Djinn and Tonic by Jasinda WilderMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jasinda Wilder
4.5 magical stars....
When Detective Carson meets Leila Najafi tending bar at the pub he frequents, he never imagined he could feel such an incredible connection with a woman. He knows she has secrets, the cop in him wants to solve the mystery of her, but the man in him wants to get to know her on a deeper level. The attraction he feels towards Leila is strange and magical. He wants more, but can he handle the truth of her past and what her future holds for her or will he run when it gets too hot?
Forced to pay her father’s debts by an arranged marriage Leila flees her family home determined to live her life her way. She did not count on meeting Detective Carson Hale. As he continues to sit at the bar, she works at night after night she feels a pull towards him like no other. They talk about his work and share small pieces of themselves. However, Leila cannot share too much of herself, her secrets are too dangerous, too complicated, for a human to understand even one as alluring and fascinating as Carson. When Leila and Carson find their attraction too hard to resist an explosion puts Carson in the hospital. Leila forces herself to choose between the man she could love and the family she needs to try to protect.
Djinn and Tonic is the second book in the Houri Legends series, it is chock full of action and mystery, an edge of your seat thrill ride. The connection of the two characters was spectacular. I enjoyed reading about all of the history of the Djinn and the Ifrit and their feud. The culture was amazing; I admire writers who can delve into a story like this one. It takes a lot of imagination to create a whole world outside of our reality and get us to love and care about what happens to the characters. It was full of magically creatures good and bad, all of them well developed. I could picture Leila shifting into a tornado of wind as she and Carson share a passionate kiss that literally sweeps them off their feet.
Leila is a strong female character who wants to keep her family safe, but can’t bring herself to marry Hassan. Hassan is like a super villain I hated him. Carson is a cop alone in the world no family to speak of his job has been his life. Meeting Leila changes everything for him. I am usually not one for the “I just met you, I love you” story lines but for this story it works. I took it all in as magical occurrences that drew this couple together, making them fated to find each other. Through a series of tender moments, the couple gets to know each other better. Their encounters quickly grow into love coming together in an explosive sex scene that was hot, steamy and knocks the breath right out of you. A bonding of two souls destined to be together. Their love holds so many consequences for both their kinds; you have to read it to understand the power of their love. The end is a powerful clashing of good and evil, grabbing you by the throat and wondering if Carson and Leila’s love is strong enough to break the rules of an ancient mystical clan and live to tell the tale. Great paranormal series, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it. When most paranormal romances these days are about sparkling vampires and werewolves it was a treat to read about mystical characters like Djinn and Ifrit.
If you enjoy paranormal romance that has just as much action and mystery as romance this is the series for you. I can’t wait to see what happens in Djinn and Juice. Another fantastic Jasinda Wilder story.
*Received and ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*
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