I had so much fun reading this book?! I’m not even sure to describe why, but I really liked the way that it felt like a retelling but didn’t necessarily feel like it directly took from just one story. I also really liked following all three women that we did and how their lives were so intertwined, even when it was something side characters tried to severe either through shaming and discrimination, or through worry and love. It’s a story full of platonic love, love between friends and family, and I’m SO CURIOUS how the rest of the series will continue!

So… I truly think I read this book because it was by Julie C. Dao, and I had been wanting to read her books for a while now. I saw this series and the premise is definitely interesting. All of the stories somehow intertwine and they take place in different time periods and different parts of the world, and I want to say that there are some Disney princess elements to them. Like the cover I’m seeing Princess Aurora, and the story does read almost like an origin story to Sleeping Beauty, so that works.

But I wish that Julie was able to tell a story about a different time period and maybe a different princess. I don’t know if she chose to wrote this story or what, but I almost felt like it didn’t fit what she could do very well, and that her talent wasn’t able to show in this story. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, but I almost felt bored listening to it. I just didn’t really care about Elva or Hanau. I hated that people treated the Witch of the North Woods like crap, and I hate when women with power are treated like they are evil or need to be contained or punished or whatever.

And the crazy thing is – of course – if they would have listened to Elva, the bad things could have been prevented or at least mitigated with enough time to lessen the damage. But of course, people just don’t trust powers even if the person themselves are good people. I don’t know. I’m kind of curious to see how the rest of the series goes, but it’s not my priority right now. If you look at each book though, the premise for each singular title and the series as a whole is pretty cool.

Title: Broken Wish (The Mirror #1)
Author: Julie C. Dao
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Original Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Source: NetGalley – Ebook
Genre: Fantasy/ Young Adult/ Historical Fiction

It is 1865 in Hanau, Germany, and a young woman named Elva has a secret from everyone in the village. She has visions of the future any time she looks on a surface that shows her reflection, like a mirror, or even a body of water, even as small as a cup of tea. But her parents have always warned her that she needs to not use her power, and for certain never mention it to anyone in the village. Her parents are terrified of what might happen to her, especially since the Witch of the North Woods has been shunned her whole life, and her parents actually know more about her than they let to on to Elva and her brothers.

Still, Elva is determined to learn more about her abilities, especially when she accidentally gets a vision of something that would devastate not only her family, but the entire village and their farmlands. Therefore, she decides to seek out the Witch of the North Woods, and convince her to help learn more about her ability to be able to change the future and help save her family. But the Witch is not going to be easy to convince, especially since her heart has been broken multiple times by betrayals and lies, even from people Elva already knows.

Dao creates a good story with a riveting tale and ending that leaves the reader hungry for more. The only thing that I didn’t like is that it does seem to leave on a cliffhanger, and the rest of the series is written by other authors, and in other timelines, so it doesn’t seem to continue with this plot or expand on it. However, you fall in love with Elva, the witch, and the rest of the characters, and grow hatred for their enemies that do not allow them to spread their wings.

Rating: 4/5

A promising start to a new series, The Mirror: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao is a prequel of sorts telling a story about a witch, her ill-fated friendship, and the by product of feuding. Elva is a young girl on her way to womanhood with a remarkable gift of foresight. She sees the future when she looks at her reflection, mostly through liquid. For her protection, her parents have taught her to keep her ability a secret. Don’t want the villagers burning a witch at the stake 😉 However, when Elva foresees the destruction of her home and family, it leads her to the witch in the North Woods and an ugly family secret that will have Elva questioning everything she thought she knew.

There is a lot of good about this book. I love the darker undertones which remind me of the classic Grimm fairytales. None of those had happy endings, and if you expect a happily ever after here, you will be sorely disappointed. That said, Dao crafts a lyrically story that kept my attention from start to finish. Elva’s development throughout the book is fascinating as she goes from a child to a reckless woman. Broken hearts have a tendency to do that.

Mathilda is a fantastic antagonist in the story without actually being the villain. She is the witch of the north woods. Her doomed friendship with Agnes, Elva’s mother, is the catalyst for the whole story. While Agnes paints Mathilda as the villain and perpetuates the stories of the witch, Mathilda retreats into the woods creating a sanctuary of her own. When Elva finds her years later, Mathilda shuns her to protect herself from heartache, however Elva quickly worms her way into the witch’s good graces. With Mathilda’s reluctant help, Elva begins to learn how to interpret her foresight.

Overall, I enjoyed The Mirror: Broken Wish. It sets up the series as Elva’s story is the catalyst for the rest. My heart broke over and over again for her as forces outside of her control forces her hand. Fans of Grimm’s Fairy Tales will love this new story and quickly become attached to the characters and magic. Highly recommend for people who enjoy fantasy.

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

Changed up fairytales are always a win for me and this was no exception! I can not wait to tackle the other books in the series!

