A Wish Made of Glass

by Ashlee Willis

5 stars

Young Adult / Fantasy / Fairy Tale Re-Telling / Cinderella / Novella

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the author (thank you!) in exchange for my honest review. These opinions are entirely my own.

My Review

Ever since reading THE WORD CHANGERS, I have been waiting breathlessly for another tale from talented authoress Ashlee Willis. That wait is now over. I was overcome with excitement to begin reading this novella, but at the same time, feared being disappointed after my high expectations. I need not have worried.

A WISH MADE OF GLASS blew me away with its gorgeousness, not only meeting but in fact far, far exceeding my expectations. It is loosely based on the Cinderella fairy tale, and it is written in first-person present-tense, which is a mode of writing that irks me, but I grew used to it in this story almost at once and could not begrudge it, which is saying something.

From the very first, I was entirely enchanted and drawn inescapably into this story and this world, a fey and beautiful one, the beauty starker against the shadows. The writing held me spellbound, the words spun together like the silver threads of moonlight and wishes. I can describe it in no other way than to say that it felt like a fairytale. The whole tale was quietly beautiful.

It held many surprises and was not at all what I expected. This is not a light tale. There is darkness and sadness and the bittersweetness of families and friendships found and broken and found again, and missed chances heartbreakingly forever lost. The story holds all the darkest emotions that can be found, poisonous and treacherous, in the lightless corners of one’s own heart. The heroine is flawed, as all people are. Sometimes it was very hard to read about, and could, I think, easily have made me dislike the story, and yet somehow it did not. And to find the joy and light was well worth it. It makes one think, perhaps, of one’s own failings and beginning to think of letting a light shine into the shadowed corner.

The characters were quite real. Isidore’s sorrow and struggles and innermost thoughts were well-painted. Blessing was an interesting character, the stepsister who is kindhearted but has her own things to wrestle with as well. Young Lord Auren made a surprisingly vivid short appearance and I basically loved him. My favorite character is of course a certain mysterious fey, whose name I realized at the end, with some surprise, we had never learned, and yet decided that it was perfect. Characters like that totally fulfill my reading wish in any book.

The visuals are stunning. I loved the turning seasons and the dresses and cloaks and the ball, but especially the snow and the fey wood and the fey themselves, and I want to join in their dance. I wish there had been more with the fey in the story.

You feel in the end a little as if there are hinted truths threaded through beneath the surface of the tale that you can not quite grasp. At least, that is how I felt. There is something deeper, elusive, and you feel that maybe one day you will understand it, even if you do not right now. But in my experience, the best books are like that.

I adored this quick read and it pulled me completely into a world of rich color and magic and snow and fey dances in the forest. I enjoyed it so very very much.

If you have a hankering for an enchanting tale of light and shadows, a fairy tale in its truest form, a beautiful world with characters who come to life and wrestle with their own darkness, told in words as natural and beautiful as flowing water under starlight, A WISH MADE OF GLASS will be your own wish come true.

Back Cover Copy

From Goodreads:

Deep in a forest glade, the fey folk dance with Isidore, a young human child. Their kinship is the very fabric of her childhood. When her mother dies and her world darkens with sorrow, Isidore finds her belief in the fey folk wavering.

The love of her new step-sister, Blessing, proves an unexpected gift in her time of need. Yet even as their friendship blooms, Isidore begins to see that Blessing is everything she herself has always wanted to be, but is not. Jealousy grips Isidore as she watches this beautiful new sister steal away all she holds dear.

Driven to desperation, Isidore turns to the fey folk once more. She has only one wish to claim from them, one chance to make things right. But she must tread carefully. For wishes, like hearts, are easily broken. And obtaining the one thing she desires could mean destroying the one thing she truly needs.

released August 14, 2015

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About the Author

Ashlee Willis lives in the heart of Missouri with her husband, young son, and simply way too many cats. While most of her days are balanced between writing, reading and homeschooling, she also loves to crochet, play the piano, and spend time outdoors in God’s creation.