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 on to 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.
* * *
Review: While A Wish for Beth is the fourth book in the "Cranley Wishes" series, it was the first I've read and... it's a bit of an odd duck. It starts very normally, then the supernatural elements begin to creep in. Obviously, previous experience of Cranley is better than none!
The characters are fabulous, although it is a little hard to keep track of the expansive cast. But they are all unique and wonderfully portrayed. One cannot help feeling for poor Beth... and have a desire to kick Luke in the nutsack. I know he felt the losses, too, but upping sticks and abandoning Beth was not the way to deal! Kieran is lovely, though, and more than makes up for Luke's shortcomings.
That said, I'm not sure I was sold on the romance. It seemed too sudden for two people with such heartbreak. And they didn't actually spend that much time getting to know each other. I know there was magic in the air but as Gigi - the genie - said: he couldn't make people have feelings.
Two things made me happy. The first is there were just a few kisses shared, with Beth and Kieran taking things slow, even at the end. Which was clearly the beginning of the relationship proper. The second thing was the Beth's main hurt wasn't fixed. I'd an awful sinking feeling that it would be, but was more than happy to be proved wrong.
So if you love soft romances with magic, then A Wish for Beth is just what the genie delivers!
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