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Showing posts with label Judi Fennell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judi Fennell. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Review: Magic Gone Wild by Judi Fennell
Magic Gone Wild
Author: Judi Fennell
Release Date: Aug. 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Bottled Magic #3
ISBN: #978-1402241918
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): Paperback (384 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
|
Every time she uses magic, something goes terribly wrong…
Vana wishes she hadn’t dropped out of genie training. Now she’s determined to get a grip on both her genie magic and her life. But the harder she tries to fix things for her intriguing new master, the more she drives him crazy.
Except there’s nothing ever wrong about him…
Pro-football player Zane Harrison finally has control of the family estate and is determined to put to rest his grandfather’s eccentric reputation. Until he discovers that behind all the rumors is a real, live genie who stirs feelings in him he’s never known before. The more Zane tries to help Vana harness her powers, the more her madcap magic entangles his heart.
What I’m talking about:
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I just adore Judi Fennell’s stories! They are fun, entertaining, and romantic, and Magic Gone Wild is no exception. The third book in Ms. Fennell’s Bottled Magic series is another delightful read, filled with a light-heartedness that wasn’t as prominent in the first two stories. And although this is the third book in the series, it can be enjoyed as a stand alone work, with minimal ties to the previous stories.
Right from the get go, Magic Gone Wild has a different feel than the first two books. Genie Nirvana (aka Vana) has been trapped in her bottle for over a hundred years after the death of her former master, Peter. We learn right away that Vana has a huge heart, but just can’t seem to get her magic working correctly. She makes simple mistakes, such as vanishing the stairs when she intended to varnish the stairs. These mistakes give Vana an endearing quality that Peter’s great-grandson, Zane, can’t overlook. The pair feel an instant, yet almost innocent attraction that leads them to jump into bed (or in this case, the bottle) almost immediately.
Ms. Fennell shocked me by having the hero and heroine fall for each other so quickly and hop into bed at the beginning of the book. Not because it didn’t fit the story (it did!), but because it is so different from her other stories. But all is not as it appears, and the love story doesn’t progress so easily. It is a sexy, enjoyable twist that kept me wondering how all would come together in the end.
Both Vana and Zane are genuinely good people, which makes the pair such a lovable duo. You want to see the two lonely, kind hearts find happiness together. And as I stated, they have an incredible attraction. And holy crow -- the heat coming off Zane is amazing. I think I had steam coming out of my Kindle at times. He wants Vana so much and I love it.
Other than the primary couple, there is a conflict with Gary, a jealous high school mate of Zane, who wants Vana and magic for selfish reasons. He adds just enough conflict to the story to create an exciting tension, but not overrun the plot. Also, we have Merlin, the talking Phoenix, who functions as a way to get information to the pair (knowledge of the Genie world to Zane, knowledge of Gary's nefarious activities to the pair, etc.) He also provides some humor and at times acts as Vana's conscious.
In addition, there are a number of inanimate objects that are really people who have been magicked into these items - think Beauty and the Beast (Disney). The characters, while not saying a thing, add to the story by helping Zane realize 1) magic is real, but more importantly 2) what is truly important in life.
One thing that was new in this story was the concept of the Fates. Vana messes with the three Fates by changing time not once but twice. And in the end, when Vana wants to come clean and open up to Zane (because she realizes she loves him), the Fates interfere. I was left wondering why the Fates are so interested in Vana, especially since we haven’t seen them interfere with other genies in the previous books. Whether or not it happened in earlier books doesn’t impact this story, and I enjoyed how Vana handles herself when threatened by these women.
Overall, I adored Magic Gone Wild and it’s charming characters - probably the most of the three Bottled Magic books. It had a different tone than the other two and can most certainly be read as a stand alone. I wasn’t a hundred percent on board with why Vana's magic is so messed up, but in the end it doesn't matter since when a Genie says "I love you," she gives up her magic. The book doesn't spend a lot of time in the world of the Genies and focuses more on the love story between Vana and Zane. We witness the pair spend time getting to know each other as they make their own magic. Magic Gone Wild is a romantic love story with a generous dose of laughs that warmed my heart.
