Releasing the Djinn

Of Wolves and Witches #1

by Katerina Winters

The flame of life within Nadira is fading.

Everyone around her only wants to use her, slowly tearing away her hopes for the future.

Only the dark whispered promises emanating from her grandmother's necklace give her hope.

The trapped djinn promises freedom in exchange for his own.

Every instinct tells her to turn away, to throw the necklace and that purring voice as far away from her as possible, but his whisper is the only glimmer of light shining in the darkness of her life.

But if she lets him go, will he do the same?

◆◆

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy “Releasing the Djinn,” my dark monster boyfriend romance. This paranormal romance contains no cliffhangers, no cheating, and a definite Happily ever after. However, I do need to warn you that this book will contain some dark, if not triggering elements, (non-consensual sex between the main character and human and non-human sex) you should be at the ripe old age of 18 years old before reading. Please enjoy the fruits of my dark, albeit smutty, mind.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Fantasy, Monsters, Magic

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 22, 2020

About the author

“Her writing is a lot like chocolate, dark and very sweet.”

From contemporary to fantasy, Katerina Winters weaves dark tales of romance together with strong possessive men and sexy rendezvous.

Katerina lives in a tiny brick house surrounded by trees in Texas with her husband and their dog. When she isn’t writing, Katerina is usually catching brunch with friends or curled up on her window seat with a good book.

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Want to know more about Katerina?
Feel free to stalk her.

facebook.com/katerinawintersauthor
Instagram - @katerina_winters

Reviews

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am gathering my thoughts all the while thinking WHAT THE FU** DID I READ!

Katerina Winters has been one of my favourite authors ever since i read her Back to Black which also is my favourite menage story like ever!"Releasing the Djinn" captivated me much the same and made me fall in love with the entire plot...which stars the lonely heroine Nadira and the magical Djinn Idrak who is trapped inside her old necklace.But Idrak desperately craves the woman who have enslaved his bitter heart and once Nadira decides to give Idrak his freedom,will she regret it?

Idrak was bad.Soooooo veryyyyy bad that i either wanted to smack his gleeful arrogant face, or hug him for his utterly heartbreaking loneliness and pain.It makes it all so much more fascinating that he is a Djinn a ancient legendary creature i wish there were more books about.And he is a dirty-talking Djinn at that,YUMMI!Nadira fought for her freedom but instead got into the clutches of Idrak who never wanted to let her go.Sigh..these two are magic together.Love how Nadira blooms into a confident strong woman in Idrak`s care and even if she had been forced to slave for her family all her life she still thought them her family.She is a woman with a good heart and i can`t blame her for falling for the dangerous Djinn who craves her like no other...damn he was so hot and IRRESISTIBLE!!I also read the short epiluge throught the authors blog and just smiled for how pure awesome it was!!I will definitely be reading more books by Winters in the future,she is a author you can`t miss!

[Оля (hiatus) *** · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me from the first page, I couldn't stop reading. The story flowed smoothly, but not boringly. Very colorful Nadira (Indian) and Idrak (genie)
just look at these pictures

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes this does contain non consensual sex scenes frequently but it's very much a fantasy because they both end up enjoying it so obviously NOT reality. I was very excited to read a romance with a Djinn because sadly not many books about this type of supernatural are available. He is powerful and if you are fond of a hero who looks a lot more demonic than human then Idrak will fulfil your fantasies. He isn't perfect though as he can be controlling, overbearing and jealous but his journey as he fell in love meant I did have high hopes for him.
Nadira is a young, bright Asian woman stifled by tradition and her conventional family. At worst she's an embarrassment to them and at best little more than a slave. Idrak sees the real Nadira and wants to save her from a life of drudgery which would barely be Nadira existing.
Yes the title is correct Idrak does behave monstrously but this story does end happily and if you would like to read about another Djinn who finds love I recommend Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the main MC’s even though I admit Nadira was a little too forgiving for my taste. I actually liked Idrak a lot and felt a bit sorry for him for the way Nadira treated him even though I understood her reasons for being upset with him. I do like this authors m/f books and I am glad to have read this.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Seikai · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites from this author! This book is such a unique one. Very different theme, and the characters had stand out personalities. After reading so many romance novels, there are only a few that I remember at a glance, and this is one of them.

