SYNOPSIS:
She holds the key to his heart, and he wants it back.
When Arie reveals her Gift, she thinks the worst is over. But she couldn’t be more wrong. The only one who can save her now is a mermaid named Rena.
Rena is the youngest daughter of the Sea King, and she’s dreamed of the surface for years. But her first visit on her 16th birthday isn’t what she expects. She watches a Jinni fall from the sky—and chooses to save him, despite her mother’s warnings that all Jinn are evil.
Once she meets Gideon, she can’t get him out of her mind. And maybe, with a little help from Arie and some magic of her own, she doesn’t have to...
The Jinni Key is a loose “Little Mermaid” retelling. Set in a world that humans share with mermaids, dragons, and the elusive Jinn, this is not the fairytale you remember…
LINKS:
AMAZON: http://bit.ly/thejinnikeyGOODREADS: https://bit.ly/thejinnikeygoodreads
BETHANY’S WEBSITE: https://bit.ly/thestolenkingdom
SPOILER FREE
I was excited to read this Little Mermaid retelling! I've always enjoyed the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, but Bethany's "loose" retelling is roughly akin to the original fairy tale which is a little darker and the end isn't as happy (Bethany's version is a HEA for the most part ^_~). While Rena probably looks more like Ariel with the red hair, her personality is more developed than Ariel's.
Rena can be tough to love at first but I didn't have a problem with her because I understood why she said and did the things she did. Although, it's funny because I thought she'd be more empathetic as The Jinni Key holder and the youngest sister of that royal family. Let's just say they aren't the kindest people. lol
I enjoyed the way Bethany gave us a flashback to give us a little backstory about Rena and her family. From there, it launches to how Rena came to land and then we start where the first book left off. The author seamlessly wove the beginning chapters and executed it flawlessly. I had wondered how and where we'd start off after reading the first chapter from the first book.
We don't get as much extended world building as I thought we would get after the first book. Other than the underwater kingdom, which I wish we got to see more of or at least again after the first time. I enjoyed seeing how the sea magic worked although very little is explained which is fine. I don't feel like we traveled around as much in this book as the first book which is fine but I wished we did because I enjoy Bethany's world development.
We don't get to see as much romance in this book, I feel like it's more like pining than romantic interaction which was well written so you won't get any mutual instant love here. I had hoped to see more character development in all the characters but I think Rena is the one who develops the most even though we get POV from Kadin and Arie. I liked Kadin and Arie's POV but struggled through them a bit. I do see them as necessary for the development of the book but weren't always gratifying to read, probably because of their stuck situations.
FYI, we don't get to see Kadin's full motley crew in the book so don't expect to see them. I did miss Naveed but glad Bosh was still around. Gideon was around but I didn't enjoy him as much because he seemed so surly in this book.
The pacing of the book read quickly but I did feel like it was rushed more towards the end, the climax wasn't as climatic as the first book in my opinion. While it wasn't quite what I wanted or expected, I appreciated that the author tied up the important loose ends.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this "loose" fairy tale retelling but the similarities between this book will be vastly different from the versions you know. It had less recognizable similarities than the previous book, which is fine but wanted to share that. I loved Rena's overall character development arc and Bethany's underwater world building. If you enjoyed The Stolen Kingdom, I think you'll like this book too and you'll get to learn what happened to the previous main characters!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this "loose" fairy tale retelling but the similarities between this book will be vastly different from the versions you know. It had less recognizable similarities than the previous book, which is fine but wanted to share that. I loved Rena's overall character development arc and Bethany's underwater world building. If you enjoyed The Stolen Kingdom, I think you'll like this book too and you'll get to learn what happened to the previous main characters!
3.5 out of 5 rating for me!
(An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)