This book was good, but really dragged on. Now I know why, it's the beginning of a series. The story developed wonderfully, the story building was there, but it didn't keep me as interested to keep moving forward with the rest of the installments in this series. I would still recommend this book to others as it's just not one to my tastes. But an overall great story.

I wasn't really a fan of this one. The concept was great so I was intrigued, but I wasn't really invested in the characters. I'm still curious about this concept so perhaps I'll try another volume in this series.

I always mesmerize with the magical, lyrical world of Disney works which brings out singing, dancing inner child of me! I read this book at one sit and I cannot wait to read the other books in near future.

Actually 2.5 stars
Agnes and Mathilda are friends. Because Mathilda is a witch the whole town is against her, and Agnes begins to be swayed by the town’s prejudices of Mathilda. One day Agnes decides to use and betray Mathilda for her own ends. Seventeen years later, Agnes' daughter, Elva is gifted with magic. Elva asks Mathilda to be her teacher. Mathilda instructs Elva on how to control her magic.

In Broken Wish, Elva is the main character in the story. However, I was disappointed with Elva’s development in the story. Elva is optimistic and believes in the goodness of everyone. She loves her friends and her family. Throughout the novel, Elva seemed very perfect and did not have any flaws in the novel. She was a Mary Sue throughout the book. I did not find her a compelling figure.

Mathilda was the most interesting, but she too had very little development. The reader knows that she has been ostracized and misunderstood. However, I found it a little odd that she very quickly takes Agnes’s daughter as an apprenticeship despite her friend’s betrayal. Her actions did not make any sense. I did like that she had an aura of mystery about her. Thus, Mathilda had the most potential in the novel but failed.

Agnes also had little personality. I never understood why Agnes is afraid of her daughter having magic since she uses it to benefit herself. The story also keeps constantly mentioning that Agnes regrets her betrayal but there are no scenes to show that she does regret it. I also did not understand why Agnes is described as kind, but she seemed to be selfish and mean. She used others for her own ends and did not seem to regret it. Thus, Agnes was a character who did not match the novel’s description of her.

Overall, this story is about friendship, family, and forgiveness. The message of the story is to not be afraid to let others into your lives and to accept help when it is needed. The characters are one-dimensional. The stereotypical villains seem to have no relevance in the plot and could have been deleted from the story. There were no vivid descriptions of the setting of the German town of Hanau. If it wasn’t for the name, I kept forgetting it was set in Germany because it could have been set in any European country with its vague details of the setting. The historical details of Germany in the 1860s were also touched upon, and I felt that the author did not do much research on the era or town she was writing about. The story moved at a slow pace. It was not until the last few pages that anything happened. Still, I like the fairytale elements in the story. Broken Wish had a lot of potential, but it just fell flat. It would have worked better as a short story or a novella. I recommend Broken Wish for fans of Allerleirauh, The Healer’s Apprentice, and The Fairytale Keeper!

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I enjoyed the concept of this new series by Disney-Hyperion a lot. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Loved this fairy tale twist! Readers will be lined up for the next in the series to visit this magical world again!

This story does not live up to expectations—and I mean that in the best possible way. People make bad choices, and they have to reap the consequences of those choices. A promising romance goes sour. And the character who tries so hard to heal those who have been damaged…doesn’t get the reward she deserves.

Because Dao keeps things unpredictable, the book is hard to put down. I was sneaking pages during class, during my lunch, passing period…you get the idea.

Characters are very human—which makes them wonderful, relatable, and flawed. Dao is able to help us empathize with them, even when we’re mad at them. Even Elva, who could easily be too good to be true, makes mistakes and second guesses herself.

The first part of the book is a little slow, but it’s crucial setup for when Elva comes into the story.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Magic. Threats and mild violence. Social isolation.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like flawed characters. It has a fairytale feel to it, so if you like fairytales, you will probably enjoy this. Those who don’t have to be given a happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2022/01/for-fans-of-less-than-happy-endings.html

This novel gave me such a sense of nostalgia. It was an interesting ride and I can't really put into words how much I loved it. I cannot wait to see where the other books go.

This one seems super interesting. It’s a rendition of Snow White and the mirror. This is one you will not want to miss. Amazing first book.

At the beginning of this book I wasn’t sure what was going on as it begins with Elva’s mother; however as the book progressed it made sense and added to the complexity of the story. I enjoyed the layers the author created in this story. I’m am very character driven and I felt that Elva was a very basic character. She didn’t have the depth I was hoping for.

I can’t wait to read the rest of this installment! The start of a series following a cursed family and how our actions affect more than just us. This book teaches of the values of loyalty, friendship, and acceptance.

Compelling and captivating writing make this fairytale come alive on the pages. While I found this somewhat predictable, it was still a really good read. It is also a wonderful set up for the next three in "The Mirror" series of which this is book 1. There is quite a bit of material for the next three authors to work with and I'm very excited to see what comes next.

This was my first Julie C Dao book but it definitely won't be my last! I loved the vibes of this one and how magical it felt and I can't wait to continue reading her books!