Tag Archive | Genie

REVIEW: Wishing For You by Elizabeth Langston

Wishing For You by Elizabeth Langston (I Wish #2)

Read: September 2015

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Tip for reading this book – do not begin immediately after reading book one, I Wish. Both books are told in first person, but two different characters. Book one is Lacey’s story. Book two is Kimberley’s. I had to keep reminding myself this was not Lacey narrating, this was Kimberley.

We first met Kimberley in I Wish, as Lacey’s new-to-town friend. A cancer survivor, one major lingering side effect from her ordeal is brain damage. Short-term memory loss to be precise. Kimberley has to carry around an iPad to record everything she does, otherwise she may not remember.

When Grant appears in a puff of smoke she is only mildy surprised to learn he’s a genie and there to grant her wishes. I honestly wasn’t sure how Grant could help Kimberley. Her challenges were so different from Lacey’s I couldn’t imagine where this would go. As it turned out, Grant was entirely beneficial for her.

Due to her disability, Kimberley relies very heavily on her parents, her mother in particular. Instead of helping her to be self-sufficient, they have kept her in a protective bubble. They drive her everywhere, she has no chores aside from keeping her bedroom clean, she doesn’t know how to cook or do laundry, the list goes on. With Grant’s help, she’s able to identify the reasons she should not do a particular task, and then find a way around that obstacle safely. Most importantly, Grant helps her become her own person and not just the person her family thinks she is.

Even though Grant was there to help her, that really wasn’t the main plot point of this book. Someone close to Kimberley has been diagnosed with cancer. She’s been there, she knows what he’s going through. Her friend is keeping mum, he asks her to not tell a soul (aside from her mom) and she agrees, because how could you let down your friend when he’s terminal?

The romance in this book was far superior to I Wish, in my opinion. It built slowly and realistically. There was no love triangle for Kimberley (thank goodness!)

What really makes this book memorable though is the friendship between Kimberley and her friend with cancer. Watching their friendship grow, only to end in heartbreak had me tearing up.

I have an idea of what will likely happen to Grant next, now that he’s completed his month with Kimberley, but I won’t say anything for fear of spoiling anything from this book.

Ultimately, I’d say this book was a little better than its predecessor and I do look forward to what book three will bring.

REVIEW: I Wish by Elizabeth Langston

This review is for book one of the I Wish series, a unique take on genies.
I would say this book is more of a contemporary fiction novel with a fantasy spin.

This was another I read via text-to-speech on my Kindle at work.


 

I Wish by Elizabeth Langston

Read: September 2015

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Fantasy Romance

 

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, I Wish is a paranormal romance about a human and her genie. But really, it’s more than that.

I Wish is Lacey’s story. She’s nearly eighteen and the primary caretaker of her family. Her father died when she was six and her stepfather died one year before the books events take place. Her mother is suffering from sever depression and Lacey is sure if she tries to get help there will be social workers who will take Lacey and her eight year old brother, Henry, away. She’s been in child protective services once before, after her father died. She doesn’t want Henry to have to go through that.

To support her family and pay the bills Lacey has a job at a bookstore and she’s been pawning the family valuables at the local flea market. She receives money from her dad’s military death benefits, and her mother and brother receive social security, but it’s barely enough to pay the mortgage. They are in dire need, late on bills and living on pasta.

When Lacey gets her hands on a beat up music box at the flea market she thinks if she can clean it up she might be able to sell it for more. So she takes it home, starts scrubbing the box, and in a puff of smoke, her genie appears. And he’s an extremely attractive teenage boy who tells her his name is Grant. He quickly explains that he is there to serve her, she is his mistress, and there are rules. Lacey will not receive 3 wishes, instead she will receive 30 wishes—one per day for the next 30 days. There’s a catch, while Grant has magic, he is only able to grant wishes that are humanly possible. No wishing for a million dollars or a new car.

Lacey, being the practical and responsible person she is, makes a list of everything Grant can help her with and soon he becomes her personal handyman. While he helps her fix up the house and find ways to make money to help support the family, she also learns some life lessons. Lacey does not like to accept charity, she’s doing just fine supporting the family. Grant helps her learn to accept help and realize she can’t do everything on her own. It was interesting watching Lacey grow.

One of the things I most enjoyed about the story were the letters from Grant to hiss Boss at the end of each chapter, outlining the wish he granted for the day and his overall feelings/observations. It was interesting watching him learn and grow.

Now, my one gripe with the story is the romance between Grant and Lacey. The whole story we’re building up a relationship between Lacey and her classmate Eli (who is also her brothers soccer coach) and then we’re thrown a curveball when Grant and Lacey fall for each other. Sure she’s been physically attracted to him from the get go, but he does not have a full range of human emotions, because he’s not human. He doesn’t think the way humans think. I sort of feel like the author was expected to have Grant and Lacey be together, so she made it happen. Ultimately, I don’t think it really added a lot to the story the way it was done. If the romance build had been more organic and less sudden, I would be more okay with it.

Even with that small gripe (that others may not share at all!) I still give it 4 stars and do recommend this book. The sequel Wishing For You releases October 13. Watch for my review on that book very soon!