The Lady and the Wish by J. M. Stengl
Fantasy. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
Gillian set her heart on marrying a prince.
Lady Gillian Montmorency is determined to win Prince Fidelio’s heart, but her plans are crashing around her ears. First, Fidelio’s older cousin with a beard like a bird’s nest proposes to her. Next, intimidating Prince Max insists she will be his next trophy.
But the worst of all, her parents reveal a financial scandal. To pay off her father’s debt, Gillian must agree to work one year as companion to an old lady at some remote and ramshackle villa.
Fine. She’ll go. But she doesn’t have to like it.
Something strange is going on at Lady Beneventi’s villa. Ghostly people appear, doors vanish, statues come to life . . . and the old lady herself despises Gillian. With the help of a handsome but hostile construction worker, can Gillian solve the mystery of the wishes and return to her proper place in high society? Can she finally snare a prince to marry?
Or might love play a part in changing her plans?
A King Thrushbeard Romance
My Review:
I didn’t think it was possible, but the series just keeps getting better and better. I adore The Little Siren; it’s so bittersweet and the quirky love story is adorable. I’m obsessed with mermaids and Stengl told the story with such a neat twist that I fell in love. Then the Rose and the Briar took my childhood favorite, Sleeping Beauty, and put such a unique spin on the story. And we all know Briar has long been my favorite character. So, though I’ve come to absolutely love the Faraway Castle books, I never dreamed Stengl could make me love a story I didn’t know and characters I scarecely knew or didn’t know at all more than any of the previous books! But she has.
You know, I may be a bit odd here, but I kind of liked Gillian from the start. I know she was shallow and self-absorbed, but…that’s all she’d ever been taught. No one had ever given her the time of day to stop and show her she had a choice to do otherwise. She’d never had an example of what truth and nobility looked like and she most certainly had never had anyone pushing her to be virtuous and kind. I didn’t pity her, but I did feel curious about her. I wanted to see what happened. And I loved the dynamic between her and Max. Yes, I said Max. I’m a total pushover for that “he creeps me out” vibe because it leaves the door wide open for people like Manny and scenes like the Ganza brothers standing shoulder to shoulder as she faces him. I’m a complete sucker for the protective, chivalrous, noble gentleman. I know it sounds gushy, but I’m a hopeless romantic, and he’s my favorite. So saying, Manny stole the show for me. I adore him and would have LOVED to see a few key scenes from his perspective. Truthfully, I’d read the entire book again written from his point of view! His secret wasn’t exactly a surprise, but the fun of it was wondering when or if Gillian would figure it out. Manny has given Briar a run for his money, and I’m not sure I can honestly say Briar is still my very favorite. (Sorry Briar!! But Manny!!)
Arturo was fun and he made me smile. I liked how his part of the story ended a lot. I loved the Ganza brothers, too. I’d read a whole series as a spin off of just this one book. I want to know their stories now. I loved the relationships among the villa workers. I loved their interactions with Gillian and watching her grow throughout this book. It was easy to root for her in my mind. Lady Beneventi broke my heart. Her…condition…really hit home for me, which only endeared this book to me even more. My heart went out to her and to her family because I’ve been there. I’ve seen what that disease does to people. I suspected it long before any of the characters voiced it aloud, and when my suspicions were confirmed, I could only nod sadly and watch the story play out. The characters in this book are golden. Absolutely golden.
The plot never left me bored! It was a beautiful balance of watching Gillian grow, warming up to Lady B (and worrying over her!), intrigue and curiosity over the wishes, and fairytale fluff! I laughed way too hard for some of the sections in this book and my heart swelled more times than I care to count. I read the book in an evening, staying up far too late! I was so engaged. The wishes were entertaining, too. I loved the statue party so much! And the Biaco fiasco!! Oh my gosh, best part of the whole book!! I won’t mention more, but the wishes were one of the best parts of the book. It was so much fun to see how the characters handled each one and reacted to them. The book not only kept my attention, but it warmed me to my toes. I loved everything about this new fairy tale and hope to find more adaptations of it in the future.
The setting! Oh, guys! This was so cool! This was the first time we left Faraway Castle, and we did from like the second chapter-ish. We went first to Gillian’s home, then to another country which held a very Italianesque atmosphere. I adored the villa. I loved the gardens, the home itself, and the vineyard. I’d have loved to see the vineyeard more. It was really neat to see the setting expanded yet again. I still stand by what I said: I’d read an entire spin-off series just from this book!!
The few things I would have liked a little more of: the dynamic between Gillian and her family. We kind of sped by this, and while I got enough to realize exactly how she’d been raised, I wanted to see it play out. I would have liked a bit of a deeper look, both before and after the events of the book. Which brings me to the end. In the past, some of Stengl’s books have felt a little rushed to me in the resolution. While I did not feel that this resolution was abrupt or rushed, I did wish it had been longer. It felt a little short. It felt natural, but I wanted a little more. It’s like the book ended right at the “happily ever after” so to speak, but I sort of wanted to see how the villa workers reacted after she had the big reveal. I wanted to see how her parents reacted. I wanted to see just a little…more. I wanted that last familial embrace between her and her new family at the villa. I even was mildly curious to see her meet the rest of Lady B’s family, since she never really did that either. And, of course, I wanted more of the Ganza brothers and a whole lot more of Manny!! (Who knows, maybe we’ll get a bonus short or so where we see his perspective of the Biaco fiasco and the Max confrontation! Or perhaps a few other scenes?) Lastly, there were one or two small things I expected to resurface that never did. For instance, Gillian mentions that she hates crowds, but…that never becomes relevant at any other point. (Also, I totally wanted to see the arm-buffering-her-from-the-crowd manuver again!! It would have been a fantastic giveaway!) Or there’s mention of her easily burning, but it never pops up again. These weren’t big details, but I guess I sort of expected them to become relevant later and they never came up again.
It has been an absolute pleasure to read this book, and it’s wormed its way deep into my heart. It will have a special place on my shelves. I would recommend this book until the end of time. Even if you don’t read any of the others (which hurts my soul to say–read them in order!), read this one!! It’s endearing, strong, and sweet. It’s a clean, fun, fairy tale romance with depth and color as you see in few of modern releases. Definitely a new favorite.
No violence, clean romance, and no foul lanugage.
Note: I recieved an advanced reader copy from the most gracious author, but I’m far too blunt to give anything but my honest opinion 😉 Thank you, Mrs. Stengl for this tremendous gem and for the opportunity to read and review the book early.
More:
Prequel novella 0.5 Cinder Ellie (4 Stars)
Prequel novella 0.6 The Little Siren (5 Stars)
Book 1 in the Faraway Castle series is Ellie and the Prince (5 Stars)
Book 2 is The Siren and the Scholar (5 Stars)
Book 3 is The Rose and the Briar (5 Stars)
Book 5, The Mirror and the Curse, is being written as we speak! Eep!
You can get The Little Siren free here by signing up for Stengl’s newsletter! I haven’t been bombarded and spammed by her letters yet (they’ve been pretty infrequent so far), so I can totally recommend signing up. If you find you don’t enjoy the newsletters, you can always unsubscribe at any time.
I have reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books and then scroll down to see the reviews. Mine is among them.
This series should be read in order.
On Gracebought:
If you missed it, be sure to check out the reviews for the previous books in the series here on GraceBought! And stay tuned for my thoughts on the next book when it’s released!
Ellie and the Prince, The Siren and the Scholar, and The Rose and the Briar