Jessica Khoury

"Forced to hid her true identity, Zahra, a teenage genie, finds her chance for freedom challenged by her love for her master,"--NoveList.

The Forbidden Wish

"Lush, romantic, and exquisitely written . . . a rare, glittering jewel of a novel."—Sarah J. Maas, author of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series "This is Aladdin like you've never imagined."—Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn 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 the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

Macy Johnson

this book holds such a special place in my heart. the writing is just so so so good. I think about these characters all the time. ASHORI GRAPES.

Nessa Luna

Oh wow, I LOVED this book so so much, I kind of want to punch myself for waiting this long to read it. I've literally had this book since its release, I pre-ordered it and got the pre-order incentives. And it still took me FOUR YEARS to read this book. It took me a bit to get into the story, but after a while, I just couldn't put it down and read almost the entire book in one day. I loved Zahra, I loved Aladdin, I loved seeing the references to the 'original' story (cuz I'm still not sure if it's a retelling of the original story or more of the Disneyfied story, I have not read the original Aladdin story). But yeah, this retelling was amazing and I highly, highly recommend if it Aladdin is (one of) your favourite Disney movie(s).

Colleen

4 Stars

I came across The Forbidden Wish on a Goodreads giveaway. I was interested in the story, so I checked it out from the library once it was released. The story is a retelling of Aladdin. I should mention that it is closer to the Disney version of Aladdin than to the original tale. (The only relation to its parent story that I saw was that the main character uses the phrase "one thousand and one" quite often.) But the story is different enough from the Disney version to make it unique enough and enjoyable. It is always a struggle with retellings to find the balance between putting on an original spin and keeping enough in common with the original story to justify retelling it. The Forbidden Wish actually does that quite well. The story is told from the perspective on the Jinni who in this book is a young girl. The characters were interesting, the plot had enough bend to keep me guessing, and the romance was sweet, although a little cheesy at times.

I was not wild about the story being told in first person, present tense though. Present tense always feels jarring to me and often keeps me from being fully absorbed in the story. It seemed even odder since Zahra is narrating everything as if writing a letter to her former master. Although I suppose since it is all in present tense, it is more like she is keeping an inner monologue going and speaking in her head. It was weird at times. But overall it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. 

As I mentioned, the charcters were colorful. I really wish Caspida and the Watchmaidens had featured more heavily in the story. They were by far my favorite characters and I would have happily read a book just about them (unless it was just some bad spinoff - the author has already published a short prequel about the Jinni). I quickly forgot about comparing this book to other versions because it stands well enough on its own. There were a few times when the romance could have turned the cheese down a little, but there was a lot more to this story than just romantic interest. Finally, I liked that the story had a symmetry to it. (view spoiler)[Although I have to wonder if the mention of Sinbad at the end was just a cameo or a lead up to another book. (hide spoiler)] Overall, a fun adventure for those who dream of magic and far off places.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

mercy

dija

Am so happy that am going to explode!! 
Zahra is a sweetheart. I love the girl. 
Alaadin is dgghffssswfghjg *if you know what I mean* I LOVE THE DUDE
....So the 2nd book is going to be about "Sinbad"? The guy is actually named Sindibad but that's not a problem.

Connor 

This was fun, but what I REALLY want is a full fledged series about Caspida and her handmaidens. 

Still: an interesting take on the classic tale and for the most part well executed (even if I was more interested Caspida and the handmaidens than Aladdin WHOOPS no one is surprised).

Emi Gilmore 

Buddy read with Elise, Joanna, and Maram, who I'll link when I'm not so lazy. 

This was blurbed by Renée Ahdieh. I'd read the dictionary of she told me to. This better surpass all expectations.

Maria

such a cute book! with great characters, magic, love, mythology and all this!

Becky

This was a brilliant read and although I took my time about starting it I can safely say I really enjoyed it. And it was a standalone! There is a short prequel but it's not a long series you invest in and forget to continue!

It's an Aladdin retelling told from the perspective of the genie and it's absolutely genius.

It's so original in that it reimagines he world of Aladdin and develops the backstory of the jinn and their world. The genie of Aladdin is no longer a humorous Robin Williams but instead a girl called Zahra. She has a history with humans and the jinn are feared for their power. 

I found the history between the humans and the jinn so interesting. It was so well developed. And Zahra was so well written as a character you can sympathize with but still written as a jinn and not human. It was just so good!

And I adored the relationship between Zahra and Aladdin. It was such a complex relationship. She was enslaved to him and trapped by her lamp. She had no choice but to grant his wishes. But he never viewed as a slave. They grew close and their friendship was lovely and as I developed to more I fell in love too.

Jen Estrella

Actual Rating: 4.5/5


  I have no form, I have no name. I am the Slave of the Lamp, and your will is my will. Your wishes are my commands.


Where do I even begin? I’ve loved retellings ever since I read Cruel Beauty and A Thousand Nights, albeit having given the latter a lower rating. I’d readily dive into retellings of any kind, and I’m so glad the Forbidden Wish, a retelling of one of my favorite stories, did not disappoint.

The first thing I really have to commend is the writing style. My goodness gracious, Khoury’s writing simply draws me in. It is descriptive and magical, as if every page is capable of creating some sort of illusion in my head. I was captivated from page one; hardly following the usual reading experience progression of utterly confused to “okay that makes sense” to “I totally get it” to “ holy crap, that is genius”. This one surprisingly started with “I totally get it. Hmm this is good.” and ended with “Damn it. I want my own freaking love story.”

