange the Dreamer. Plus, who can ever say no more Aladdin?
mea9an's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my goodness, Guys! That was the cutest book ever! Like, I don't even want it to be a sequel. I just want it to stay exactly where it is.
The ending was perfect, okay? It had a beautiful happy ending just like every Disney movie retelling should have. It had bad-ass women who didn't need men in their lives to tell them what to do. It had the right amount of magic and the way the magic sort of disappeared was beautiful.
I've only read a few retellings in my time, but I really enjoyed this one. I don't know why I loved it so much, because it had a strange love triangle, and there were a few mishaps here and there, but altogether it was beautiful.
A perfect book for me! It was fantasy and sort of contemporary! Making it a weird combination, but very interesting.
This review probably isn't going to make anyone want to read the book, unless you really like my opinion, but I say read it. Give it a chance, and if you don't like it, don't finish it.
The ending was perfect, okay? It had a beautiful happy ending just like every Disney movie retelling should have. It had bad-ass women who didn't need men in their lives to tell them what to do. It had the right amount of magic and the way the magic sort of disappeared was beautiful.
I've only read a few retellings in my time, but I really enjoyed this one. I don't know why I loved it so much, because it had a strange love triangle, and there were a few mishaps here and there, but altogether it was beautiful.
A perfect book for me! It was fantasy and sort of contemporary! Making it a weird combination, but very interesting.
This review probably isn't going to make anyone want to read the book, unless you really like my opinion, but I say read it. Give it a chance, and if you don't like it, don't finish it.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
3.0
I am sad that the romance in this isn't done better since that was supposed to be the selling point.
silver_anchor4's review against another edition
3.0
I started reading this book because I just couldn't seem to get through anything else and the cover looked pretty... I'm so glad I did.
This book was EVERYTHING! It was magical, sexy, action-packed, and really amazing. The story was such a good spin on Aladdin's tale, and the writing was beautiful! The narration was my favorite part of the book because it made it all feel very personal.
And all those powerful female characters!!! I loved them all! I also loved Aladdin, but Caspida and Zahra took the cake.
Anyway, this book was awesome and everyone should read it!
This book was EVERYTHING! It was magical, sexy, action-packed, and really amazing. The story was such a good spin on Aladdin's tale, and the writing was beautiful! The narration was my favorite part of the book because it made it all feel very personal.
And all those powerful female characters!!! I loved them all! I also loved Aladdin, but Caspida and Zahra took the cake.
Anyway, this book was awesome and everyone should read it!
nadine_booklover's review against another edition
4.0
One of the most enjoyable retellings with wonderful, rich and lovable characters, I've ever read!
lielos99's review against another edition
4.0
Eeeep! I love Middle Eastern tales and this was an epic retelling of Aladdin with a twist.
bmzhang's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I don't remember the story of Aladdin that well, but it was a fun retelling for the most part. I just thought it was a bit boring in the pacing and ending. Wholesome tho
starrysea98's review against another edition
5.0
I've heard so many mixed reviews about this book so just to sum it all up: The Forbidden Wish is absolutely worth the read.
I love fairytale retellings so when I saw this was a new take on Aladdin, I had to read it immediately. The cover is gorgeous and although my copy is one of those books where there are numerous one-lined reviews from various well known critics and zero synopsis, that did not deter me.
I liked Jessica's writing of Zahra - how she so desperately wants to set herself above humans so that she doesn't cause any more destruction like she did 500 years ago. I like how she's smart as well and that her love for Aladdin and the fact that she is an all-powerful jinni aren't her two defining features.
The writing is lyrical and the attention to detail is breathtaking. Jessica describes things so amazingly that she can make even the slums seem poetic. The plot isn't too heavy (one might even say it's basically a few events strung together by scenes between the key characters). However, this somehow works in the book's favour as it gives time to build the emotions and drop tiny hints to the ending of the story.
Really, this book just makes me want to go out into the street and yell at passer-bys to read it.
I love fairytale retellings so when I saw this was a new take on Aladdin, I had to read it immediately. The cover is gorgeous and although my copy is one of those books where there are numerous one-lined reviews from various well known critics and zero synopsis, that did not deter me.
I liked Jessica's writing of Zahra - how she so desperately wants to set herself above humans so that she doesn't cause any more destruction like she did 500 years ago. I like how she's smart as well and that her love for Aladdin and the fact that she is an all-powerful jinni aren't her two defining features.
The writing is lyrical and the attention to detail is breathtaking. Jessica describes things so amazingly that she can make even the slums seem poetic. The plot isn't too heavy (one might even say it's basically a few events strung together by scenes between the key characters). However, this somehow works in the book's favour as it gives time to build the emotions and drop tiny hints to the ending of the story.
Really, this book just makes me want to go out into the street and yell at passer-bys to read it.
jordun9008's review against another edition
3.0
I had really high expectations going into this book, and although I ended up enjoying the book, I don't believe it met the high bar that I unintentionally set.
I really liked the relationships amongst the females in this book. It could have easily been catty, but instead the females were strong and fierce, and they had each other's backs in the end. Plus there is a band of warrior female assassins, or at least that's my interpretation of them.
Now the reasons I didn't love it. I just felt that it dragged for the majority of the book, and I didn't really enjoy it until the last quarter of the book. Also, even though I generally liked the characters, I wasn't invested in them so I really didn't care that much what happened to them.
It is still a really good book, and if you are thinking about reading it then you should do it.
I really liked the relationships amongst the females in this book. It could have easily been catty, but instead the females were strong and fierce, and they had each other's backs in the end. Plus there is a band of warrior female assassins, or at least that's my interpretation of them.
Now the reasons I didn't love it. I just felt that it dragged for the majority of the book, and I didn't really enjoy it until the last quarter of the book. Also, even though I generally liked the characters, I wasn't invested in them so I really didn't care that much what happened to them.
It is still a really good book, and if you are thinking about reading it then you should do it.
rlstrayer1's review against another edition
4.0
I'll be honest...the only reason I picked up this book is because Sarah J. Maas's review was on the cover. I love Maas and will read anything she recommends. And I'm so happy she did! This was a wonderful little gem of a book. It was funny, romantic, and full of awesome and strong female characters. I definitely recommend it!