Genre: Historical, Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Bi
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It At Amazon | Publisher
About The Book
Aelred hasn’t been outside the monastery since his parents donated him as a child. He knows he shouldn’t want more than this life of prayer, but he dreams of the far-off lands spoken of in the Bible. When a wealthy patron leaves a chest of treasures to be catalogued, Aelred is fascinated by their beauty. Most beautiful of all is the strange man who appears from nowhere and claims to be a djinn … with wishes for Aelred!
Aelred is sure the djinn is a demon sent to lure him into damnation. There is nothing a monk ought to wish for. He has no use for riches. And he certainly shouldn’t wish for earthly pleasures. He shouldn’t even be thinking about the djinn’s offers, magical or carnal. But not thinking about the djinn grows more and more difficult as they spend time together, and the djinn’s stories awaken Aelred’s longing for adventure … and for love.
The djinn tells Aelred he can have what he desires. But are his promises truth or temptation?
The Review
The young monk Aelred has lived at the Abbey his entire life. He could only imagine going to foreign lands. He keeps the accounts of the Abbey’s wealth – many leave children and items at the Abbey in exchange for prayers. For Aelred, the fascination isn’t in the wealth of the donations, but more the strangeness, beauty, and stories attached to the items.
A small, exotic scented chest which smells of cedar and spices arrives, filled with an incomplete set of beautifully carved chessman, an illustrated book, and an opaque bottle. Curious about the bottle, Aelred opens it, and to his surprise a djinn appears and offers him three wishes. But Aelred is sure the djinn is a demon sent to temp him, and puts him back into the bottle. Aelred doesn’t tell anyone of the djinn – they would probably not believe him anyway.
But after much indecision, Aelred lets Djinn have more freedom. Djinn is happy, enthusiastic and spends much time reading the Bible. When Djinn starts up some very meaningful conversations with Aelred about the scriptures, will Aelred finally see the true light?
“Three Wishes and a Miracle” is a short story with a strong message. The two characters are very similar – Aelred and Djinn have both spent a lot of time in seclusion. Djinn helps Aelred to realize his self-worth, and that there is more to his faith than he realizes. He needs to learn how to be free and live a wonderful life.
I like Rain’s short stories. She always has an interesting message woven into them, and gives you a lot to think about. Well written and easy to read with likable characters.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.