Brittany Eden’s Wishes mingles Cinderella tropes and modern monarchy for a fast and fun fairy-tale drama. Penelope Beaumont is trapped with a frivolous step-aunt and stuck in a dead-end newspaper job she wants to love. Then her boss hands her the scoop of a lifetime, with the promise of her own column if she lands the story. But this could destroy the legacy of the Crown Prince Nicholas, whose life is already intertwined with hers due to their parents’ deaths in a national tragedy. While Penelope’s narrative voice is sometimes scattered and prosaic, her relationships with friends and enemies help ground readers. Surprising twists and complex relationships grant Wishes a fulfilling and fast-paced read.

Best for: Fans of fairy-tale tropes, romance, and complex characters.

Discern: One woman physically attacks someone under her care several times, a villain threatens violence and also murders people, someone is rumored to have committed suicide, people repeatedly lie to each other, some heavy kissing.