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 |  is paved with good intentions... |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
| I don't read many sci fi/space romances. This was definitely a step outside my comfort zone. Jade is kidnapped by aliens. She's dropped off on Clecania, where someone is expecting her. It becomes obvious that she was 'kidnapped to order'. With some quick thinking, she manages to escape the bad guy, but that leaves her all alone on an alien planet. Rescue may not be all that it's cracked up to be, because Jade is informed that she must marry a Clecanian male for at least three months, and that she must remain on Clecania for a year. Even after that year is over, she can never return to Earth because humans must discover space travel and the universe in their own good time. The truly unique part of the book was Clecania's society. Women are scarce, and therefore men compete for the attention of women. Society has evolved to the point where men take classes in things such as cooking, massage, sex (yes!), and other husbandly duties, in order to maximise their chances of winning a wife. Women have all the power in that society because if a husband should dare mistreat a wife, he'd be affecting the possibility of precious future offspring, and therefore the law was greatly on the woman's side. I found the process whereby Jade chooses a husband quite fun and interesting. I found the societal rules quite interesting. I read another review where someone was a bit fed up at being 'patronised' with the author explaining to the reader that they shouldn't judge others, etc. etc., but I didn't find this to be particularly onerous and I easily overlooked it. On the whole, I found this a fun, light read. |
| Suspension of disbelief is obviously critical with this book. Dae is a djinn (another word for a genie). Every djinn has 1,000 contracts they can enter, with three wishes to grant per contract. After they've used up all their contracts/wishes, the djinn dies. An interesting way to provide some scope for character development. Ashley's husband has left her for a younger woman. Desperate to get him back, she makes a contract with Dae and sets about to use her wishes to get her husband back home where he belongs. This is where I felt a bit let down. Now, I know I shouldn't judge, because I'm fortunate enough to have never been in Ashley's situation, but I like to think I've had a little more self-respect. I can understand wanting revenge. I can understanding wanting peace or closure or resolution. I can't understand wanting back a husband who has lied, cheated, put you down and moved on with another woman. I found myself wanting to slap Ashley and say 'You deserve better!' Fuck, being alone would be better than being with someone who treated her the way her husband treated her. And she persisted in this even after Dae had shown interest in her, even after she'd slept with Dae. I didn't get it. I really didn't. I liked the glimpse into Dae's family, and I liked the way the author introduced tension and conflict with Red. That was well done. I just wish I'd been able to have more respect for Ashley, and this would have been a fun read. |
| I was totally sucked in by the blurb on this one. The first time Quinn touches a new person, she sees a vision of the last time she'll see them. I was intrigued. As it turned out, sometimes she foresaw the end of a brief encounter with a client, with them just walking out the door, sometimes she foresaw a huge argument. This time, she foresaw a death. Specifically, Griffin's death. In her vision, he dies in her arms, telling her that he loves her. And this is all seen by her in the first moments they meet. Wow, that's tough. Imagine meeting a total stranger and knowing that not only were you and he going to fall in love (or at least, he with you) but also that he was going to die. And from the appearance of him in your vision, that death wasn't far off. Freaky. Unfortunately, I didn't much like Quinn. She had this whole saviour complex and it turned her into someone that, frankly, I wouldn't have fallen for and I couldn't understand why Griffin did. In her quest for clues as to who the murderer might be, she was nosy and insensitive, and frequently sent mixed messages. I am totally bewildered as to why Griffin put up with it. I found the murderer relatively easy to predict, along with his motives. I would have liked just a little more suspense. I did not, however, figure out how there could be a happy ending for Quinn and Griffin. In the end, I was a little bit disappointed in how the author played that out. I did like the backstory into her mother's version of the curse and found that quite interesting. On the whole, I thought the premise was great, Griffin was nice, and the overall execution of the story was a little lacking. |
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