Thursday, January 14, 2016

Review: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury


The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: February 23, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from First to Read

Summary (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.

What I Liked:

I honestly have no idea how to review this book. It. Was. AMAZING. I've been waiting for this book for about two years now, since Khoury announced that her Aladdin story would be A Book. I adore Aladdin and all things Aladdin-retelling-y, so I knew I had to read this book. It's my first Khoury book and it certainly did not disappoint!

This is a retelling of Aladdin like you've never seen. Zahra has been trapped in her lamp for thousands of years. It's by chance that a poor boy, Aladdin, finds the ruins in which she/the lamp lies, and takes the lamp. In Parthenia, jinn are hunted and captured, and Zahra's existence isn't allowed. Zahra is offered a chance at freedom by the King of the Jinn - rescue his son, who is trapped in Parthenia, and the King will free Zahra of her lamp. Aladdin is Zahra's best chance at getting into the Parthenian palace. But Zahra finds that she can't use Aladdin as a means to an end - she falls in love with him. In the end, she must choose - her freedom, or her love?

This book is written entirely in Zahra's first-person POV, which I thought was very different but an excellent way of bringing about the story! We're used to Aladdin telling the story, but it's Zahra. Five hundred years ago, Zahra was slave to the Queen of Parthenia, but the queen treated her like a sister and an equal. But this was her downfall, and five hundred years later, jinn aren't free to roam and live among humans. Zahra has a lot of secrets and a lot of history, and Aladdin/we discover it little by little. This gives Zahra so much more depth and character, given how heartbroken she is about past decisions, and how misunderstood her side of history is. 

I really like Zahra, and I had no trouble connecting with her and understanding her. She's a powerful jinni, one of the last Shaitan. She's clever and tough and a warrior jinni through and through. I love how her mind works, and how she sticks to her plans and goals. Finding the Jinn King's son is her goal, but she doesn't expect to fall for Aladdin in the process.

You may ask, why doesn't she just abandon Aladdin and go look for the Jinn prince? It is because Aladdin has her lamp, and Zahra cannot go more than 150 steps away from Aladdin, as long as he has the lamp on him. So, she uses something personal to get him to make a wish to be a prince; Aladdin has always wanted to take down the vizier who killed his parents, so Aladdin agrees to wish to be a prince and they go to the palace, both with very different motives. Zahra does not tell him about hers.

I LOVE Aladdin! He is mischievous and wicked and so charming, everything that boy Aladdin in the Disney movie is, but in a more grown, mature sense. I mean, he's plenty mischievous, but he's also more of a man than the boy in the movie. He himself is also very smart, very clever, and oh so handsome. He's charming and adaptable, and he fits right in as a royal in the Parthenian palace. He's a good actor and a good person.

I absolutely love the romance in this book. It's a subtle thing, but the chemistry between the characters is always there. Zahra tries so hard to staunch her burgeoning feelings for Aladdin, because she knows that it can't happen, for several reasons. Aladdin makes no attempt to stifle his feelings, though it takes him (them both, really) some time to realize what is happening between them. There are some really steamy encounters in this book! 

NO love triangle, people. There are secondary characters that are introduced that might SEEM like they could be legs to a triangle (on either side - Zahra's or Aladdin's), but I assure you, there is no love triangle. If this makes more sense: no one feels anything towards anyone else, and no one is interested in anyone else. A linear romance, I promise you! I'm stressing this because people will be introduced and might seem like threats but they never are and never would have been.

Khoury did an amazing job of creating and molding this jinn world to fit her story! So many words and names that I recognize from other jinn stories, and interesting spins on other concepts. The world-building is beautiful and well-written! This story is different from the original story of Aladdin, and wholly its own. 

The ending is very busy and nail-biting! There is a lot going on in several different areas, and I was worried about several characters at once. I just could not seem to read the pages fast enough! I was very satisfied with the ending - it's a good one! Slightly on the cookie-cutter-perfect side, but I'll take it. I liked the ending!

What I Did Not Like:

I can't quite think of anything at the moment! This is more on the publisher's side, but I wish the publisher had kept the original cover! Nothing to do with the book itself, don't mind me...

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this book! It was excellent! I had to read it over two days but I absolutely loved the book. There is a strong romance and lovely world-building! Plus, ALADDIN! Khoury does the tale of Aladdin justice, but also makes this story her own. 

Rating:

4.5 stars -> rounded down to 4 stars. I'm not entirely sure why I'm rounding down to 4 stars - I'm still kind of vacillating in terms of the rating. It's a 4.5-star rating, people! I was extremely pleased with this book.


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

30 comments:

  1. And another book to add to my tbr, thank you Alyssa

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  2. Great review!!! I'm DYING to read this one. And now you're review is making me need it even more. :) :)

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    1. Thank you! I hope you love this book when you get a chance to read it, Erin!

