Smoke and Wishes by A.J. Macey – A Book Review

Posted March 26, 2019 by Booksandblurbs in PNR, Reverse Harem, Reviews / 0 Comments

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Smoke and Wishes

(Best Wishes Series – Book 1)

by A.J. Macey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Medium Burn, PNR RH

Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down and Dirty

An Enjoyable intro Academy RH that is definitely worth picking up.

What is it about?

(Yeah, yeah… Blurb is from GoodReads. When I get this Cast off, I’ll start writing my own again.)

What do you do when your whole life is a lie? Go to college…

I just found out that I’m a supernatural and now I’m attending Redwood Supernatural University. With its magic and mix of beings from myth and legend, I’m definitely not in the human world anymore.

But not everything is picture perfect. I have the Bitch Crew that are determined to get rid of me, a guy that’s hell-bent on teaching me a lesson, and my past haunting me in my dreams.

It’s not all bad though; I have my quirky roommate Sadie and six guys who seem intent on keeping me around.

I got this…hopefully.

The Best Wishes Series is a WhyChoose/Reverse Harem saga featuring MMFMMMM meaning there is M/M content, and the female main character doesn’t have to choose between her love interests.

This series contains references involving PTSD, sexual assault recollections, domestic violence, and other themes that some readers may find triggering.

Thoughts

Academy paranormal intro novel that covers the bases, tenses with college plot and establishes and overarching narrative that can carry a series.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this novel, though there were some campy moments that made me roll my eyes – only a few though. It held strong, and I think it will get stronger as the series continues.

Perspective

First Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type

Episodic, Cliffhanger

Steam Level

RH worthy (TWINS!) 2.5 Alarms

Pros:

Formulaic academy tale…. but they are formulaic for a reason, THEY WORK!
The guys: obligatory twins, but aside from that, each of the six guys in question have unique characters and skills, bringing their own personalities to the fray.
Lucie…. she’s strong, even when she’s weak. I love an ‘overcoming’ story, especially one where the FMC faces a past far too many of us know, falling into those dangerous patterns you can’t see – even if the world is screaming, “Why didn’t you just leave?!” Sometimes, it’s not that simple.
Alex…. somethings up with that dude. Answers needed in Book 2!

Cons:

Expected more blow back from her own abilities, yet the drama and crux was all too human… and not about her powers. Foreshadowing leads me to anticipate other complications pertaining to that for book 2…. guess this really isn’t a con, is it?
Eye roll moments.
Bit trite here and there.
Reminded me of the FEEL of The Veil Diaries, but not in a bad or plagiarized way.
July for book 2… sigh! 😉

Favorite Line

…when Sadie realized he was telling the truth, her demeanor went from pissed off Chihuahua to her usually bubbly self in an instant. (15%)

Verdict

4 out of 5 Stars

I would recommend this for Fans of The Veil Diaries, The Vampire Diaries as well as Academy Reverse Harem Novels. It’s fun, steamy and a great intro novel.

Published March 1st, 2019

266 Pages

Please note, this is a Reverse Harem Novel with Sexual Themes, along with mentions of trauma and PTSD more suitable for older audiences. 18+

If you enjoyed this review, please consider checking out a few of my other articles.

Your Turn

What are you reading today? Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Are you anxious for Book 2? Leave a comment, let me know – I would love to talk!