This is the story of Nadira, a sweet young girl who lives with her controlling Indian family. They place heavy expectations on her compared to her sister, and judge her heavily for her looks, monitoring her diet and expecting her to do all chores. She is the Cinderella of the story, despite being their own blood related daughter. Nadira is a very loyal and devoted person, but is withering away under her family's treatment. One day, she finds her deceased grandmother's old pendant, and keeps it with her for comfort. Little does she know that a possessive djinn lives within that pendant, and he wants Nadira to be his after seeing her kindness...

Idrak, the djinn, was great! Such a hot villainous boyfriend 🔥 🔥 🔥. He was so deliciously possessive, animalistic, and cruel. He is not human, and you can tell from how he acts and his personality that he definitely doesn't have human values! He steamrolls our poor heroine with his controlling decisions and confines her in his cage. I would say he's one of the most jealous and possessive heroes, even though the heroine is so nice and would never cheat on him. It's especially funny how possessive he was when he was in the form of a pendant. I laughed at how a talking necklace was getting so furious and jealous whenever the heroine talked to a guy 😂.

Nadira was a hard working but sweet girl. She is a pushover, but she was raised to be that way. She wants desperately to stand up for herself, but doesn't have the strength or courage to do so. After meeting Idrak, she tries to stand up to him, but there's no way she can fight against our obsessed, crazed monstrous djinn ❤. Instead, she accepts the lesser of evils and gives in to him, and Idrak sets the boundaries for her and other people. After all, he can't allow anyone else except himself to boss around or monopolize his woman 🥰. Other people might say Nadira was too much of a pushover and should have just cut off her family, but I thought she was so sweet that she still even cared about her nasty sister, and tried to help her get away from the domestic violence of her husband.

I love how these two met! It was very believable that Idrak became obsessed with Nadira. After all, he was sealed inside the pendant for hundreds of years. Nadira was the first person to keep him company in a long time, and she was so sweet. He never saw someone so selfless and kind. He wanted the kindness she gave to her undeserving family to belong to him. He didn't even have to work hard to trick Nadira, she came to the conclusion to free him on her own because she's such a sweetheart. I felt sorry for Nadira though, because after she did that, she got repaid by him with rape. My heart hurt for her 🥺. At least Idrak realized he fell in love with her and came back for her and spoiled her.

The ending for the novel is ok, but MAKE SURE TO VIEW THE BONUS EPILOGUE ON THE WEBSITE! I don't know why the author didn't just include the epilogue in the actual book, but the epilogue is necessary for the good ending of the novel. I was squealing with happiness when I read the bonus epilogue story - it made it go from good to great!

Safety:
* Heroine is a virgin, never been in a relationship or done anything with anyone else.
* Hero is definitely NOT a virgin. Before he got confined into the pendant, he talked about how he would do "mischief" like sneak into new bride's chambers and show them a good time before their marriage. After meeting heroine he is completely dedicated to her.
* LOTS OF RAPE AND NONCON. The hero is a literal monster and sees nothing wrong with raping heroine to possess her.
* No OW
* No OM: heroine originally had a crush on a guy who was her arranged fiancee but chose to marry her sister instead. It was shallow and she gets over it fast. Heroine has a crush on a classmate before meeting hero, but again it's very short lived.
* HEA. Bonus epilogue on website shows heroine is pregnant with baby.

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead, 2.5*


Our h the downtrodden and abused Nadira is tasked with clearing up her deceased grandmother's items, in it she finds a necklace that she keeps. Unbeknownst to Nadira Idrak the djinn is trapped inside. Finally revealing himself to Nadira she doesn't make wishes despite her circumstances but instead sets him free. He leaves but unable to stay way from her he returns just in time to save her life. To keep her safe he manipulates her into "marriage" and steals her away.



