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A review by the_ya_assassin
Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao
4.0
Oh. My. Flipping. God.
This book was amazing! I received an ARC, but I probably pick up a finished copy too!
The beginning followed a husband and wife who came from humble beginnings; not much is revealed about Agnes's previous life, but apparently Oskar was an illegitimate son. They had been together for five years and were unable to have a child, so when the wife received a gift from their so-called "witch" neighbor, they began exchanging letters. Eventually, the "witch" suggested a potion that would give Agnes (the woman) a child as long as they continued exchanging letters.
Agnes agreed and soon she was with child. However, her husband, Oskar, convinced her to break ties with Mathilda (the witch).
This is where the story POV switched. It moved to the couple's daughter, Elva, who was born with magical abilities to see the future, and even change it.
She tells her fiance about her magic, despite her parents trying to keep it hidden. He accepts it, and loves her with all of his heart.
But when Elva discovers her mother's letters between Mathilda and her, she seeks the witch out for help to control her powers.
The witch and her come to an agreement that if she continues to come and help Mathlida emerge in society, the witch will teach Elva magic. They work for I don't know how long until Elva sees a vision of her family's farm being destroyed by a storm. She tries to change it by helping Mathilda, but when her brother goes missing, she breaks her promise to Mathlida. So, she tries to fix the past by going through each of her visions and tweaking them. She blacks out, and Mathilda finds that Elva is the cause of the storm.
Spoilers ahead!
But not until it's too late - Elva gives her soul to the mirror and is "dead" Her family is devastated by Elva's death, and so is Mathilda. As her parting gift, Mathilda gives Elva's family a glass coffin to contain Elva in.
Why? We won't know until the next book.
I've never been really affected by a character's death, but Elva's . . . it was beyond sad.
This was such an amazing book, and I could find no flaws except one - this book is supposedly YA, but I don't think it is. It's more of a middle-grade book, but other than that . . . nothing. This book was a perfect execution of a new tale with little nods towards the original Brothers Grimm tales.
This book was amazing! I received an ARC, but I probably pick up a finished copy too!
The beginning followed a husband and wife who came from humble beginnings; not much is revealed about Agnes's previous life, but apparently Oskar was an illegitimate son. They had been together for five years and were unable to have a child, so when the wife received a gift from their so-called "witch" neighbor, they began exchanging letters. Eventually, the "witch" suggested a potion that would give Agnes (the woman) a child as long as they continued exchanging letters.
Agnes agreed and soon she was with child. However, her husband, Oskar, convinced her to break ties with Mathilda (the witch).
This is where the story POV switched. It moved to the couple's daughter, Elva, who was born with magical abilities to see the future, and even change it.
She tells her fiance about her magic, despite her parents trying to keep it hidden. He accepts it, and loves her with all of his heart.
But when Elva discovers her mother's letters between Mathilda and her, she seeks the witch out for help to control her powers.
The witch and her come to an agreement that if she continues to come and help Mathlida emerge in society, the witch will teach Elva magic. They work for I don't know how long until Elva sees a vision of her family's farm being destroyed by a storm. She tries to change it by helping Mathilda, but when her brother goes missing, she breaks her promise to Mathlida. So, she tries to fix the past by going through each of her visions and tweaking them. She blacks out, and Mathilda finds that Elva is the cause of the storm.
Spoilers ahead!
But not until it's too late - Elva gives her soul to the mirror and is "dead" Her family is devastated by Elva's death, and so is Mathilda. As her parting gift, Mathilda gives Elva's family a glass coffin to contain Elva in.
Why? We won't know until the next book.
I've never been really affected by a character's death, but Elva's . . . it was beyond sad.
This was such an amazing book, and I could find no flaws except one - this book is supposedly YA, but I don't think it is. It's more of a middle-grade book, but other than that . . . nothing. This book was a perfect execution of a new tale with little nods towards the original Brothers Grimm tales.