The Forbidden Wish Jessica Khoury *Review*

As a huge Khoury fan, I was so excited about this novel I obviously pre-ordered and dove in the moment it was released. (And yes, I did attempt—more times than I'd like to mention—to get an arc, but was tragically unsuccessful.) 

I love Khoury's style. I love the thrill ride she invites me on with her exquisite pacing, the immersion I experience by absorbing the world she's built via lush, lyrical prose, and the unique angle(s) she presents. All of these and more are reasons why I'm so conflicted (and sad) about this review. 

I would like to say that I absolutely, with-all-my-heart-and-soul loved The Forbidden Wish...but I'd be lying. 

The Forbidden Wish is easily Khoury's best work: the characters are flesh and blood, living and breathing in the pages; the pacing, as always, is phenomenal, and the plot riveting—some truly wonderul twists!—not to mention the brilliance of the subject matter (retelling of ALADDIN? Can you say radiance??!); her trademark prose (aka gorgeous) continues to impress; and there isn't a plot hole in sight. 

It's extremely well written and well-thought-through. I loved the characters and their complexity (and quirks). I loved the spin on Aladdin. I loved the immensity of scope involved in making the world and its rules believable. 

What went wrong?

Well...that's just it. In the world of YA, Khoury has hit a triple homerun. The novel fits the genre perfectly and I can see her topping charts and receiving well-deserved praise for her work alongside uber-popular authors. And again, the work truly is fabulous. So it's less what went wrong and more what went right. 

One of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Khoury's work—aside from her impressive storytelling ability—is that I could always count on it being original and easily distinguishable from its YA counterparts. Were her other novels as advanced in terms of style and execution as The Forbidden Wish? No. Origin had a few questionable aspects, Vitro's romance was a bit lacking at points, and Kalahari's characters, while endearing, needed a nudge to cast off. The Forbidden Wish has none of these issues. 

Instead, Zahra's voice, while acceptable and fitting and well done, disappoints solely because it sounds so similar to others in the YA world. Same goes for the romance...even for the themes. I feel like a loser and a betrayer for writing this review T_T, but these are my honest sentiments. I'm happy Khoury penned a great novel. I'm sad that, to me, it can be lumped in with so many other greats instead of beaming from a pinnacle. In my eyes, Origin will always, always  be set apart—same goes for Vitro and Kalahari. But The Forbidden Wish, for all its wonder, lacks that trademark spark. 

In case I haven't made this clear: there is literally no fault to be found in TFW; the novel is exciting and well worth the read, especially if retellings are your thing. My issue is completely personal (and subjective). I don't want to deter anyone from picking up this book because IT IS PHENOMENAL and deserves every morsel of praise it receives. And cover. love <3 <3 <3...! It just wasn't what I was hoping for. 

Final Verdict: 

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About the Author 

Jessica Khoury is of Syrian and Scottish descent, and was born and raised in Toccoa, Georgia. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Toccoa Falls College. She currently lives and writes in Greenville, SC. Jessica is the author of ORIGIN, VITRO, KALAHARI, and THE FORBIDDEN WISH.  

Charging (somewhat weakly) into April

I haven't given up on posting consistently, but putting it bluntly: I've been put out lately. Whenever I think about the blog, I'm just like...eh, maybe later...

And I know that's kind of lame. ...Ok, very lame? 

Still, with all the things that have changed—mainly having a baby due in June (*nesting* and house preparation, exhaustion, financial stress, worrying and praying and more worrying because worrying is what mothers do, eating all the things and having the weight—but not the appearance, apparently; “all belly”—to show for it) and Chris' workplace deciding they'll still have him work full time, but only 30 hours (translation: he now works 3 days a week and they think this is remotely acceptable for the breadwinner of the family...uhhh NO, try again ::hulk smash::)—life has been messy, and blogging has been one of the smaller concerns on a growing list. 

That said, I'm still just as ambitious—or, if you prefer and are a realist, CRAZY—and have decided to take on my first Camp NaNo adventure and embrace the PAD Challenge for the second time. I'm planning to revise ~50% of Whispers and Murmurs during Camp; already have my fabulous cabinmates picked out, and am loving it. And of course I'm planning on being a boss at writing poems :D haha.

I'm also flying to Vermont in 5 days to see family for the first time in almost 4 years. April is a busy, busy month...

