Thank you to Net Galley and Disney-Hyperion publishing for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Mirror: Broken Wish is a fantasy set in a small German town. It is a mixture of magic, small-town drama, secrets, curses, friendship, and broken promises. I thought the book was okay, but it seemed kind slow for me. It is marketed as a YA/Teen book but it felt more like a middle-grade book.
In the end, it was not for me. However, I feel that others might still like it.

DNF @ 35%

It's lovely in many ways. The writing is crisp and lush, it's a very cool concept. But in the end, it is just a story that is very much not for me. If you're looking for a soft fairy-tale retelling, this could very well be the book for you! But I just found myself wanting something darker.

As always, Julie’s writing is sharp and intimate, her characters multilayered and dynamic. The descriptions are a feast to the senses. I highly recommend!

What a book.

It's honestly the first phrase that comes to mind with everything that Julie C. Dao writes. She weaves such amazing stories that you can't put the book down until you're done and once you are, you want more. Broken Wish was an amazing story weaving together the perfect start to a family curse that will flow through the four books in The Mirror series. Honestly the only thing I was disappointed in was that it took place in Germany because I love the settings for all of her other novels. but it was truly amazing. Everything in the story relies on choices. Whatever choice you make can change your life and the world around you. Elva's mother made the choice not to visit Mathilda after she took the tonic and later on Elva made choices of her own that changed everything.

Honestly I don't know how to describe everything without giving away spoilers which I don't want to do. Everyone should pick up this book and I can't wait to see what happens in Book Two which will be written by Dhonielle Clayton. I just can't believe I have to wait almost a year for it!

Good scifi ya novel. Looks like it will be a series. Could be fun. Fairly well written. I enjoyed it but might have to think about going forward.

Magic and fairy tales mix in this middle school chapter book. Entertaining but the plot pacing seems slow.

This novel was so enjoyable to read. I had so much fun getting lost in its pages. As soon as I started reading the story, I was instantly hooked. The writing style caught my attention from the first chapter, and I did not want to put it down at all. I found myself sad when I was forced to put it away and get back to my normal life responsibilities. I wanted to stay inside the world Dao does such a wonderful job creating.

I absolutely loved the beginning of the novel showing the relationship between Mathilda and Agnes. It made me connect with these characters so quickly, and I had so much sympathy towards Mathilda right off the bat. I had so much grief in my heart for her when she was betrayed, and by the time we reached 1865, I wanted so much justice for her. I was so upset the townspeople did not give her a chance and were so blatantly rude to her. I also felt bad for the position Agnes was put in by society and her husband. I thought the character development in this novel was phenomenal thanks to the way Dao portrayed them in their experiences.

I enjoyed Elva as the main character greatly, she was such a strong fighter and truly did what she believed would be best for her. It was refreshing to see a woman being portrayed as a strong woman who did not let a man walk over her in the time period of 1865. She spoke her mind and was not afraid to do it, which made me feel like I could do anything today.

Overall, I loved this book so much. This was my favorite fantasy read in a long time, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the novels in this series. I thought this was the perfect setup to this series, and I cannot wait to see where the story goes. I rate this novel 5/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great start to what looks to be an enjoyable series. I enjoyed the story line and the writing style of the author. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it but it surprised me the direction the author took the story! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m a big fan of Julie C Dao and this book is no exception! I love how she creates complex character relationships and I love the friendship aspect in this book! There was mystery and intrigue and just enough magic. I can’t wait to continue with this series.

I loved this book. I read fiction because I want to get out of real life and escape reality and this book did that. It was magical for lack of a better word. It was cute, fun and had just the right amount of mystery and drama. I can't wait for the next book to be released.

A good fairy tale is one that mystifies and enchants the reader. The Mirror: Broken Wish is one such novel.

Talented Storytelling
Julie C. Dao has already had her hand at adapting fairy tales and retelling them, but Broken Wish stands apart from her previous novels. Part of the charm of Broken Wish is how similar it is to the Grimm Fairy Tales. Dao takes readers to the outskirts of Germany, building up the realism of the novel and even referencing the Grimm brothers. Her ability to weave fact and fiction into the story is what makes it so compelling.

