We All Live Happily Ever After in My New World, Agrabah Ascendant

~A Whole New World~
Twisted Tales
Book 1
By Liz Braswell
Amazon ~ Powell's

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Partly inspired by a certain internet movie reviewer, and partly because I am a bit of a fangirl, I decided I wanted to dedicate the month of December to all that is Disney! This series of reviews will focus on Disney-inspired media, obviously, and will hopefully expand over the years. This year I wanted to get the ball rolling on their Twisted Tales series, books that promise to reimagine the Disney stories we know and love as new, darker takes. Will they be successful, or will the originals' magic still hold?

The First Three Wishes Are Free, But If You Need a Fourth...

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, The Art of Wishing, or don't mind knowing some spoilers for it. The Fourth Wish, however, will remain spoiler-free.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Fourth Wish~
The Art of Wishing
Book 2
By Lindsay Ribar
Amazon ~ Powell's

Here's what Margo McKenna knows about genies:

She's seen Aladdin more times than she can count; she's made three wishes on a magic ring; she's even fallen head over heels in love with Oliver, the cute genie whose life she saved by fighting off his archenemy. But none of this prepared her for the shock of becoming a genie herself.

At a time when she's trying to figure out who she wants to be, Margo is forced to become whomever her master wants. Everything she's taken for granted—graduating high school, going to college, performing in the school musical, even being a girl—is called into question. But she's also coming into a power she never imagined she'd have.

How will Margo reconcile who she is with what she's becoming? And where will she and Oliver stand when she's done?


After that non-ending from the last book, I was excited to dive into this one. After all, we had a new genie on the loose and I had no clue where this book was going to take her, even after watching a slightly spoilery interview with the author. So, I guess if you're looking for a new big bad to show up and the genies having to work their magic to save the world, you're going to be kinda disappointed. But if you're interested in seeing how a teen deals with a life-changing, magical decision, then you'll probably want to continue reading. I mentioned the last book had no dénouement *. Well, get ready for 350 pages of dénouement, because it's time to deal with the consequences!

I Can't Just Pull Wishes Out of Thin Air, You Know

~The Art of Wishing~
The Art of Wishing
Book 1
By Lindsay Ribar
Amazon ~ Powell's

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie—he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.


Confession time. The sole reason I picked up this book was to read it for/with Booze Your Own Adventure's book club. A few weeks ago they mentioned that they were going to talk with author Lindsay Ribar (SPOILERS INCLUDED) about her debut, The Art of Wishing, and recently released sequel, The Fourth Wish. And, while I'm a bit late to the party, I figured I might as well dig in and see what this YA paranormal romance genie series had.

I kinda wish I had read this before Robin Williams' passing.