The Mirror: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao

Summary from Goodreads:

1865
Hanau, Germany

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow. But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner—none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.

Review:

I didn’t realize exactly what I was getting into with this book. I kind of belatedly learned this is part of a series where each book will be written by a different author. And this is the book that starts everything and the curse that begins it all. I’m drawn to fairytales. I’m drawn to fantasy forests on book covers. I like the idea of one curse affecting multiple generations over time. I’m a little baffled by the different authors…but, why not? I’ve never actually read anything by Dao before, so I was excited to try this.

It took me a while to get into it. I’m not a HUGE historical fiction reader, though I’ve gotten a lot more into these last couple of years. The beginning reads more historical than fantasy. It’s also weirdly about adults, and a woman who wants a baby (not the typical YA book)…so I wasn’t exactly connecting to her that much. I almost stopped reading entirely because I could see exactly where this was heading. Clearly the friendship would be messed up, the promise would be broken and that would start the curse.

I guess I kept reading though cause I wanted to know for sure. And I’m mostly glad I kept going. It did get more interesting for me. The book eventually became more about the daughter. And then it seemed like everything was going to be fixed, so I had to know how the curse would continue for generations. And I was shocked at how things turned up, genuinely shocked. While most of this book was easy to call for me. It read like an expected fairytale. That ending was nuts.

All in all, I wish the beginning was more interesting. I wish both the mother and daughter main characters had a little more depth to them. They both seemed so flat, and too boring. I found the second half of the book to have a lot more plot/suspense. And I’m glad I kept reading. I was genuinely shocked by the end. I’m not rushing to get the rest of the series. However, I am curious to see where it all goes. I give this one a 7/10.