I unfortunately forgot to download the e-book on my kindle before it was archived and/or lost interest in the book because it’s been on my tbr for way too long, so I wasn’t able to read and review it (on time). Since I Must give a star rating, I’ve given it 3 stars to stay neutral/in the middle. Sorry to the publisher for not having gotten around to actually read it. I never request a book without the best of intention to read it and review it, since I know how important it is to the authors in particular. But sometimes life happens and/or reading preferences change so much that you just don’t always get around to read a certain book anymore, even though at the time of requesting I was definitely planning to actually read it of course.

I will be honest with this one: Insta-lust is a big deal breaker for me, especially in fantasy romance settings. The smut was pretty well written, but it could have been elevated more by the steady and gradual establishment of a relationship outside of the instantaneous attraction. I also was confused as to why the main character throughout the entire novel took no consideration as to how her family was fairing (whilst she took forever to make her wishes).

Overall, a fun fantasy romance with a unique twist on an original story, if you can get past some kinks in the armor.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I weren’t sure first this book was for me. Turns out it’s not. I did not realize SA was going to be in this book or I would not have requested

In the Shadow of a Wish introduces you to Auri and Nixus. At times, they reminded me of the Genie and Aladdin. Then it moved towards Beauty and the Beast. Only to end up being Hercules and Meg in my eyes. Either way, I liked how they transitioned throughout these because it made me fall even more in love with them.

Ever since they first met, they had this amazing chemistry. Plus, the sexual tension that developed around them just made it easier for me to ship them together. Of course, we had to figure out the three wishes and the overall curse that surrounded them. It's safe to say, that I'm really happy with how everything turned out.

I do wish, though, that the big defeat took a bit longer. Still, I can't be mad that Auri quickly figured it all out. I'm also really happy that everyone made it out alive (sort of) and can work towards happily ever after. Well, until the dreaded cliffhanger comes into play.

Not sure what to think about that ending. Secretly hoping and wishing for the absolute best when it comes to these two. I'm also really intrigued about the red ribbon and where it is. Heck, I want to know what it is because it makes me think Auri could be something more.

In the end, I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this and can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. I need more of Auri and Nix please!

Aurielle Fareview is the fourth daughter in her family and is searching for a husband before the Kaloma marriage law requires her to marry before the age of 26. The law requires men to marry before 36 and allows them to take as many wives as they can provide for.

Aurielle finds a magical key that transports her into the spell binding the God Nix to the key. Nixus is the God of night and has been imprisoned for years, and the spell allows the key keeper to make three wishes,

To set Nix free, the keeper must make a sacrifice for Nix. Aurielle spends time with Nix to understand the spell and tries to find wishes that benefit herself and others.

Aurielle's choices to stay with Nix are selfish, she doesn't do much when she is with him, and the story shifts from the marriage law to Aurielle's relationship with Nix. There's not a lot happening at times between wishes. There is sexual tension between Aurielle and Nix, but their relationship lacks chemistry and depth. The world-building lacks some details and could use more background information on marriage law.

I was really excited to read this book because it seems like it will be a fun fairytale book. However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. They fell flat. Still, the world-building is very creative. I wish the story took its time to flesh out the characters. Nevertheless, I recommend this for fans of Wish and The Wish Granter!

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what the author releases in the future.

In the Shadow of a Wish by Maci Aurora was a quick read but fell a bit flat for me. This fairytale style book is full of tropes that don't fully deliver. I was intrigued by the key genie concept and really wanted to delve more into Nixus's story. Auri is interesting but I didn't feel a strong connection to her character. Overall this book was one I may need to read later with fresh eyes to appreciate.

I’ll admit that this premise of Genie (god) offers wishes to Girl in need interested me a whole lot. But the plot had some trouble pulling me in and I found myself DNFing. I liked the premise but unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

DNF

The writing style just wasn't a great fit for me and I struggled to connect with this story.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In the Shadow of a Wish ♦ Maci Aurora | Rezension

I entered a magical, loving, and selfless world when I opened my Kindle for In the Shadow of a Wish by Maci Aurora.
Aurielle, the key keeper who fell in love with a deity, and Nixus, the God of Night and Darkness who was imprisoned by a spell, are the subjects of this heartbreaking tale.

In the Shadow of a Wish ♦ Maci Aurora
Opinion
I find myself between a rock and a hard place. I would love to dive deep into the story and tell you all about it. At the same time, I would like to avoid any kind of spoilers. I just don’t want to ruin the book for anyone. But let me give it a try here and summon up, what I can say.

