The Forbidden Wish - Jessica Khoury

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"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 the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury."

Have you ever had one of those moments where you're browsing for books and the stars align, guiding you to one you didn't know existed but that you have to have? That's how I found this book. Paperbacks & Frybread was having a sale, it happened to include a random, signed copy of this book, and as soon as I saw that it was an Aladdin retelling, I was sold. Now, in my perfect, idyllic dream world, it would be a queer Aladdin retelling...but aside from lacking that one aspect, this was pretty nice as far as retellings go.

For starters, I loved Zahra. How complicated she was, the way her history was woven into the story and revealed bit by bit, her tenacity and creativity...Zahra rocks. So does Caspida and her handmaidens. Aladdin was acceptable, but the women in this book were by far the best part. Honestly, the...I guess secondary conflict(?) with the vizier and his son was not super engaging to me, probably because it was alluded to but nothing was really done with it until it fully came to a head, but I would have read more of this book just to see Zahra, Caspida, and company be amazing some more. They were glorious. A revelation. Honestly, authors take note. Do we even need Aladdin? This could have been the queer retelling the world needs. (Joking, mostly. Sort of.)

Sorry, getting off track. In addition to the girl power, I enjoyed the world building that went into this book. We only got bits and pieces of it, but it was intriguing as hell! I would read so many more books about Zahra's history. And Caspida's rule. About how her handmaidens came to be her handmaidens. What I'm getting at, Jessica Khoury, is give me more books in this world. I will devour them like Cookie Monster. That's not to say this book is perfect - it definitely had some funky word choices at times and several pacing issues - but for me the good more than made up for the clunky. It was a delight. And now I want to watch Aladdin.

When You Wish Upon a Star - Elizabeth Lim

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight...so begins the wish that changes everything - for Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn't supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it's the hope she senses beneath the old man's loneliness.

Or maybe it's the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara from this very village, one with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister Ilaria always teased her for this, for she had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. The two were close, despite their differences. While Ilaria would give anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didn't believe in the lore for which their village was famous.

Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But she's discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppetto's fate hanging in the balance.

Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?"

Well, you've read the synopsis. Which means you've basically read the whole book. Chiara (sorry, the Blue Fairy) grants Geppetto's wish, makes the deal with Ilaria, and then we spend way too long learning the way too simple backstory of how Chiara became the good Blue Fairy and Ilaria became the big bad Scarlet Fairy. Like 90% of the book follows Chiara's decision to join the fairies and Ilaria resenting her for it and being a child about it, until she ultimately gives up her heart and becomes the Scarlet Fairy to spite her sister. Fine, but also...kind of weak as far as reasons to literally remove your heart from your chest with the intention to destroy it go.

Even when we eventually get to the action, things are kind of inconsistent and lackluster. Maybe if you're super into Pinocchio this book would be up your alley. I am not, and I found it to be solidly middle of the road. I finished it. There's that.

Unbirthday - Liz Braswell

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Alice is different from other eighteen-year-old ladies in Victorian Kexford, which is perfectly fine with her. She'd rather spend golden afternoons taking pictures with her trusty camera, chatting with her outrageous aunt Vivian, or visiting the children in the Square than receiving visitors or doing embroidery, thank you very much. She's also interested in learning more about the young lawyer she just met, but only because he's rather curious - not because he's rosy-cheeked and charming.

But when Alice develops the latest photographs of her neighbors, strangely familiar faces appear instead - the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, even the Caterpillar! There's something quite off about them, even for Wonderland creatures. And in her self-portrait, Alice finds the most disturbing image of all: an imprisoned and injured dark-haired girl begging for Alice's help.

Returning to the place of nonsense from her childhood, Alice finds herself on a mission to stop the Queen of Hearts' mad military march across Wonderland...and to find her place in both worlds. But will she be able to do so before the End of Time?"

I'll admit, I am not an Alice in Wonderland fan, and consequently I wasn't sure what to rate this or even how to talk about it. Consider this a disclaimer - if Alice is your thing, you may enjoy it more than I did, but the Wonderland storyline did not captivate me. It seemed like a lot of traveling back and forth for no real reason, and while I acknowledge that Wonderland's whole Thing is that it is built on nonsense, it all felt very pointless and overly long. The book is just over 500 pages, and honestly, most of that is Alice walking somewhere. I know it's about the journey and not the destination, but like...not literally?

