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morebedsidebooks's review
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity and Suicide
thenovelbookshelf's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
memyshelfsterling's review
1.5
TBH the only reason I'm giving this any stars is the artwork.
I like trying out translated works from other countries, so I picked this one up because it looked like an interesting setting (Turkey at the end of the Ottoman Empire) that I don't read a lot about. Also, djinn are a fascinating part of mythology so I wanted to see where this would take it. I really wanted to like it.
Now this purports to be erotica, but honestly, it's not at all erotic and feels more and more forced the further we get into the volume. While it seems to be claiming that it's reclaiming sex as a tool for women, Jade is nothing but a manipulative pimp in her timeline, and her granddaughter Kim is coerced forced to pleasure 30 random dudes for the just the mere possibility of finding out more info about her grandmother in the other timeline. Where's the power in any of that. And certainly not what I would term erotic, it's just gratuitous sex for the sake of sex.
In addition to that all of that, it didn't escape my notice that most of the time there's anything violent towards Kim and somewhat other women, it's notably the hairier men with darker skin tones rather than the men with European features who are portrayed if not gentlemanly, as more restrained or refined.
Anyway, though I have the next two volumes and it undoubtedly wouldn't take long to read, I don't think what I've read so far makes me curious enough to finish, nor do I think the conclusion would make hate reading it worth it. And I can see that one of the later volumes involves them being in Africa, so given what I read here, I don't even want to know what colonialism bullshit they'll have in that volume. I will be unhauling these.
I like trying out translated works from other countries, so I picked this one up because it looked like an interesting setting (Turkey at the end of the Ottoman Empire) that I don't read a lot about. Also, djinn are a fascinating part of mythology so I wanted to see where this would take it. I really wanted to like it.
Now this purports to be erotica, but honestly, it's not at all erotic and feels more and more forced the further we get into the volume. While it seems to be claiming that it's reclaiming sex as a tool for women, Jade is nothing but a manipulative pimp in her timeline, and her granddaughter Kim is coerced forced to pleasure 30 random dudes for the just the mere possibility of finding out more info about her grandmother in the other timeline. Where's the power in any of that. And certainly not what I would term erotic, it's just gratuitous sex for the sake of sex.
In addition to that all of that, it didn't escape my notice that most of the time there's anything violent towards Kim and somewhat other women, it's notably the hairier men with darker skin tones rather than the men with European features who are portrayed if not gentlemanly, as more restrained or refined.
Anyway, though I have the next two volumes and it undoubtedly wouldn't take long to read, I don't think what I've read so far makes me curious enough to finish, nor do I think the conclusion would make hate reading it worth it. And I can see that one of the later volumes involves them being in Africa, so given what I read here, I don't even want to know what colonialism bullshit they'll have in that volume. I will be unhauling these.
maisiesleepywiredstudios's review
3.0
- Interesting premise
- Jade is stunning
- Malek is godamn precious gift
- the art style was great
- Jade is stunning
- Malek is godamn precious gift
- the art style was great
dantiquity's review
3.0
The art and writing is just compelling enough that I want to know how the story ends. But the eroticism seems more and more forced as the story goes on. Seems like the author should have decided whether to write erotica OR mystery, not an erotic mystery/thriller
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