Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios #JinnWeek

Description: Forced to obey her master.

Compelled to help her enemy.

Determined to free herself.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.

Review: A year ago I read Fire Wish by Amber Lough and I decided that I needed to read more Jinni books. Unfortunately I got distracted and never made good on that promise. Then I read Exquisite Captive and I was dying for more Jinn. Luckily for me, this is #JinnWeek so I have motivation to continue on with more Jinni stories.

I wish there were more books like Exquisite Captive. The writing is so rich and beautiful that you the story doesn’t have you even be set in Arjinna for me to be able to see it. Even though I don’t usually care for stories with heavy romance and sort of love triangles, this one is the exception to the rule. Each character has his or her own backstory, carefully woven so that it doesn’t seem like mere exposition.

I’m not sure if you’re ever supposed to actually like Malek or not but I just can’t stand him from word go. Considering that he’s holding the heroine captive I wouldn’t say that that’s unreasonable. I think the author tries to make him a bit more sympathetic and perhaps lovable in the middle of the story but I can’t say it works. There’s no decision to make here, Raif is the one for me. Speaking of Raif, this kid is one hot jinni. Depending on how things work out in book two, I may have to make him a place in Book Boyfriend Land. He’s kind and brave and yet hardened by war. Still he can find love for someone he once professed to hate. He has a strength that many YA boyfriends try to match but fail. Of course certain assholes have to come in and muck things up.

The book’s villain is hella creepy, quite the compliment from someone who doesn’t creep easily. He just makes my skin crawl, partially just because of the way he talks. He’s purely predatory and vicious to a fault, not someone you’d want to run into….pretty much anywhere.

This book had me hooked from the word go, and I’m glad it did. It renewed my love of Jinn and is the perfect kick off for #JinnWeek. It deserves every nut it got.

What did you think of Exquisite Captive? Share in the comments!

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-Erin