Careful What You Wish For
Grade : C-

I had such high hopes for Lucy Finn’s debut, Careful What You Wish For. I wanted something light and fun, sweet even. Loved the genie in a bottle thing and thought this would just have to work on some level. It didn’t, enough.

Ravine Patton is a single mother who recently left her high-profile position at a top Philadelphia law firm to return to her home town in northeastern Pennsylvania to raise her son and figure out what she wants to do with her life. She finds a mysterious bottle at the bottom of a - brace yourself - Diaper Genie and out pops a gorgeous, blonde, Australian, WWII vet who claims to have been enchanted by a middle eastern Caliph and forced to become a genie. He only needs to do his three-wish thing once before the spell is broken and he can live a normal life again. Until Ravine makes her three wishes, Gene - yes, his name is Gene - is at her beck and call.

Gene turns into a magical version of Donna Reed while Ravine struggles to start up a law practice and solve a few mysteries that have been thrown her way. There is an instant attraction between the pair and it isn’t long till they fall for one another. But Gene keeps talking about returning “home” when Ravine makes her third wish and Ravine desperately wants him to stay, hoping to use her third wish to somehow make that happen. Gene is not even sure if he will go back to his old life sixty years in the past or if he will just become disenchanted and live on from the present. This causes a lot of tension between the leads for the first two-thirds of the book. Things could have been easily summed up with a bit of honest talking, but this is romance, people, and since when do the characters actually talk to each other?

My first “uh-oh” was when I noticed the first person narrative. I’m not against it, it’s just wasn’t what I pictured for this type of book. Worse - Ravine Patton is not an especially sympathetic heroine. Well, let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? I just didn’t like the girl. And being inside her head for 304 pages when there’s perfectly nice hero I’d like to get some perspective on is rather grating on the nerves.

My second “uh-oh” is the heavy amount of sub-plot rearing its ugly head. There is a strange and somewhat complex plot regarding certain properties in Ravine’s town. Ravine is on the case and doing her best, with Gene’s help, to figure out what’s going wrong. This eye-rolling storyline took up a good portion on the page count, a portion that could have been used for a little romance.

Her description of Pennsylvania was spot on. Growing up not to far from that area myself, it was refreshing to see it taken on in a different light than what it is normally subjected to. If anyone is familiar with the TV show The Office (US version), it is based out of Scranton, not to far from where the author has set her story. So, yes, this area is normally depicted as drone-like towns set in the mountains. Ms. Finn doesn’t shy away from that, but also shows the beauty in the area. Kudos for that, Ms. Finn.

I also liked the way I had no clue what was going to happen. The mystery surrounding the father of Ravine’s baby is an intriguing subplot that had me a little choked up near the end. Totally didn’t see that coming. And I couldn’t figure out how Ravine and Gene were going to get around to their Happily Ever After.

The problems in Careful What You Wish For outweighed what was good about it. A strong setting and some creative plotting weren't enough to counter a heroine I never warmed to and a sub-plot that took valuable time away from the romance.

Reviewed by Lisa Gardineer
Grade : C-
Book Type: Fantasy Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : May 18, 2007

Publication Date: 2007/06

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Lisa Gardineer

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