Furthermore, the voice and the storytelling is fantastic. The story moves at such an incredible pace that it starts with the parents and moves onto Elva. There are moments when it is even reminiscent of the musical Into the Woods. The movement of the story, the way it develops, exploring the magic of witches and fairy tales, pulling in the reader.

Enchanting
While Broken Wish has excellent storytelling, the atmosphere and the darkness that lurks within it enchants the reader.

Classic fairy tales are dark tales, tales of wonder and fantasy, and Broken Wish is precisely that. Dao tells the story with finesse, but she does not neglect the characters or the magic.

The creation of the North Woods, it mystifies the reader, and much like the children in the novel pulls in the reader. Not because of the magic, but because of the dark mysteries it holds. Dao references classic fairy tales in her storytelling, giving them fodder while also making her story both brighter and haunting at the same moment.

Dao forces the reader to think of those classic tales while also seeing how Dao has given them a new life, a brighter life. From red slippers to a glass coffin, and a witch who does not age, these are all elements the reader can connect to, but they have such new life to them, making the story even more spellbinding.

Final Thoughts
Masterfully told, Broken Wish is reminiscent of classic fairy tales in structure and sound, Dao weaves a spellbinding story.

I don't remember any of this halfhearted story.



I hope those who read it give better compliments.

Elva sees the future when she looks in water. She doesn't want to be accused of being a witch (everyone in town hates them), so she doesn't look at water surfaces anymore. Besides, that makes her mother happy...

Disney-Hyperion and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published October 6th.

When, by accident, Elva sees a monstrous storm that takes their barn down and kills animals, she's worried, She knows that will devastate her family and she needs to figure out how to stop it or how to prepare for it. She decides to go find the witch of the woods and learn more magic.

First she goes to her old house. It's vacant and in bad repair after all the years but she finds a magic mirror under the floorboards. It leads her to the witch.

The witch isn't welcoming and doesn't want to help her. After more conversation, she agrees to teach her some magic. It's not as easy as it looks. She has to totally focus. She works at it not knowing if she can stop the storm or not.

Her youngest brother goes missing and she goes with her parents to find him even if she's supposed to be at the trial of the witch. She finds him and then learns they are going to hang the witch. She protests, they ignore her. She goes home and uses the mirror to undo parts of the past. She doesn't stop when she gets tired and that's a mistake...

This is a fairytale and I enjoyed reading it.

A really lovely telling of a tale of what it means to be a witch. It is a very compelling coming-of-age story, as well as a great reminder of why one should not break a promise.

FINALLY! I have been itching for a good fairytale for a long time and I feel like I've finally found it. This one takes familiar elements from fairytales - couple wishing for a baby, witch next door who can give them what they want for a price, debt being paid through children - and gives it some real color with background stories and relationships between the characters.

It's predictable, but it's a middle grade twist on a fairytale. Predictable should be assumed.

The thing that makes this story standout is the storytelling. It was a fast, easy read with such rich character background. Think about it - the story we know is about a couple who wants a baby and a witch who helps them. They don't have names or any type of history. Broken Wish gives them names, a history, and sets the groundwork for a future story. I just loved it.

I cannot wait to go onto the other books in this series.

I was really looking forward to this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me... Full thoughts are up on my blog.

https://gillyweedsreads.blogspot.com/2020/07/broken-wish-mirror-book-1.html

The Mirror: Broken Wish is the first in a four-book series written by four different authors with four different settings and tied together by a magic mirror. Julie C. Dao kicks things off with the story of sixteen-year-old Elva, who is hiding the fact that she has magical abilities that allow her to see the future. After a particularly devastating vision, Elva is determined to do whatever she can to prevent it from happening… even if it means going out of her way to find the powerful, rumored to be terrible Witch of the North Woods. Dao does succeed at capturing the feel of a fairytale with her storytelling, from the elements incorporated down to the narrative style. But I didn’t love the main character’s ‘voice’, which came across a lot younger than her age. So, even though I liked The Mirror: Broken Wish overall, it ultimately doesn’t stand out among the YA fantasies I’ve read this year. (I do want to mention that, while this wraps up neatly as a standalone, it successfully sets itself up as the first part of a larger narrative. That alone makes me curious to see how the next author will continue the saga.)

