The Fire Wish #WeNeedDiverseBooks Wednesday

 And look how organized I am! There is an interview with Ms. Lough today at Fearless Fifteeners!

Lough, Amber. The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars #1)

July 22nd 2014 by Random House Children's

E ARC from Netgalley.com

Najwa is a jinni still working on her skills, but when she manages to magic herself into the palace (which is supposed to be protected by wards), her teacher is very impressed and hastens her joining the Eye of Ilbis spy group. She is going to be sent to the palace to spy of Kamal, the prince, in order to collect intelligence for the war between the humans and the jinn. Zayale is a pretty girl from a remote mountain village. She is grateful to the government for keeping her village safe from jinn after the death of her aunt and uncle years ago, but not grateful enough to be married off! When she is traveling to Baghdad to be married, she catches Najwa apparating, grabs hold of her, and wishes that she could go home and that the jinni could take her place. Najwa has to grant the wish, and since she bears a strong resemblance to Zayele, accompanies Zayele’s cousin to the capital and prepares to marry the prince. Zayele finds herself deep in the lair of the jinn and tries her best to remain undetected. The war between the two groups is ramping up, however, even though the prince thinks they should get along. Secrets are revealed about both girls and their ties to the war, and the intrigue is just beginning.

Strengths: This had some very interesting twists in it that I did not see coming! I liked both girls, and found the world building to be solid. There is a nice romance. Definitely a different sort of fantasy, with its Baghdad setting.

Weaknesses: I wish there were some more information about the mythological characters involved in this story. Since it’s not the omnipresent Celtic mythology I found myself with a lot of questions.