My Rating:
|
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Reviews in the Series:
Labels:
4 stars,
Bottled Magic,
Judi Fennell,
paranormal romance,
Sourcebooks,
Twimom Review
|
0
comments
Monday, June 11, 2012
Review: Beauty and the Best by Judi Fennell
Beauty and the Best
Author: Judi Fennell
Release Date: April 6, 2012
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: #978-0985453411
Genre: Contemporary Romance, angels
Format(s): paperback (296 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Author
About the book:
|
Jolie Gardener, personal chef by day, aspiring romance writer by night, likes to talk and does it a lot. She has to because if she stops, all the pain, disillusionment, and abandonment of her AWOL mother, question-mark father, and foster-care childhood will rise up like a chocolate soufflé on steroids, sweeping away the fragile infrastructure of her life. But she's fine. Really. She is.
Or so she thinks.
Todd Best isn't fine. He knows it. And doesn't care.
After his wife died—the woman who believed in him when he was a struggling artist—he put painting aside, moved from their home, and lost himself in the minutiae of daily life. Alone. Private. The way he likes it. The last thing he needs is some chatty cook seeping into the perfectly bland canvas of his life.
Or so he thinks.
So when Jonathan, a guardian-angel-in-training, turns himself into a kitten to help these two lonely souls find a happily ever after together, it ought to be a piece of cake.
Or so he thinks…
What I’m talking about:
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What a wonderful, refreshing, happy story! Right from the start I was in love with the hero, Todd Best. A lonely, depressed man who lost his wife two years ago, he has all but given up on life and the will to continue his work (a famous artist) and even to feed himself. His concerned family has hired different personal chefs to help him over the past two years, and now Jolie is starting the task. On her first morning, Todd stumbles into the kitchen, hungover and naked. Instead of being arrogant and cocky as we would expect a famous man to be, we learn from Todd’s inner monologue that he is embarrassed by his actions.
Jolie has had a tough life - alcoholic mom, never knew her dad, in and out of foster homes. She’s seen it all, but she has managed to make the most of her life and to rise above the circumstances. Yet there is a price to her success - she has shut out almost everyone, scare to be hurt and let down again. She won’t let her emotions get hold and allow herself to hope.
Early on we learn of Jolie’s plans to author a romance novel. She hopes to use Todd as inspiration for her hero, Tom. I was on edge and cringing knowing that a fictional exposé of Todd's life--a man who loves and protects his privacy--will not end well. I just hated knowing that Jolie is going to get hurt for her innocent book aspirations. From the first mention of the book in this story, I could see the misunderstandings, hurt feelings, etc. that were to come. And while I knew a confrontation would come, I understood the couple would have to go through it to move beyond their pasts.
Todd and Jolie have some help when it comes to the romance department. Family friend, Jasmine Gray has sought out the help of Guardian Angel-in-training, Jonathan Griff, to help Todd have a happily-ever-after. Mr. Griff enters into their lives in different forms - one as a book store owner, another as a cat. Jonathan tends to be a bit nervous as he tries to earn his wings, and sometimes can be a bit goofy. In my opinion, he seemed to know too much about Jolie and Todd, but they never questioned it. I kept waiting for the lightbulb to go on in Jolie’s head, but things continued to move forward, and Jonathan did his job.
Jolie is full of cliche comebacks and cracks about life "I always say do or die" kind of things. While it can (and did) get tiresome at times, it is a great reflection of her desire to hide away the pain of her childhood and pretend it doesn't bother her. Ms. Fennell developed this annoying, but honest character flaw to Jolie which works well.