From the blurb, you’d notice that this story is focused on the relationship between Aladdin and his genie, Zarah. Yes, it may come off as weird at first because the girl is a thousand years old, but hey, this is fantasy we’re talking about. If it isn’t obvious yet, yes, folks, this is a love story. However, do not close the tab just yet. I’m happy to announce that although it is not entirely the type of slow-burn that I’d easily devour, it is still free from the instalove most of us hate. Tbh, I was not entirely sold to the romance between the two until I felt (and I mean really felt) the brewing (not to mention forbidden) passion between them. That scene from page 183 had me screaming into my pillow. Oh, yeah. Now you have to check that out. Ha.

No, really. The romance was so good. If this was a crappy insta-love based novel, then these lines would have made me cringe (mild spoiler).


  “Have I told you I love you?” he whispers.
I smile. “Not since this morning.”
“Unforgivable. I will tell you every hour of every day.”



  “My lady,” says Aladdin, extending an arm toward the sun, “I give you gold as a token of my love.”
“All I want is you,” I reply. I turn and kiss him, pulling him against me, feeling the warmth of the dawn in my hair.




But no. I reacted like any normal shipper would – banging my fists on pillows, lying down while suffocating an innocent plushie, and of course, rereading lines over and over. I know right. WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.

And can we all just stop to think about the glorious power given to Caspida and her watchmaidens. This is girl power at its finest. I love Caspida, and I love how her character has exuded the queenly vibe from the very beginning. Her character is so flawless to me. I remember hating her for a chapter thinking, “sheesh, everything’s going to be ruined,” and then the next time she appeared, I’m bowing thinking “all hail, queen Caspida.” Her watchmaidens are an enigma. I would have wanted more background and development, but there’s only so much we could get from a 300+ paged book. Is it too much to ask for a novella or a spin-off though? That is the question.

Why not give it a perfect rating then?

I’m not so sure myself. I did not feel the villain vibe from Sulifer or Nardukha and did not quite understand the relationship between the two. Darian was so lame; I just want him thrown out of the window from scene 1. Not once did I fear for the main characters’ safety; thinking that they’d get caught sooner or later. I was somehow more afraid of their (Zarah and Aladdin’s) individual actions (i.e. Aladdin blurting out the forbidden wish or Zarah surrendering herself to Nardukha) – situations which are more capable of breaking my heart. My brain always, always suspects a tragic ending for forbidden romances such as this.

Rest assured, it did not follow my deranged thoughts and ended as beautifully as I never would have imagined. Then again, I have the imagination of a cynic so I guess it would have a different effect on romance fans. All in all, the Forbidden Wish was such a delightful read. I could only hope every young adult/romance/fantasy fan would be quick to pick up this gem of a book.

Tyler Rodrigues

I picked this up on Book Outlet on a whim and I'm glad I did! Neat take and we'll written!

Andrada D

“If you're not free to love, you're not free at all.” 

Ah, what a beautiful, beautiful retelling. It felt so refreshing, getting the perspective of the genie instead of same old, same old. The book takes extra points for the intricate mythological framework: the work of jinnis is both forbidden and fascinating, the description of their appearance is really striking and the history of the fallen realms fills one with both joy and grief. 

The story reads like a myth, with no temporal grounding. It's all measured in millennia and fallen empires so one can actually feel it like a breath of Arabian Nights flavour.

Cassida, the Jasmine of this book is simply splendid. I felt disappointed that, in the new Aladdin movie, the princess wanted to be a sultana so much when she had no knowledge of her people and their plight, of political strategies and traditional customs, of military and battles. All that qualified her for her job was the draw of the luck, being the daughter of the sultan. Nothing else recommended her. A lame excuse for an artificial feminist tendency. On the other hand, and not my intention to be spoilery, Cassida has what it takes to be a good queen.

On the other hand Zhara, our protagonist was quite ... meh. She is bitter and angry and considering her past she has all the rights to be as such, but this does not make her any more pleasant to read, especially since hers is the point of view in the book.

Oh, but Aladdin. Aladdin, Aladdin! I loved him A LOT. I was swooning over him even more than Zhara was, he was SO charming. And a bonus was how he was giving a real background which puts his action in perspective and makes him even more likeable- if this is even possible.

I loved the climax of the story, it was infused with magic and reverie, although the final battle fell flat for me.

All in all, it was a worth reading, an amazing retelling and I am looking forward to reading more of this splendid author's books.

Gabriela Roxana 

4.25

"So this is what it feels like to have all your wishes come true"

Kayla | @thereaderkayla

I put this in my TBR after randomly getting on this Aladdin kick. I was excited to read it based off of the synopsis and felt like the reviews were decent enough.

After reading this though, I felt like I didn’t really get anything out of it. I usually enjoy the flowery descriptive writing but I didn’t gel with it in this book. I found myself just wanting to find out what was going to happen and skipped a lot of the smaller details. 

The relationships in this book were very interesting. The main romantic relationship felt kind of predictable and I didn’t really get the normal cutesy butterflies with it. There was not a lot of dialog between the two before all of a sudden they were just in love! It felt forced and I like a good slow burn.

The ending was a little anti climatic to me. There was a lot of build up to it and in the end it fell flat. The characters got a good ending but I would have liked to see more of what happens politically now that they have a new monarchy. Maybe this book just taught me that I don’t enjoy stand along fantasy books. I need more development to really feel connected to it. 

Overall, it was good and gave me the Aladdin/magically vibes I was looking for. 3/5 stars.

The Forbidden Wish

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