The Wish Rider by Barbara Casey

I received this book for free from Italy Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Wish Rider
by Barbara Casey
Published by Hungry Goat Press
Publication Date May 10th 2016
Source: Italy Book Tours
Genres: General Fiction
Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Dara Roux and her two best friends, Mackenzie Yarborough and Jennifer Torres, the three collectively referred to as the F.I.G.'s (Females of Intellectual Genius) because each has an intelligence quotient in the genius range, have just returned from Frascati, Italy. It was there that their much loved teacher and mentor, Carolina Lovel, discovered that her birth parents were gypsies, and that she had a connection to the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world. Now, with graduation from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women behind them, Dara asks her friends to help her locate her birth mother when she learns that she might be living in New York City. Relying on Dara's gift for speaking and understanding foreign languages, the black and white images that stir musical cadences in Jennifer's mind, and Mackenzie's mathematical calculations that normally provide numerical solutions and answers to life's most difficult questions, the determined young women tirelessly go from one address to another in search of Dara's mother. Their determination turns to desperation, however, as they encounter a dark hidden society more dangerous and terrifying than they could have imagined. It is there that Dara hopes to find out why she was abandoned in a candy store all those years ago.

Review

Having just read the first book in the series the beginning of The Wish Rider felt a little rehashed. It would be great for someone jumping in as The Wish Rider can be read as a stand alone but it otherwise comes off sounding redundant.  The first half of the book felt like a synopsis of The Cadence of Gypsies, sometimes verbatim and got tedious quickly.  I wanted the story to move along.

I was happy to see that Barbara Casey continued the story of Carolina’s birth mother as I felt that we had only scratched the surface as far as Lyuba was concerned.

Secondly, no matter how painful, I enjoyed reading of Dara’s journey to finding her birth mother. As my mother has been through the process of finding her biological family I know how emotional it can be.  Therefore, I found Barbara Casey’s depiction of Dara’s feelings to be interesting and very much a roller coaster ride.

The ending felt a little rushed and wished there had been more. Unfortunately, the author spent so much time summarizing that I felt there was little time left for Dara’s story.  However, overall I thought The Wish Rider by Barbara Casey held potential and is worth reading if one enjoyed the first in the series.

About the Author

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, established in 1995, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.

In 2014 Barbara became a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in true crime and other cutting-edge adult nonfiction.

Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

Connect with Barbara Casey:  Website

Buy the book:

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble

Tour Schedule

Aug 15 – Working Mommy Journal – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Aug 15 – Bound 4 Escape – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Aug 15 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – review of The Wish Rider / guest post / giveaway

Aug 16 – Zerina Blossom’s Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Aug 16 – Haddie’s Haven – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / guest post / giveaway

Aug 16 – Writers and Authors – interview

Aug 17 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – review of The Wish Rider

Aug 18 – Sahar’s Blog – review of The Wish Rider

Aug 18 – Jayne’s Books – review of The Wish Rider / guest post

Aug 19 – Library of Clean Reads – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / giveaway

Aug 19 – The Travelogue of a book addict – review of The Cadence of Gypsies

Aug 21 – Writers and Authors – book spotlight / giveaway

Aug 22 – Bookroom Reviews – review of The Wish Rider / interview

Aug 22 – Heidi’s Wanderings –  review of The Cadence of Gypsies / giveaway

Aug 23 – First Impressions Reviews – review of The Wish Rider

Aug 23 – Olio By Marilyn – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / author interview

Aug 24 – Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine – book spotlight / interview

Aug 24 – Haddie’s Haven – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Aug 25 – Laura’s Interests – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / guest post / giveaway

Aug 26 – The Travelogue of a book addict – review of The Wish Rider

Aug 26 – The Autistic Gamer – review of The Wish Rider

Aug 29 – #redhead.with.book – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Aug 30 – Jorie Loves A Story – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / guest post

Aug 30 – Words And Peace – book spotlight / giveaway

Aug 31 – Discovering/Writing Life – review of The Wish Rider / interview / giveaway

Aug 31 – My Journey Back – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / interview / giveaway

Sept 1 – Laura’s Interests – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Sept 1 – Book and Ink – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / giveaway

Sept 2 – Library of Clean Reads – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Sept 2 – Laura Fabiani – Top 500 Amazon.ca Reviewer – review of The Wish Rider

Sept 5 – Heidi’s Wanderings –  review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Sept 6 – Olio By Marilyn – review of The Wish Rider

Sept 7 – Jorie Loves A Story – review of The Wish Rider

Sept 7 – New Horizon Reviews – review of The Cadence of Gypsies / interview /giveaway

Sept 8 – JBronder Book Reviews – review of The Wish Rider / guest post

Sept 8 – My Journey Back – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Sept 9 – Book and Ink – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

Sept 9 – New Horizon Reviews – review of The Wish Rider / giveaway

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