As Todd and Jolie grow closer and quickly fall for one another, I fell in love too. Their romance is honest, simple and refreshing. Their first kiss put flutters in my belly. Even though we know from almost the beginning Jolie’s desires for Todd, it took time for the reader to learn more from Todd’s point-of-view. But once he realized it was okay to love again, the emotions flowed forth.
The pair have a few bumps and minor misunderstandings. And the big conflict did happen just as I knew it would. But Ms. Fennell is able to write a solid path away from the conflict and into a satisfying resolution. There was a point when Todd confronted Jolie and asked if she felt anything. Jolie’s response was poignant and moving, bringing tears to my eyes. I thought to myself, “Haven’t we all felt that way at some point?”
In the end I had a smile on my face and a sigh of contentment. Beauty and the Best is a happy-go-lucky, sweet, simple romance. The tale is light-hearted but full of emotion. The story stirred in me feelings of falling in love all over again. It was just downright enjoyable to read!
My Rating:
|
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Labels:
4 stars,
angels,
contemporary romance,
Judi Fennell,
self-published,
Twimom Review
|
3
comments
Friday, June 8, 2012
RAGT Wrap Up and Shameless Summer Giveaway Hop
Well, I’ve had a few days to process the whirl-wind trip that was my weekend in Ohio, and I’m here to give you the highlights AND to giveaway some GREAT prizes! Keep reading for the giveaway details!
Second reason I made the trip: my amazing book friends and blogging tweeps. After meeting so many of you in Philadelphia last year, I had to take this opportunity to see you again (and hang with some of the Sisterhood of the Werefly!).
I landed in the Dayton, OH airport about 10:30 AM on Friday June 1st and was back there by noon on Sunday June 3rd. It was a quick but wonderful visit! I got to spend time with Nima and Ang (who could not attend the event because Nima’s daughter was graduating high school), and I got to get in lots of author and friend time at the event.
So, here are some of the highlights of my trip...
Friday June 1:
First of all, if you’ve never been hugged by Bells from Hanging with Bells, you are missing out! She alone was worth the trip and I miss her already! I got to meet up with many of the friends I’d met in Philly: Bells, Mandi (from Smexi), Danielle (Lush), Penny, Dren, Marq, and Jaime Saare. I also got to meet several of my tweeps for the first time... Like Colette (aka A Buckeye Girl Reads), Liza (MsLizalou), NikiBrandyberry, Penny’s sister: QueenCityE, Bridget Locke, Jackie (Literary Escapism) and Nicole (aka Adam S. Walker - or as you would know her, Admin for Shiloh Walker). And bonus... I got to hang with Trelaina again (after meeting her in August when I was in Chicago). LOTS OF FUN!
That night there was a book signing and I took advantage... I got to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon... Yes THE SHERRILYN KENYON!! She is so sweet and I would have loved to talk with her longer, but there was a line and well, I was a bit tongue-tied & fangirl. I also finally got to meet Shiloh Walker after tweeting with her for the past couple of years. Then I spent time catching up with some of the authors I meet last year in Philly... PJ Schnyder, Judi Fennell and Stephanie Julian. All such wonderful women. I really enjoyed talking books with Judi (I kind of monopolized her for a while!)
After the signing, we played some very interesting Pictionary sponsored by Carina Press. Let me tell you, even if it looks like it, the answer is not “penis!” We laughed a lot! I also took the opportunity to meet Angela James, editor at Carina and another twitter buddy.
After hanging in the bar for a bit, I took off back to Nima’s house, where I made it up until 1:00 AM (I woke at 3:30 AM Friday morning).
Saturday June 2:
I was up bright and early! I headed back over the hotel for breakfast and conversation. After the buffet, we broke into small groups, and I selected the one with Virna DePaul. Although I’d never read any of her books, I’ve heard some amazing things about her characters and world-building. I am so glad I went! Meeting Virna is one of the highlights of my trip. She is such a nice person and I enjoyed discussing how bloggers/reviewers fit into the mix. She will be at AADNOLA this August and I cannot wait to chat with her some more.
