Tamsin Ley sent this reader an ARC (advanced reader copy) of her latest offering, "Djinn's Desire", in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book by Ley that this reader had the pleasure of reading, and once again, she does not disappoint. There were some minor spelling, grammar and punctuation issues in the ARC - but none big enough to toss a reader from Ley's well-crafted world. Most were extra words in sentences or things a spellcheck might not catch, like substituting the word "of" when "off" was clearly meant. A small continuity error concerning protagonist Tanika's pants in the restaurant scene, did have this reader briefly scratching her head, although she was able to quickly fall back into Ley's world. Djinn's, or genies, are probably this reader's least favorite paranormal creature, yet she found herself rooting for alpha male Ophir very quickly, due to Ley's beautiful presentation of the djinn. Ley builds beautiful backgrounds that are easily visualized by this reader, although she will admit her favorite is still Ley's first book, "Merman's Kiss"; as a SCUBA diver that no longer dives, that book allowed me time underwater once again. And in "Djinn's Desire", Ley once again delivered lovely settings that were easily visualized and brought to mind similar places she had visited in the past. The salon Tanika owns actually brought back fond memories of the 'old-tyme' barber shop her own father worked in, many, many years ago. Each character was nicely crafted; Ophir showing the largest growth, in this reader's opinion, as he slowly changed from self-centered to caring about others. Protagonist Tanika's changes were slightly more subtle as she moved from revenge to grief and acceptance, and finally a strength of character that had been trying to emerge all along. Dialogue for all characters was authentic and believable, each showing a bit of their personality traits. Antagonist Elim began almost as a caricature of a stereotypical djinn, but the changes he went through created the best evil villain Ley has created yet, in this reader's opinion. He was the villain you almost felt sorry for while still wanting him to get his just desserts! That was truly a beautiful balance. And while the ending provided many twists and turns, keeping the action at a fairly steady pace, this reader also found some of the magical implications confusing at times. The lavendar eyes in the salon... was that meant to imply Tanika's distant djinn blood was coming to the surface? As djinn's are immortal, does the ending imply Elim is now a part of Tanika? These are actually questions this reader will ponder for some time to come, and that's actually a good thing. It means "Djinn's Desire" will stay with me, perhaps deep in my subconscious as I work through these issues. And what better compliment can one give a writer, than - your words will stay with me. This reader highly recommends Tamsin Ley and all of her works. ** Review originally posted to Amazon reviews on June 14, 2017 and Goodreads on the same date. **
