A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
“But for the first time, I wanted to believe in the things that outlasted us: the stories that came to life in a child’s head, the fear of the dark, the hunger to live. Those were the footsteps that not even Time could discover and erase, because they lived far out of reach, in the song of blood coursing through veins and in the quiet threads that made up dreams.”
I absolutely adored this book. While The Star Touched Queen introduced us to a magical world and a beautiful story, A Crown of Wishes gave us two snarky characters, a new magical land, and an exciting story from start to finish. In this book, Maya’s little sister Gauri finds herself in a tournament for wishes with the enemy kingdom’s prince Vikram. They travel to the land of Alaka where Kubera is hosting the tournament where you either win a wish or meet certain death.
Chokshi delivers us a magical world once again that is basically a dream land on paper. The imagery that is presented to us gives me similar vibes as What Dreams May Come was like- magical, beautiful and even dark at times. Alaka is presented in such a way that you can feel the warmth coming off the pages and imagine what a cup of memories might taste like. Again, I loved the cultural inspiration and building off of Hindu legends. With a world that is already so magical anything can be done, but Chokshi kept with a basic wit Kubera, the Lord of Wealth.
Gauri and Vikram were such a delight to get to know. While they bickered they learned where each other’s strengths where and how to handle each situation to their benefit. They had such quirky habits that made them so endearing, like the way that Vikram steepled his fingers when he was pondering over a puzzle.
The pacing to the book was perfect. TSTQ was at times somewhat slow and occasionally confusing. But in ACOW the story is consistent and doesn’t have any lulls. Each scene flows into the next with continuous imagery, witty banter, and anxious challenges for our two heroes. The connection between Gauri and Vikram transitions well as they learn to be friends and trust each other.
