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A review by vreadsabook
Desperate Measures by Katee Robert
2.0
The premise of this one was tantalizing--a romance with Jafar as the villainous hero in a retelling of Aladdin. I expected a slow burn and more of a psychological element. I also expected more from the Aladdin element, some clever unearthing of how the good guy is not so good after all. I bought it on the premise alone, having read nothing else about it.
I was disappointed to find that the plot was contemporized into a mafia/gang type setting, and there was very little character development. The characters felt wooden. The protaganists are only attractive because we are told their bodies are, not because we are shown anything interesting about their personalities. In the end, the character arcs felt cliche and wooden, mainly because they--and the rest--are 100% vehicles for racy sex scenes. The raciness didn't surprise me, but without the character element, it was hard to care.
There were some good ideas here. The initial premise was interesting and some of the locations fascinating, but in the end it all felt wasted and flat. I was disappointed.
I was disappointed to find that the plot was contemporized into a mafia/gang type setting, and there was very little character development. The characters felt wooden. The protaganists are only attractive because we are told their bodies are, not because we are shown anything interesting about their personalities. In the end, the character arcs felt cliche and wooden, mainly because they--and the rest--are 100% vehicles for racy sex scenes. The raciness didn't surprise me, but without the character element, it was hard to care.
There were some good ideas here. The initial premise was interesting and some of the locations fascinating, but in the end it all felt wasted and flat. I was disappointed.