Early Review: Jinn and Juice by Nicole Peeler
Jinn and Juice by Nicole Peeler
The Jinni #1
Cursed to be a jinni for a thousand years, Leila nears the end of her servitude—only to be bound once again against her will. Will she risk all to be human?
Born in ancient Persia, Leila turned to her house Jinni, Kouros, for help escaping an arranged marriage. Kouros did make it impossible for her to marry—by cursing Leila to live a thousand years as a Jinni herself.
>If she can remain unBound, Leila's curse will soon be over. But Ozan Sawyer, a Magi with the ability to See, Call, and Bind jinn has other plans.
Oz needs Leila to help him penetrate Pittsburgh's steel-soaked magic, a juice potent but poisonous to supernatural creatures, in order to find a missing girl with her own mysterious connection to Kouros. Unfortunately for Leila, becoming Bound to Oz may risk more than just her chance to be human once more—it could risk her very soul...
Jinn and Juice is the first in a new series by fantasy writer, Nicole Peeler, set in a world of immortal curses, powerful jinni and belly dancing.
I read a lot of paranormal, in fact it makes up probably 95% of all my reading. So that being said, the same all types of paranormal creatures can get a little stale at times. I love finding gems like this one where the paranormal type is something different than the normal vamps and weres, etc. Plus I have a soft spot for Jinnis so I really had high hopes for this one. I'm happy to say the book lived up to those hopes completely. Sure there was the typical slower start due to world building and learning the characters, but overall Nicole Peeler did a fabulous job of setting up this world and keeping the pacing and plot interesting. There was a good mix of the otherworld and this one adding dimension and limitless possibilities, which I loved.
Before I talk about the characters I want to mention the romance. It's funny, at first I was leery of the whole potential romance due to the almost "stockholm" feel, but then as the book went on I actually started to get frustrated at the lack of romantic momentum. Once I realized it wasn't nearly as stockholm as it originally seemed, then I wanted to see more. Unfortunately the characters themselves were stuck too much in that mindset. Considering the way this one ended, I'm not sure how things are going to be in the next one, but considering the definite spark in this one, I'm really hopefully. But romance aside, getting into the other characters, I was really impressed with how well fleshed out the whole cast was. I love that they were a group of really close knit misfits, and I was instantly rooting for all of them. It isn't often that you fall right away for the entire cast, so I really enjoyed that in this one.
I'm always looking for new urban fantasies featuring non-typical paranormal characters to add to my reading lists, and this series perfectly fits the bill. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment. Hopefully the wait won't be too long as I need more of this Jinni, stat.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
Rating:
Order Links:
Other Reviews:
Once Upon a Book
The Social Potato
Badass Book Reviews
Before I talk about the characters I want to mention the romance. It's funny, at first I was leery of the whole potential romance due to the almost "stockholm" feel, but then as the book went on I actually started to get frustrated at the lack of romantic momentum. Once I realized it wasn't nearly as stockholm as it originally seemed, then I wanted to see more. Unfortunately the characters themselves were stuck too much in that mindset. Considering the way this one ended, I'm not sure how things are going to be in the next one, but considering the definite spark in this one, I'm really hopefully. But romance aside, getting into the other characters, I was really impressed with how well fleshed out the whole cast was. I love that they were a group of really close knit misfits, and I was instantly rooting for all of them. It isn't often that you fall right away for the entire cast, so I really enjoyed that in this one.
I'm always looking for new urban fantasies featuring non-typical paranormal characters to add to my reading lists, and this series perfectly fits the bill. I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment. Hopefully the wait won't be too long as I need more of this Jinni, stat.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
Rating:
Order Links:
Other Reviews:
Once Upon a Book
The Social Potato
Badass Book Reviews