My thoughts
Hmmmm this feels dated too me, while it was cute UT cane across as an older romance
Even at the end I'm unsure how I feel about the H, he was wonderfully possessive and protective but on 2 instances flew into a rage that had me concerned
Some elements of dub con which is honestly not my cuppa
Lots of internal monologue
The h was abused by her family, A traditional Indian family her parents expected to be obeyed. I would've liked her to experience some freedom before ending up with the H
The ending left the story even more incomplete, and me with tons of questions.... I didn't sign up for the newsletter to recieve the bonus content so I guess I'll have to keep wondering
All in all a pretty interesting read, especially as the H was in the form of a horned monster. While I enjoyed it for the most part I confess to a sense of dissatisfaction at the end of it all

[Pallavi Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. First of all its not a lengthy story. It was somewhere between a novel and a novella, which is usually the size that Katerina goes for in her books. Second of all, this book concentrated completely on the couple which I LOVED. I just enjoy a book where 90 percent of the book is all about the couple and this book delivers it. I loved the conversations between them, loved the chemistry, loved the jealous scenes. It just put me a smile. But what made me endear to this couple was the lady and her lover individually. The girl was such a strong woman. Her thoughts and her dreams reminded me of myself. The fact that she could take so much of mental abuse while still holding on to her dreams made we want to applaud for her. The fact that the djinn saw her for the wonderful soul she is, encouraging her, respecting her dreams and not stopping her made me love this mythical creature. It just made my heart warm reading about them.

Now the sex. There were a lot of sex scenes in the second half of the book and they were all hot with a capital H. It was also smutty which I love. The smuttier, the better. I definitely loved the things the djinn could do with his tongue. I also loved the jealous scenes. The guy was possessive and extremely jealous whenever there was another guy involved which definitely lead to some hot sex!!

The only complaint is that I wanted more of the couple. That does not mean that the book is not well rounded. It is but it makes you crave more. Katerina has an interesting style of not spoon feeding her readers. Her book ends where you dont expect it. She gives the ending that we want but she does not elaborate on it which is completely different from other authors which I really enjoy. There is no waste of words in her stories which is very nice and different.

Overall, loved this book like all her other books and would definitely recommend others to read it as well.

This is a voluntary review of the ARC provided by the author.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

I’ve had this on my kindle for a while and I saw three thousand years of longing and thought hmm now I need a djinn romance

(It’s not like three thousand years of longing and that’s my mistake)

I was mostly interested in Nadira becoming more confident and leaving her abusive family but I would like to know a little more about the ending?
Idrak is morally grey and really just lets most of his intrusive thoughts win

TW: emotional abuse from parents, non-con, body betrayal, allusions to DV (not between the MMC and FMC)

