How Not to Make a Wish, Book 1 of the As You Wish Series by Mindy Klasky

Publisher: Mira Books
Pages: 329

From the Cover: While cleaning an old lantern, Kira Franklin releases a genie. But this gender-morphing, appearance-bending creature doesn't do "big" wishes. So forget stopping world hunger or ending war. And still heartbroken from the jerk who dumped her, Kira doesn't believe in the perfect man.

So she wishes for her dream job. Stage manager at the hottest theater in town, the Landmark. And presto: she's running Romeo and Juliet. Except, like everything else these days, this is one crazy production. And now Teel, the genie, insists she finish her wishes so "he" can move on.

Her second wish is about her appearance, which isn't exactly catching her third wish's eye. And there's the rub.

Because that old saying about being careful what you wish for is so spot-on. And Kira is about to discover that moxie, not magic, is what can make all your dreams come true.

Kira is a stage manager down on her luck. A year ago, TEWSBU (the ex who shall be unnamed), dumped her at the alter, and she's been slowly eating her way to oblivion. She works at a small dinner theater in Minneapolis that is one step away from disaster. And her boss has all but given her her walking papers. The theater is broke. Her next check could be her last.

That is until she finds an old lamp and tries to gloss it up. And what appears before her wondering eyes? An age old genie, Teel, who agrees to make her wishes come true.

But wishes should really come with a warning, be careful what you wish for because it just might come true. And not all wishes turn out to be what you were wishing for.

How Not to Make a Wish by Mindy Klasky is a fun piece of chick lit that has magical qualities. Kira's life has been in turmoil for the last year, but finding Teel seems to be the answer to all of her problems. She can solve all of her problems if she just using her wishes correctly. She can't solve world violence, cure all the ills, or feed all the hungry. Big wishes aren't allowed. But maybe, she can take care of a few of her own small problems, if she words her wishes just right. She doesn't want to make a wish that backfires on someone else. But while she's concerned with her own problems, she almost misses out on what could be her one true love that is right before her eyes, and she doesn't even need Teel to make it happen.

How Not to Make a Wish is the perfect read to grab as you're heading out to the beach or as your curling up for a nice winter read. I felt sorry for Kira at first, but she keeps going back for more and instead of solving her problems, she just makes them worse. Her father want to commandeer her life and he almost does. When she finally grows up and finds herself on her own two feet, she has the ability to grab onto her out of control life and put it on the right track. Maybe for success and happiness, or maybe not, but at least she'll be making her own decisions. I had fun with this book and I'll be looking to try Mindy Klasky next book, When Good Wishes Go Bad, Book 2 of the As You Wish Series coming April 2010.

I received this book for review from the author. The opinions I have expressed are my own.