My other major gripe with this book, which admittedly may just be me being too picky, is that this is less a fractured fairytale and more a sequel. You tell me there's going to be a Twisted Tale for Alice in Wonderland, I expect it to be a different spin on Alice in Wonderland...not Alice going back to Wonderland eleven years later. It felt a little bit like they didn't have any ideas for how to revamp the original story, so instead they were like "uhhhhh...let's just do this instead." Again, possibly a nitpicky gripe, but...it was a bit of a letdown for me.

The saving grace of this book for me was the real-world storyline. I wish we had spent less time in Wonderland and more time in the real world, because Alice navigating her sister and her man-friend supporting a horrible xenophobic bigot of a political candidate (shocker) connected with me immediately, and I would have loved to read more about her navigating that, spending more time with Katz and her amazing aunt, and finding ways to make an impact in her real world.

Overall, not a bad book, but it was not my favorite of the series. I'm looking forward to Go the Distance in April...although it looks like that will also be more of a sequel than a fractured fairytale. Le sigh. I guess I'm going to have to move past that.

Mirror, Mirror - Jen Calonita

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"'What if the Evil Queen poisoned the prince?'

Following her beloved mother's death, the kingdom falls into the hands of Snow White's stepmother, commonly referred to as "the Evil Queen" by those she rules. Snow keeps her head down at the castle, hoping to make the best of her situation.

But when new information about her parents resurfaces and a plot to kill her goes haywire, everything changes for Snow. With the help of a group of wary dwarfs, a kind prince she thought she'd never see again, and a mysterious stranger from her past, Snow embarks on a quest to stop the Evil Queen and take back her kingdom. But can she stop an enemy who knows her every move and will stop at nothing to retain her power... including going after the ones Snow loves?"

I have to tell you, I've been on the fence about how to rate this one. On the one hand, I did enjoy reading it. It's well-written, and it's a fun nostalgia read. On the other, if you've seen Snow White you've basically read this book. 

Perhaps if I hadn't read this so soon after Conceal, Don't Feel, my reaction would have been different, since that story wasn't hugely different from the original either. Or maybe if I enjoyed Snow White more, I would have been more into this. I don't know. I'm just looking back at the Twisted Tale series, and comparing these two to those that came before, these don't measure up for me. Take a look at the earlier titles:

• A Whole New World: Jafar summons the Genie first, throwing everything else about the story off.
• Once Upon a Dream: Sleeping Beauty never woke up. Everything about the story is different.
• As Old As Time: Belle's mother cursed the Beast. So much about the story is different.
• Reflection: Li Shang dies, and Mulan has to journey to the Underworld to try to save him. Uh...needless to say, EVERYTHING is different.
• Part of Your World: Ursula won the battle and rules Eric's kingdom. Different, different, different.

The first five books in this series are all substantially different from the story they were retelling. Then you hit Mirror, Mirror and Conceal, Don't Feel, and it's like...hey, what if this tiny thing was different? Well...in this case, I guess that means that the princess saves the prince instead of the other way around, but what else does it change? Not a whole heck of a lot! Like I said, it's well-written, and it isn't a slog to get through, so if you're looking for some Disney feels, give it a read. But if you're looking for a real head-spinning twisted tale, this isn't it. 

#FirstPageFriday - Mirror, Mirror

Woohoo, another retelling! This week's #FirstPageFriday is Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita, and the review will drop January 8th!

#FirstPageFriday - Conceal, Don't Feel

Three things I love? Disney, Fractured Fairytales, and Frozen. (Man, if only Disney started with an F...a fourth thing I love is alliteration.) Consequently, this weeks First Page Friday is one I've been looking forward to! I give you...

Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Calonita

I've read all but one of the Twisted Tale books that have been published so far and really enjoyed them, so I'm looking forward to reviewing this one! Tune in a week from Wednesday, November 20th, to see how it goes!