[KittyLuvr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a true delight: original, sexy, sensual, emotionally moving, dark but not daaark dark.
The author does an excellent job building up a history of the heroine, Nadira. Nadira is constantly criticized, badgered & taken advantage of by her emotionally abusive parents & younger prettier sister. And while this never ending overwhelming negativety is slowly but surely crushing her, her last hope is to graduate college & obtain a post graduate position ELSEWHERE & away from her cruel family. But then, she overhears her parents & even that hope is crushed . . . .
BUT, a stone necklace just MAY hold hope for her in the form of a large, frightening, powerful Djinn (Idrak) she discovers is imprisoned within the stone . . . .
There were a few technical issues with the writing, incorrect word spelling usage, some awkward phrasing, etc. but nothing that impeded my enjoyment of this one in any way.
And, I DID vastly enjoy this one. Ms. Winters crafted a plot & characters I found truly fascinating, that I wanted to know more about. They intrigued me, I was deeply invested in them & their journey, I was rooting for them to be together.
At first Idrak seemed indifferent & cold toward Nadira but in little bits & slices the reader comes to feel perhaps he isn't quite as indifferent as he appears. I thought the author did a marvelous job detailing Idrak, his description, his moods, his actions. As the book progressed I was more & more enthralled by this powerful being who had longed for freedom for centuries & yet for some reason just could not desert Nadira.
And Nadira, for the first part of the book it is hard to read about how her nasty family treats her, how increasingly hopeless & depressed their treatment & cruelty of her makes her feel; & at first Idrak just seems to be the same thing BUT then again, perhaps he is Nadira's best hope for freedom, growth & happiness.
An emotionally beautiful & sensual romance of the power of love from the most unexpected source that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Kristine~ReadALittleAndWineAboutIt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really confused with my thoughts on this book. I have whiplash from whatever just happened.
This book was actually pretty entertaining. Definitely for the shock value and the steamy bits. All the glorious steamy bits 😈 I mean, we were clearly warned what kind of book this was going in, so my review does not reflect the triggers at all.
I just really had a big issue with Nadira. She was such a weak character. I found her really shallow and frankly kind of annoying. Always comparing herself to others and always about surface values. Beautiful women being better and ugly men not being marriage material... she was always guilty for standing up for herself. Come on! Women are bad ass warriors! This made the perfect opportunity for the Djinn to get right on in there and for the plot line to progress so that’s a plus, but she didn’t change as the story went on. She traded her parents abuse for Idraks and I really wanted her to rise from her parents ashes and be kick ass. There were a few hints to this possibly happening but it didn’t go far enough and I was disappointed in her. She would stand up for herself, and I would be filled with all this hope for her only to come crashing down because of her need to be saved by someone else or a shitty ultimatum with really no choice at all. Gosh darn!
There was also a lot of repetitive scenes throughout the book. It was like deja vu. Family dinners and students talking about binging shows etc. I had already read it 3 pages before and I wanted something a little more.
For what this was, I was amused enough to finish this.
Did I mention the steamy bits?? 😉
I give this a solid 2.5⭐️s rounded up... because... steam, duh!

[LiteratureLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to say it was a slow romance but it was more. It was the fact that the author made sure that you understood the characters, how not only was it lonely but it was also two souls seeking one another. I love how the story developed. I want to say that you only get one side of the story but there more to it. This is not your typical romance but it is a dark romance where the guy has no idea why he is so obsessed with the heroine. While the guy is obsessed with the heroine he does not want to dim her lights, he finds a way for her to develop a relationship. I know some people will not be please on how he "marks" her but to me it was amazing because he does not understand his feelings for her, as he explained he was created he did not have a mother or a father he was left to figure it out on his own. Whatever feelings he has developed he wants to figure out what to do with her. He wants her to understand that without her, he would not have to feel this obsession. I want to tell the readers that the sex scene may not have been consensual but there is a fair warning and it goes so well with the storyline.
I want to say more about the book but cant because then I would ruin it for you ><
If you must know ....READ IT.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nadira has spent her life trying so hard and can never make her parents happy. I felt so bad for her - she’s the dutiful daughter, going above and beyond to take care of household chores while taking her full course load at university but her parents see her as little more than a nuisance they want to marry off. She can’t sleep, barely eats, and she doesn’t complain. She’s strong and determined to get out from under her parents’ thumb but a person can only hold on for so long. Enter the Djinn… (or you might be more familiar with the term “genie”). The very hot, dangerous, powerful Djinn, Idrak.

This is a first for me, a story about what is basically a demon boyfriend and it is really well written. There’s good buildup in the plot and the story and relationship unfolds very naturally.

And I love a good food book! A lot of food passes between these pages (Nadira cooking, her parents bullying her about food and the Idrak's subsequent determination to feed her back to health) and the descriptions are delicious. I actually went to go look up my recipe for chicken biryani in the middle of reading this book.

Loved this story - every aspect of it was yum.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sammi Chev · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was like Beauty and the Beast meets Aladdin but make it dark and smutty! I love that the author included a trigger warning before the book to ensure safe reading!

We started strong with Indian representation and the world view only got more diverse. They referenced everything from Arabic lore to Greek mythology.

The romance gave off enemies to lovers vibes because they both denied their feelings for each other and tried to pretend they didn’t like each other. Although I wouldn’t go so far to say the were actual enemies because they did form a sort of friendship right from the start.

The book was an easy read and fast paced but still allowed ample time to understand the complexities of each character. My only criticism would be that I think the ending felt rushed. It felt like we were gearing up for a big showdown but we breezed over the problem and our characters got their happy ever after handed to them. It just didn’t feel like they had to fight for it and I think it would’ve been more satisfying if the had.

