Title of the book: Wish Hunter

Author: Hero Bowen and Jordan Riley Swan

Publisher: Story Garden

Publication Date: 1st of June 2021

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Why I picked up this book:

This is another Advanced Reader Copy that I was lucky enough to pick up for free. What makes this one a little bit more special though, is the fact that I get to review it before it is even released. Yes, you read that right, June 1st 2021, I’ve got the scoop people. Is this what it feels like to be a true book reviewer? Mustn’t let this change me – I am still the same down-to-earth person as I was before, just with more exclusive book reviews. Kidding of course, but I am excited all the same!

I thought the idea of wishes being a very real part of modern society was an interesting idea. Especially the way in which the author seamlessly explained the mechanics in an utterly believable and plausible way. Why wouldn’t wishes exist? Because you’ve never heard of it you say? Well of course not, people only ever get to make a wish after they have saved a life, and you’re not exactly that extraordinary are you?

About the author:

Yes – I aware this is in fact not a picture of the author. However, both Hero Bowen and Jordan Riley Swan are pseudonyms so it is hard enough to find information on them, let alone pictures. The best I could do was the below:

Jordan Riley Swan is a wild word hunter living in the far and dangerous reaches of rural Ohio. He spends his nights tracking down big-game stories, capturing them in paper cages, and training them to be better tales.

The Heart's Bidding is the first novel he's dared to use the keys of his typewriter to release back into the wild

Synopsis:

Nadia Kaminski’s family has stolen wishes for generations, auctioning them off to skeevy business tycoons and politicians in back-alley deals. Their operation is simple enough. Find someone who gained a wish after saving a life. Trick the wisher into sharing a deep secret. Steal the wish.

And as a marriage counsellor, Nadia has more access to people’s secrets than most.

But when Nadia comes across the perfect opportunity to steal a wish for herself, she takes it—and the rock star she’s stolen it from desperately wants his wish back.

As Nadia tries to figure out how to get rid of the cocky thorn in her side, she must face off against vengeful wish hunters, her all-too-powerful family, and the consequences of her own desires—because stealing wishes can be a deadly affair.

Review of the book:

For me, this book is almost like a study in duality.

The first half of the book was disappointing. A number of the characters felt flat and stereotypical. The supposed plot twists were obvious, predictable with very little emotional payoff. I was tempted to stop reading, maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

However, the second half of the book easily erases any foul taste the first might have left. All of a sudden the action is ramped up to 10. There is so much crammed into the space of 24 hours it feels like weeks have passed. We get to understand the inner workings of both our pro- and antagonists as the lines between the two definitions seem to fade. Suddenly we are reading a page-turner that is difficult to put down. As evidenced by the fact that I tore through the remaining 30 per cent of the book in less than an afternoon.

Our main character Nadia starts out a bit bland. Wait, no bland is not the right word. She’s clever, intuitive, carries immense sorrow over the death of her husband and is forced to move back into her childhood home. Enough to drive anyone mad, I certainly don’t think that I could have handled it. Which is exactly where the issue lies. Other than a brief moment of panic here and there, it feels more like she is going through the motions. She is angry because, well she should be, she is upset because that’s what people in her situation are supposed to do. However, it feels like she has no autonomy. Like she is dragged forward by the plot, rather than being a driving force behind it.

Luckily this is flipped as well once the stakes are raised. When this woman is pushed to her absolute limits, perhaps a fair bit beyond as well, she rises to the occasion. Gone is the wallflower who allows her mother and grandmother to dictate her life. She turns into a calculating sly fox. Sure, she isn’t always successful, but at least she’s no longer rolling over and playing dead when things get hard.

Part of that is brought out by our fabulous side character Miles. There’s just a whole lot to love about this wholesome man. Sure he starts out being egotistical, selfish and particularly full of himself – which guitar-god isn’t. Yet as he discovers more about the seedy-underbelly of Savannah’s wishing world, he evolves from an uneasy ally to a trustworthy friend. He shows the vulnerabilities that lie beneath the shallow veneer of arrogance. He becomes complete.

As for the plot itself, as I mentioned it is full of twists and turns. Some of which felt more ‘gimmicky’ than others. The supposedly big reveal in the first part, the identity of the Wishmaster left me feeling a bit deflated. As if there had been too many clues strewn about the story. So the unveiling was little more than confirmation of what we knew to be fact already.

Of course, this is counterbalanced yet again by plot twists in the latter part of the book. I honestly had no idea who had been the mastermind behind the Wishmaster coup. My mind is still reeling from the conclusion of Kaleena’s plotting and don’t get me started on the lies to cover up the wishing debt.

Overall the story isn’t bad, but it is certainly hampered by the first 100 pages or so. If you can make your way through that though, you’ll certainly be rewarded for your efforts. You end up with a fast-paced, action-packed urban fantasy. You end up with a magic system that feels grounded in reality. You end up with characters who are titans compared to their former selves. But as I said, you do have to put in the work first.

What are your thoughts? Are you ready to dive into Wish Hunter the moment it hits the virtual shelves on June 1st? Are you struggling through the first 100 pages like me? Or are you seriously questioning what I was on about as you thought this book was divine from start to finish. Let me know in the comment section below and, until then - just one more page!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.