A review by emileereadsbooks
Wish You Weren't Here by Gracie Ruth Mitchell

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In her middle of the night wander through the antique store, Clementine accidentally bumps into a teapot, freeing a British genie. And her wish is that it hasn't happened. 

But her compassion for him (and her appreciation for his good looks) leads her to promise to set him free from his genie existence. 

But before she can wish him into a human, he has to prove he can be a good one. And he has to do it within a month or he'll just fade away. So Clementine starts giving him human lessons and they spend more time together (especially since they are pretending to date to try and deter suitors to fix a wish gone wrong), they both have to grow and change to embrace what it means to be a good person. 
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I kept telling a friend that this was a slow read for me, which is *normally* a yellow flag in my reading life. But it was slow because there were so many instances where I really had to stop and think about what this book was saying about what it means to be human. I highlighted the heck out of this one because there were too many hilarious and wise nuggets that I wanted to be able to revisit easily. 

I loved the banter between Clementine and Alaric. The way Mitchell writes Alaric as the most poised bumbling snarky gentleman is perfection. And I loved the anxiety representation in Clementine. The way she isn't ashamed of who she is was refreshing. 

If you like a rom com with a sprinkle of magic, I urge you to pick this one up!
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This is a closed door, kisses only magical realism rom com.

Thank you to the author for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.