School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Nalia, a powerful jinni from the world of Arjinna, has been on the dark caravan of the jinni slave trade for three years. After a deadly coup killed almost everyone she cared about, Nalia was captured by a slave trader who sells jinn to humans. Now she is trapped in Hollywood and bound to a handsome master who is as ruthless as he is powerful. Nalia is desperate for the chance to return to Arjinna and rescue her captive brother-something that seems impossible while bound to her master and the bottle that can hold her prisoner. When Nalia agrees to a dangerous bargain with the leader of Arjinna's revolution, she will have to decide if any price can be too high for her freedom. Demetrios crafts a refreshingly diverse story with nods to Arabian culture in this lengthy blend of traditional jinni lore and urban fantasy elements. Unfortunately, while Nalia is a strong and capable heroine, her positive attributes are marred by a lopsided love triangle. The well-realized world of Arjinna is similarly overshadowed by stiff descriptions and numerous explanations.-Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
As the last of the Ghan Aisouri, a race of jinni infused with the powers of the four elements, 18-year-old Nalia is a formidable warrior in her homeland of Arjinna. Transported to Earth and sold into slavery to an immortal half-breed master, Nalia faces an interminable future away from her beloved younger brother, Bashil, until a revolutionary named Raif offers to free her in exchange for a ring that will grant him power over their entire race. Nalia is emotionally complex and sharply drawn, trying to atone for her bloody past while she battles Stockholm syndrome with regard to her lecherous master, Malek; endures discrimination and distrust from her star-crossed lover, who hails from a lower caste; and tries to untangle the mystery of jinni trafficking and an evil force devouring young jinni women on Earth. Blending ancient myth and glittering modernity, it's an intricate and smartly written story from Demetrios (Something Real), and the open ending paves the way for the next book in the Dark Caravan Cycle. Ages 13-up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Nalia lives in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, a glittering world of parties and fast cars. She can have anything she wantsexcept her freedom. Nalia is "just another jinni on the dark caravan" of the slave trade, forced to spend her days granting wishes on behalf of her human master, Malek, in order to advance his wealth and power. Nalia was trafficked in a bottle from her home realm of Arjinna to Earth after a coup wiped out her entire caste. She is the only surviving Ghan Aisouri, a royal knight and the heir to the Arjinnan throne. Arjinna is now under the martial law of the ruthless Ifrit, the lowest and most despised caste, and all that matters to Nalia is returning home to rescue her 8-year-old brother from the brutal Ifrit work campsbut Nalia can only be free when Malek makes his third and final wish. Enter Raif, sexy leader of the revolution in Arjinna, who makes her an offer; Nalia must decide whether she'll break her most sacred vow to save the person she loves most, but she'll pay any price to be her own mistress. The story unfolds at a swift, even pace, and the worldbuilding is superb; the jinn inhabit an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history. Readers will wish they had a jinni to grant them the next book in the series. (Fantasy. 15 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.