Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao is the first book of The Mirror series which is essentially a fractured fairy tales series. The concept is that four different authors each contribute one book to the series which tells the story of a family saga over the generations — with a magical twist. Dao’s story of a friendship gone sour and the future consequences of one bad choice was quite the starting story. I am so interested to see the direction this series will take.
Dao’s Broken Wish opens up with a young couple who live next door to a woman named Mathilde in 1800s Germany. The couple has had zero luck getting pregnant. The wife has struck up a friendship with Mathilde. However, there are all kinds of rumors about Mathilde. She has a way to help the couple with their fertility issues. In exchange, she asks the wife to have dinner with her weekly. The wife does not keep her promise — and a promise unfulfilled has consequences.
Flashforward to the future, Agnes, the wife has a daughter — Elva. She also has two sons. Mathilde has essentially moved away from the house next door and is living in the woods. Agnes’s family has found financial success — however, for every three good things that happen, one bad thing happens. Elva has an ability — she is able to see the future in the reflection of water. One day she sees a scary vision of the future and decides to do whatever she can to prevent it. This also has consequences.
I genuinely enjoyed reading Broken Wish. It wasn’t quite what I had expected — i.e. the main characters being white. However, it does a decent job setting up the following three books to come. Having read the second book in the series, Shattered Midnight, I can really appreciate Dao’s contribution to this series. I found I enjoyed reading about Elva and how she learns magic beyond her scrying ability. The world building was interesting as well. At this point, I am really looking forward to reading the final two books in The Mirror series.
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