Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige is a fairytale retelling written in the style of Brigid Kemmerer’s A Curse so Dark and Lonely. It tells the story of Farrow, a young girl who grows up in a secret place called the Reverie, surrounded by “sisters” who are called the Entente, creatures humanlike but not human, who possess magic and are charged with the care of humanity. When Farrow is very young, she witnesses the death of her mother and the apparent annihilation of all the Entente by power-hungry Queen Magrit, who feared the Entente would one day overthrow her should they be allowed to continue.
Orphaned and alone with plots for revenging herself on Queen Magrit, Farrow finds herself conscripted into the Couterie, an establishment that churns out highly trained boys and girls to become companions to royalty, either as advisors, friends, or lovers. Farrow seizes her chance, becoming the Couterie chosen to be the consort to Magrit’s son, Mather. She plans to kill both Queen and Prince, but her plans are foiled when she finds herself falling for the unexpectedly noble Mather.
There is an unexpected twist and Farrow must flee the castle with some surprising characters. This leads to her having to confront some stark changes and make a difficult choice.
The overall storyline of this novel was good, and Farrow is a fairly engaging character. At times, the story kind of trudged along and could have been trimmed to make the story tighter. I wasn’t entirely enthused at the way the Cinderella story turned out, nor did I care for a particular plot twist. However, the unexpected ending paves the way for a book two. This novel would appeal to readers of House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin Craig.
Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy from Bloomsbury
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 8 mild obscenities.
Violence/Gore: Many, many instances of violence and gore including but not limited to: Report of a witch being burned; many instances where a character transforms parts of herself into different creatures; a boy wants to cut enchanted wings off himself with a knife; a character is warned she will lose her life and the lives of many others if she will not change course; a character is arrested and charged as a witch; in an extended scene, a character is burned on a pyre, her friends engage in battle to try and save her life, many characters are killed and an explosion appears to wipe out hundreds of people; a girl plots to kill someone; report of a character intent on seeking out and eradicating magical people; memory of a surgery that makes a character resemble another more closely; a dangerous test includes a poisoned apple, which a character chooses by mistake and nearly dies; report of a trapeze artist falling to her death; report of assassination attempts; report of girls burned at the stake; characters bully a young soldier; characters plot to kill a mother and son; a female character takes a knife to kill someone; a character is found caged and it is implied she has been tortured; characters fight a somewhat gory battle; a woman is struck by an arrow, critically injured, and dies; a female character cuts off her finger and regrows it; a boy screams from a nightmare; characters bully and mistreat another female character; characters who have lost much have decided to punish those they feel are responsible for their losses; magical characters blame all humans for their misfortunes; magical characters have strayed from the rules of magic and have become cruel; characters are found to have been shapeshifted against their will; report of a character losing his mother in childbirth; three girls are on trial for witchcraft, and a fourth character uses forbidden magic to save them; magical characters plot to overthrow various queendoms and describe the violence they have created to further their plans; characters cast a spell that will eventually kill a prince; a magical character injures another by removing her toes; characters plot to storm a castle; magical characters battle royal guards, and a character uses magic to threaten and choke another character; a character is condemned to be executed; a character sees the heart of one of her companions has become dark with the desire for vengeance; characters proclaim the death of a queen.
Sex/Nudity: Many instances of sex and nudity, including but not limited to: a girl becoming a member of a “Couterie”, with mention of such people being advisors, friends, or lovers; report of women liking women and men liking men; many instances where it is remarked/implied that a boy is in love with a girl and vice versa; a boy kisses a girl’s hand; a boy talks of loving a girl and exchanging kisses; a girl is given drugs in case she needs help getting through her first night as a prince’s consort; a girl disrobes so a woman can paint her back; there are many instances where male and female characters kiss; a girl dances sensuously; a few instances where male and female characters dance; boys ask to see a prince’s present unwrapped, and a girl slowly disrobes in front of them, wearing nothing but underwear that barely covers her buttocks, and then a prince kisses her, with his hands exploring her back and inching lower (sexual); several instances where male and female characters touch/embrace and/or kiss; mention of a boy whistling as a girl disrobed; a girl appears naked in front of another girl (not sexual); a boy removes his shirt and a girl thinks his body is beautiful; a girl’s thoughts are full of a boy; a character is accused of using a love spell; a character, transformed from animal to human, is naked upon transformation (not sexual); a male character wants to marry a female character.
Mature Subject Matter:
Death of a parent; death of a spouse; assassination attempts; murder; physical and emotional abuse.
Drug/Alcohol Use:
A girl is given sleeping pills; characters drink champagne; a girl pours two glasses of port; a girl puts drugs in a boy’s drink; a character is poisoned during a test; a character poisons a parent; a girl fetches medicine for a boy; characters drink at a bar; characters refill guests glasses at a ball; a character knocks back a champagne flute; a girl drops a glass of champagne on the floor; a girl is given drugs in case she needs help getting through her first night as a prince’s consort.
