What to wish when a genie appears?

Synopsis

A heartwarming paranormal cosy romance set in a small Scottish village, featuring a flamboyant genie, three unexpected wishes, and a second chance at love after loss.

Love, second chances, and a dash of magic… what could possibly go wrong?

Beth Calder’s life so far:

Marriage falling apart? Check.
Heartbreak she can’t quite move past? Check.
Fresh start in a quiet Scottish village? Check.
Discovering a genie inside a pinball machine? That’s new.

Arriving in Cranley is meant to be Beth’s chance to begin again. A job as head chef at The Jekyll and Hyde pub, a cosy place to call home, and a village that doesn’t ask too many questions feel like exactly what she needs. Romance is firmly off the table.

That becomes harder to hold onto when she meets Kieran, a thoughtful and quietly charming tech developer who understands more than she expects. It becomes even harder when the pub’s dusty basement reveals a glitter-loving genie with a habit of interfering and a belief that Beth’s story isn’t over yet.

With three wishes she doesn’t quite trust and a heart still holding onto the past, Beth must decide whether to keep playing it safe or risk everything for a chance at something new.

In Cranley, even the most unexpected kind of magic can help you find your way forward.

A Wish for Beth is Book 4 in the Cranley Wishes series. Perfect for readers who love small-town charm, gentle paranormal romance, and uplifting second-chance love stories filled with warmth, hope, and a touch of magic.

My review

After a failed marriage and heartbreak over her biggest wish not coming true, Beth Calder was in desperate need of a fresh start. So the Scottish village of Cranley is exactly what Beth needs, and is happy with her new job as head chef at The Jekyll and Hyde pub, where she can try out new recipes with funny names. But the last thing Beth expected, is that the pinball machine in the basement is the home of an actual genie. A peculiar genie that will grant Beth three wishes. Even if Beth is initially wary and distrustful of this genie, she starts to wonder what she can wish for. She just knows that one thing she won’t be asking for, and that is for a new love in her life. And then she meets Kieran, a tech developer who also recently moved to Cranley. Kieran seems to understand more what Beth is going through. Kieran himself is struggling with his new idea and his new life in Cranley. And while love is out of the equation for him, there is something about Beth he cannot ignore. So while both Beth and Kieran are not looking for romance, Gigi the Genie has other ideas and the community  seems to share not only that idea, but also the belief in genies for some strange reason… But with a past that still haunts Beth, can she start looking beyond the pain that love can cause?

It has been a while since my last visit to Cranley. And it took me a moment to remember exactly what happened with the other inhabitants. But just reading a few names and it was all coming back to me 😊.

Right from the start, my heart broke for Beth. Of course the end of a marriage, where Beth loved her husband so much, is terrible. But all what transpired before in her marriage, the attempts to have their own baby… As I am not a mother myself, I can only try to imagine how devastating it can be to feel like a failure after each time…

And of course, after all that she has been through, she needs a fresh start, away from everyone and everything she knows. And I could even understand her reluctance of coming clean about the real reasons of her move. It is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, but it is normal that Beth doesn’t want any looks of pity at all.

Now, it needs to be said that Cranley is a special village, where the inhabitants aren’t surprised by sudden and inexplicable appearances. But as a stranger landing in Cranley, it can be a shocking discovery that in a pinball machine a genie is living. Especially as we have all learned that genies aren’t real.

It makes sense that Beth initially is wary and even believes that she is imagining things, and how she thinks that she cannot tell anyone what she is experiencing with Gigi. Any other village would claim her being crazy!

I found it funny to read about Gigi’s antics. As we know from this series, is that each genie is up to some mischief. And I loved it! 😊But it also needs to be said, that Gigi has also some great insights. It felt to me that Gigi expresses the inner voice of Beth somehow. Because beside the antics, Gigi truly gives some good advice to Beth. Perhaps not in the most subtle ways, but what is being said, is perhaps a message that Beth needs to hear, in able to move forward in her life.

Although, I need to say that also playing tricks with Kieran’s mind isn’t perhaps the best way of Gigi to make things work. Even if it’s done with the best intentions 😊.

Kieran, who made the move to Cranley for the same reason as Beth: to start again. Not for completely the same reasons, but he also went through a heartbreak, and thus can rely with Beth easier.

I truly sympathized with Kieran, because even after his move to Cranley, I could not shake of the feeling that after everything he has been through, he must be very lonely. It also felt to me that that aspect transpires in the ways that he is at moments reluctant to go outside, to go to the pub for example.

Yet we also see clearly that he is smart, and has great ideas, as it shows with his idea for an app. And even if it takes him a moment to feel at ease, we see that he is empathic, cares about his (new) friends and is ready to help out. Even if perhaps that isn’t always the brightest of ideas with a reappearance of someone from his past… But also here it just proves what a kind heart he has.

It is no rocket science figuring out who will be involved with the romantic storyline. And while I was cheering for them, for me it didn’t feel like the major storyline. Because it is about letting go of the past, or at least giving it a place in order to move on. And it is not an easy task, and perhaps we could all benefit from a genie like Gigi, voicing out loud (too loud? 😊) what maybe is already brooding in our minds and hearts?

This was at moments a very bittersweet story, but mainly and more important a heartwarming and even inspiring story, about how life perhaps doesn’t always go as you want or plan, and causes you heartbreak in the process. But life always finds a way to make things right again, somehow. And that is, no matter how difficult it may seem initially, to keep in mind. And that the biggest heartbreak can give you the opportunity to grow, to digest and to give a second chance at the most beautiful emotions that exist.

Audrey Davis captured all this heartbreak but also beauty in this wonderful, funny story!