The first book in the Mirror series, Broken Wish is a dark YA fairy tale about friendship, broken promises, and the importance of acceptance. Agnes and her husband have just moved to a small village in Germany where Agnes befriends Mathilda. Mathilda, a witch who is shunned by society, offers to make Agnes a potion to help her get pregnant in exchange for Agnes’ friendship. Agnes, desperate to have a child, promises but breaks this promise once she receives the potion since she and her husband begin to fear that they too will be ostracized from society. As retribution for the broken promise, Agnes’ child is cursed with powers of her own.

Elva has a magical gift. She can see the future when she looks at reflective surfaces like mirrors and water. Of course, Elva has had to hide her power from everyone because they fear what they don’t understand. When Elva has a terrible vision, she seeks guidance from Mathilda to help control her power and use it for good. Mathilda agrees to train her, and a friendship develops, though Mathilda continually warns Elva not to abuse her power. Will Elva heed her warnings, and will this new friendship heal old wounds?

Julie C. Dao is a wonderful storyteller, and I loved her writing style. The rich language and imagery quickly immersed me into this dark fairy tale. The characters are also really interesting. I loved Elva’s eagerness, optimism, and kindness, and Agnes’ conflicted feelings about friendship and fitting in. Mathilda, however, was my favorite. At times, she is strong, independent, and sure, while in other cases she is lonely, needy, and harsh. She has suffered injustices at the hands of intolerant people but is more wounded by the rejection of her friend.

I enjoyed the friendships throughout the story. Agnes and Mathilda had such a lovely friendship at first, and they seemed like they would have a long-lasting connection. They did, just not in the way one would expect. Their fractured relationship leads to an even more interesting friendship between Mathilda and Agnes’ daughter Elva. The author deftly examines relationships and how the bonds of friendship and family can strengthen or fall apart.

Another aspect of the story that I liked was that it focused more on friendships than romantic relationships. That’s not to say that romantic relationships are excluded from the story, but that they are not explored as dynamically or positively as the friendships. Strong suggestions about examining people’s true intentions and being loyal to the people you care about regardless of what other’s think is also really powerful.

I also liked the Grimm Brothers’ allusions woven through the story. Magic mirrors, family curses, glass coffins, and other nods to the classic fairy tales and authors are fabulous. They add a sense of familiarity to a unique and interesting story.

An interesting tale about accepting oneself and others, prioritizing friendship and loyalty over popularity and fitting in, and embracing the power of friendship, this is a YA tale with great messages! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this story so much I devoured it in less than twelve hours. There are so many different individual character stories but they all intertwine and it's so satisfying. I loved almost all the characters and I even like Wilhelm until he proved himself to be a greedy asshole towards the end of the book. I loved Elva and I really hope somebody figures out how to get her out of the predicament she's in. Also, she ended up causing the storm she was trying to prevent throughout a good chunk of the book.

This book is the first in a series by four different authors that tell the story of four generations of a cursed family. This one is about how a broken promise between two friends curses a family and sets the foundation for the rest of the stories to come. I'm thrilled to read the rest of the books in the series when they are released.

I had a feeling when I first picked this book up that I would really like it, and it certainly did not disappoint! In the Author’s Note at the end, Dao mentions being heavily inspired by both Disney and classic fairy tales, and I think it really shows in this work. While reading, I caught many references to classic fairy tales, which almost felt like little Easter eggs for fairy tale nerds like myself. The book also focused on a strong female friendship, which I thought was excellent, and kept me wanting more as I read.

Broken Wish focuses on a few characters, but begins with a friendship between a young woman named Agnes and a witch named Mathilda. The year is 1848, and Agnes and her husband have just moved to the small town of Hanau, Germany, where they hope to make a new start. Agnes is quick to befriend the local witch Mathilda, but soon realizes that the witch has been completely ostracized by the other members of the town for pulling several pranks on those who have harmed her. Mathilda, learning that Agnes wishes to have a child, offers to give her a potion to help her conceive, but asks for her continued support and friendship in return. Agnes’s husband, however, fears they will also be ostracized by the townsfolk, and begs his wife to end the friendship as soon as she takes the potion. Agnes reluctantly agrees, and eventually Mathilda moves deep into the North Woods where normal humans dare not to tread.