So...what now? 

• I'll post my review of The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury before the month is up.

• Also our gender reveal...because the pictures amuse me and why not? (:

• In April, I'm going to post my PAD accomplishments here once a week, just as I did last year, and will be sharing information about it tomorrow because GUYS, PAD is so, so fun. Even if you don't fancy yourself a poet, you should try it out. 

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys spring break!!

Cheers!

About Camp NaNo and PAD:

Camp NaNoWriMo is a virtual writer’s retreat, designed for maximum flexibility and creativity. We have Camp sessions in both April and July, and we welcome word-count goals between 30 and 1,000,000. In addition, writers can tackle any project they’d like, including new novel drafts, revision, poetry, scripts, and short stories.

Young writer? Check out Camp deets here. 

https://writingonthesun.wordpress.com/

PAD...with Robert Lee Brewer:

PAD stands for Poem-A-Day, so this is a challenge in which poets write a poem each day of April. Usually, I’ll post a prompt in the morning (Atlanta, Georgia, time), and poets will write a poem in response.

Some poets share those poems on the (Writer's Digest) blog in the comments; others keep their words to themselves. I don’t require comments on the blog to participate, but it does make it more fun when poets are firing away on the blog.

The Gift Of Forgiveness

A long time ago—say about 6-7 years?—I approached my mother and asked her forgiveness. I have no memory of what I said or did that I felt compelled to apologize for, but I do remember that I was prompted by the Spirit to do so because it was the upstanding, righteous thing to do...and I also recall that it wasn't anything major.

Her response? 

I don't know. I'll have to think about it.
…
I don't know if I'll ever be ready to forgive you.

Without any hint of melodrama I can assure you her response speared my heart. I came to this person—my own mother—with an open, hopeful heart expecting at least a grudging 'ok'. Maybe an 'I'm still angry, but I forgive you.' Or maybe even 'I'm not really ready to forgive you yet, but thank you for apologizing. I just need some time.'

I don't know. 

I can still hear the venom in her voice as she said these words with a bitter, satisfied look in her eyes. The message was clear: I deserved to feel terrible for what I'd done/said. And feel terrible I did, but not because of what I'd done; I was sincerely apologetic. There was nothing more I could do. My conscience was clear.

I still felt terrible, however, because of the denial. To her, there was little to no hope of pardon, a thing which she took immense satisfaction from. I was stunned, of course; when someone bares their heart to you like I did to my mother, you don't sit there and question whether or not you know if you can forgive them, too busy considering how much saying so will hurt the other person. It is cruel and unusual punishment of the worst kind. 

That moment so scarred me it nullified everything else surrounding the occasion (hence why I can't remember what I was even apologizing for). In the years since, I've never asked someone for their forgiveness. If I wrong them I simply apologize and move on. But I don't ask for their forgiveness. The wound went too deep. The only One I can manage to ask without the words sticking in my throat until I give up is God, Who is trustworthy and always graciously forgives me.
 
You're probably wondering why I'm bothering to tell you all this.  

This is why: because forgiveness is precious. It is hope and redemption, and to deny someone—especially someone who is sincerely repentant—those things is despicable and shameful.

SPHERES #2: Yellow **NaNoWriMo Excerpt(s)**

So this past month I participated in NaNoWriMo, which was STELLAR. Seriously. I had so much fun taking a much-needed break from the ultra-structured Whispers and Murmurs and moving into the more spontaneous territory of the second book of the series, Yellow. Working with Yellow's protagonist, Kara, was nothing short of thrilling. 

Kara is one of those characters whose charisma grips you and refuses to let go...and you are totally ok with it. Also, not going to even try to deny this, she's so easy to work with. She lets me know exactly what she wants, where she intends to go, and doesn't waste time deliberating *long hard stare at Nikaiya* which is almost the complete opposite of Nikaiya, who, while reckless at points, is a strategist at heart and “wastes time” thinking about, well, pretty much everything. I'm making Nikaiya sound annoying. She's really not; just difficult to prod into cooperating... 

Yellow also proved easier to navigate despite—ironically—being much more convoluted. We're talking timey-wimeyness here, peeps. But unlike in Whispers and Murmurs, where literally everything is structured down to the word count per chapter, Yellow offers an abundance of wiggle room provided all the key scenes are put into the novel. Obviously I have an order to it; just a much more lenient one. 

