A review by melanie_books
The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine

4.0

In the wake of tragedy, Thaddeus, the illegitimate son of the king is desperate to protect his twin sister Arianna. And Alistair Teague knows that desperation will encourage people to make wishes they wouldn't otherwise make - and he has big plans for Thad. Three weeks later, he is king and contracted to Teague for the next 10 years. But Ari is safe - or would be if she stopped trying to find a way to destroy the Wish Granter. When she's not snorting through Assembly meetings, she is studying the fae and learning self-defense from Sebastian, the new (unfairly distracting) weapons manager.

This book is the second in a series but really is a complete story on its own. Based loosely on the story of

Spoiler

Rumpelstiltskin

, the titular character is reimagined as a type of mob boss which was excellent. But the best part of the book though was Ari: she doesn't let anything stop her; when obstacles come up, she just figures out a way around them (reminiscent of Lia Mara from A Heart So Fierce & Broken.) Sebastian recognizes early on that his greatest asset in protecting Ari is the princess herself. His quiet strength and determination to do whatever it takes, no matter what it cost him, to help Ari made him such a great character. Overall, great characters and great reimagining of a story that isn't explored very often.