Next I went to a discussion sponsored by Berkley Publishing. Although much of the discussion centered around the submission process (and I am not a writer), I learned many new things about the world of being a published author. I also won an ARC of Lora Leigh’s Stygian’s Honor. WOOT! You all know how I love me some BREEDS!
At lunch I tracked down another person I wanted to meet: Sue Grimshaw from Romance at Random (Random House). I’ve chatted with her often on Twitter and enjoyed meeting her live and in person. Another wonderful woman!
The rest of the time was spent chatting more with the people I’d come to see and meet. I finally headed back to Nima’s about 10:00 PM, and when I got there, Nima, Ang and I stayed up until nearly 3:00 AM catching up!
NOW FOR THE FUN... a GIVEAWAY!
I’m participating in the SHAMELESS SUMMER GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP!
While I was away, I thought of all of you - my readers! Really, I did. And I was able to pick up a few fun things to share.
First Prize: the first three books from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s League Series: Born of Night, Born of Fire and Born of Ice - all SIGNED by Sherri herself!
Second Prize: A SIGNED copy of The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis AND a hand-crafted bookmark made by Shannon K. Butcher.
Third Prize: A copy of Guilty Pleasure by Lora Leigh AND a book cover flat and bookmark signed by Lila DiPasqua.
How to Enter and Giveaway Rules: To enter, please leave me a comment telling me what author you’ve never met, but would love to meet some day. To be eligible for the contest, comments must be made by 11:59pm EDT on Friday, June 15, 2012. One entry per person, the winners will be selected from eligible entries using random.org. Contest is open to US and Canadian mailing addresses ONLY; please leave your email address so I can contact you. I am not responsible for items lost in the mail. You do not need to be a Google Friend Connect follower of my blog, but it is appreciated.
Special thanks to Jen at Red Hot Books, Brie at Romance Around the Corner & Michelle at Michelle's Book Blog for sponsoring the Shameless Summer Giveaway Hop. Please visit these other great blogs for more chances to win other great prizes!
PS... If you don't want to enter the contest, but still would like to leave a comment, please do so and just note "no contest entry."
PS... If you don't want to enter the contest, but still would like to leave a comment, please do so and just note "no contest entry."
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday Snippet #84
Genie Knows Best
Author: Judi Fennell
Sourcebooks PublishingNovember 1, 2011
REVIEW HERE
Samantha uncrossed, then recrossed her legs, and Kal admitted he might have a thing for her. Then she smiled at him, and there was no might about it. All those fantasies he’d had during the long lonely nights in his lantern... He definitely had a thing for her. One their kiss had only heightened.
His cock hardened and he grabbed something off Stavros’s desk to hide the evidence. Kharah, here they were discussing urban blight and he was thinking with his dick.
But it’d been too long since he’d held a woman, let alone one as beautiful as Samantha. Her smile lit up the place in a way the sun with its brutal intensity couldn’t, and made him burn even more. And with the way Monty had talked about her, Kal felt as if he knew her.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Review: Genie Knows Best
Genie Knows Best
Author: Judi Fennell
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Bottled Magic #2
ISBN: #978-1402241901
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): Paperback (384 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book: |
Be careful what you wish for...
Samantha Blaine is about to make a fateful discovery. A tall, dark, handsome, ohmygosh kind of fateful discovery...
Kal is very pleased to meet his attractive new master--especially since he intends to seduce her into granting him freedom.
But when seriously dark magic spells trouble for both of them, Kal can't help himself from falling for the woman who holds his fate in her hands...
What I’m talking about: |
Samantha is mourning the death of her father, when she overhears her boyfriend/fiance on the phone talking about how useless she is that she doesn’t even have a clue what he’s up to. When Sam discovers that Albert intends to “get his hands on the contents of the safe,” she quickly goes to find out for herself what is hidden. Little did she expect a genie in a lamp, but after the initial shock of it all, Sam embraces her new genie and a world she never dreamed to exist.
