A compelling Aladdin retelling | The Forbidden Wish

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

Published: February 23rd 2016 by Razorbill

Genre: young adult, retelling, fantasy

Goodreads summary: She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world... 

When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years -- a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. 

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

REVIEW

Since the beginning of the year, I've been looking for an AMAZING book about jinnis. I've tried Exquisite Captive and Rebel of the Sands, but neither did the trick for me. But finally, I picked up The Forbidden Wish… And it totally worked. It was my first book by this author, I'll check her Goodreads page to see if I'm interested in her other works, because this one was amazing.

This book is an Aladdin retelling and I must say it's the first that I read. It was indeed reminiscent of it, but a lot of things changed, which made it even better. First off, the genie is a girl, which changed a lot. We still saw an evil Jafar, a kick-ass Jasmine and a weak king - they didn't have the same names, but it's who they were. I found this book to be more complex than I was expecting, because it was so much more than an Aladdin retelling. The writing was vivid and I really enjoyed it, I felt like it fitted the story so well.

I struggled a little to get into it, I'll admit that. I read the first chapter but totally wasn't in the mood, then read a book I knew I would love and then got back to it. After that, I got hooked and read it in a few sittings. I liked that the plot was pluri-dimensional, because it was about Aladdin's wishes and revenge, about Zahra and her freedom, but also the fate of the kingdom. Since we were in her head during the whole book, I loved Zahra's storyline even more, but I wished it would have been developed sooner. This book is mostly set in the palace and I admit that at some point, I wanted more things to happen there, because it was a little monotonous. But things picked up soon after, so I was satisfied. Within the palace there were dinners, dancing, spying and action scenes, I couldn't have asked for any better.

The world building was phenomenal. Even if the characters almost only stayed in the city, we learnt a lot about the outside world, but also about the history, thanks to Zahra who is over 4.000 years old. Learning about Roshana's time was really interesting and added a lot to the story. I loved learning about the jinnis, with different types of them, but also they're hierarchy. Their world also inflicted on Zahra's story, since she was on a mission to gain her freedom. Moreover, a law forbad jinnis to love a human, and it also included friendship, which was really interesting and didn't put all focus on the romance.

I loved every character, even if I struggled a little to keep up with all the names. Aladdin was different from the original story, he was flirting all the time, but I didn't mind it, I still liked him. It was interesting to learn about his backstory and how everyone expected him to lead a rebellion when he just wanted to live. Zahra was much  more serious, because she knew of the consequences of her actions. I was able to relate to her pretty easily since I was in her head and saw all her weaknesses and mistakes, it was really enjoyable since she was supposed to be so mighty. Caspida was also an amazing character, she was bounded to be queen but wanted to be different from other rulers, I really enjoyed reading about her. The Watchmaidens were so kick-ass, I loved them and the idea of them. Like asezfhzei. Most of the time, in YA fiction, the main character is a girl and we don't see a lot of other interesting girls around her but here… Female characters were all over the place and I loved that. It makes me rejoice every time, because it changes from the usual trope.

I was scared the romance would be all over the place, but it wasn't the case. I liked the way it built up since the beginning of the book. Since the first pages you could feel the chemistry between the characters (I loved when Aladdin called her Smoky, it was so funny) and it didn't felt pushed. Moreover, they had a lot at stakes, which also made them think about it -- especially Zahra. It also changed from the original story, where the thief fell in love with the princess.

Towards the end, this book reached such a climax, I was on the edge of my seat and wanted to know how it would end. It was gripping and I wasn't disappointed at all. I was scared the ending would be a little too open for me, but a last chapter wrapped things up nicely and it was an open ending, since it was a standalone, but there were hints there was room for more. Like someone is called Sinbad so ummm? Companion novel anyone? I wouldn't mind it, but this book was great as a standalone.

 Overall, you should definitely read this book, a compelling Aladdin retelling. It was set in an interesting world and featured amazing characters. The plot definitely kept me entertained, even if I had wished for a bit more when the characters first arrived at the palace. I found it to be pretty unique and I found my jinni book, so my heart is so happy!

Do you love Aladdin? Have you read this book/are you planning to? 

Do you know other retellings of Aladdin? 

Do you know great books with jinnis (I'm hunting them... In a good way ;))?

The Storyspinner & Rebel of the Sands | Mini-reviews

These books have in common that I was really excited about them, but I was disappointed and they took me forever to get through. *sigh* I still liked them but I won't really recommend them.

The Storyspinner (The Keeper's Chronicles #1) by Becky Wallace

Published: Marchi 3rd 2015 by Margaret K. McElderry
Genre: Young adult, High fantasy

Goodreads summary: Drama and danger abound in this fantasy realm where dukes play a game for the throne, magical warriors race to find the missing heir, and romance blossoms where it is least expected.

