SUMMARY

New Orleans, a city of mystery and magic, of secrets and dreams, and a history drenched in both love and the deepest of heartache.

When ballet dancer Clara Campbell arrives in New Orleans, lonely and homesick, she is immediately captivated by the story of Windisle Plantation and the tragic tale that is said to have transpired beyond its gate. Legend has it that it is abandoned by all living souls, but to Clara’s great surprise, it is not a ghost she hears through the stone wall surrounding the property, but a flesh and blood man. A scarred stranger with a pain deeper and darker than the churning waters of the Mississippi river that flows beside his self-imposed prison.

The ruined man behind the wall hides himself from the world. The last thing he expects is to find a friend in the selfless girl who speaks to him through the cracks in the rock. The girl who keeps returning week after week. The girl who makes him wish for things he has long since given up on. The girl who strikes both fear and hope within his wounded heart. But there can be no future for them, no life beyond Windisle, for no one knows better than him that monsters only live in the dark.

The Wish Collector is the story of shame and triumph, of loneliness and love, and the miracle of two hearts connecting despite the strongest of barriers between them.

MY REVIEW

So, this book is like a riddle and it is intriguingly complicated.

For me, it starts like the “Devil's Advocate” movie. Jonah has to make a decision and deep down he knows it will be the wrong decision, but he is too cocky to refuse it:

You’re choosing a path here, Jonah.
But he’d already chosen it. There was nothing to be done now.

Then, there is a bit of New Orleans’s magic, mystery and legends:

“Do you know why it’s called the weeping wall?”
“It’s said that the wall weeps tears for the heartbreak and tragedy that came to pass behind it, for the spirits still trapped within.”

Then , the story feels a bit like the “Phantom of the Opera". A man hiding his face in the shadows watches the young artist:

Movement in the back of the theatre caught her eye and she stumbled slightly, catching herself and glancing at Madame Fournier who, thank the heavens, was looking in a different direction.
A man—she could only make out his tall outline—stepped around the corner.

Then, there is a bit of the legends of Zorro and Batman. The rich masked hero who saves the weak women, punishes the evil men, offers money here and there when someone needs it. And he always keeps his identity a secret:

Jonah stepped closer, into a patch of low light given off by the glow of the street at the end of the alley and the man’s eyes widened. The woman’s mouth parted in surprise, the fear still present in her eyes. Jonah, in his skeletal mask, obviously looked even more frightening than the filthy meathead attempting to assault her.
“What the fuck are you?”

Then, there is a “Beauty and the Beast" feeling with the garden and the roses and the curse:

“You’re in my lair now, you do realize that, right?”
“Y-yes,” she said as the direction of his voice changed and she turned blindly toward it, unable to see anything, not even his movement.
He chuckled then and it drifted to her, falling over her like magic, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin.
“You’re playing with me.” It was a statement, but also a question. She should be annoyed, perhaps, but she couldn’t help her excitement.

Then, there is a huge dramatic twist where everything transforms into a conspiracy corrupted game with dark undertones:

He’d been used. Lied to. He’d been a pawn and he’d played straight into their hands. God, he’d thought he was so smart, when all he’d been was an idiotic patsy. Blinded by self-importance and ego.

And the final twist is a paranormal one:

A drop of her blood being brought to the light.

Two love stories:
One love story with a tragic ending from the past , about Angelina Loreaux and John Whitfield
One love story with a tragic start which struggles to have a future, about Clara Campbell and Johan Chamberlain.

Well, it is one of the best books that I have read this year, thus it is highly recommended.

A beautiful melancholic book with the right amount of
Angst,
Romance,
Stalking,
Mystery,
Daydreaming,
Redemption,
True love that can not be seized by lies, time or death.