Kal (aka the hottie genie) has long admired Sam from afar when he served her father. Now Sam is his final master and soon his wrongful punishment will be over. Kal struggles to maintain a balance between his personal ambitions and his growing feelings for Sam.
Sam and Kal start their adventure in Izaaz, hidden home to many mythological creatures. There Sam unselfishly uses several wishes to help rejuvenate this rundown town. Unfortunately, so many of the denizens cannot get a long and chaos reigns. Although the book jumps to a quick start, I felt this part went on a bit too long. Sam attempts to start an urban renewal while refereeing waring dragons, leprechauns and gnomes. For someone just tossed into this world (and who is not only grieving her father, but also found out her fiance is a total a$$), she has no problems adjusting to this foreign land. Once Sam and Kal leave the fighting behind and move on to finding Albert (he’s up to no good), the story moves much more quickly for me. The adventure is entertaining, but it’s the characters’ humor that kept me engrossed. Ms. Fennell’s writing is punctuated with pop culture puns and snarky characters. The story reads like a light-hearted sitcom, full of humorous situations with a side of danger.
Sam and Kal have an instant attraction and their romance is hot. Yet they both are cautious, knowing their affair cannot last, as he is an immortal and she is human. However, instead of discussing their situation, they hide behind half-truths, which in the end cause them great heartache. Good thing this is a book about light-hearted magic, where all their problems can be solved! And in the end, life is good for all.
Overall Genie Knows Best is an enjoyable “chic-lit” paranormal. Although second in the series, it is very much a stand alone read, with a few minor connections to the first book. The plot is fairly simple, and even somewhat predictable, but very delightful because it’s so much fun.
My Rating: |
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Books in the Series:
I Dream of Genies
NOTE: Kindle version of I Dream of Genies is FREE for limited time.
Genie Knows Best
NOTE: Kindle version of I Dream of Genies is FREE for limited time.
Genie Knows Best
AAD Author Spotlight: Judi Fennell
Hello Readers! Today I have a special guest, Author Judi Fennell, author of the Bottled Magic and The Tritone (Mer) series. Judi is an award-winning author and writes what she calls “fairy tales with a twist.” Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com's First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, and have won numerous RWA Chapter Awards, including the FF&P Prism Award, and the New Jersey Golden Leaf Award. Judi resides in suburban Philadelphia, PA, where she lives with her kids, husband, two cocker spaniels named Vixen and Raven, and a kitten named Pagan.
Judi is one of the featured authors attending Author’s After Dark in New Orleans. For more information about AAD2012, click HERE.
Please help me welcome Judi to That’s What I’m Talking About. Take it away, Judi...
Hi Jen and thanks so much for asking me to participate in the blog!
