Book Review: Granting Wishes (Once Upon a Curse - Prequel)
Granting Wishes (Once Upon a Curse - Prequel) by Kaitlyn Davis
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: Only $0.99 cents on Amazon! I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Alanna was rock-climbing with a summer camp group in Yosemite when the earthquake happened. She slid into a crevasse and found herself face to face with a handsome man, Erick, in billowy pants in an underground cavern filled with flowers. He tells her that the earthquake was the result of his world merging with hers. He uses the lake in the cavern to show her the destruction of her world, her home and parents no longer there, and her brother who was at basketball practice now facing down a group of sword-bearing warriors. She asks Erick’s help to rescue her brother. He gives her a ring that she can contact him through, changes her clothes into something more appropriate for the new world that is taking over, and pushes her into the lake portal. But before she can save her brother, she finds the enemy forces have magic, and a handsome stranger pulls her away. Cyrus, crown prince of Baghar, sees a kindred spirit in her, willing to stand up to his father, and fight for the freedom of the people.
Comments: I’ve been meaning to read the Once Upon a Curse series for quite a while now, but the page length of the other books has looked daunting, so I started with this one. This is such a magical tale, with an Aladdin spin to it. It was definitely a story of its own, with only a couple of Aladdin elements to it, allowing for unexpected twists and turns. I loved that it was a gender reverse, with a girl in place of Aladdin. I really would have liked to know more about Erick, our stand-in for the genie. (Looks like he comes back into the story in Book 4 Parting Worlds). He really won me over when he referred to himself as devilishly handsome. Got to love an ego like that. It’s a fascinating world that’s been created here. A mish-mash of fantasy world and modern world collided together and struggling for dominance, with modern people having to deal with a fantasy world, and fantasy world people struggling to understand the technology of the modern. I loved Alanna’s relationship with her brother. I loved how she kept thinking about moments in the past, how they teased each other and relied on each other. And I loved Cyrus. Granted, when she first met him, I expected her to have a romance with Erick (which would have been an interesting change to the Aladdin tale). But I did like Cyrus. He’s wonderfully described and has a fascinating, developed personality with wanting to be free, yet he can’t escape his responsibilities or his impending future, and I loved that he had a fear of the future. (The one thing that I thought could have been improved was the pivotal scene. I mean, suddenly things happened and I was like, wait what? I had to re-read to try to figure out what brought the chandelier down, which even re-reading I didn’t manage to figure out, it was just down suddenly). In all, I am looking forward to seeing more of this fascinating blending of worlds.
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: Only $0.99 cents on Amazon! I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Alanna was rock-climbing with a summer camp group in Yosemite when the earthquake happened. She slid into a crevasse and found herself face to face with a handsome man, Erick, in billowy pants in an underground cavern filled with flowers. He tells her that the earthquake was the result of his world merging with hers. He uses the lake in the cavern to show her the destruction of her world, her home and parents no longer there, and her brother who was at basketball practice now facing down a group of sword-bearing warriors. She asks Erick’s help to rescue her brother. He gives her a ring that she can contact him through, changes her clothes into something more appropriate for the new world that is taking over, and pushes her into the lake portal. But before she can save her brother, she finds the enemy forces have magic, and a handsome stranger pulls her away. Cyrus, crown prince of Baghar, sees a kindred spirit in her, willing to stand up to his father, and fight for the freedom of the people.
Comments: I’ve been meaning to read the Once Upon a Curse series for quite a while now, but the page length of the other books has looked daunting, so I started with this one. This is such a magical tale, with an Aladdin spin to it. It was definitely a story of its own, with only a couple of Aladdin elements to it, allowing for unexpected twists and turns. I loved that it was a gender reverse, with a girl in place of Aladdin. I really would have liked to know more about Erick, our stand-in for the genie. (Looks like he comes back into the story in Book 4 Parting Worlds). He really won me over when he referred to himself as devilishly handsome. Got to love an ego like that. It’s a fascinating world that’s been created here. A mish-mash of fantasy world and modern world collided together and struggling for dominance, with modern people having to deal with a fantasy world, and fantasy world people struggling to understand the technology of the modern. I loved Alanna’s relationship with her brother. I loved how she kept thinking about moments in the past, how they teased each other and relied on each other. And I loved Cyrus. Granted, when she first met him, I expected her to have a romance with Erick (which would have been an interesting change to the Aladdin tale). But I did like Cyrus. He’s wonderfully described and has a fascinating, developed personality with wanting to be free, yet he can’t escape his responsibilities or his impending future, and I loved that he had a fear of the future. (The one thing that I thought could have been improved was the pivotal scene. I mean, suddenly things happened and I was like, wait what? I had to re-read to try to figure out what brought the chandelier down, which even re-reading I didn’t manage to figure out, it was just down suddenly). In all, I am looking forward to seeing more of this fascinating blending of worlds.
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