It’s still a 5 star read for me I absolutely loved it! If you like dark fantasy and romance this is a must read!

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

I’ve enjoyed all the author’s contemporary romance stories and decided to give her paranormal ones a go. Highly enjoyed this one. Nadira and Idrak’s story is sweet and hot at the same time. Much like her contemporary heroes, we have a protective, possessive, and jealous djinn.

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Romance: 💞💞
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡️⚡️⚡️
Sensuality: 🔥🔥
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Number of Sex Scenes: 🍆🍆🍆🍆

Safety warnings attached at end.

Give this book a try if you want
-Something quite steamy with several explicit scenes
-Something different - a djinn hero after all
-An alphahole hero – he’s controlling, he’s jealous, and he’s sexually aggressive

Nadira is our heroine. She’s lost her grandmother but was able to salvage a strange necklace from her belongings. As she wears it, she begins to hear a voice from it. This voice promises to give her freedom from people attempting to use her in her life in exchange for his own freedom from the necklace.

Our djinn hero is definitely not human. Horns, claws, teeth...he can change his shape though. Parts of his appearance were off putting to me. I don’t mind the horns hahaha but more the claws I guess? Imagining claws on my skin makes me cringe. He’s definitely alpha, crossing that line to an alphahole. Very jealous and somewhat controlling. I enjoyed bits of that, though I would have preferred more time in his head to explore those emotions. I also would have preferred a bit more growth in their relationship by the end, the dynamics still felt similar to the beginning with her being at his beck and call.

Very steamy with quite a few open door sex scenes. Some are downright non consensual (not a negative for me) and felt very naughty. I guess I would have preferred them developed a tad more. A bit more length and more feeling/emotions tied in to them.

The heroine did come off as quite immature to me and a bit weak. I wasn’t able to change my mind about her by the end of the book. There were also repeating issues throughout the story that I would have liked to see morph into other things (You can’t keep me here! Let’s have sex. Repeat)

Yeah, so overall definitely something different. I’m happy to have read it.

Safety warnings (possible spoilers)



Human and djinn sex (he’s not a human), dubious/non consensual sexual acts, memory of death of a loved one, jealous/strong alpha characteristics in hero

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadira is the much put upon elder daughter of south Asian parents. She’s literally wasting away under their “care.” The discovery of a simple stone necklace among her deceased grandmother’s things brings the first spark of joy she’s felt in ages. Then it begins speaking to her. Idrak is a djinn who’s been trapped for centuries and Nadira now holds the key to his imprisonment. Lucky for him, her bruised heart can’t stand the thought of another suffering as she does, so she frees him. Will Nadira be able to survive his so-called gratitude?

For the first third of the book, I was worried about whether it would be able to hold my interest all the way through. Nadira was very introspective and depressed, which can be a bit rough for me to read. But I’m so happy I stuck it out! As soon as Idrak was released, the story took off. Nadira really came into her own once she escaped her parents. Not much was told from Idrak’s perspective, but the glimpses I got to see were fascinating. He does go into some NC territory, but Nadira was always on board by the end. That definitely doesn’t excuse anything, but at least she continuously called him out on his actions. Her appetite may have become even more voracious than his by the end.

The ending felt kind of abrupt, but it turned out that there was an epilogue available on the author’s website. It was perfect! I’d love to read a sequel featuring these characters (even a novella would be great) or learn about others within this universe, but the story also worked well as a standalone.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cassandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley and am providing an honest review.

This was a DNF at 51% for me. Of the reviews that are already up at the time of this writing, I’m the only one that didn’t love it, so maybe it’s just a case of this not being my kind of book.

Despite there being a trigger warning for human and non-human sex, I wasn’t expecting anything quite so grotesque. I’ve read shifter and alien romances, but only those that have a mostly human appearance, which I can usually pick up from the book cover. Granted, we can’t see the djinn’s face on this cover, the torso seemed pretty promising and typical representations of djinn I’ve seen were human-esque. However, Idrak has two rows of sharp teeth, elfin ears, and horns. It was hard to get past that in the steamier scenes. Just doesn’t do it for me.

