Society of Wishes by Elise Kova & Lynn Larsh

Hey Friends!  A lot of romance reading has been happening.  Work’s been stressful and we know I spiral into the romance books when I’m feeling stressed.  BUT!  I love me some Elise Kova and started her and Lynn Larsh’s Wish Quartet series.  I broke my rule and have officially read the three books that are currently published, and am just now reviewing book one.  I’d say I’m sorry, but I’d probably do it again.  Oops!

Anyway, Society of Wishes tells the story of Josephina (Jo), a hacker who’s working on a dangerous hack with her best friend.  Ultimately, it ends badly for them, and she struggles to fix it.  She remembers a way to wish her grandmother taught her and decides to give it a shot.  She successfully gets her and her friend out of trouble, but has to sacrifice her existence and join a society that lives outside of time and grants wishes for others like her.

Jo joins the Society, thrust into a new world with lots of expectations and magic she didn’t even realize existed.  Jo’s biggest struggle comes in the form of the Society’s leader.  He’s familiar but cold.  Seems both stand offish and like a lost friend, and it seems he’s constantly withholding information that she desperately needs to put all of the pieces together.

Some things I love…

• Right or wrong, I love me some unattainable men.  Snow is a load of contradictions.  In real life, he’d be impossible, frustrating, and an unhealthy choice in man to love; but in books, he’s dreamy.  Sigh.
• Jo is a strong female lead.  She’s got flaws like being overly stubborn, but she also feels less annoying than sometimes happens in a series (I’m thinking of you later books in The Girl Who Dared to Think series).  I like her, so I’m rooting for her even more.
• It feels original.  It’s hard to create art in any form that’s truly original.  We had plenty of discussions in music school about this topic, but this doesn’t feel like some derivative of another book, and I like that.

Some things I didn’t love…

• This book felt short.  Maybe it’s unfair to compare it to the Air Awakens series, but this first book doesn’t have that same “I’m starting an epic journey” feel that I felt existed in the Air Awakens series.  It almost feels a little abrupt in its completion.
• Jo does struggle with things, but I feel like she accepts some answers a little too quickly.  She doesn’t feel like (to me) the type of woman that would be like “cool, magic… that seems legit.”  It makes it a little harder to get into this first book in the series.

I wasn’t sure about the series from book one, but after reading the next two, I do feel confident in recommending this read.  It’s not my fav book in the series, but definitely has some good groundwork that you need and some nuggets to reflect on as you get further into the books.

Happy Saturday, all!