One Wish
One
Wish by C J Card is a story about a young woman making her way alone in
Washington D.C. in the year 1899.
Jenny Blake has just inherited her uncle's curiosity shop. She had never met her uncle and was delighted to move to his shop away from the strict upbringing of her grandmother. A free spirit who has just been released from her cage, Jenny is an adventurer ready to tackle anything life throws at her.
Awaiting her in Washington is a new life and her late uncle's lodger the studious and stuffy Miller Holbrook. Miller had been the lodger and friend of Jenny's uncle and had promised to watch over Jenny and help her to settle in to her new life. His task does not appear to be an easy one for his new landlady not only appears to be completely unrefined, she also appears to have a drink problem.
But the two do not hit it off very well and it seems that they are both worlds apart in both their upbringings and opinions.
However, Jenny does not let anything bother her for long and soon she is planning on re-opening the shop and starts to make an inventory of all the items she has. In a dusty old chest in the basement Jenny finds her most valuable treasure....an ancient bottle containing a magical genie who is determined to grant her wish of a love to last a lifetime by setting her up with Miller.
Jenny may have a genie living with her but no amount of magic will convince her that Miller is the man for her. After all the genie's first attempt at bringing her true love to her resulted in the appearance of a baby elephant.
But Ninj is sure that if he can only get his magic back on course he will be able to get the two mortals together.
I found this novel a little difficult to get into at first. After reading the fast-paced novel Some Enchanted Evening the slower pace of this book was a bit of a let down.
I am afraid that I found myself siding with Jenny when she insisted Miller was not the man for her. For a romance hero the man just seemed too stuffy and straight-laced. I felt that Jenny could do a lot better than him. I admit that towards the end he did lighten up and we saw there was more to the man that there first appeared, but I think his other side was a little too long in coming forward.
However on a plus side, I did find some of the genie's antics amusing, and while this book did not make me laugh out loud as some have, there were several places where I came close - for instance the appearance of the elephant in the basement and the ride through Washington in the araba.
Not the best genie story I have read but a few good parts none the less.
RATING : 
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Also by C J Card: My Loving Familiar