Review: The Forbidden Wish

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

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.

“We are adrift on a sea of moonlight sand, the silence as infinite as the space between the stars.”

Well, well, well. This is one beautifully written fairy tale retelling.

Imagine the story of Aladdin. Now change the sex of the jinni who serves him, add in some supernatural politics, some courtly intrigue, a handful of badass female warriors, two peoples on the brink of war, and you basically have this book in a nutshell.

Was it perfect? No. I definitely had some issues with it. But now that I’ve finished it and am staring down at my notes, I can honestly say that I don’t even want to get into them, because, in the end, they took very little away from my overall enjoyment of this.

And doesn’t that say everything?

In short: this is a stunningly written, highly captivating, intoxicating blend of romance, mysticism, adventure, and intrigue.

I highly suggest it for anyone in the mood for a YA fairy tale retelling.