(Short glimpse into the somewhat stifling structure of W&M: each of the 32 chapters is exactly 3,125 words long...to total exactly 100,000 words.)

I put forth that I wanted to share a few bits of my efforts—efforts which resulted in about 20k! Woot considering circumstances, which I'll again hopefully be announcing soon. Next week? :D—and now I'm finally getting to do so. Yay!

What you're about to see is the unadulterated rough draft of rough drafts—meaning none of this has been edited at all. Not for grammar or spelling, syntax, or logical consistency...so please keep that in mind while reading! Don't be too worried, though; my grammar isn't impeccable but it isn't atrocious, either (same goes for spelling). And brackets? My lifeline for brain farts. I love brackets. 

To avoid some spoilers and such, I had to blot out a character's name (sorry!). I'm really excited—and a bit nervous—to share this because 1) as expressed above, it's NaNo-style rough; and 2) I'm afraid to be giving away too much at once before I've even finished the draft! Nevertheless, this is something I wanted to do to give a peek into my first NaNo experience. 

Hopefully you find it encouraging—maybe enough to tackle NaNo yourself next year?! 

Here's my (also) rough synopsis. It desperately needs help, but will suffice for the moment:

For Kara, a girl who’s cursed with the rare and volatile affliction known as Ipsen's Syndrome and who’s haunted by the tragic event that triggered its manifestation, existence is a nightmare she longs to wake up from. Despite numerous treatments, counseling sessions, and continuous outpouring of love from her family and few remaining friends, she has yet to recover. In one last attempt to at least lessen the effects of the curse, Kara’s parents allow her to travel to Mydoria with a family friend.

Upon arrival, the pair is shocked; Miaka, the eldest princess, insists Kara accompany her if she desires to receive healing—and miraculously, once the process is complete, Kara’s migraines are gone. Thus when Miaka requests the pair’s aid in helping Nikaiya accomplish her quest, both willingly oblige; Mikael, because he believes this journey could be the answer they’ve been searching for; Kara, because she has been given a sliver of hope, and wishes to thank Miaka.

Shortly after departing Mydoria, Kara encounters a priestess from Hikari, and is challenged to confront her precarious past—to come to terms with what happened, and with what could be: to embrace the redemption she's really been searching for all along—if it exists.

She could refuse.

But if she does, she'll lose herself and those she holds most dear—for good this time.

Onto the Story...

*Mikael's name will probably change :)

Tidbit #1:

When I listen carefully, I hear the flow of water. The water underneath us…it’s moving. And much faster than it should be. My legs threaten to give way beneath me as Mikael’s shouts pierce the air. It hurts to breathe. His voice echoes along the river, carrying an eerie note of foreboding. Run, he’s saying. RUN!

I spin, forcing my legs to move back to *****. He must have seen the river breaking from atop the slope. If we don’t get off the ice, we’re all going to die. 

The Lemorian Crest Hannah L. Clark **Review**

Another gorgeous cover! :3

**I received an e-copy in exchange for an honest and fair review. Thank you!**

As with the first installment, Uncovering Cobbogoth, there's a mountain range of potential in The Lemorian Crest. The world of New Cobbogoth is every bit as creative and enthralling as I'd hoped—and more—and combined with its unique history, mythos, and bits of legislation, it's nothing short of phenomenal. Clark's world-building is easily her strongest suit. Although I didn't feel the book lived up to its full potential, I loved that the backstory and history of the Cobbogothians went much deeper than a single book could allow. (Hence the series. Epicness :-) 

By utilizing letters and scrolls in ruins to relay the history of the Gihara, Clark further brought New Cobbogoth to life. In combination with the flashbacks and the visions, it was admittedly a little overwhelming, but I favored the texture it brought to the story. Speaking of story...it was a bit tropey. One moment I would be enamored and impressed with the approach and execution of the prophecy bits and the next I'd feel like the whole thing was slightly overdone and hard to believe. 

Overall, the plot was decent, the world-building was (again) phenomenal, and the background, in general, was pretty entertaining...but the not-so-stellar pacing and the Mary-Sue/flat characterization distracted me, detracting from and dragging down what would otherwise be a fantastic novel. 