In a world where dukes plot their way to the throne, a Performer’s life can get tricky. And in Johanna Von Arlo’s case, it can be fatal. Expelled from her troupe after her father’s death, Johanna is forced to work for the handsome Lord Rafael DeSilva. Too bad they don’t get along. But while Johanna’s father’s death was deemed an accident, the Keepers aren’t so sure.

The Keepers, a race of people with magical abilities, are on a quest to find the princess—the same princess who is supposed to be dead and whose throne the dukes are fighting over. But they aren’t the only ones looking for her. And in the wake of their search, murdered girls keep turning up—girls who look exactly like the princess, and exactly like Johanna.

With dukes, Keepers, and a killer all after the princess, Johanna finds herself caught up in political machinations for the throne, threats on her life, and an unexpected romance that could change everything.

REVIEW

The synopsis of this book appealed to me, because it seemed to include all that make a good high fantasy novel. Alas, it was a miss for me. I've heard a lot of great things from bloggers about this one and I didn't really understand what the fuss was about.

First of, this book has a ton of points of view. If I'm being honest, the points of view of the Keepers could have been reduced to one, because the interesting storyline was actually with Johanna and Rafi. Because the points of view switched all the time, I couldn't get attached to any of the characters and most of the time I wanted to skip some chapters - but I didn't, how brave. The romance was so cliché and pretty abrupt, because it seemed like they hated each other most of the book, but apparently no? I still liked the aspect of "they were supposed to be engaged" years ago.

The world-building was… Conventional with all these princess, dukes and so on stuff, but it lacked a little, in my opinion. I was just expecting more during the whole novel and it failed to deliver. For example, why the Keepers? Three of the points of view involved Keepers, so can I know what it's all about? Nope apparently. Moreover, I found names like "Keepers" or "Performers" to be pretty conventional and unoriginal.

Finally, the plot *sigh*. From the synopsis, it's pretty obvious who the princess is, right? But the whole book is just spent trying to figure out this "mystery", and the identity of the princess is just revealed at the end. It was way too long to do just that, I thought it would be resolved in the first half of the book. Because of that, the Keepers' storyline was boring, while I like Johanna and Rafi's. If we didn't have the Keepers, it would have been the same I think…

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book, since I read it until the end. The chapters were short so it was easy to read, at least. I have no interest reading the second book though. Also, I was wondering why did the author take such a long time to reveal the princess' identity when there are only two books?

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton 
                                                                                    
Published: February 4th 2016 by Faber & Faber (will be published in the US March 8th)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Western

Goodreads summary: "Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need. 

Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise.

REVIEW

Funny enough, when I first heard about this book, there were almost only 5 stars reviews on Goodreads, but now I saw a lot of 3 stars, so I'm not in the minority, ha-ha! Don't get me wrong, it was one of my most anticipated debuts of the year, I tried so much to like it, but sadly it didn't work that much. I enjoyed it, but it's part of this 3 stars book category where you don't love it but don't hate it.

The first chapter was engaging and full of guns, so I was so pumped to continue. Alas, it turned into a journey-ing type of book soon after and I got bored. It took me 6 days to get through it, which is insane considering that I'm a fast reader. Right at the end, it picked up and became badass and interesting again, but I had lost most of my interest in it. I finished it because it was a physical copy, but had it been an e-book I'd have DNF. So yes, I had a huge issue with the pacing. Nevertheless, I'm happy I sticked with it until the end, because it got so much better.

I think this book tried to be a lot of things, but it didn't work for me. It was a mix of Western and Arabian setting but it didn't really worked together. I like both aspects, but I felt like it didn't do well together. I was so excited for the Arabian setting, with jinnis and magical horses, but I didn't get nearly enough. We saw the horses in the beginning, but not its fantastical capacities. The jinnis part was more at the end of the novel, so I liked it better but still. If I had been more interested in the story, I could have seen the plot twist coming but nope. And I didn't feel blown away.

I really enjoyed the world building though, from the stories to the desert. I wish you could have seen something else than the desert all. the. time. because it felt so frustrating. I hope that, if I continue with this series, we'll see the palace at some point.

The real reason I'm mad about this book is… The rebellion. This book is called Rebel of the Sands, but yet, the characters only get to the rebellion around p. 220 and it disappointed me so much, because it's what I had been expecting during the whole book! The title was so misleading in this way, ugh. When they got to the rebellion, I got what I wanted, which made me really happy, so I still liked it.

Have you read any of these books or do you want to? Did you feel the Storyspinner ended up to be a conventional and alas unoriginal story? Are you planning to continue with this series? Do you know other books with jinnis (except Exquisite Captive, ugh)?