The Forbidden Wish

The Forbidden Wish by acclaimed author Jessica Khoury, is a gorgeously written retelling of the Aladdin tale.

Zahra is the jinni of the lamp, imprisoned for five hundred years after being forced to betray the one she loved. But things have changed since then, now her very presence as a jinni is illegal and if her shape-shifting magic is discovered by the wrong people it could lead to some very dire consequences. Then when the King of the Jinn, the very person who imprisoned her, offers her another chance of freedom, Zahra must once again choose between freedom and love.

I absolutely loved The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury. The writing is lush and superb, and Khoury does an excellent job of drawing the reader in to her world of magic. Since it’s a retelling, Khoury puts her own spin on the classic tale, filling it with strong female characters. It forges a new path filled with romance and intrigue that helps it stand out from popular animated retelling and Arabian classics, without losing the magic that draws us to this tale again and again. Great read and highly recommended.