The Djinn’s Desire by Tamsin Ley
Series Name: Mates for Monsters
Volume Number: 5
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Psychics, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Twin Leaf
Edition: Kindle
ISBN: 978-1-950027-06-4
Rating: 2/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks
Description
Tanika Skye’s one true wish in life is for a loving mate and happy family. But after the wish results in the loss of her mother and grandmother’s lives as the price, she is adamant that her djinn will never take another human soul. She is willing to live and die alone if it means taking him down with her.
When the Earthbound djinn Ophir drives into town, both of them are in for a surprise. The irresistible attraction they feel is palpable. Will they be able to get rid of Tanika’s djinn forever, or will she insist on being alone and unhappy to ensure the djinn’s eventual demise?
Personal & Info
The Djinn’s Desire is volume five of a series, but it is a stand alone story, so no other Mates for Monsters volumes are necessary.
As much as I don’t like the idea of posting a review of something without all of the previous volumes, I feel like I should, because Mates for Monsters volumes can be read as stand alone stories. Volume four is The Centaur’s Bride. The three first books are about merpeople, two mermen and one mermaid to be exact. Those ones interconnect a little by sharing a continuity, but can still be read as stand-alones. Their titles are The Merman’s Kiss, The Merman’s Quest, and A Mermaid’s Heart.
I did read them a few years ago. I just don’t have enough information to post reviews for them without rereading them. At this moment, I have no plans to reread them any time soon, if at all. I do have ratings for them, though, so I will include them here.
The Merman’s Kiss: 3.5/5
The Merman’s Quest: 3/5
A Mermaid’s heart: 4/5
The links I included for Amazon and Barnes & Noble are for the digital editions, but they do have physical paperbacks available for The Djinn’s Desire.
Characters
Tanika Skye, the main character, is approximately twenty-seven. She is a fortune teller who gives haircuts on the side. Her one wish in life is for a loving mate/husband and a family with a happily ever after.
Birdie is Tanika’s business partner and close friend. She is the primary hairstylist at their salon.
Mr. Gregory Daniels is a nice older man who owns the bakery down the street. He is fond enough of Tanika to give her free pastries.
Ophir, the love interest, is an Earthbound djinn. He is not connected to any physical item, and therefore cannot return to the djinn realm.
Elim, Tanika’s djinn, is sort of a family heirloom. He’s not very nice, and Tanika often calls him a poltergeist, because he terrorizes her like a ghost.
Story & Thoughts
This is pretty short, since it’s a novella. Like some of Ley’s other stories, it’s an instant attraction style. It’s not love at first sight, it’s attraction at first sight. It’s not quite as lusty as The Centaur’s Bride, but the romance moves quickly. There is the whole mate bond after sex thing, too, so if that’s not your kind of story, don’t read it.
The story is simple. It’s technically more fantasy than the previous book. Tanika’s djinn is basically haunting her, because she refuses to allow her childhood wish to be granted. She actively prevents and avoids anything that would contribute to getting the wish fulfilled.
Her djinn, Elim, can’t return to the djinn realm or consume any human souls until his bargain is completed. If the wish is never granted, Elim will die when Tanika does, and that is her goal. Obviously Elim isn’t okay with that, so he throws tantrums and sabotages anything good or nice in Tanika’s life, which is why she refers to him as a poltergeist.
Ophir, the love interest, shows up in town, and almost immediately becomes fascinated by Tanika. This quickly develops into wanting to bed her, and Tanika decides there is no harm in a good time, which is unlike her normal behavior. Lust and sex changes everything about everything. I personally find plots like this dull.
My biggest issue with the book is that, despite the fact immortal magical beings are involved, it just feels…normal. There’s nothing special or exotic, which is the whole point of “monster” romance. It feels even less interesting than the Centaur book, which I thought had the same issue. Sure, there are small uses of magic here and there, but not in any interesting ways. Ophir might as well just be an uninteresting wizard.
The pacing is also so fast it’s crazy. If you like whirlwind romance stories, then it’s probably fine. I think this is the fastest book in the series. It all takes place in a little over a day. I can’t help feeling like it brings Tanika’s resolve into question. I just find her abrupt changes in decisions after an evening of sex to be bafflingly quick.
It’s not the speed of things that ruffles me. My issue is that it’s all because of sex. She hardly knows the guy and hasn’t shared any experiences with him aside from intimacy. There are plenty of other stories that happen in a similar time frame that draw characters together in a much more engaging way.
The sex content doesn’t bother me, but I like a bit more depth to my stories. This one just feels really shallow, even compared to the other novellas by Tamsin Ley. If you are fine with a story that focuses mostly on sex for the plot devices, by all means, but I prefer stories that have both erotic scenes and depth of story. The Djinn’s Desire just does not pass muster for me.
