Spirited

by Naomi Stone

Amelia Swenson’s plans for the weekend didn’t include a sexy djinni or saving the world from demons. Her whole life changes when Amelia discovers the ring to which the handsome djinni is enslaved, and at the same time accidentally unleashes a demon into the world. The djinni, Al-Marid has been alone for three thousand years—is it any wonder he falls for the woman who frees him? But Amelia's not prepared for love, magic, or the evil creatures that threaten her friends and her world. Now she must face all of these, with the help of her djinni, in an adventure that takes her to the ancient past, challenges her to open her heart again and reveals the world to be more miraculous than she had ever imagined.

ebook

First published March 31, 2013

About the author

Naomi Stone lives with her imaginary husband and actual cat in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

Sign up for her newsletter to hear about her latest and get sneak peeks at upcoming publications. http://eepurl.com/chA1eX

Naomi enjoys reading fantasy, singing folk and filk songs, drawing and coloring books and has an obsession with bookmarks--especially the fabulous collection at dreamspell.net/crafts.

Reviews

[SarahSmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little romantic story. The authors writings and descriptions make you feel like you're really traveling with Amelia and Al-Madrid. I can't say that I absolutely loved Amelia, she came off as a bit whiny at times, but she also proved that she was a badass! Great story. I will definitely be checking out more from this author.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by this book because I have read so many plots in romance novels but there's never been a djinni involved, and this piqued my interest.
The heroine of this story is Amelia Swenson, an artist who happens to be clumsy, and the one time a bowl slips through her fingers and falls on to the floor, she agrees to pay for it, but does not know that she released two spirits. One is a djinni and the other a demon. Once she's home, she looks at the broken pieces and finds an iron ring which she slips on, and accidentally summons a djinni, and not the 'Aladdin' kind of djinni, but a strikingly handsome djinni called Al-Marid.
She is both confused and drawn to him.
She is saddened by the fact that he is enslaved by a ring and as she tries to come to terms with his vanishing acts and interior decorating skills, she learns that the other demon she released is called a Lilit and she preys on men and is responsible for many infant deaths and miscarriages in women. This begins the race back into ancient Middle East, her past, Al-Marid's past and a journey through time to save her friends and her life.

I loved: Amelia's wit. She is funny and very thoughtful. She is also resourceful and does not rely on Al-Marid to make all the decisions.

I was fascinated by: the journey back into time and getting a glimpse of the djinni lives and their rules of conduct.

I never saw this coming: a djinni trapped in a ring, stored in a bowl? What happened to oil lamps? I found it very creative on the author's part to incorporate a bowl and not a lamp.
A djinni could materialize and change form, being both a man and spirit.

I wished: that there could have been a moment of reconciliation between Roxy and Amelia, it would have been quite the complete climax to a story, but I understand that you cannot have it all and reconciliation takes time.
A better cover! I love this cover but somehow it does not speak as much as I wished to, but I am glad I did not judge this book by it's cover.

I'd love to know: is there a book two? Are Al-Marid and Amelia's babies all grown, and does he get a chance to reconcile with his family?

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance because there have been tales of vampires, angels, demons, faeries and werewolves falling in love with humans but not of djinni's doing so. It's that unique.

Review originally posted on: https://s2.netgalley.com/book/107293/review/386916

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story line in this book was pretty great. A woman come across a bowl that contained a lilit (woman capable of driving men, draining their life force and causing miscarriages and infant death) in a friend shop. She accidentally drops the view and releases the creature into our world, unbeknownst to get at that time. She pays for the damaged ceramic Bush and takes the pieces home. Upon closer inspection she finds a ring sealed inside the ceramic from ancient Mesopotamia. Slipping the ring on her finger, she learns that this is attached to a djinni (genie). Throughout this story they travel through time to when he was enslaved and learn of ways to release him from the ring. They fall in love and other things happen, typical struggles. I honestly felt like the middle 100 or so pages were mostly filler as well as about 30 pages right before the end. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as these things happen and somehow must fit into the story, however I feel a lot of it was not really needed. The story did ouch up quite nicely towards the end and by the epilogue I was interested to know more. All in all, not a bad read once you get into it. Reviewed by Ashley E. of www.faebooks.co.uk

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia accidentally breaks an ancient bowl and discovers a ring. When Amelia puts on the ring, she summons a genie or djinni. It seems so funny to me that Amelia's first thought is making wishes for small home repairs and then saving the environment. If I found a genie, my first wish would be to win the lottery. Amelia thinks it is wrong that Al-Marid is enslaved. The genie and the woman have an instant attraction to each other. Amelia unwittingly released a monster called a lilit when she broke the bowl. A succubus that preys on men and causes miscarriages in women. Amelia and Al-Marid have adventures and deepen their romantic connection. This was a fun little story. I thought Amelia was really funny.