The Forbidden Wish, by Jessica Khoury


Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

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.
My review:
Omg!!!! This is a re-telling of Aladdin and the Genie like never before. The Genie of our childhood stories was this bluish, large, misshapen male creature that appeared on rubbing the magic lamp and granted the wishes to the current owner of the lamp. The relationship between Aladdin and the Genie was one of master and slave and remained so throughout the original story. This tale is nothing like the original one and there are so many twists that it honestly doesn’t seem like a retelling at all.

The first twist in Jessica’s book is that the Genie is actually a Jinni, a female who can take on the form of any being she desires, and most of the time she presents herself as a beautiful girl, who is called Zahra. The second twist is where you discover that the relationship between the Jinni and Aladdin is more complex and complicated than that of a simple slave and master. The third twist comes where all the female characters in the book are presented as strong willed, determined, willing and ready to fight for their rights women…. Which is definitely a significant digression from how the original stories went. You no longer have a damsel in distress saved by a prince, rather the evil prince and his evil father are the ones who need to look out for this modern band of women who have the power to render their nights sleepless.

All in all the story has friendship, betrayal, forbidden love and romance, adventure, magic, strong willed female protagonists, strong headed women who know what they want, humor, villains, treachery, sadness, joys of living someone selflessly and last but not the least, beautiful word play.

For me, Zahra will always have a special part in my heart… not only because of her beauty or her brains, but because she is depicted as someone who is haunted by her past but at the same time knows how to move on in the future. She thinks she is a monster, and rightfully so, because she killed her best friend, who she loved more than anything in the world…. But she is also just a young girl…. With her regrets, insecurities, unreachable dreams and forbidden wishes.

I usually don’t like retellings a lot, but this book shall remain one of my favorites and I am so happy that I purchased a second one for my collection after giving away the first one without reading (cos I thought I wouldn’t like it much). It’s a beautifully written book that must be read at least once 🙂

My rating: 5/5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

International Giveaway!

Image
International Giveaway 
Hello guys! THIS is the GIVEAWAY post....to get the 3 points required for you to be eligible for the giveaway, you need to : 1. SUBSCRIBE to my blog (the subscribe button can be seen at the top when you visit my blog) 2. Comment on this post mentioning your IG account - this is very important for me to tally all your points.  The prizes? 2 bestseller books from my own collection - original copies 1 best seller book – local hardcover copy Bookish merchandise I will soon share what the books being offered are (as soon as I can have some time to breathe from my hectic work schedule) as well as share pics of the bookish merch J 

 Giveaway ends on June 20, 2018 and winners will be announced by the first week of July 2018. Good Luck to those entering!!!
Read more

The Robber

Yesterday at midnight, A robber broke into my house. At first, I didn’t realize that he had broken in. When the fridge door slammed shut, I woke Abruptly from my deep slumber. I waited for him to come bustling in my room with guns blazing And waited and waited. When nothing happened, I got out of bed, and found the telephone. I dialed 911. They picked up the phone. ‘Hello. Hello! Hello?’ No response. I opened the closet and got my trusty baseball bat out. I went down the stairs. On the ground floor, I suddenly crashed into someone. I beat him with my bat. I turned around and found someone staring at me with pitiful eyes. I turned back, And saw only shards of a broken mirror. I heard one word. ‘Dad?’ He spoke again: ‘Dad, it’s me, John. I bought you some medicine. This should help with you.’ I looked at my hands, the mirror shards and then back at him. I didn’t recognize anything. I fainted. This morning, I ...
Read more

The Art of Hiding, by Amanda Prowse

Image
About the main Character Nina ... a woman who has it all. A woman who has been able to leave her painful and needy past behind, where struggling for basic necessities was just a part of life. A woman who has a loving husband, Finn, who has given her everything and anything and who now lives in a house, thats no less than a mansion in an upper class locality. A woman who has two beautiful children, Declan and Connor, studying in the most expensive premier school/college - where all those who matter in upper class society, send their offsprings to. In a typical story that reads like from rags to riches, Nina is completely busy and immersed with her family and doesn't need anyone beyond it. Her relationship with her only living sibling, Tiggy, is also strained and one that she doesn't care much about - because of their differences and the fact that her sister still lives in the same rundown area where she grew up and one that she has left behind. The Plot  As they s...
Read more