The Forbidden Wish

By: Jessica Khoury

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years, a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity, only to discover that she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart? As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of Aladdin from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

©2016 Jessica Khoury (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Lush, romantic, and exquisitely written - The Forbidden Wish is a rare, glittering jewel of a novel." (Sarah J. Maas, author of Queen of Shadows)

interesting take on a classic fairytale

I would recommend this book to those who like "remixed" fairy tales. The writing style was at a teen level but the story didn't center on feelings or entirely focus on the romance. I feel the characters were nicely developed. Narration was fine, diction was a little strange sometimes but that could have been related to the level of literature. Overall, worth the listen!

Beautiful and magical

An enjoyable rendition of Aladdin that paints a magical picture for the listeners. There were a few moments where the speech was out of place for the time line which was slightly distracting.

Magic in your ears

Where does The Forbidden Wish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among those that I have listened to, this is my favorite audiobook. There were a few others that are close, but thus far, this is the best.

What did you like best about this story?

Cassandra Campbell's performance of Zahra.

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell – was your favorite?

Zahra, the main character was the best performed, no doubt.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book took me several sittings to finish listening to. I don't have the kind of time to listen to an audiobook for ten straight hours, unfortunately. This one was so good that I could not help but spend some of that time to comment about it.

Any additional comments?

Cassandra Cambell weaves a spell into your ears with the words written by Jessica Khoury. This book and the way that it was performed are simply magical, and the way Cassandra's voice breathed life into Zahra, the emotion that you felt throughout the tale from her as you see it all from her eyes gave you a connection with the character that you rarely can find in fiction.

Beyond that, the character of Zahra was a fascinating and lovely character. She had far more patience than I would have in some situations that she found herself in, and I could not help but think it befitting of one who was what she was. Even so, her sanity after so long almost seems impossible.

Fun, whimsical story.

I really enjoyed this story of Aladin from the genies point if view. Fun story!

Excellent read

Loved the descriptive style. The author captured my attention from the first moment and kept it throughout.