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headcanonheadcase's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyable and completely hot. I loved this spicy reimagining of Jasmine and Jafar from Aladin. I like Katee's style and will definitely be reading more of this series.
kahime's review against another edition
5.0
You know this story. Everyone does. Princess Jasmine and Aladdin fall in love, they defeat Jafar and save Agrabah. Except, not this time. Not in this story.
Jasmine Sarraff is the princess of an underworld organization and her father, the ruler of his territory in Carver City, has sold her as a way to merge another piece of territory, to his.
Jafar has been the second-in-command to Jasmine's father for over five years, until he slaughters Balthazar and takes control over his territory. With that, he now owns everything. Including Jasmine.
This novella starts off with a bang, a primal chase, and holy shit does that set the tone for the rest of the book. I love banter and snark between characters; it's always wonderful to see in books, how it draws characters together and Katee Roberts does this with absolute perfection. The whole push and pull game is real here and I enjoy it immensely. Jasmine is incredibly sheltered, much how she is in the movies. She's never left her "palace" walls, went to the grocery store or even attempted to ride public transportation, even at 25. So, when Jafar comes in and steals her in the night, she sees it as another cage.
The clash of these characters is amazing and the pace is perfect. I don't think it's too fast or two slow. There isn't a single detail I wish that was cut to make it shorter. The only thing I wanted was MORE. The steam is heavy and this book is hot af. The sex scenes are absolutely delicious, filled with constant check-ins, consent, and aftercare. We do love a consent king and here? Jafar is ruling that shit. Desperate Measures also has the one trope I adore more than anything else in the world and it's DIVINE: the one where the man falls first and has to prove himself to her.
I highly recommend checking this one out, and if Jafar isn't your thing? She's got an entire series full of villains just waiting instead...
Jasmine Sarraff is the princess of an underworld organization and her father, the ruler of his territory in Carver City, has sold her as a way to merge another piece of territory, to his.
Jafar has been the second-in-command to Jasmine's father for over five years, until he slaughters Balthazar and takes control over his territory. With that, he now owns everything. Including Jasmine.
This novella starts off with a bang, a primal chase, and holy shit does that set the tone for the rest of the book. I love banter and snark between characters; it's always wonderful to see in books, how it draws characters together and Katee Roberts does this with absolute perfection. The whole push and pull game is real here and I enjoy it immensely. Jasmine is incredibly sheltered, much how she is in the movies. She's never left her "palace" walls, went to the grocery store or even attempted to ride public transportation, even at 25. So, when Jafar comes in and steals her in the night, she sees it as another cage.
The clash of these characters is amazing and the pace is perfect. I don't think it's too fast or two slow. There isn't a single detail I wish that was cut to make it shorter. The only thing I wanted was MORE. The steam is heavy and this book is hot af. The sex scenes are absolutely delicious, filled with constant check-ins, consent, and aftercare. We do love a consent king and here? Jafar is ruling that shit. Desperate Measures also has the one trope I adore more than anything else in the world and it's DIVINE: the one where the man falls first and has to prove himself to her.
I highly recommend checking this one out, and if Jafar isn't your thing? She's got an entire series full of villains just waiting instead...
autumnallegory's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
stasiesats's review against another edition
3.0
Spice 5 star!
Plot was decent… kind of excited to read the rest of the series. This series will definitely be filler books for me or reading slump. Smut always helps those slumps!
Plot was decent… kind of excited to read the rest of the series. This series will definitely be filler books for me or reading slump. Smut always helps those slumps!
tantekate's review against another edition
dark
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Super dark romance featuring explicit CNC scenes. Definitely not for everyone, but I love it.
heabooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
Ok well I knew what I was getting when I went into DESPERATE MEASURES but oh wow was this a hot and sexy read! This book kicks off the WICKED VILLAINS series which features Disney villains and princesses reimagined in the dirtiest way possible (that’s a huge compliment). In this case we have Jafar who has taken over the territory Jasmine’s father once held and now he wants to possess Jasmine in every way possible. Jasmine might have been sheltered and kept away from the world her whole life but she’s wanted Jafar from the first moment she saw him. Of course that doesn’t mean she’s not going to put up a fight; partly because she loves the fight and partly because she wants to be an equal not just a pet.
