Wish Hunter

The Savannah River Series, Book 1

By: Hero Bowen, Jordan Riley Swan

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Explore the dark underworld of wish-hunting in the compelling first installment of this urban fantasy trilogy set in Savannah, Georgia - perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and V. E. Schwab.

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 counselor, 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.

Content note: spousal death, gun violence, miscarriage.

©2021 Jordan Riley Swan (P)2021 Jordan Riley Swan

What a fun story!

I really dig this book. The story flows seamlessly, always leaving breadcrumbs to want more instead of being confused. I love the descriptions too. Some stories overexplain and I get bored, but the concise vivid descriptions made me feel like I was watching a movie in my head instead of listening to someone read a story. The narrator helped a lot with that too, with her amazing character accents!  

I'm actually not much of a fantasy fan typically, because it's hard for me to identify with characters from a different world. This is definitely a human dilemma with a touch of magic. It was a bit darker than I anticipated, which was a pleasant surprise.   

Unique, addictive, & fun story w/ SUPERB narration

Casually browsing Lisa Flanagan's recent audiobook performances led me to this book, and thank god because this is a hidden GEM. Each and every character is a delight and brings so much to the table. I was living for the family drama, the whip-smart banter, the subtle hints (?) at a slow-burn romance, with a plot that never slows down for even a moment. Pausing this audiobook at any point was physically painful, especially after Miles was introduced. This is just everything you could want in an audiobook; I couldn't have wished for a more entertaining story.

Fantastic

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The Narrator’s voice made it realistic and drew me in The time passed so quickly that Before I realized it, I was done. Can’t wait for the next story.

Stealing Wishes

This was my first experience with Hero Bowen's & Jordan Riley Swan's work and I enjoyed it a lot. What a creative and unusual idea to build a novel around the idea of being able to steal wishes. There is plenty of action and many twists and turns taking place in this story with moments of laugh out loud humor. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this story to others who enjoy paranormal fantasies. Lisa Flanagan's narration was great. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

Good Concept, Slow Pacing

This one definitely feels like a prequel/series starter rather than a fully realized story in itself. The characters are interesting enough to make me wonder where it goes from here…but a lot of the major plot points are telegraphed early on then take a REALLY long time to play out. So if you enjoy this kind of story, you may enjoy this one enough to persevere- but it’s not going to win over urban fantasy newbies.

Wish

I loved this book. Nadia's story is unique. I love the idea of stealing wishes and a Wishing Tree. The plot definitely thickened through the whole book. It just kept going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. I can't wait for the next one.
The narrator was really good. I wish she'd had a better southern accent. I live in the south and some of it was very convincing but some of it sounded like there were no accents with the southern characters.
I received a few audible book and I'm voluntarily leaving an honest review.

wishes

stealing wishes with a side of family drama. Do to what was assumed as a family debt Nadia felt obligated to keep steal wishes to pay that debt off until she learned it wasn't her debt to pay.

I WISH there had been more development

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wish Hunter envelops you in a world where a grand deed(saving a life) grants you a wish. Each person is set to a maximum of three wishes in their lifetime, and a special ritual must be followed when making the wish that few know about. Even then, the wishes can be warped or interpreted in ways one wouldn't imagine. When Nadia, a marriage counselor who's family owes a massive debt of wishes to the local Wishmaster, steals the final wish of a rockstar all hell breaks loose. Will Nadia be able to sneak this one wish for herself, or will the Wishmaster catch wind of Nadia's betrayal and come to collect?

A world where wishes are not only real, but can be stolen, sold, and purchased? I was here for it in every way, but sadly my excitement was left unsatisfied. There is so much going on in this book, and absolutely none of it.comes to any kind of closure. I totally understand this is meant to be the first book in a series, but it went on so long and left so much up in the air I just don't have the patience to juggle it all. The characters weren't developed to the level I thought they would be, and the lore of this world is peppered throughout, but doesn't really give you anything different. The lore is simply repeated over and over again. Yes, the wishing tree has the right to warp or even ignore wishes.....but where did it come from? Why a three wish maximum? Why does someone only get one wish if they save more than one person at a time? How does the wishing tree put the proper weight on a wish, therefore putting a value on every life saved rather than the person saving it?

In my opinion, this could have easily been shrank to half the size and that would have freed up pages to atleast bring some kind of closure to the numerous tentacles of plot lines. Two stars from me, perhaps I've just come to expect more out of books, especially at the beginning of a new series. Recommended for those 12+.