The story starts with Auri, who, along with her three sisters, is bound to her life by a harsh marriage code in their kingdom of Kaloma that mandates that they get married by the age of 26. She aspires to avoid getting into trouble with the law and would give anything to find a love match like her parents‘. Of course, the whole situation doesn’t sit well with her or her sisters. When Auri enters the wood to look for firewood after a very long day at the marriage market, she discovers a magical key on the ground. Out of nowhere, Nix, the God of Night and Darkness, emerges and says that since Auri picked up the key, she is now the key keeper. She must be granted three wishes before she may leave the enchantment, where both of them are trapped in now. Undoubtedly, both Nix’s and Auri’s worlds just collided and were completely turned upside down.
I have to stop here now, otherwise I’ll have serious difficulties not to reveal more about the plot after all.

But I will be allowed to state that I was shocked by the turns and results of Auri’s wishes, and they left me turning digital page after digital page. The fact that Auri is such a strong female character who strives to improve the world for her family and herself, made it hard for me to put the book down. And then there is Nix, this badass villain, with a charming and sensitive personality. Something totally unexpected for a god. I enjoyed reading about their passionate love story, which intensifies as the novel is read.


I have to thank NetGalley US and Mixed Plated Press for the ARC in exchange for my personal opinion.

Bottom Line

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5.

The book’s introduction will draw you in, keep you reading, and drive you to complete it since the plot and concept seemed so refreshing and still reminded me of another story . A superb job was done by Maci Aurora in recreating the tale of The Golden Key. It was fascinating reading about Aurie’s wishes and how Nix was helpful at her side, and the following obligations. This plot was very well-considered.
If you are a fan of the adult fantasy genre, this book is a must-read. Period! The ideal balance of narrative, romance, and world building. I am looking forward to early 2023, when the second book is supposed to be published.

This starts off amazing, and then just spirals.

Following the two MC’s roaming around basically do nothing plot wise, but we are bombarded with insta-lust, steamy scenes which I would usually clap hands for, but it just didn’t add to the story line or any form of the plot so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I usually would.

I gave this two stars because the beginning was really amazing, and this writer does know how to write a steamy scene. The rest- just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC

I loved this book! The story and the characters were perfect! I absolutely recommend it! I must get a finished copy asap! I’m sorry it took me so long to read it!

Overall, this book is not bad, but the fact that I just couldn’t understand why the main character decided to take sooooooooo long to make her wishes and didn’t really think about her family made it hard for me to get invested into the book. The beginning was great and very promising, but then it just fell flat for me.

Aurielle Fareview is the fourth daughter of her family and needs to find a husband soon. According to the Kaloma marriage law, every woman must marry before 26 or they are taken by collectors who will bring them to birthing houses. Men must marry before 36, but they are also allowed to take as many wives as they can provide for. Aurie and her older sisters do not have much time left before the collectors come for them. But with few resources, traveling and escaping is impossible, and the few prospects that come into the marriage market booth of their village are disgusting and creepy. Everything changes for Aurie when she finds a magical key in the wood and is transported inside the spell that binds the God Nix to the key.

Nixus is the God of night and has been imprisoned in the key for years. The spell allows the key keeper to ask for three wishes, but each wish comes with an obligation (a consequence) that is made to have the keeper hate Nix, even though he’s a prisoner of the spell as much as the keeper. The twist is that in order to finally set Nix free, the keeper has to accept to make a sacrifice for Nix after the three wishes are done, but with the obligations making them hate Nix, nobody ever accepted to make the sacrifice, and Nix is stuck in the key until the next keeper comes and it starts all over again.

It's clear from the start that Aurie is different from the other keepers though because she doesn’t immediately ask for wealth or health. She takes the time to get to know Nix and to try to understand the spell, and she tries to find wishes that will be good for her, but also for others around her.

I am not sure I understand or approve of Aurie’s choice to stay that long with Nix. I understand that she doesn’t want to “spoil” her wishes and that she wants to know more about him and the spell before deciding what to wish for, but she spent weeks with him before even making her first wish, all the while knowing that her family was back home and might or might not be worried about her, because it is unclear how time passes in the spell at first. We learn that 2 months in the spell is roughly 7 days in the mortal realm, but we learn that after Aurie spent 2 months in the spell, not knowing how time would pass for her family. I understand the need for Aurie and Nix to spend time together to build the romance of the book, but it seemed selfish of Aurie to just relax and stay there, which was oddly out of character from what we saw in the first few chapters before she met Nix.

