The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
The Wishing Game
by Meg Schaffer
Fantasy | Romance | Contemporary
304 Pages
Released May 2023
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
Goodreads
Content Warnings
I received this book, by request, as a digital ARC Copy through Net Galley.
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group (Ballantine Books) for the opportunity to review this book.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
After all the dark books I’d been picking up lately, I really needed a palate cleanser. Enter The Wishing Game.
This book follows Lucy who, as a child, was all but abandoned by her family. Estranged from her family, Lucy found solace in a magical book series called —, once even going so far as to run away to Clock Island to meet the legendary author, Jack Masterson. Now an adult and working as a teacher’s assistant, she dreams of the day she will one day be able to adopt Christopher, a young boy she briefly took care of after the untimely death of his parents. But things aren’t looking good…until the unexpected announcement that Masterson has written a final book. There is only a single copy in existence, and Lucy has a chance to win it.
This is a fluffy book. The stakes are low, the overall ending is predicable but despite these drawbacks I really found myself enjoying this one. It’s a light and hopeful read, a touch whimsical, a smidge magical, and evoked just enough relatable-nostalgia vibes. I only have two complaints that prevented me from rating this book higher. One is that this book is its repetitive nature - a problem arises and is almost instantly resolved. There is no overarching tension or concern for the main character and I do wish there had been a little more than that. The second is that the pacing felt almost too quick. I wanted the challenges to be harder and a bit more dragged out.
I think if the author could have found away to really bring some believable tension to the story, as well as made the contest feel (or take) longer, I would have enjoyed the story even more.
Finally, I appreciated that the romance didn’t overwhelm the book. It was present but it didn’t dominate the story and it wasn’t too insta-lovey.
Overall, if you’re a fan of feel-good, low-stakes, fluffy reads, I would definitely recommend this one (especially if your reading experience includes a cozy blanket and warm beverage of choice).