I am so looking forward to AAD NOLA! I’m always thrilled to see the readers and authors I’ve come to know so well from the previous AAD conferences and it’s fun to meet new people, but I’ve also never been to New Orleans. I’ve been to over 35 of the states including Hawaii, lived in Spain, visited Portugal, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, but never made it to Louisiana. A few years ago, Hubs and I were planning to go to New Orleans, but then life got in the way, the free airline ticket guidelines changed, and we ended up in Cancun, Mexico. Which, yes, wasn’t a bad place to end up (we did the 3 hour bus tour to Chichen Itza and, yes, got to climb to the top of the pyramid which I understand you can no longer do, so I’m very glad we had that opportunity), but I still want to see NOLA. As a paranormal author, I can’t NOT be intrigued by the city. I’m looking forward to the tours our author guides will be planning and seeing the history. And of course, the food. I can’t wait to have authentic Cajun.And who knows, I might find inspiration for my next paranormal series. See, Genie Knows Best was released this month and I just turned in the third book in the contract, Magic Gone Wild which comes out next August or early Fall, so I’m heading back to the drawing board—or rather, the laptop—to come up with what I want to write next. Mariana and Pearl from the Mer series are chatting to me, there’s the twin sister of the heroine from Magic Gone Wild who wants her own story, a few other magical beings who are popping in to say hello, and, well, you just never know where that next world will show up.One of the most frequent questions I get is where do I get my story ideas. If you’ve read my work, you know that pop culture plays a HUGE part in my stories. The Mer series was started because I was working on a fairy tale series (If The Shoe Fits, Beauty and The Best, Fairest of Them All) and wanted to write a twist on The Little Mermaid. The easiest way to twist it was to make him the Mer. Toss in a sidekick fish named Chum and I was off and swimming with the puns and word play, with some pop culture references thrown in. The Bottled Magic series came about before I’d sold the Mer series because you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket, as it were. If the Mers didn’t sell, I wanted something else ready to go that might have commercial appeal. Everyone was doing vampires and werewolves and shapeshifters, so I wanted to do something no one else was. I’ve always loved the campy 60s TV sitcoms; my favorites were Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Witches abound in paranormal romance, but genies? Not so much. So that’s what I chose. And, really, once I decided to write about a genie who’d been confined to her bottle but accidentally got free, the Indiana Jones theme music popped into my head and the story started writing itself. That’s truly the best time fr an author; when you can’t type as fast as the story is pouring out of you. I should save those rough drafts sometime to show people how badly a typist I can be when the characters start talking.
But back to pop culture in my writing. I remember the first time I was going to put such a reference in one of my books. It was Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein and I had no idea if A) it was permissible, B) did I have to get Mel Brooks’ permission, C) would anyone even get the reference or was it my own stupid humor, and D) would NY publishers even allow you to do that? I figured, what the hell I wasn’t published yet, so I put it in the story I was writing. The, don’t you now, I pick up a Katie MacAlister book and doesn’t she reference Frau Blucher? So I figured if she could, I could. That opened the door for all those references I put in there. Hubs has always called my brain the “repository for useless bits of trivia.” Not so useless now, are they? ;)And I’m a sucker for history. Which is kind of funny since I hated that class in school. Looking back now, I see that it was because of the way it was taught. Teachers can make such a difference in a child’s learning. One of my kids has a GREAT history teacher. The guy said at back-to-school night that he’s not a homework kind of guy. That if he can’t teach it in five 45 minute classes, he shouldn’t be teaching. I clapped and told him I loved him. (Said Child would be sooooooooo embarrassed if that came out in class.) But I’m seeing it with this Kid’s grades. History is the highest one and Kid never studies or does homework. Kid says that the info sinks in because of the way the teacher teaches.
But I digress (no surprise if you’ve read my chatty characters…). I hated history. Hated memorizing dates and names and all that. Yet now, I find myself fascinated. I devour books on history, either historical fiction or documentaries, reference books or histories of certain eras. Adding more trivia to that repository, but this time it’s not useless. It’s how I’m able to add in mythology or customs or some historical references to my stories. And, taking us back to AAD NOLA, New Orleans’s history and culture is just fascinating, so I’m excited to see how/if it’ll show up in any of my stories.Only 9 months until then! See you in NOLA!
Thank you so much to Judi for stopping by! I had the pleasure of meeting Judi at AAD2011 and look forward to seeing her again in 9 months! Meanwhile you can find Judi online at:
And check back later today for my review of her latest release, Genie Knows Best.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Ebook Deal by AAD 2012 Featured Author: Judi Fennell
Next week, I will be hosting paranormal romance author, Judi Fennell, here at That’s What I’m Talking About. In addition, I will have a review of her newly released Genie Knows Best, the second book in her fun Bottled Magic series.But here's something really great: the first book in the genie series, the Bottled Magic series, I Dream of Genies, is not only available but it's FREE in electronic form for this week. Kindle
, Nook, iBooks, Sony, whatever your reading platform, you can find it for free.
