by Judi Fennell- Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (January 1, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1402241895
- ISBN-13: 978-1402241895
Genre: ParanormalMy rating: 4.0 of 5.0
Description:
He needs to change his luck, and fast!
Matt Ewing would gladly hunt down a fortune in lucky pennies if he thought it would help save his business.
But for all his hoping, Matt’s clueless when his long awaited lucky charm falls in his lap in the form of a beguiling genie. He just can’t believe that this beautiful woman could be the answer to his prayers…
She’s been bottled up for far too long!
Spending 2,000 years in a bottle would make any woman go a little stir crazy. So when Matt releases Eden from her luxurious captivity, she’s thrilled to repay him by giving him the magical boost he needs…
But for all her good intentions, Eden’s magical prowess is a little rusty and her magical mistakes become more than embarrassing. And though Eden knows falling in love will end her magic and immortality, she can’t help but be drawn to the one man who wants her just for herself…
Review: This is a fun read but maybe a little too crazy.
Eden is a feisty genie who has accidentally gotten knocked loose from her bottle. She is a bit sex starved after 2,000 years and is ready to jump Matt when he so sweetly rescues her. Eden is grabbing her chance to escape the slavery of being a genie and is thrilled when Matt helps her remove her slave bracelets. Eden is willing to help Matt out but she doesn’t have to serve him since he doesn’t have her bottle which is lost and has to be found before the wicked Vizier Faruq finds it and enslaves her for himself.
Matt is fiercely independent and doesn’t want help from his step family or anyone else. He thinks that if he can’t make it on his own he doesn’t deserve to make it. That attitude doesn’t stop him from taking in the neighborhood strays, like bringing in the stray cat, Eden’s friend, (sort of), Obo. Matt thinks Eden is gorgeous but she keeps talking nonsense about crazy magic. Unfortunately Eden’s wrists were injured in her fall so her “way” of doing magic is off and her new “way” is causing havoc all around her. Matt may not believe in genies but it’s hard to ignore a donkey popping into your house, a talking cat and a cute but fast growing pet dragon who has taken a liking to him. And the butterflies that show up when he and Eden kiss are pretty awesome. Not to mention the floating sensations when they finally succumb to their hormonal attraction.
When Faruq tracks Eden to Matt’s house, Matt is no match for the powerful djinn. Even so, with Obo’s help, and Humphrey the dragon, under his hat, Matt rushes off to a magical, hidden city of genies to rescue Eden. Now to escape Faruq they must brave the monster in the garden to get a magical and poisonous potion so they can sneak into Faruq’s fortress and steal Eden’s crystal which is Faruq’s personal GPS tag to her whereabouts.
This really started out well with light, fun humor. It just seemed to be too outlandish in the middle for me - think Alice in Wonderland and Willie Wonka style. I did enjoy the obstacle course of the gardens and the riddles (I always like those), but for some reason I wanted the story to move on. Maybe I was just frustrated by one disaster after another. The solution was what I expected, even though Eden was fighting it, and there was an extra sweet surprise at the ending too.
Quirky characters, an unusual plot and lots of humor make this an entertaining read. I am interested in reading Ms. Fennell's Mer man series too.
xxx
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the book to read and review. My copy is being sent to Throuthehaze as a choice from her win in January's Dreaming Hop. She is willing to take the review copy even with some teeth marks in the cover from our puppy. Enjoy the magic Throuthehaze!
