After I fell head over heels in love with C.J. Redwine’s The Shadow Queen last year, I was eagerly anticipating the follow-up companion novel, The Wish Granter. This novel centers around Ari Glavan, twin to Thad, bastard daughter of Súndraille’s king, who finds herself becoming a princess upon the death of the entire royal family and Thad’s ascension to the throne. It is only later that she discovers that her brother brokered a deal that resulted in him becoming king and allowing Alistair Teague to govern his reign. Determined to save her brother and her kingdom, and with the aid of the weapons master, Ari must find a way to outsmart Teague before it’s too late.
I adored The Wish Granter. While I did have a few minor quibbles when I read it – a slower start, a smaller cast of characters, minimally jarring transitions – all of that paled in comparison to how much I enjoyed it. Redwine cleverly combines elements from the traditional Rumpelstiltskin story, and weaves those into the story of a girl who is desperate to save her brother and, eventually, her kingdom. There was a great balance of adventure, magic and wits, and I was simply happy to be along for the ride.
Truthfully, a big part of the reason I was fully invested in the outcome of this story is because of titular character Arianna Glavan. She’s brimming with optimism, a confidence in the ability to figure out a solution to any problem, loyalty to those she cares for, cleverness and wit, and a passion for dessert. In other words, she’s my kind of girl! I appreciated seeing how she never gave in to the circumstances around her, and instead, kept on fighting to right the wrongs she was aware of. Her relationships with other people – the immense devotion to her twin brother, her kinship with her best friend Cleo, her budding friendship-and-maybe-more with the weapons master Sebastian – were also strong elements of her story that I liked a lot.
To sum it all up, The Wish Granter was a strong addition to the Ravenspire companion novel series. Redwine has a handle on how to write stories that integrate classic fairytale elements, clever and spirited main characters and compelling plots. I’m really excited to see what she has to offer in the next novel of the Ravenspire series, and would highly recommend that you check out both The Wish Granter and its predecessor The Shadow Queen.
The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine | Series: Ravenspire #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray | Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Source: e-galley downloaded from Edelweiss (Thanks!)
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