I received an advanced/review copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content and honesty of my review.
Society of Wishes by Elise Kova, Lynn Larsh Series: Wish Quartet #1
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.
Josephina Espinosa makes her living as a hacker-for-hire in the Lone Star Republic, a remnant of the fractured U.S.A. That is, until the day she and her best friend are gunned down in a government raid.
With her dying breath, Jo uses magical lore passed down from her grandmother to summon a wish-granter. Her wish? To save her friend’s life. Except wishes have costs, and for Jo, the price is the erasure of her entire mortal existence.
Now, as the most recent addition to the mysterious Society of Wishes, Jo must form a new “life” alongside the seven other members, one of which being her savior himself. Living as an occupant of the Society’s lavish mansion should be quite the perk, but while it is furnished with everything its inhabitants could possibly need, it lacks one thing—freedom.
Her otherworldly identity crisis takes a backseat, however, when Jo learns that the friend she sacrificed everything for is headed down the same path to ruin. Jumping in head-first, Jo uses her newfound magical abilities to protect him, only to realize that the ripples of her actions have far-reaching consequences. When the Society’s aloof leader Snow decides to give her a taste of his own ancient magic, Jo discovers that there are threads woven into the tapestry of her new reality that reach far beyond the wishes she is now required to grant. Ones that, if tugged on, could mean the unraveling of the world itself.
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Format: eBook, Review Copy
Goodreads
This was such a cool book. The authors took the concepts of magic and the afterlife and completely reinvented both to create a thoroughly unique and fascinating world unlike any other I’ve ever read. The book held my attention and made me desperate to learn more about this mysterious society.
The main character, Jo, is an exceptionally talented hacker and the book opens with her working her biggest hack yet. There’s no shortage of action in the first scene, which immediately caught my attention and made me want to know what happened next. Unfortunately, the events that lead to Jo being initiated into the Society and the outcome of her wish is rather sad, but watching her eventually find her purpose within her new world is all part of the enjoyment of reading this book.
The Society kind of reminds me of what we would think of as purgatory in the sense that this is after their earthly lives are over, but instead of it being a place of torment, it’s where a group of men and women with ancient magic use their individual gifts to help grant wishes of people in the living world. Due to the nature of the wish, something has to be exchanged–for instance, Jo wished for her best friend’s life to be saved, therefore giving up her own life (read: existence) in the process.
There’s a huge mystery shrouding this novel, particularly regarding Snow–the leader of the Society–and Pan, a strange, not quite human woman whom Jo is extremely wary of, though she can’t figure out why. I was hoping a little bit more would be revealed about these two, but alas, my questions are as of yet unanswered, and this part of the series ends on a slight cliffhanger. Thankfully, at the end of the book, there’s a note regarding the prequel novella, which I got for free by signing up for Elise’s newsletter, and I’m not gonna lie; I’m going to devour the heck outta that thing. Snow captivated me from his first appearance in this book, and I can’t wait to get to know more about him and his story. I have a few ideas from what I read of the blurb, but I can’t wait to read it nonetheless.
There are some major sparks flying between Jo and Snow. I can’t wait to see what progresses between these two; I think there could be an incredibly interesting and sweet relationship between them. Jo is the only one who stands up to Snow and challenges him, and Snow is surprisingly gentle with her in a way he isn’t with anyone else. There were a couple of sweet, swoony moments between them that I loved.
I seriously loved this book. The fantasy, mystery, a little bit of romance, and the different personalities of the characters–all of it was great. There were a couple moments where I kind of wanted to facepalm at Jo’s choices, but I couldn’t necessarily fault her for her reasons behind them, either. In any event, this was a fantastic book and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!
Happy reading!
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