Title: When Good Wishes Go Bad
Author: Mindy Klasky
From the back cover:
Rebecca Morris is suffering from an excess of magic!
Things that have disappeared: her boyfriend; her life savings; three-and-a-half million dollars from the theater company that pays both their salaries. (Coincidence? Um, no.) Also, the groundbreaking play she's been slaving over has vanished in a puff of copyright-colored smoke.
Other, weirder things that have appeared: a magic lamp complete with genie wishes. A fully furnished (and paid-for) Manhattan condo and fabulous designer wardrobe. (The last two courtesy of the first one, obvs.)
So Becca's putting that last wish on hold. What with discovering a mesmerizing new play, getting it onstage and falling hard for the adorably awkward guy who wrote it, Becca is swamped. And that's without factoring in the guerrilla gardener, popcorn magnate and the gender-bending genie with an agenda of his/her own.
Now Becca's hoping that her good wishes don't go oh, so wrong….
Review:
When Good Wishes Go Bad is a delightful story that will please readers looking for a different way to satisfy their supernatural reading needs without vampires or werewolves. In it, author Mindy Klasky deftly swirls a mix of magic, humor, and romance to create a lighthearted but engaging tale of genies, wishes, and that age old adage: be careful what you wish for – you just might get it.
Klasky always has a good story to tell, and When Good Wishes Go Bad does not disappoint. The great thing about her books is that her characters are always lively and unique. Statistic quoting genie Teel has the potential to border on annoying but is instead quite entertaining. Becca, the down on her luck Dramaturg*, and Ryan, the shy playwright that just might be able to save Becca’s job and heart, are richly layered and very likable, both separately and together. Supporting characters are amusing and add unexpected oomph to the story, particularly Ryan’s rebellious mother and the egocentric Ronald.
The plot moves along swiftly, fueled by Teel’s unpredictable antics and some unusual subplots involving guerrilla gardening and increasingly horrid popcorn flavors. The romance between Becca and Ryan is sweetly sexy, and a few surprising twists keep things interesting. One of the best parts of the story, however, is the way Klasky fully immerses her readers in the main setting – the theater – with descriptions of casting calls, set problems, blocking issues, and other everyday nuances of theater life.
This is the second book in Mindy Klasky’s As You Wish series which, admittedly, I am not enjoying quite as much as her Jane Madison series. Maybe I just relate more to a librarian that discovers she’s a witch than to a shape/gender shifting genie with a wicked streak of sarcasm. However, I did have a lot of fun reading this book and am looking forward to finding out where Klasky takes her genie in the next one.
*Yes, I had to look it up too. A dramaturg is a specialist in the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation (Merriam Webster). For a more in-depth explanation, check out Mindy Klasky’s blog post, Defining the New: Dramaturgy.