Instead of thinking of ways to help her family or improve their lives, she just stays with Nix, reads all day and chills in the gardens, and treats this whole situation as a vacation. She has no drive and no purpose, she just accepts everything that happens because of the spell, and because of that, it was difficult to get invested in the plot. It was basically just waiting for Aurie to finally decide to make a wish, with smutty moments here and there. I thought the story would be more focused on the whole marriage law and the need to find a husband problem, but it wasn’t that at all once Aurie found the key.

Talking about the smutty moments… There is sexual tension between Aurie and Nix, and we can see how they both desire the other, but that’s about all we can see of their “relationship”. I didn’t feel any chemistry or deep connection, just some physical attraction and lust, and an opportunity for Aurie to let herself experience pleasure for the first time without the whole marriage laws. We are told that Aurie is different and that Nix can’t seem to resist her, and we are told that Aurie feels things she’s never felt before when she’s with Nix, but we don’t really see or feel these feelings in the book, and because of that it almost fell in the borderline insta-lust category. There are mentions of the God yoke that seems to be the equivalent of the fated mate concept, but again, it’s all telling and no showing.

The world-building is very basic, and could definitely have used more details. We know there is a marriage law to help populate the Kingdom, but we don’t know why it is needed, how it came to be, or who is ruling the Kingdom. On the other hand, they say that sexual relationships out of wedlock are illegal, but if their goal is only to have more people, then why would they care if people are married or not? They talk about birthing houses, and while I can imagine roughly what it entails, there are no details at all about those.

Overall, this is not a bad book, it’s just not a book for me. I know many of my Goodreads friends rated it 4 stars and 5 stars, and I can see why, as it is full of magic and smut, but it just fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review. #IntheShadowofaWish #NetGalley

<b> <I> Thank you so much to Net Galley and to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of “In the Shadow of a Wish” by Maci Aurora in exchange for an honest review. All of the following opinions are formulated on my own. Any quotes in this review should be cross-referenced with the final copy for any possible edits.</I> </b>

<b> Overall rating: </b> 4 out of 5 stars

<b> My favorite elements: </b> I did enjoy how surfaceless the story was without overtly making no sense. I loved Auri for how smart she is and also her kindness. We do not often see soft female MCs and it's a refreshing change. I enjoyed the magic system and the deities.

<b> My criticisms: <b> Some readers might be upset by the gender gap in the novel and have issues with women being forced to marry earlier than men. The storyline with the Golden Key felt very forced and random although it set the whole plot into action.

<b> Will I finish the series? </b> Absolutely!

<b> Tropes: </b>
- Forced Marriage
- Fae
- 🌶🌶🌶
- Deities
- Slow-paced
- Dark Haired Broody Love Interest
- Magic object
- Betrayal Forced Proximity

Well this was an unexpected read! I first requested as I thought it sounded like a really interesting concept getting locked inside a key. From the description of the book, I did not think it was going to be a fantasy 50 shades of grey! It was extremely raunchy, but it did become a bit tiresome towards the end. I feel like the sex scenes filled up a lot of the word count of the book, when they could have continued with the plot of the novel more.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would really like to read the next in the series!

What started off strong quickly petered out and made a very unpleasant read

We are locked in this universe with the two mind-numbing MC's going back and forth with nothing actually happening. The beginning had such potential but once Nix was in the picture there was no plot. Basically just lots of erotic feelings and actions for each that no substance to the story overall.

There are some really heavy elements in this that I feel don't get addressed properly; such as consent and essentially 'rape-drug'. Also you don't need to have the f-word on every page to make it a 'New Adult' book! Which also juxtaposed on the actual writing style, never flowing consistently

I gave this two stars because of it's strong beginning, but I personally really did not like this book at all. For those who live for smutty/spicy romance this one definitely ticks those boxes and would probably be to your liking to give it a go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mixed Plate Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

In the Kingdom of Kaloma, women are forced to marry by the age of 26. It’s the law.

In the remote village of Sevens, at the northernmost point of the kingdom, there lives an impoverished family with four daughters and a son. Without the means to make love matches, the daughters are trapped by their circumstances.

When one daughter discovers a golden key deep in the Whitling Woods, it may have the power to change everything…

I really hope this book finds its readers because this cover is to good to waste. For me this is a take it or leave it. I did enjoy it but I don't think I will read book two. It failed to really grip me within its pages. The characters weren't all that fun to read about and the story was just kind of bland.