In the first novel, the pacing issue was in large part due to the numerous flashbacks. The second installment vastly improved in this area; however, the flashbacks were replaced with visions. Granted, they were interesting, but there comes a point when enough is enough. Shoehorning, also an issue in Uncovering Cobbogoth, again happened a fair amount...but honestly, I didn't really mind when it came to the world because the world is incredible. What I minded was when it came down to people.

The real  pacing issue, though, was aimless dialogue. Too much time was spent dilly-dallying in literally pointless conversation. As a writer, this irked me; if it has no point, if it does not further the novel, it goes. Or at least it should. But as a reader, it was beyond aggravating. No one wants to waste their time flipping through pages of dialogue that accomplish nothing! If I wanted to subject myself to that, I'd read my cereal box. (I actually do  like reading my cereal box, but that's because I'm weird.) 

When I read a novel, I expect there to be a reason why people are talking. They have something important to share with me, something to help the protagonist along. SOMETHING. And when they don't? -_____-  <-----This is the face I make, and then I proceed to skim...and skim...and skim until something significant presents itself and I can, once again, immerse myself in the story. 

Sure, the characters were interesting—well, most of them—but no character is THAT interesting, not even Harry Potter. It was too bad, really.

And Noria (aka Nor aka Norah aka Nilla aka Lune-kyndie aka The Haven). Oh, Noria. To be blunt, she was tragically annoying as ever. I've come to conclude that we just don't mix well; sometimes a protagonist has a lot to offer but you still don't resonate with them. 

She's stubborn, foolish, and reckless...yet is supposed to be incredibly smart...? Sounds like my first WIP's protagonist. But unlike with my character, I never truly saw or felt said supposed intelligence. Nor's judgment and decisions also seemed inconsistent, almost as if she was trying to be two or three different people. It was difficult for me to get a grip on her character.

In her defense, she came a long way since the first novel. It was a vast improvement and I enjoyed this Norah more than the previous Norah...just not enough to actually resonate with and/or like her. Again, cue bitter disappointment because POTENTIAL.

Overall, The Lemorian Crest is captivating enough to at least try. The world is like nothing I've ever come across: whimsical, believable, and utterly fantastical. And who knows—maybe you'll love Noria! Definitely worth a chance, especially for MG readers.

Final Verdict: 

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About the Author 

Hannah L. Clark lives with her husband and two children in the Rocky Mountains. She has always known she would be a storyteller. In 2006 she graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor's degree in English and immediately began writing her first novel.

Uncovering Cobbogoth was Clark's first book in the seven book Cobbogoth series based on her mythological brain-child, The Legend of the Cobbogothians. It was released in May 2014 through Cedar Fort Publishing. Book 2 in the series, The Lemorian Crest will be released in Summer 2015.

Clark loves running, mythology, singing while playing the guitar, herbal tea, escaping into imaginary worlds, and being with her peeps. Like her heroine Norah, she also kind of believes that trees might have souls, but must clarify that she has never actually hugged a tree. The closest she has ever come to that kind of bizarre behavior was the time she hugged the pillars outside Harry Potter Land. Which, all things considered, is not bizarre at all if you take into account how exquisitely happy she was to finally be there. ;-)

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NaNoWriMo and Life Madness *Update*

November passed by and I didn't put up a single post! *sigh*

Well, that's only to be expected, I suppose. Hopefully in a few days--or weeks--I'll be able to share some fantastic news pertaining to the "life" bit of the equation on the post header...but for now, I can say things have been difficult in the sickness arena. 

NaNo went ok. Not as stellar as I'd hoped, but I knocked out about 20k of Yellow, Spheres Book 2, and managed to get a working scene list that bumped my novel up from a mere 30k (it was bigger in my mind, ok??! Haha) to about 90. During this past month I gained a tremendous amount of insight to Kara's story and am ready to dive in to knock out a large portion of the novel this month. I initially wanted to shoot for diving back into Whispers and Murmurs, but Kara's story has gripped me and well, it's the one demanding attention. 

In the meantime, I'll try to focus on some of the plot holes in the first book. *cries* 

My next post is a review (it's going up today, no worries :-) of The Lemorian Crest, Book 2 of the Uncovering Cobbogoth series by Hannah Clark. After that, I'm going to share a bit of my progress on Yellow during NaNo. Sure, it's RFDR stuff...but honestly, I find it encouraging when other writers are willing to share their work in its unrefined state, so I hope you're able to as well. 

Cheers!