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readyforit's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
4⭐️3🌶️
This book is an Aladdin retelling kind of, in that the author uses names and places and some similar plot. This book is a lot darker for the backstory though. Julian was abused as a child and the author gets very descriptive. I would skip this book if that is a trigger for you. I really liked his character and I couldn’t help but root for him even though he was the villain. I just knew he was misunderstood. Yasmin is a spoiled rich only child of Ali, who owns a huge diamond conglomerate. She knows her dad isn’t exactly an above-board guy but she has no clue just how deep it goes, and he wants to keep it that way. He’s a dying man (his cancer is heavily mentioned) and all he wants is for his daughter to marry a man who will take care of her and continue the business. She is offended that he doesn’t offer it to her, but later in the book we kind of see how sheltered she was and that she most likely would not have succeeded. Julian has basically run the business for many years since he worked his way up and he’s offended that HE wasn’t offered to take it over. So he devises a plan to marry Yasmin, take over the business, then kill her. Why would Yasmin agree to marry Julian? She’s in love with Aiden, whose mother works in her father’s mansion. She knows her father would never let her marry him, so she asks for Julian’s help. He sends Aiden to Egypt to look for a long-lost and very valuable lamp, and if he finds it, Ali might just allow him to marry Yasmin. In the meantime Julian plans to marry and seduce Yasmin.
This book is a little less spicy than the others bc it’s a true slow burn. There’s lots of tension in the beginning and middle but they don’t even hookup until like 70% of the way through I think.
I loved Julian and Yasmin’s relationship. They met when she was younger but he didn’t have any interest in her until now (they are 23&36). They are a true enemies to lovers, slow burn, touch her and die, where is my wife type of romance. He literally waits for her to tell him that she loves him bc he doesn’t want to ruin her chances of fixing things with Aiden. And honestly, fuck that guy. They were supposedly best friends for 12+ years and he didn’t even know how she took her coffee. Meanwhile Julian has only been around her a couple of months and he already knows how she takes her coffee, what shampoo she uses, and notices that she never learned to drive and tries to teach her. He gets her the EXACT diamond ring she wants, without even asking🥹.
Julian had a rough childhood and has self esteem issues and problems with letting people in. Because he’s such a paranoid person, it’s hard to know which characters to trust. Yasmin discovers that her father “protecting” her for her whole life really did her a disservice. She can’t even cook or do laundry. They both grow together and find they deserve happiness in each other. The extended epilogue that is available through the author’s website was nice too.
The audiobook was phenomenal and the narrators were perfect for the characters. They each had just a slight accent for some words. This audiobook didn’t have any discrepancies with the ebook this time like with others in the series. Overall I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting! I would probably opt to reread the audiobook in the future.
This book is an Aladdin retelling kind of, in that the author uses names and places and some similar plot. This book is a lot darker for the backstory though. Julian was abused as a child and the author gets very descriptive. I would skip this book if that is a trigger for you. I really liked his character and I couldn’t help but root for him even though he was the villain. I just knew he was misunderstood. Yasmin is a spoiled rich only child of Ali, who owns a huge diamond conglomerate. She knows her dad isn’t exactly an above-board guy but she has no clue just how deep it goes, and he wants to keep it that way. He’s a dying man (his cancer is heavily mentioned) and all he wants is for his daughter to marry a man who will take care of her and continue the business. She is offended that he doesn’t offer it to her, but later in the book we kind of see how sheltered she was and that she most likely would not have succeeded. Julian has basically run the business for many years since he worked his way up and he’s offended that HE wasn’t offered to take it over. So he devises a plan to marry Yasmin, take over the business, then kill her. Why would Yasmin agree to marry Julian? She’s in love with Aiden, whose mother works in her father’s mansion. She knows her father would never let her marry him, so she asks for Julian’s help. He sends Aiden to Egypt to look for a long-lost and very valuable lamp, and if he finds it, Ali might just allow him to marry Yasmin. In the meantime Julian plans to marry and seduce Yasmin.
This book is a little less spicy than the others bc it’s a true slow burn. There’s lots of tension in the beginning and middle but they don’t even hookup until like 70% of the way through I think.
I loved Julian and Yasmin’s relationship. They met when she was younger but he didn’t have any interest in her until now (they are 23&36). They are a true enemies to lovers, slow burn, touch her and die, where is my wife type of romance. He literally waits for her to tell him that she loves him bc he doesn’t want to ruin her chances of fixing things with Aiden. And honestly, fuck that guy. They were supposedly best friends for 12+ years and he didn’t even know how she took her coffee. Meanwhile Julian has only been around her a couple of months and he already knows how she takes her coffee, what shampoo she uses, and notices that she never learned to drive and tries to teach her. He gets her the EXACT diamond ring she wants, without even asking🥹.
Julian had a rough childhood and has self esteem issues and problems with letting people in. Because he’s such a paranoid person, it’s hard to know which characters to trust. Yasmin discovers that her father “protecting” her for her whole life really did her a disservice. She can’t even cook or do laundry. They both grow together and find they deserve happiness in each other. The extended epilogue that is available through the author’s website was nice too.
The audiobook was phenomenal and the narrators were perfect for the characters. They each had just a slight accent for some words. This audiobook didn’t have any discrepancies with the ebook this time like with others in the series. Overall I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting! I would probably opt to reread the audiobook in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Classism, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
siffpedersen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Vomit, Death, Grief, and Violence
krisalexcole's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Sexual content, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity and Vomit
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