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A review by lassarina
Her Every Wish by Courtney Milan
5.0
Her Every Wish is the story of Daisy, Judith's friend from Once Upon a Marquess. This novella is a second-chance story; as we begin, Daisy and Crash have already been lovers and then broke up after saying some very hurtful things to each other.
Daisy has entered a contest to receive fifty pounds to start her own business, and the story opens with the entrants giving speeches to explain their ideas. Although the contest rules did not explicitly say that women could not enter, it is grindingly, painfully clear that no one expected a woman to enter, and everyone reacts accordingly.
Re-enter Crash, who offers to help Daisy prepare her speech for the final presentations, a week hence. Of course, amid practicing her speech, one thing leads to another, and so on.
Things I loved about this book: where even to begin? There's a lot of really great stuff going on with expectations of gender and race. Crash is mixed-race, and that informs a lot of his character; he has learned to laugh everything off because he knows no one is going to take him seriously. Likewise, Daisy knows she has to work three times as hard to be considered even a quarter as good. I loved the dialogue between them, which was both poignant and hilarious. I really appreciated the reasons for why they'd come apart in the first place, and how they resolved that in this story. I liked that we get to see Judith and while she's certainly better off than she was, her life isn't flawlessly happy-ever-after, and that feels real and good. I loved Daisy's business idea (and Crash's, too) and the logic there.
I loved the way we see Daisy's mother, who has what I'm guessing is fibromyalgia or a variant on Ehlers-Danlos--both how Daisy supports her and understands her limitations, and how assholes react disabilities they can't see or understand. (Ask me about topics I feel strongly about!) I absolutely adore Crash's family and his history, the story of his mother and how he was raised, and all the little things that add up to making him what he is. And again, I love the threads of Judith's friendship weaving into this.
I won't spoil how the contest ends, but I think the plot was wrapped up in a satisfying and realistic manner, and I really appreciated that, as well.
Being a novella, everything in this book happens rather fast, and in some ways I want more just because I loved Daisy and Crash and wanted to spend more time with them. On the other hand, that would have killed the pacing, and it's lovely just as it is.
Daisy has entered a contest to receive fifty pounds to start her own business, and the story opens with the entrants giving speeches to explain their ideas. Although the contest rules did not explicitly say that women could not enter, it is grindingly, painfully clear that no one expected a woman to enter, and everyone reacts accordingly.
Re-enter Crash, who offers to help Daisy prepare her speech for the final presentations, a week hence. Of course, amid practicing her speech, one thing leads to another, and so on.
Things I loved about this book: where even to begin? There's a lot of really great stuff going on with expectations of gender and race. Crash is mixed-race, and that informs a lot of his character; he has learned to laugh everything off because he knows no one is going to take him seriously. Likewise, Daisy knows she has to work three times as hard to be considered even a quarter as good. I loved the dialogue between them, which was both poignant and hilarious. I really appreciated the reasons for why they'd come apart in the first place, and how they resolved that in this story. I liked that we get to see Judith and while she's certainly better off than she was, her life isn't flawlessly happy-ever-after, and that feels real and good. I loved Daisy's business idea (and Crash's, too) and the logic there.
I loved the way we see Daisy's mother, who has what I'm guessing is fibromyalgia or a variant on Ehlers-Danlos--both how Daisy supports her and understands her limitations, and how assholes react disabilities they can't see or understand. (Ask me about topics I feel strongly about!) I absolutely adore Crash's family and his history, the story of his mother and how he was raised, and all the little things that add up to making him what he is. And again, I love the threads of Judith's friendship weaving into this.
I won't spoil how the contest ends, but I think the plot was wrapped up in a satisfying and realistic manner, and I really appreciated that, as well.
Being a novella, everything in this book happens rather fast, and in some ways I want more just because I loved Daisy and Crash and wanted to spend more time with them. On the other hand, that would have killed the pacing, and it's lovely just as it is.