★★★★★ 5
6 magical stars -- another favorite from Mia!
Format: Kindle
Clara Campbell is drawn to New Orleans by more than just her new appointment to the New Orleans Ballet Company. But though she is living her dreams, she feels alone and disconnected from everyone around her. In interest in a local legend finds her approaching the Weeping Wall at Windisle Plantation, an abandoned property with a ghost story attached. But as she places her wish in the wall, it is not a ghost that she hears beyond the walls.
Jonah Chamberlain hasn’t left the walls of Windisle in 8 years, long enough that the locals all believe the property abandoned. The walls are all he needs to keep himself apart from the judgement of the public, who watched his decisions lead to a tragedy for which he paid dearly.
Their interactions are separated by a wall, but connected by the story of the lost lovers from so long ago. The ghost story is a safe topic for Jonah, and though he isn’t sure why he is suddenly talking to one of the many visitors to the wall, he finds it impossible to ignore the woman who won’t let him hide any longer.
These two are both so lonely that it doesn’t take much of a connection for them to find further intrigue. But what they find as Clara digs deeper into the plantation’s past keeps her coming back for more, as Jonah debates the merits of letting someone in to his safe-place. Both Clara and Jonah have personal character journeys to face over the course of the book, and for as much as the plot is tied to the past, it is also directly tied to these two characters growing and learning.
The Wish Collector combines contemporary with magic and the past. The historical thread isn’t enough to fully call this a split timeline, but the glimpses of the past are the perfect tie between the history and the present of Windisle Plantation. The legend of ghosts in the assumed abandoned building is intriguing as Clara does what she can to solve the century old mystery.
There were so many pieces to this story that I was still thinking of the connections and bits of magic days after finishing. Part Beauty & the Beast, part Phantom of the Opera, part New Orleans magic, this book is a fantastic mix of elements that inspires and enchants. Once again, Mia Sheridan has crafted a tale that takes my expectations and soars far beyond what I could have imagined.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2018
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