Every wish has a price … willing to pay it?
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It’s just another night of breaking her stepmother’s rules and sneaking out. Another night of drawing as little attention to herself as possible.
Get the job done. Earn a little more Essence. Move one step closer to legitimately purchasing a wish.
But when Elle runs face-first into a charming and handsome faerie—and then ends up in the clutches of a vampire—her usual fly-under-the-radar plans are knocked off course.
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CITY OF WISHES is an urban fantasy serialized retelling of Cinderella. This episode is approximately 27,000 words or 120 print pages.more
I was excited about the blurb, but I’m not as much of a paranormal reader as a fantasy. Any doubts were quickly erased though as I was captivated by the story, and quickly found myself wanting to know more about the characters and their lives!
I really loved Dex and his friends, and enjoy Elle’s fascination and reluctance around them. I also enjoyed Elle’s relationship with Sienna her step-sister. I really enjoyed the writing and world-building, and am excited to read more, especially after that ending leaves the next one wide open! I’m enjoying the magic system so far, and hope it’s explained more as the series continues. I also like that the retelling includes fae, vampires, and shifters, and I’m curious to see how the shifters fit into the story, and to learn more about the different sides and the Allegiant’s true aim!
Rachel Morgan’s THE MEMORY THEIEF is a magical retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. I absolutely loved this story. I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. It is set in a world of four high races: Fae, vampires, shapeshifters, and humans. The humans are on the bottom of that food chain; many of them enslaved.
Nineteen-year-old Elle Winter is our heroine. She is the human stepdaughter to Salvia, who is a Fae. After Elle’s father died, Salvia put a slave charm on Elle. Now she is trying to become free. To do that she needs to sneak around and there is a lot of risk involved. Meanwhile, there is a vampire extremist group known as the Allegiant that is thought to be behind the abduction of humans.
Rachel Morgan does an admirable job with her character development. Elle is a likeable character. She has an interesting talent that plays an important part in the story. I like her relationship with her stepsister Sienna. I also thought it was intriguing how the Godmother is portrayed.
THE MEMORY THEIEF is full of action and thrills. It is a clever story that is skillfully written. The novel had an exciting cliff hanger ending. I cannot wait for the next book. I highly recommend this story to people that enjoy urban fantasies and fairytale retellings. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
Let me start out by saying City of Wishes 1: The Memory Thief is only the first part of a six-part series, and each novella ends on a cliff-hanger. Thankfully, I discovered this series AFTER all six novellas had been combined into one big novel. So as soon as the last chapter in one novella ended, I could start right in on the first chapter of the next novella. No need to wait, as many of the 1-star reviews complained about.
This is an extremely unique twist on Cinderella, with human beings camped out on the lowest rung of the social ladder as magic-less creatures, and shape-shifters, vampires, and faeries all enjoying the rungs above and their different levels of magic. The fairy godmother is also unique in that one doesn’t ever quite know whose side she’s on, and the author is unafraid to put her characters in peril. This is a relatively clean read, and while there is some mild language, it’s nothing more than what you’d hear traveling along a high school hallway or watching a PG-13 movie, and there are no F-bombs, for which I’m grateful.
I have read a couple of other series by Rachel Morgan, and I continue to be impressed by her imagination and creativity. If you’re looking for a riveting read with some romance, and lots of twists and action, you’ll find that and more in the City of Wishes series.
Oh my goodness I love this book so much and I read it all in one day!!! I’m going to get started on the next book right away I’m so excited to see what happens next!!! 🙂
Loved this series, recommended it to my friend and she loved it too
The setting is a little clunky, but it’s really enjoyable as a quick read! It’s very similar to all Cinderella retellings, it relies on the addition of fae and vampires to set it apart. Sometimes it makes it more 3 stars, but it’s a fun one.
Yes! I loved this book “show”?
It’s like if a Cinderella met supernatural! At first I thought it will be cheesy and bad, but now — I’m addicted!
The main character Elle is amazing! She’s brave, strong, loyal and fearless! I would love to be like her
It’s an amazing story to read! You should read it or have it in your TBR at least!
Fast-paced, action-packed with interesting twists. I like that fae, shifters, vampires and humans all exist in a hierarchy where fae rule and humans are the lowest class – makes for an interesting society.
Elle is a compelling character. She knows what she wants and what she is willing to risk to get it. I like how circumstances in the end push her to do something more dangerous to get what she needs sooner – before things get worse.
Dex and his friends are intriguing – their true motivations are hidden, but they seem to have the right ideas about how society should function.
A fun read. Highly recommended.
Interesting twist on the Cinderella story, look forward to see how both the storyline and characters will develop in the sequel.
Most people don’t like short stories that have a bit of a cliffhanger… I am not one of those people. As I impatiently await the second episode, I will tell you that if you’re looking for a spin on the Cinderella story, this is where you should start. Elle is a slave and her stepmother is who put the charm on her – she’s the epitome of wicked. One stepsister is mean, but not the brightest crayon in the box. Her youngest stepsister is her best friend. Elle has a magical power she shouldn’t have and doesn’t know how she has it. But she uses it – carefully – to obtain the one thing she wants the most… Freedom for her and her stepsister. In the process of saving up enough to purchase her wish, she runs into Dex… Literally. And from there things start getting a bit hairy. It’s funny and cute and Elle is just the right amount of sarcastic for me. The characters are well thought out and the story gripped me from the first line. Well worth the read.
ONE UNBELIEVABLE ADVENTURE!!!
Lock and load! Grappling with all the trials and tribulations dwelling on all the uncertainty, fear and speculation along with all that drama and intrigue go hand-in-hand. A churning multitude of vexing circumstances and an abundance of overwhelming surprises thrust those conflicting emotions to life smoothly. One incredible storyline and impressive plot keeps spinning with an array of ups and downs until you’re not sure which way to turn. Throw in a little danger and you have one page flipping, prize winning wonder that propels this bad boy to a whole new level. The characters and their personalities are original, intriguing and well developed with depth and qualities that add a little spice to the mix. Solid individuals who balance out and play off one another brilliantly. The scenes are graphically detailed with such colorful descriptions to give you a full understanding and realism that flows smoothly from each scenario without a hitch. Awesome job Rachel, thanks for sharing.
I just love fairytales and I especially love fairytale retellings and this Cinderella retelling is just amazing! Set in a paranormal universe filled with fae, vampires and shifters and where wishes can be bought or bargained for, this is exciting and fast paced and just whisks you away with the storyline and it’s characters and I can’t wait to read the next instalment!
This is a fantastic story. Elle is Human bound to her Step Mother by a slave charm. Will Elle get out from under her step Mother. This read pulls you in from The first page, until the last. And keeps you captivated. Its fast paced and action packed. Each read is an Episode. This has fantastic characters. And the Author is very creative. This is a fantastic story that involves the Supernatural. This is definitely a must read
Shauna Joesten
This was a creative and fun retelling of a classic fairytale. The author has a way of writing that kept me captivated so that I could not put this story down (can I have the next one please also lol). The story was clear and entertaining with strong characters.
I received an ARC for an honest review