The Fourth Wish by Lindsay Ribar | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Here's what Margo McKenna knows about genies: She's seen Aladdin more times than she can count; she's found a magic genie ring and made her three allotted wishes; she's even fallen head over heels in love with Oliver, the cute genie whose life she saved by fighting off another genie. But none of this prepared her for the shock of becoming a genie herself.

Everything Margo's taken for granted--graduating high school, going to college, hating math, performing in the school musical, even being a girl--is in question. Just at a time when she's trying to figure out who she wants to be, Margo is forced to become whomever her master wants. But Margo is also coming into a power she never imagined she'd have. How will she reconcile the two? And where will she and Oliver stand when she's done?

Fans of Every Day and Anna and the French Kiss will love this romantic, magical, and surprising conclusion to The Art of Wishing.

I do not know about you guys but I really love reading books in a series back to back. It is a habit I used to have where I used to marathon books in a series (hello, that’s exactly how I read all the Redwall books) but have not really been able to do since I began blogging. Luckily, I was able to revive this habit briefly this week with The Art Of Wishing and The Fourth Wish by Lindsay Ribar, two books that make up a duology about a girl who falls for a genie. Note: You should probably stop reading this post right here if you do not want to be spoiled for The Art Of Wishing. Ribar’s sequel, The Fourth Wish is a charming conclusion to the duology and one that leaves me quite satisfied with the ending. Let’s just say that there are no cliffhangers, thank goodness. It’s a real and legitimate ending.

The Fourth Wish picks up exactly where The Art Of Wishing leaves off. Margo has made her fourth wish to set Xavier free, thus saving Oliver and resulting into her turning into a genie. We open the book and basically Margo has been called by this kid in her school named Josh who picks up her vessel — her Neko Case guitar pick. Unfortunately for Margo, Josh is a total horn dog tool and he has her doing all manner of degrading things for his wishes. It turns out that being a genie is not quite what Margo expected. She thought that she would be spending her time granting wishes but also hooking up with Oliver. The Fourth Wish centers around Margo learning to be a genie but also around her having to make this huge choice involving Oliver and a friend and changing their whole situation. In this book, we see a whole lot more of Naomi, but also of Simon and Vicky. It’s nice to see recurring characters get more page time.

In this book, Margo really matures. Like, okay, she’s still the headstrong, music loving character that she was in The Art Of Wishing. However, she just seems to grow up a little bit in this book. She has some tough decisions to make, like to have a clean break from her human life or to grasp as hard as she can to be the same Margo she was pre-genie. She’s also dealing with gender fluidity — being a genie means that she molds herself after what her masters want and that means that not only do her looks change, but so does her gender. It’s weird for her at first, but she gets used to it. Being a genie really challenges Margo’s assumptions. She also finds herself dealing with some jealousy and fighting a bit with Oliver. I liked this — that their relationship was not at all perfect and that there were issues.

I have to admit, I was not as crazy about Oliver with this go around. Sure, he’s nice, but again, way more genie-like than human-like. He doesn’t seem to get why Margo acts the way she does. He comes across as a bit insensitive. There are moments where he does not seem to be listening to her. I just, yeah, am kind of lukewarm toward his character. He was better in The Art Of Wishing, I have to admit.

Still, The Fourth Wish by Lindsay Ribar is a charming and delightful read. I did not like it as much as The Art Of Wishing, yet I think that it is a good conclusion. I think the disconnect for me came with the romance issues, but hey, that happens. I did like that we got way more friendship with this book. Naomi is an awesome character. I also liked how much more we learned about genies. Like, this book is so much fun and I do recommend it, but for me personally, it’s not quite my favorite of the two. Also! You will like this book if you are the sort of person who hates when books have pretend endings that leave a door open for endless sequels. This one has a real ending and it’s actually really good.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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