"I Wish for You" by Camilla Isley

"...he's just so out-of-this-world. They don't make them like that anymore."

I can't even put into words just how much love I have for Camilla Isley's début novel - and especially for its magical out-of-this-world male protagonist, Arthur.

In the first half of the book, I oftentimes found myself disliking the female lead, Ally Johnson, which made it a little hard for me to get into the story at first. She seemed self-absorbed, ignorant and rather naïve and pathetic. Hung up on her ex-boyfriend, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get him back, even if that 'whatever' involves using most of the wishes a genie grants her, and accepting the emotional suffering of others - the only thing that matters is getting James, her now engaged ex, back.
At any cost.
My dislike for Ally, however, soon turned into amusement and added to the comedy of the story, making it a lot more entertaining than your average romance. Furthermore, it helped to emphasize the character development she goes through towards the end of the novel; well-rounded, complex characters that evolve throughout a read are something that is very important to me in a story, so that more than makes up for how disagreeable her character seemed to me in the beginning.

Oh, have I mentioned my love for Arthur yet?
Yes? No? Well, either way, let me tell you... he's one fine specimen of a man. He is good looking, charming, well-mannered, intelligent, courteous, gorgeous, passionate, curious, caring, somewhat stubborn, has a great sense of humor, and... the list could go on, and on, and on. Too bad that "They don't make them like that anymore.", because I sure would like one of my own - however ancient and 'used' he might already be. Without wanting to give more about him away than the fact that he is, sort of, a genie (how he finds Ally, and what he is all about, are things you will have to read about for yourself - I wouldn't want to spoil the story for you), Arthur manages to turn Ally's world upside-down, never missing a beat to show her quite plainly what really matters in life. Despite his commitment to Ally, Arthur, however reluctant, never lets us forget that he, too, has a story - one that holds more twists and surprises than you could ever imagine...

And while we're talking men, there is also James.
James, whom Ally believes to be the love of her life, and who is now engaged to her co-worker and sworn enemy, Vanessa. James, whom Ally is trying to get back for most of the novel, more or less ridiculing herself on more than one occasion in the process.

Vanessa, James, Ally, Arthur... while there never is much of a love triangle, or even quadrangle, playing out in front of the reader's eyes, you are bound to prefer one pairing over the other in the matter of pages - and all you can do is hope that your OTP (one true pairing) will get its happily ever after in the end.... an end, that seems to have come much too soon once you've reached it.

I Wish for You is a great light and entertaining read, that you will be able to lose yourself in, forgetting time. I really enjoyed Camilla Isley's début novel, not wanting to put it down, and hope that we will soon be able to read more from her. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romantic comedies and some magic... imagine Lost in Austen meets Kate & Leopold, with a side of If You Could See Me Now and a lot of love from Camilla Isley.

4/5

If all your wishes could suddenly come true, what would you do?

A year ago when the love of her life dumped her for no apparent reason, Ally thought she had hit rock bottom. But now that she has seen him with another woman, and one she knows only too well, her life seems to have reached a whole new level of low.

Yet, when she stumbles across an ancient object infused with magical powers and a stranger with a dark past appears out of nowhere promising to grant all her wishes, she finds herself hoping again.

Suddenly Ally’s life is turned upside down; she has a mystery to solve, a rival to beat, a millenarian curse to break, and well, she wants to have some fun playing with her new “gifts”…

But can she wish her way to happily ever after?

Author self-presentation:

Hi! I’m a writer of romantic comedy, cat’s lover, coffee addict, and shoes hoarder.

Besides writing, I love reading (surprise, surprise), cooking—and eating—especially pasta, going to the movies and obviously ordering a gigantic bowl of popcorn, and watching too much TV.

I understand that mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem as a part of other animals’ diet, and I don’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but I could really live without them.

Author bio:

Camilla was born in 1984. She’s an engineer that has always had a vivid imagination and a more creative approach to life. After working in a corporate job for some years, she left everything to follow her husband around the world in a new adventure. Upon finding herself with loads of free time for the first time in a long while, she decided to begin pouring some of her fantasies into words…

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*** I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review! ***