Release-Day Review: Wishful Thinking by Helen Harper

Wishful Thinking (How to be the Best Damn Faery Godmother in the World [or Die Trying] #1)
Helen Harper
Published: Aug. 26, 2019
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars

Helen Harper has been on my radar for several months now—everyone seems to love her Slouch Witch series. So when I spotted this first book in a new series it seemed like a good time to see what all the fuss was about. And what could be more fun than a fairy godmother?

But when we first meet Saffron she’s working as a Dope Fairy. They control the hallucinations of people who are high. Saffron claims to be helping people overcome their fears and preventing them from progressing to harder drugs, but I felt like that was a lot to unpack for the first two chapters. The experience does prove useful in the end though.

When Saffron is offered her dream job as a Fairy Godmother, she jumps at the chance. They’re revered throughout the fairy world. But the reality is more like The Office than Cinderella. Good thing I love stories about supernatural bureaucracy! This world reminded me of Hannah Jayne’s Underworld Detection Agency series in that respect.

Saffron’s co-workers look down on her for her lack of pedigree, as well as her past as a Dope Fairy and her unruly hair. Even worse, she discovers she was hired not for her magical skills but to be bait for a kidnapper. Several Fairy Godmothers have gone missing recently.

Saffron resolves to win over her new co-workers by finding the missing fairies. She’s joined by the most powerful fairy in England, the Devil’s Advocate, who’s something like a representative from the home office sent in to audit the department. I liked him and his powers, but I wish Harper had gone into more detail about his job. Do the fairies ultimately report to the devil? Hopefully later books in the series will explain.

Wishful Thinking doesn’t have much of a romance plot, but the potential is there. I’m interested in Saffron’s love interest and look forward to seeing where it goes. Book two is only two months away so I won’t have long to wait.

Ultimately, I didn’t love Wishful Thinking, but I feel like the series has potential. I’d like to see which other supernatural species inhabit Saffron’s world and learn more about the Fairy bureaucracy. I’ll definitely be checking out the next book.

Sexual content: kissing