Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

Title: Exquisite Captive
Author: Heather Demetrios
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (Harper)
Release: October 7, 2014
Pages: 463
Review: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

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.

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First Impressions

I binge bought this book at the beginning of the year, simply because I saw it on a shelf. The story looked interesting and it definitely didn't disappoint. I immediately dug into the book and couldn't put it down! Heck, I probably would have picked the book up for the cover alone.

Characters

The characters were nothing if not complex. I liked Nalia, though I figured out some of her secrets right off the bat. I love how the Jinni are from another world that's sorta parallel to ours. There's Malek, the crappy human that owns her who's obviously not fully human. Right off the bat, I knew something was off with Malek, besides his general creepiness. The one downside is it looks like he might be redeemed later in the story, and I really hate him. Then there's Raif, who I MAJORLY ship Nalia with. Raif is really cool, and it's nice to occasionally get in his head and see how he thinks.

Writing

This was definitely some good writing. It felt both elegant and succinct. The story got right to the point, and was never confusing, but felt beautiful at the same time. I loved how long the book was, and it really helped me get out of my book slump.

World Building

The world building was AWESOME!!!!! I mean, look at Arjinna, home of the Jinni.

Is that not beautiful? It was super cool seeing Nalia's memories of Arjinna, while being solely based in Los Angeles. Their world is obviously complex, and much like the real world, each action has very serious reactions.

So, yeah, read this book! It's super good and I can't wait for the next one!

Author Bio:

I love books. I love writing stories almost as much as I like reading them. When I’m not traipsing aroundthe world, I prefer to spend my time in imaginary places—maybe I’ll see you in one of them. I’ll be the one with my nose in a book and more tattoos than your mother would approve of.

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