Long ago, Julian DiConti was caught in a powerful spell binding him to a Djinn bottle, forced to grant wishes to each owner of his bottle. Three wishes… of the right kind… could free Julian of his bonds, but after six hundred years, he is beginning to wonder if he will be trapped as a Djinn forever. Enter Alessandra Taylor, good Samaritan extraordinaire. She’d gladly free Julian from the … from the spell if she could, but he isn’t allowed to tell her how, and one by one she’s driven to use the precious wishes to help others. But where will that leave Julian, and the growing love between them?
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Allie McCormack is a new author to me. I enjoyed the sweet, selfless romance that “ Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams Book 1)” is.
This was a delightful and engaging story that showed the worst of mankind and the best. The main characters were wonderful, selfless and giving and the romance was magical! It’s a new spin on an old story with a good plot. The author does a great job of pulling it all together in the end.
Thank you so much Ms. McCormack for this enjoyable read.
Julian is a mage during the Great Plague, trying to help people but turned into a genie and sentenced to grant wishes via his magic. Alessandra is current day, 600 years later, works with hospice and a womens shelter. She becomes his new master after a particularly bad one.
The characters are both selfless and strong in their determination, wanting to help at a moments notice. The romance springs up between them, but it is bittersweet with the situation. There is a way to release him but he can not tell her how. Surprises and twists await them. This book had me going from the very start. Well detailed and the backstories are fantastic. Such a heartwarming couple that the story had me using tissues a lot. The ending was perfect. Very well done.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Beautifully twisted paranormal romance!
This amazing book addresses the question, “What if Aladdin was real?” Julian is a mage who has been trapped in service as a Wish Bearer for the past 600 years after his attempt to use his limited magic to defeat the Black Plague backfired. The curse can be broken if any one of the wish recipients is compassionate enough to figure out how to free him (though of course he can’t tell them), but so far not one has even tried. After meeting a dying boy while delivering the remaining wishes to a particularly avaricious woman, Julian offers comfort to the boy’s family even as he is powerless to intervene. This heartbreaking opening is only made all the more poignant when the boy’s aunt, Alessandra, becomes the next in line for Julian’s wish fulfillment.
While heavy at first (warning: death of a child), this story doesn’t dwell in the past, instead moving into a wonderful romance that should be completely impossible – and one that Julian dare not hope for. The story is surprisingly complex, intricately detailed, and thoroughly captivating. We meet characters who will be featured in the next two book, but this one works as a wonderful standalone with a very happy ending.
I like my paranormal to be reality-adjacent, and this one hits the mark every time. Their world is our world, not an unfamiliar fantastical realm, and that keeps the story grounded even when it’s at its most bizarre. There’s a lot going on in this book and I loved every expertly-presented bit of it.
If you like intelligent, thought-provoking paranormal romance with amazing characters and unique storylines, this is the book for you. Be prepared to dive right into the next two books as well, because you’ll never want to leave this incredible fictional world. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
With the backdrop of selfishness and greed shown by so many people, we have two people who are caring and giving, ready to sacrifice for the sake of others despite the negativity of those around them.
Julian DiConti had tried to use his magical gifts to do something for others during the Plague. When the spell went wrong, he ended up cursed to be a Djinn in a bottle, granting three wishes to his master, then reappearing elsewhere for another master. After 600 years, he has seen the worst of human nature. When a selfish woman used her wish on a frivolous wish for herself rather than save a dying child, Julian broke the rules to go comfort the child. At the hospital, he met Alessandra Taylor who gives her time to hospice care and working at a women’s shelter, and she sends up being his new owner.
Alessandra is not like the others and would use her wishes to help others. She and Julian are attracted to each other, and she wants to free him from the curse. But he is not permitted to tell her how. And if all the wishes are used, she will never see him again. All he ever wanted over these long years was freedom to love and have a family of his own. Will he ever get this own wish to have a life with Alessandra? Will the curse ever be broken?
This was an unexpected story line that really captures the emotions and warms the heart. The reader can’t help but want these two to find love and happiness. Will Alessandra find a way to break the curse? Or will she lost the man she loves forever?
There is much more in this story, so grab your copy and see if the two most deserving characters get their HEA.
Genie in a bottle romance
Once upon a time a young mage, still in his apprentice years, wanted to help people by gaining enough magic powers to stop the spread of the Plague. In a classic “Be careful what you wish for” scenario, he ended up a genie in a bottle, all his magic at the bottle owner’s command, forever trapped until someone could break his curse. This is a different and truly well-told version of the ‘genie in the bottle’ trope, with a lovely and slightly steamy romance interwoven. I found it strangely addictive; each time I thought there would be a breakthrough, it didn’t materialize, but instead of frustrating me, it glued me more firmly to the story. I couldn’t stop reading! Only at the very end did it all make sense, come together, and resolve both the curse AND the romance – a double HEA and a delightfully different magical romance. This is a voluntary ARC review.
Julian DiConti, is a hybrid of Djinn and Mage, who only wants to do good. Julian’s Sahib’s is a greedy and vain person refusing to help others. Alessandra Taylor works as a hospice nurse and volunteers at women’s shelter. Alessandra wasn’t told that her nephew was extremely ill and only just learned of his impending death. When Julian and Alessandra meet under unique circumstances but change each other’s lives. Will Julian ever be free? Can Julian admit his feelings? Your answers await you in Wishes in a Bottle.
3.5 Stars
This was a great start to a series and I enjoyed seeing this interpretation of a classic tale. The character work was great while the story line was engaging.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
“Wishes in a Bottle” by Allie McCormack is a heartwarming, emotional paranormal romance. Julian is sympathetic hero and the heroine, Alex, is appealing. Side characters have their own journeys (or the beginnings of them) but their stories don’t overwhelm the main romance. Julian and Alex’s love story exists in a web of other relationships, which is a realistic portrayal of how romantic love is part of other forms of caring. The magical element is excellently imagined and reaches a satisfying conclusion (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers). A wonderful book in with the real magic is the gift of compassion.