But even beyond that, I didn’t really like Nadira. She was a weak character that didn’t seem to be growing as the book progressed. Idrak treated her like crap but she felt bad anytime she stood up for herself and hurt his feelings. I also didn’t like Idrak. He was incredibly controlling and, despite being centuries old, not great at understanding and communicating his feelings.

I kept waiting for the romance, but it was just Idrak taking over the role of Nadira’s parents and making all her choices for her.

[Spender of Money · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! This is a well plotted and written novel with a detailed world. The author builds the characters and their interactions wonderfully. This isn’t a quick read nor is it a smooth insta-love story. I sank my teeth into this one over several days and just couldn’t put it down.

This was a story about a djinn and -I was very excited to see- a POC h, with a rich history and nicely researched, if not personally experienced by the author, culture. Nadira struggles with her roll in her family and her personal needs and goals. A first generation daughter in the US, balancing wants, needs and expectations. I really liked her. She was young, but not TSTL and a genuinely nice and empathetic person. Our djinn, Idrak, started as a friend and confidant to Nadira. One she sorely needed. And the evolution of their relationship didn’t happen quickly or easily.

I was so invested in Nadira and wanted so so so much for her. I was excited, riveted and fascinated. Was Idrak just another person, taking and demanding from her? Requiring and content with hollow actions and reactions, but not really understanding or knowing her? I was hooked!

This was a wonderful read -I highly recommend- that I’ll absolutely be rereading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for an honest review.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely something I haven't encountered before. It's a book that begins with the main male interest being pretty evil, but the HEA puts them together in the end. If you can get beyond that, and the non-consensual smutty scenes, this will definitely be a unique read for you.

Nadira lives in a very controlling house, forced to juggle the ridiculous demands of her family with her schooling. It's clear that this kind of life can't be making her happy, especially when she's forced to endure the insults of her family at every dinner. All of that changes when she discovers a necklace in her grandmother's belongings. This necklace ends up being the prison cell for a djinn, Idrak, who does his best to introduce some mischievous helpful wishes into her life.

Idrak starts his life in this book as a bad guy. Even after Nadira shows how kind hearted she is, he is still a pretty bad guy. These two somehow end up in a relationship? I had a little bit of a hard time getting behind this couple, but the smut is good. After a bit of a weird route, we do eventually get to a HEA. I was a little disappointed in some of the changes in Nadira, but she is still an interesting character to follow through this insanity.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadira, a young, bright Asian woman, feels used and hope is fading. She feels like an embarrassment. Her grandmother’s necklace gives her the only hope, and even that is dark whispers. There is a trapped djinn in there who promises freedom in exchange for his own. Can he be trusted? Or is she exchanging one miserable master for another? But it may be worth taking the chance since probably can’t be any worse, right?

Idrak is not the perfect gentleman. He is possessive and controlling and appears to be just a substitute for the bad treatment her family gave her. Yet he sees the “real” Nadira and develops a kind of relationship with her. How far will he take this? Does there come a point in time where they can begin to care enough for each other? Can he bring out her strength?

This was an interesting story line that keeps the reader invested in seeing how it works out for the characters. Steam as promised by the author is generously provided, although I was watching the growth of the characters and hoping for reassurance that this might be a love story. Grab your copy and see what the Djinn’s intentions are and whether Nadira will become the woman she needs to become.

[BJ M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all of Katerina Winters books and this new book of hers doesn’t disappoint. One thing I really admire about Ms. Winters is that all of her heroines are diverse and come from different cultures. I’ve read a lot of other authors and I find their heroines all look the same in every one of their books. Where as Ms. Winters heroines have all been from different races, cultures etc. And she doesn’t disappoint with Nadira who is South Asian, smart, works hard and is resilient. And I can’t imagine it would be easy writing a Genie like Djinn for a romantic book but she does a fantastic job. Idrak is everything you would want a leading man to be - dark, alpha like, strong and determined. I don’t want to leave any spoilers but if you want to curl up with a good romance book and just enjoy a few hours of escapism, I would highly recommend this book and all of her other books too.

