Be Careful What You Wish For by Alexandra Potter

Be careful what you wish for
'Cause you might just get it all.
You might just get it all, 
And  then some you don't want.

Says Chris Daughtry in his song Home and this is absolutely what the book is about.

Heather Hamilton likes to make wishes. She makes them as easy as breathing. She wishes for random things and makes them a dozen times a day without batting an eyelash. She wishes she could get a seat on the tube, that there was no cue at the coffee shop, that there is no traffic and all other really trivial things. Then one night, under the pouring rain, a gypsy woman approached her and offered her a white heather that would change his luck and make all her wishes come true. And they did come true, only she realized that they are not what she actually need or could make her happy.

I liked the concept of this modern day fairy tale. The fairy god-mother comes in the form of a old gypsy woman and the magical object is the white heather. And just like Heather, we all make wishes and hope that they do come true. In a way, we are all like her. But for me, instead of wishing I pray. I pray that I would get a ride right away, I pray that I won't be late, etc. Little prayers. And it would be so amazing if in real life I would also get a lucky heather and wish on it. I could actually use it badly right now. Like desperately, I need my prayers to be answered. But unlike Heather, I am a realistic and  a practical person. I know that you get things because you work for them. You take action, not just wishing on a lucky heather sitting on your bum. And if I do get to wish on a magic heather, a genie on a bottle or on a falling star, I would wish for something big and would make a really big impact on my life. Something that would not only benefit me but everyone else I care about. Maybe world peace? Lower income taxes? 

This is one of those books that I felt I need not hurry. There was no sense prodding me to finish it right away and find out how it would end. It was not as engaging. I was not worried at all if I finish it in two or three days. There was just no urgency. Also, I was kind of irritated with Heather. True enough, just as she is described in the story, she is irresponsible, careless and does not even think for a second. I wished she were more adorable so I would feel sorry for her but I just read through as the rest of the story unfolds. I did not offer little prayers for Heather. I really hated her when she gave up that dream job because she thought she got it for the wrong reasons. That was really a dumb move. Good thing, the story ended with her realizing the faults in her character and took action. 

I give this three white heathers. It was entertaining but I was not really hooked. I liked the idea and the story but I just didn't like Heather. She's just one of those main characters that I wish were someone else entirely.

... but in the same way that "You can't buy love, I've learned you can't wish for it either.

- Alexandra Potter, Be Careful What You Wish For - 

Alexandra Potter's stories are like modern day fairy tales. I like how she come up with these really interesting ideas. Makes me want to borrow her mind and see what else she have for her next books. I like her. Go girl!



Also by Alexandra Potter:  Who's That Girl

Who's that Girl? by Alexandra Potter | A Book Review

I  have read this  book a  few months  back. When  I  saw it again on my eBook reader I forgot what this book was about and I had to browse through it again to remember. 

The title is a bit vague, not unless you read the little description on the cover that you will realize what this book is.

I remembered how much I enjoyed the book. I recalled how I was sitting with Charlotte in her car.

Charlotte Merryweather works at her own PR agency. She was driving to work when she spotted her old orange beetle. It was on the opposite lane. The next time she saw it, she impulsively followed it. It drove through the old neighborhood where she lived while she was in her early twenties. The most shocking thing of all, is that the driver of the old beetle is her younger self. Could this be true? Is she hallucinating? She decided she might as well meet her younger self.

This is some kind of time travel story. I really really like it. It's bizarre, witty and funny. If I were in Charlotte's shoes, I would also follow my younger self out of curiosity. And if meeting a younger version of me means I will be able to correct some mistakes, I would do it in a heartbeat. I have no regrets in life but like most of us, if we were given another chance to make things better, I would gladly take it. I too have what if's but I don't wallow in them. It's when I get nostalgic that I sometimes wonder what if I did this, would my life be like it is or would it be any better? Human as we are, we often feel that we could have done better. And I sometimes wish, maybe in an alternate universe there is a better version of me, someone happier right at this moment, especially when I am having a bad day.

I dig the story. Very imaginative, yet it might just be a tad true. It's not too fictional. It's as if, it could actually happen to you. 

I give the book four shiny orange beettle cars. I really enjoyed it and I was riding shotgun with Charlotte on her bizarre meeting with Lottie. I was there laughing and crying with her "now self" and the younger version. This book surprised me. I thought this was one of those mushy romantic comedies but it wasn't. It is stories like these that I love finding new authors and getting to know them. Finding really awesome new books I could lost myself in and forget I was just sitting in a small bedroom in a row house in a city somewhere in Southeast Asia.

I would love to read more of Alexandra Potter and I am so curious what her other books are about. I am giddy with excitement and wonder, like a kid on Christmas ready to open my present. What would it be this time?

If the worst thing is going to happen, it'll happen. Worrying can't protect you from that. And if it doesn't happen then you've missed out on all the time that when you could have been having fun.

- Alexandra Potter, Who's That Girl? -