I’m always amazed how well Katee Robert handles power dynamics and consent in her books and I feel like DESPERATE MEASURES is a masterclass in showing clear consent for the reader. Jasmine and Jafar like to role play non-consent scenes and fighting and resisting is a big part of what turns them on. But as the reader it’s never in question that these two are enjoying themselves and completely ok with everything going on; even in that first sex scene which dives right into the role play so be prepared if you’re not familiar or comfortable reading about this kind of kink.
Jasmine and Jafar were absolutely on fire together and the scenes where Meg joins them were so hot my Kindle almost scorched my hands. Good lord I would not recommend reading this in public where someone might look over your shoulder, lol. I also loved how obviously queer so many of the characters are and I can already tell that this series is going to only get hotter. There’s some set up for future characters as we meet several in the BDSM club, The Underworld (owned by Hades of course), and I can’t wait to read their stories.
I do wish it was a little clearer what kind of world this was though; things like territories and factions were referenced but I was unclear if the various groups were supposed to be gangs or the mafia or something else all together. But let’s be honest, this is really about the sexual relationship between Jasmine and Jafar so I won’t make a big deal about the unclear world building. The ending was not what I was expecting, but without spoiling anything, it was awesome! It does tie up in a bow neatly but again, this series is clearly about the fantasy of it all and not meant to be perfectly “real life.”
Content Warning: consensual role play of non-consent scenes; abusive parent
I’m always amazed how well Katee Robert handles power dynamics and consent in her books and I feel like DESPERATE MEASURES is a masterclass in showing clear consent for the reader. Jasmine and Jafar like to role play non-consent scenes and fighting and resisting is a big part of what turns them on. But as the reader it’s never in question that these two are enjoying themselves and completely ok with everything going on; even in that first sex scene which dives right into the role play so be prepared if you’re not familiar or comfortable reading about this kind of kink.
Jasmine and Jafar were absolutely on fire together and the scenes where Meg joins them were so hot my Kindle almost scorched my hands. Good lord I would not recommend reading this in public where someone might look over your shoulder, lol. I also loved how obviously queer so many of the characters are and I can already tell that this series is going to only get hotter. There’s some set up for future characters as we meet several in the BDSM club, The Underworld (owned by Hades of course), and I can’t wait to read their stories.
I do wish it was a little clearer what kind of world this was though; things like territories and factions were referenced but I was unclear if the various groups were supposed to be gangs or the mafia or something else all together. But let’s be honest, this is really about the sexual relationship between Jasmine and Jafar so I won’t make a big deal about the unclear world building. The ending was not what I was expecting, but without spoiling anything, it was awesome! It does tie up in a bow neatly but again, this series is clearly about the fantasy of it all and not meant to be perfectly “real life.”
Content Warning: consensual role play of non-consent scenes; abusive parent
lindseytlmn's review against another edition
3.0
I do love smut but maybe erotica isn’t my thing. The plot was very repetitive and kinda boring ; even though it’s not necessarily about the plot but about…other things. Anyway, I love that at the end of the book jasmine is an absolute badass rather than being as she says: “a bird trapped in a cage” to wrap up, It wasn’t great(or bad) in my personal opinion , I prefer for the characters to have more of a connection before doing deeds.
This was the first erotica I’ve read and I’m very conflicted about how I feel about it. This won’t be my usual read but I wouldn’t mind reading a couple others.
This was the first erotica I’ve read and I’m very conflicted about how I feel about it. This won’t be my usual read but I wouldn’t mind reading a couple others.
peytoncainn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hehe if the girlies want it, this is where to get it
biffylal's review against another edition
4.0
I love the twist in this retelling! The spice was top notch and the banter between Jasmine and Jafar was *chef’s kiss*.
If you’re looking for a book you can’t put down, one that’s full of banter, spice and sexual tension then this book is for you!
If you’re looking for a book you can’t put down, one that’s full of banter, spice and sexual tension then this book is for you!
samanthainfantasyworld's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good, but not fantastic.
Compared to her neon gods this book was OK .
I did like the twist of the story and her remade version.
In the first seen, it went directly to smut in for a book that has so little pages and most of them are smut.
I would have liked more of their story then smut.
** trigger warning lots of smut**
Compared to her neon gods this book was OK .
I did like the twist of the story and her remade version.
In the first seen, it went directly to smut in for a book that has so little pages and most of them are smut.
I would have liked more of their story then smut.
** trigger warning lots of smut**