, Nook, iBooks, Sony, whatever your reading platform, you can find it for free. Here is a link to my review of I Dream of Genies.
I wanted to let you all know so if you haven't had the chance to discover this awesome, fun world, now you can do it free of charge. And be sure to stop back next week when I’ll have my review of Genie Knows Best.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Contest Winner - I Dream of Genies
I would like to thank everyone for stopping by That’s What I’m Talking About for my review of I Dream of Genies and my interview with author Judi Fennell. I especially want to thank Judi for stopping by for the interview and Sourcebook Publishing for generously donating two (2) copies of Judi’s new release, I Dream of Genies, for my giveaway.Every person that commented on the review or interview was entered into the contest - one entry per person. The winner was selected using random.org.
The Winners:
Olivia Cunning
Robin K.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
I’m sending both winners a message; please email me at twimom227 (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address so Sourcebook can send you the book! You have until Wednesday January 12, 2011 (end of day) to contact me. If I don’t hear from you by then, I will draw another winner.
Thank you!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Review: I Dream of Genies
I Dream of GeniesAuthor: Judi Fennell
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebook Publishing
Book #1 in Genie series
ISBN: #978-1402241895
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): paperback (416 pgs), e-book
I received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
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 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…
What I’m talking about:
Eden is a genie - one that broke the Code and was imprisoned in her bottle for close to 2,000 years with only a talking cat for company. She sits in an antique store window, and her favorite part of the day is when handsome Matt runs by on his daily jog. When a freak accident suddenly sets her free and into the arms of Matt, she takes advantage.
Eden and Matt both feel a strong connection. She blames her magic at first, but soon they realize they cannot deny their mutual attraction. However, there is no time for lengthy courtships or even a night on the town. Eden is a fugitive and is soon captured by the evil Faruq, who returns her to the magical realm of Al-Jannah.
Welcome to a world of magic, adventure, sexy genies and talking animals. Ms. Fennell blends pop-culture references and old world mythology to create Al-Jannah. It’s like Easter morning as you discover all of these little eggs she has cleverly written into her story.
I cannot help but laugh out loud at Ms. Fennell’s humor. A genie named Eden (thank you Barbara) and a Ewing (who shot JR?), this story is fill with enough pop culture references to make E! News proud. As Judi mentioned in her interview HERE yesterday, she grew up on TV shows like: Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, Addams Family. She transforms and transplants her childhood influences into a witty, campy love story.
I have to admit it did take me a while to fall into the story. The characters didn’t grab me right from the start, but I’m going to blame it on school vacation and dealing with two kiddos glazed over from too much TV and post-Christmas let-down. Once I was able to sit down and read without distraction, the story started to grow on me. Matt and Eden are cute... butterflies and kittens type of cute. Yes there is passion and some hot smex, but they are Darrin and Samantha at heart. Their mis-adventures are a joy to read and easy to digest. There are no hard-to-follow side plots and every piece of the story comes together in the end.
I Dream of Genies is campy yet clever - humorous yet tender. It’s a fun read and the ending melted my heart. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Fennell has planned next from the world Al-Jannah.
My Rating:
3.5 stars: Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
GIVEAWAY: I have two (2) copies (two winners) of I Dream of Genies to giveaway here at That’s What I’m Talking About. Thank you to Sourcebooks for sponsoring the giveaway of Judi Fennell’s latest book. To enter, please leave a comment and your email at the end of yesterday’s interview or today’s review of I Dream of Genies. One entry per person. Winners restricted to US and Canada mailing addresses, only. Contest open from now until 9:00 PM EST on Friday January 7, 2011. Two (2) winners will be selected from the comment entries using random.org.
Labels:
3.5 stars,
Bottled Magic,
contest,
genies,
giveaway,
Judi Fennell,
paranormal romance,
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