The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: February 23^rd, 2016

Source: Bought on Amazon   

Rating: 4,5 Hearts

Challenge: Fairy Tale Retelling

Synopsis

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?

Review

The story begins with Aladdin who is trying to find something in a cavern. This something is a lamp with a jinni in there, Zahra. Aladdin is a thief and a good one but he has some enemies. With Zahra’s help he wants revenge for his parents.

Aladdin is a charmer, he loves girls and he doesn’t want responsibilities. His parents were murdered and he wants revenge. I like him a lot, he’s kind and very smart, he understands Zahra and will protect her, the best he can.

Zahra is an old jinni who can’t be free because in her past she made the mistake to be friend with a human. She’s very powerful and arrogant, she has a lot of secrets and she wants her freedom. I like her, she’s a badass and even if sometimes she can be unnerving. She has a lot of thoughts about her past, she doesn’t want to fall for Aladdin because she wants to be free, and sadly the heart always does what he wants.

The relation between Aladdin and Zahra is beautiful, she begin with a Master-Jinni relation to evolve in a friendly relation to finish in love. It’s a complicated romance very well built and developed slowly. We are seeing each characters evolve and learn to trust and love each other.

I also like the relation between Roshana and Zahra, Roshana was the queen who became friend with Zahra and she was a great queen. Their relation was beautiful and full of love.

Princess Caspida and her Watchmaidens are delightful, they are very important for the story and even if Caspida despite the jinni, she doesn’t let that kill her people. The only she cares about and she fights about are her people, they are important to her as a Princess with a father very ill.

I like the Disney movie Aladdin and this retelling is very interesting. The characters are powerful and the girls are real badass, Aladdin is great and the bad characters are really bad. I fought many emotions and I wanted to hit and kill some characters.

I’m impressed by the world-building; the story around the jinni is very interesting and very detailed. It’s a beautiful story tell by a poetic author who can transport you in a world of magic. The pacing of The Forbidden Wish was excellent, not too fast and not too slow, just perfect. And the bond of Zahra to the lamp was interesting, this need she has for freedom and the fact that she’s in the lamp for a reason. There are many questions and the answers are all answered in the end.

If you want to read a retelling with action and romantic love between a powerful jinni and her master, go read The Forbidden Wish and you won’t be disappointed.

About the author

Jessica Khoury wrote her first book at age 4, a fan fic sequel to Syd Hoff’s Danny and the Dinosaur, which she scribbled on notebook paper, stapled together, and placed on the bookshelf of her preschool classroom. Since that day, she’s dreamed of being an author.

When not writing, Jess enjoys spending time with family, playing video games, and traveling the world in search of stories and inspiration.

Jess currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina. She is the author of Origin,Vitro, Kalahari, and The Forbidden Wish.

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