The Wishing Heart by JC Welker (ARC Review)

The Wishing Heart by JC Welker

Release Date: May 1, 2017 (TODAY!)

*I received an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review from the publisher – thanks so much for sending me over a copy!*

Okay, the moment I saw this book, I was sold. I saw jinnis, thieves, and gritty London, and I was doneeeeee. I don’t think I hit request copy this fast in a longgggg time. It reminded me of Six of Crows and Aladdin, and I’ve been in Ketterdam withdrawals for far too long. And I was not disappointed.

Once Upon a Time…

With a book in her bag and a switchblade in her pocket, Rebel’s been thieving her way through life while hoping for a cure to fix her ailing heart.

But when the bejeweled vase she just tried to hawk turns out to be a jinni’s vessel, Rebel gets lost to her world and dragged within another. Now every magical being in the city wants the vase for himself.

Thrust into a game of cat and mouse in a world she never knew existed, Rebel must use her uncanny skills to find a way to free Anjeline the Wishmaker.

But wishes have consequences. And contracts. Anjeline’s freedom could unravel a love like Rebel has never known, or it could come at the cost of Rebel’s heart…

Oh, gosh, this book was good. It was so unique and cool and unlike any book I’ve read – and I thought it was fantastic.

“This isn’t like your books,” she said as thought Rebel we naive. “They’re stories that know nothing about life. People are thornier than what those things tell you. Good doesn’t always win. Light doesn’t always burn away the darkness.”

First off, let’s talk about the writing. As I said, I say thief and switchblade and I was all FEMALE KAZ BREKKER, TAKE MY HEART AND GIVE ME PRETTY WRITING. Welker has some serious writing skills. Some of her lines were just SO pretty. Anyone that can inspire me to take screenshots on my iPad of pretty lines has some ridiculously amazing skills – only the glorious Megan Miranda has inspired me to do that, so Welker is now a must look for author for me. I’ll be including a few lines throughout the review (see above evidence XD). There were a few lines that got a little too confusing in the midst of all the beauty, but I didn’t care because PRETTY WRITING.

The inclusion of folklore was amazing as well. There was a lot of mystical creatures involved in this story – which you know I’m allllll about. Welker took some creative license with them and each one was super cool and interesting. Although the use of Courts kept getting me confused because I’ve read too many court books (between faerie books and actual princess books, Mandy gets confused) lately.  But her mythology was great.

“Magic doesn’t need to be explained or understood. It just needs to be believed.”

Our two main heroines were ridiculously wonderful as well. I was a bit more partial to Rebel because she was so sassy and fierce. She had these lines that would crack me up, but she also had a beautiful depth to her. You felt for her, and you literally could not help but root for her. She was SO likable. I just loved her as a main character.

I did love Anjeline as well. I just felt more of a connection with Rebel and it’s why poor Anjeline lost a bit of my love. XD Again, you couldn’t help but enjoy and root for her as well. Her story was so sad, and you wanted her out of her cage as fast as possible. The other characters were interesting, but these two were the shining stars.

“I keep my promises. We’ll find the means to free you. Maybe I don’t look like much, but not all warriors wear armor.”

The romance was so swoony as well. They were adorable together, and it was so believable and it wasn’t instalovey. They took their time and weren’t focused on their feelings when the story was getting so intense. It made it so much better when there were the little moments they had their tension and romance. Oh, sigh, this ship was so good, and I was trying hard to figure out how to mash up their names in adorable heart balloons.

Ariel was really upset about the mermaid rep in this book…until I informed her it was a siren instead. Then she was more than happy to be on this review.

“We’re both caged birds, one of a heart, and one of a vessel,” she said. “I’d almost lost hope of getting free. Until a girl in the night came and stole more than a vase.”

The only issue I had was the pacing. This is a big book – I mean a seriously BIG book. Goodreads refuses to tell me how many pages the ebook is, but when I was looking at the little Kindle app it was telling me 5 hours when it’s usually 3 hours for the regular books I read. And while everything was interesting and I loved the little twists and turns, it just seemed slowww at parts. And then there was times where I got a bit confused on things. It took a bit away from the story for me, since I felt like I was making no progress.

Overall, though, this book was fantastic. The writing was amazing; the romance had such swoons; and the characters were wonderful. I might have had a slight issue with the pacing and some of other confusing parts, but other than that, I was soooo into this book. Those first few pages drew me in completely, and sold me for the rest of the book. If that summary draws you in at all, let it because it lived up to the goodness for me.

Four crowns and an Ariel rating!

Check it out:

• Goodreads
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

What do you think? What captures you in a summary? Was I the only one that got SOC feels? Let’s discuss in the comments below!