Exquisite Captive
By Heather Demetrios
~Book Review~
Warning! Spoilers!
I WAS A HUGE FAN
of the Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud. He captured perfectly the hot
undercurrent of pain and anger the Jinn felt for being enslaved to magicians
and forced to carry out their will, and Baritmaeus’s wit was an endless
delight. Demetrios’s Exquisite Captive expertly captured that struggle for me,
albeit with strong, sensual undertones.
Nalia is one of
the last of her kind, a royal Jinni who survived a brutal massacre of her
people. She now spends her days enslaved to the powerful and mysterious
businessman Malek in California, who holds a couple secrets of her own.
At first the dark
relationship between Nalia and Malek was all Alicia and Diego from Gran Hotel (I
sadly just finished this amazing TV series; pardon the reference), where Nalia
is doing everything in her power to escape, and Malek is pulling all the stops
to convince her of his twisted love. However, in my opinion, Jinn revolutionary
leader Raif is no charming Julio, but more of an angsty guilt-tripping type who
holds a grudge again Nalia’s class of Jinn. The pair eventually fall in love
while working to free the Jinn from slavery. However, where Demetrios really
succeeds is creating a compelling, riveting character like Malek. You really
understand everything that is driving him, even if you don’t agree with it,
which makes Nalia’s choice at the end lead to some great character tension for
future books.
The story flows
effortlessly, and I was pleased that it hardly stays place in California, but
incorporates areas from all around our world. The backstory behind the Jinn
world and the politics that opened it up to ours creates an interesting mystery,
and I appreciated that Nalia has some kick-ass powers she isn’t afraid to lose.
This seductive
series continues in Blood Passage, and I am eager to see where it goes!
Recommended for
fans of: Amber Lough, Julie Kagawa, Leigh Bardugo
Upcoming
Book Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