[Riley]

This was a sizzling hot story about Nadira potentially jumping from the pan into the fire, but along her escape to freedom she finds her inner strength and an HEA with a hottie bad boy. I liked both of the main characters, but Nadira's family was a bit much for me, even if they were meant to be portrayed that way. It was probably good with a "not entirely consensual" trigger warning just in case, but in reality it was happily mild in that regard, and honestly her family was the only thing that even came close to triggering me. Trust, mental abuse/bullying, dysfunctional families, emotional baggage, acceptance, courage, and love were some of the undercurrents in this fairly predictable, but captivating anyway, tale.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

[Cocolabinocle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly did not know what to expect going into this book. I mean I love Katerina Winters, but am not a big fan of paranormal romances. I was more than pleasantly surprised.

I feel like the book was researched and the author wasn’t just inventing things about cultures she knows nothing of. I was really impressed with how she explored different themes (i.e tradition, religion and culture)

I really loved both protagonists. I found the h pretty relatable although naive at times. The H was a possessive alpha hero just like I like them. I was even able to get over the paranormal aspect of him.

The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I felt the ending was a bit rushed... I don’t know if it’s to give way to a sequel? But overall I really enjoyed the book!!

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried the audio and it was no great, thought I would like the writing better but it wasn’t any better.
I saw no growth from any of the characters, they all angered me to the point I couldn’t get past it. I felt no chemistry between Idrak and Nadira, she would run and come back and he would tell her something to make her happy then repeat, she didn’t make up her mind.
Her sister was a blip that I thought would be more apart of the story. Like literally signed off at one point.
Her parents were infuriating. Idrak was manipulating, even if he wanted to do good by her he went about wrong ways. The non con wasn’t the deal breaker, I’ve read plenty it was just the whole interaction between the characters.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark but not too dark, this monster boyfriend book was fun and very sexy. While it could have used a little more plot, it was a wonderful fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed. Nadira was gentle but strong, and Idrak was just the right amount of mean, as well as viciously protective of his lady. The descriptions were gorgeous and colorful. However, Nadira's breasts were described a few times as "globes of fat" which produced a horrifying mental image right in the middle of the steamiest scenes! But overlooking that, I definitely recommend spending a few hours escaping from the real world with this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Caroline Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting story about Nadira who is like the black sheep of her family her parents want Nadira out of their house and married but Nadira isn’t interested. One day while Nadira was going through her deceased grandmother’s jewellery there was a amber stone pendant that looked like it was glowing so instead of throwing it in with the other donated items Nadira put the necklace on. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that Nadira found out that there was a Djinn inside who was just as lonely as Nadira was. Fantastic story I enjoyed it immensely and I highly recommend this book it’s well worth the read.

[Vita_Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Dark, deprived, super hot, with a dirty-mouthed, demon-looking Djinn. Nadira is a quite yet strong female struggling with her traditional family and their expectations. This is the first book I've read by this author and frankly the only one featuring a Djinn! If you're looking for a dark, steamy, bittersweet book, this is it. Note the triggers though, since there is non-con (which I loved). I'm ready to explore all books by this author. :)

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story line kept my interest. I like a bit of darkness mixed with my hea. Idrak was actually relatively sane considering the many years locked in the necklace. Nadira lacked the confidence and will power to stop her family from draining the life right out of her which Idrak had no problem doing thankfully. This couple complimented well providing each other with the necessary elements that they needed to build a passionate relationship and a happy life.

[Breen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Releasing the Djinn was a great and intriguing story. I'm going to be honest it was way too long for me. At least that's what I felt, not that it was a bad thing but I'm more into short stories so this one felt like years long to me. There were some quite confusing part that I needed to read twice but it was a good story. The level of intensity was.. OMG! He was a monster indeed. Trust me this book is a must read."

[Tegan Brinkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this sounded interesting, was well written but it is so long and takes way to long to get to the point
I kind of see where it’s going but at this point (about half way through) I’ve gotten bored and decided to drop it

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.