As punishment for her broken promise, Agnes’s daughter Elva discovers she has powers of her own at a very young age, having the ability to peer into reflective surfaces and see the future. Though her parents have begged her to hide her magic for fear of what the townspeople will do to her, Elva shares this knowledge with her fiancé Willem, who appears to accept her for who she is. When Elva discovers the letters Mathilda wrote to her mother, she seeks out the witch in the North Woods to make amends... and to ask for the witch’s help in controlling her fledgling powers. Will their friendship be enough to break the curse on Elva’s family, or will doom and gloom follow wherever they go due to Agnes’s broken promise?

Like I said before, this book is full of fun references to fairy tales, from the glass coffin at the end of the book to the bright red shoes and enchanted mirror that Mathilda give to Elva. While I’ll admit I’m not an expert on fairy tales, I picked up on quite a few little Easter eggs throughout, and loved that this book felt like reading a classic fairy tale. While it initially seems to be historical fantasy (based on the 1800s German setting), I was relieved to see that no actual history plays a part in the story. The Grimm brothers are mentioned briefly near the beginning of the story, but this book requires no previous historical knowledge to properly understand, which I appreciated.

I also loved the strong theme of female friendship throughout, as YA is a genre in which more female friendships are desperately needed. While Agnes eventually chooses popularity over her friendship, Elva forms a deep bond with Mathilda, strengthened by the way they are both judged and ostracized from society for their magical abilities. While Elva is able to blend in by hiding her powers, Mathilda refuses to do so, choosing to be herself rather than conforming to societal norms. In this way, much of this story seems like a feminist take on fairy tales, as one woman chooses to be independent while the other sees the best in everyone. Both characters are strong in their own ways, and form a sort of “opposites attract” friendship throughout the story.

Another thing this story handles well is the romance. While I initially rooted for Willem and Elva, Willem slowly reveals his true colors as the story progresses. Continuing with the feminist theme, Willem turns out to be using Elva for her abilities, threatening to out her to the entire town if she refuses to marry him and go along with his “circus scheme.” Willem, like the rest of the people in this small town, view any woman who is different as a dangerous threat, reminiscent of real historical events like the Salem Witch Trials. In the end, Elva stands up for herself, realizing that not everyone in her life has the best intentions as she previously thought. As a whole, the story focuses much more on the family relationships and friendships Elva develops than the romance, which is a refreshing change in fantasy YA.

Speaking of familial relationships, I found Elva’s relationship to her younger brother Cay to be extremely sweet and touching. Cay is extremely supportive of his older sister, viewing her magic as a gift and wanting to help her explore it further. Throughout the book, he expresses interest in finding a magical wishing well to improve their situation, while also begging Elva to share her secrets with him. In the end, it is fear for Cay’s safety that leads Elva to break her own promise with Mathilda, setting off a chain of events that alter the entire story. This utter devotion to family was both realistic and touching, and I love that a lot of the focus was put on this aspect of Elva’s life. Cay is living proof that someone who is different can find unconditional love, and I’m excited to see where his story leads in future books.

Though Elva’s ultimate fate is a tragic one (though I hope this might change in future books), I admired her decision to take matters into her own hands and shape her own destiny. In the end, both she and Mathilda choose to be unapologetically themselves, though they do so in different ways. Mathilda prefers to self-isolate and keep to herself, while Elva longs to use her abilities to help people and walk among society. Elva takes a lot of agency in her own life throughout this story, which is awesome to see from a female character living in the 1800s. While I hope Mathilda and Cay are able to resurrect her in future books, I found her arc to be extremely satisfying, and love her as a strong female character. The story appears to be hinting at more, as this is the first in a series, so I will wait with baited breath to see where this story goes next.

I would recommend this book to fans of both fantasy and fairy tales, especially those who love strong female protagonists and healthy female friendships in literature. It’s fun, well-written, and suspenseful, and I found myself really rooting for these characters as the story progressed. Best of all, this book is devoid of any foul language or sexual content, making it a good pick for younger teens as well. I look forward to seeing what Julie Dao writes next, as this book was a delight from beginning to end.