#1) The Shadow Queen ★★★☆☆
#2) The Wish Granter ★★★½☆
#3) The Traitor Prince ★★★½☆

The Wish Granter was an enjoyable companion to The Shadow Queen.

While it definitely has similar issues, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters. Ari and Sebastian were wonderful protagonists but their romantic relationship was only mediocre. Ari had such a distinctive voice. Her obsession with food definitely made me smile. I mean, relatable much. I adored having a self-confessed curvy female protagonist who was truly happy with her weight and appearance. It was refreshing to see a plus-sized character completely and utterly comfortable with themselves, particularly in a fantasy. Her determination and bravery also made her quite the admirable protagonist. She was not a Special Snowflake, just an ordinary girl thrown into a tricky situation and trying to figure out where she belonged. I will say that it was a little frustrating that Redwine felt the need to constantly remind us Ari was smart and brave when it was so clearly shown, but I didn’t ruin her narration for me.

Sebastian was also wonderful. He was sweet and loyal. I loved his little crinkly-eyed smile. He is actually one of the very few realistic childhood abuse survivors I have ever read about. His childhood is too often exploited for the Tragic Backstory cliche but Redwine did it justice. While the words ptsd and anxiety are never used, it is clearly portrayed as having those symptoms. The fact that his fear of being touched and left alone in crowds was integral to his storyline, never disappearing at convenient moments, meant a lot. I was a little worried that he started to ‘get better’ when he met Ari but it never got to the stage where he was magically cured by the romance. She did help him make progress, but only because he started to build a support system for the first time, not anything else.

The plot was effortlessly engaging. I found it so hard to put down that I whipped through it in a single afternoon. I was genuinely intrigued to see how Ari planned to wheedle her way out of Thad’s disastrous deal. The storyline got much darker than I thought it would - a happy surprise! Thank God, the author decided she wouldn’t make her characters take any of the easy shortcuts. The political aspects of the story could have gone a tad further, I thought. I never truly understood the scope of Teague’s operation or how he used Thad’s influence to manipulate it. Seeing that portrayed more clearly, rather than just stated, would have really drawn me in.

What definitely let me down was how it was a tad too predictable, which is always a risk with retellings. Redwine didn’t quite manage to distinguish her story from the familiar myth. It led me to expect the ending way before the characters did… which is always a tad irritating. It drains a lot of the excitement from the climax of the story.

Overall?

The Wish Granter was an easy and engaging read for my lazy Saturday. It drew me in with its lovable protagonists. Ari with her feisty spirit and baking talents was an admirable protagonist but Sebastian definitely stole the spotlight. His anxiety/PTSD representation was so well-written and added an element to the story I didn’t know I needed. I thought the plot was a little predictable but I appreciated that it didn't gloss over some of the darker aspects of the story. I definitely thought this sequel was a more engaging read than The Shadow Queen. I would recommend continuing on with the series if you were dubious. You might even start with this companion if you are new to the series since it follows an entirely different cast and storyline.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.