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  3. Already pre-ordered and glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. Ooo! YAY! Did you take advantage of the preorder giveaway? The author has one on her website!

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  4. I'm dying to read this one myself. Great review!

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  5. I LOVE Aladdin, too! I have a preview of this book but I'm not sure if I want to read it, I don't think I'll be able to handle the wait because it sounds amazing!
    So glad you enjoyed it! I loved the other cover a bit more as well.
    Happy reading!

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    1. I would skip the preview and wait on the full-length book! You'll want to devour this one as soon as possible.

      Thank you, Lis!

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  6. Awesome review Alyssa after reading your swoon quotes it made me want to try to check this book out, but now after reading your review. I am most definitely am going to check it out. I just love and adore Aladdin especially re-telling's of it, and this one looks and sounds absolutely fantastic and right up my alley! Great post my friend. :)

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    1. Gosh I hope you do, Katiria! It's soooo worth the read! I've reread my favorite parts (and there were a lot) so many times now. I may have to preorder this one myself!

      Thank you!

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  7. I read the sampler and loved it and preordered it and now your review has me even more excited to finally get my copy and devour it!
    Also big YAY for no love triangles!!

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    1. OOO! That is so great, Pili! Did you claim the preorder goodies? I believe it's an international offer!

      You'll LOVE the romance! :)

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  8. I was definitely concerned this one wouldn't be good because I just got the feeling it would be done right. BUT, it sounds like it was. Thanks for sharing your review--can't wait to check it out!

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    1. This was a well-written, well-crafted story! I hope you love it, Jazmen. =)

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  9. I am so happy that you liked this book!!! I read every book by Jessica Khoury, and loved them. I think you will like the Corpus series, Alyssa, because each one involves something from the science fields (mostly genetics though). I preordered this book (can't wait for the awesome preorder swag), and so now I am just waiting for February haha. :D

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    1. I may have to give it a try! I remember being excited for her books way back when, but I never got around to reading them. I hope you LOVE this one, Lena! ^_^

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  10. How have I not heard about this one! It sounds amazing, and though I didn't really enjoy previous Aladdin retellings I've read, I'm sure I'll enjoy this. Great review, Alyssa! And thanks for putting it on my radar :)

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    1. RICHA! Now you have! I hope you give this book a chance. :D

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  11. The last Aladdin book I read was pretty terrible, so I'm happy to see you enjoyed this one! Aladdin sounds awesome and yay to no love triangle! Can't wait to get my hands on it. Great review, Alyssa!

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    1. Aww, that sucks! This one was really good, in my opinion. Of course, I hope I'm not hyping up the book for you. D:

      Thank you, Cyn!

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  12. I've never read an Aladddin re-telling so I'm really glad this was a hit! I'm already falling in love with the characters and I'm glad to hear there is no love triangle. Fantastic review, Alyssa!

    Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf

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    1. I've read one (by Liz Braswell) and it was terrible! Well, not terrible, but entirely too similar to Aladdin (why would they call it a "retelling"?!). This book was excellent!

      Thank you, Zareena!

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  13. I've been waiting to read this book as well! Glad you liked it... now I'm super excited to read this! :)
    Great review, BTW

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    1. So happy that you want to read this one! I hope you love it. Thank you! :D

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  14. Eee :D YAY! I'm thrilled that you liked this book so much Alyssa. <3 Sigh. Now I'm even more excited about reading it :) Just heartbroken that I have no ARC of it, lol. Soon it shall be out. <3 I cannot wait. Yessss for no love triangle :D I was a bit worried. And good romance? Yes please :D And happy ending? Yesss :D So so happy about this. <3 Gorgeous review sweetie. Thank you for sharing :)

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    1. I am so happy that you're excited! And honestly, I wouldn't have an ARC of this one either! I got it on First to Read (and spent all of my points to guarantee a copy, LOL). The romance is AMAZING! And the ending is really really satisfying! I think you will have NO issues with this book, Carina. I hope you love it!

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  15. OOoh nice! I soooo cannot wait to read this one! It kind of slipped past me at first, but then when I really looked at it, I became intrigued! I love me a good retelling, be it fairy tale, myth, legend, etc! And yeah, I watched the Disney version (along with all the sequels and TV series) a LOT as a kid, so I'll be happy to read this new different take on it!

    I'm most curious to see the romance blossoming between Aladdin and the djinn! Totally diverting from the Disney version where he just fell in love at the sight of the princess! So yay!

    Glad you thought so highly of this one! Great review!

    *I had to go back and look for the original cover because I could tell it had been changed as well. I think I rather liked the original more too. It was just more mysterious in a way...but oh well!

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    1. I'm glad you're interested! I hope you get the chance to read this one and love it, Jessica. You'll enjoy the romance. ;) Wasn't the first cover amazing? I don't hate this new one, but original one was lovely!

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