If Wishes Were Retail
Alex Delmore needs a miracle. She wants out of her dead-end suburban town, but her parents are broke and NYU seems like a distant dream.
Good thing there’s a genie in town―and he’s hiring at the Wellspring Mall.
It’d help if the Jinn-formerly-of-the-Ring-of-Khorad knew even one thing about 21st-century America. It’d help if he weren’t at least as stubborn as Alex. It’d really help if her brother didn’t sell her out to her conspiracy theory-loving, gnome-hating dad.
When Alex and the genie set up their wishing kiosk, they face seemingly-endless setbacks. The mall is failing and management will not stop interfering on behalf of their big-box tenants.
But when the wishing biz might start working, the biggest problem of all remains: People are really terrible at wishing.
Reviews
“Habershaw (The Iron Ring) offers plenty of laughs in this diverting urban fantasy... It’s a cozy, comical confection.”
"Habershaw’s contemporary fantasy adventure is sassy and snarky but with soul."Booklist
"Readers who like cozy fantasy will be charmed and laugh out loud as Alex tries to teach the genie about life in the 21st century, even as gnomes swoop in and stage a labor dispute that no one saw coming. VERDICT: Habershaw’s (The Far Far Better Thing) story begins as a bit of a fantasy farce and turns into something heartwarming and cozy."Library Journal
"If Wishes Were Retail, for all its cozy-fantasy trap- pings and screwball-comedy antics, actually has something sharp to say about many of the real contradictions inherent in American capitalism."Locus
"At its heart I found If Wishes Were Retail to be a story about agency and how people navigate a world where their choices often feel constrained. The blend of magic and mall retail allowed for an exploration of serious themes of economic insecurity, invisible labor, exploitation, the commodification of dreams while keeping the tone light and often funny. What stood out most to me was how cleverly If Wishes Were Retail critiques capitalism without losing its heart... magic doesn’t solve structural problems — people do, slowly, imperfectly, together."
"Underneath the humor is a heart-warming cozy fantasy about family, community, and our hearts’ desires."
"Irresistibly fun and funny, with a ton of heart and depth! This is the kind of book that sneaks up on you and sticks with you!"Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
"Sometimes you can. The cover art is excellent. Naturally, the book isn’t going to live up to it--only it does. It’s a funny conversation about the gritty side of suburban life and mall culture, and how to resist it. It’s got a genie, you saw that on the cover. Also it has gnomes. Who could ask for more?"Daniel Pinkwater, author of Jules, Penny & the Rooster
"My three wishes? Three more books as good as this one from Auston Habershaw"Tom Holt, World Fantasy Award winning author of The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse
"Delightfully charming, and it continually surprised me… and that's a good thing!"Phil Foglio, creator of Girl Genius
"A love letter to wounded people and community spaces, this suburban fantasy is both delightfully absurd and firmly grounded. A larger than life (and hilariously out of touch) genie might be center stage, but Auston Habershaw conjures up a cast of heartbreakingly real people, with real problems, as he explores the difference between what we want, what we need, and what will heal."Dave Klecha, co-author of The Runes of Engagement
"Auston Habershaw's If Wishes Were Retail taps into a long-storied tradition of smart comedic fantasy in the vein of Terry Pratchett. Habershaw's efficient and accessible prose allows his deeper themes of anti-exploitation, community, and the cost of human greed to take center stage, presented through laugh-out-loud absurdist moments that keep building and building in a page-turner of a novel. If Wishes Were Retail is a ten out of ten gnomes--if you can see them, that is."Mia Tsai, Author of Bitter Medicine
"Habershaw seamlessly displays issues we struggle with every day as individuals, families and a society."Chris Abaire, Northshire Bookstore
Awards & Accolades
Amazon Editors' Pick: "Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of June 2025"