Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Binding Stone

Title: The Binding Stone 
Author: Lisa Gail Green 
Series: Djinn, Book 1 
Number of Pages: 247 
Date Read: 9/7/13   
Genre: Fantasy, U.F., Genie, Djinn 



Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she’s seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?


My Review:


I really liked this book. This is my first time reading a book about genies/djinn and I was glad I picked this book to introduce me to that world. 

I'm gonna clarify the difference between a djinn and a genie, as least as how I understand it to be. Leela (the main character) is a being called a djinn that has magical powers. All djinn are free. A genie is a being that is trapped and forced to have a master. The genie must do what the master wants/commands/wishes whether they want to or not. Leela and her friends are dijinni who become enslaved as genies. They are djinn whether or not they are enslaved but are genies when they are enslaved.
 

The story is about Leela who is a djinn that was trapped by her love to essentially become a genie who has to grant her master any wish they want. Leela and her djinni friends came to our earth realm to experience life as a human and that is how they got trapped as genies. Later on she is found by Jered in the present time and becomes his genie. Only a person with magic can control a djinn and in this book they are called magicians. The rest of the story is about Leela protecting Jered from someone who wants to kill him so they can possess her and have 3 djinni's to take over the world. I know it sound funny like Pinky and the Brain ("the same thing we do every night Pinky. Try to take over the world!) but it the story is full of action and romance.

The story is told mostly in the present time with Leela and Jered. However there are some chapters sprinkled throughout the book that take us back a thousand years ago to show us Leela's past, how magicians came into being and how she became a "genie." I really enjoyed these parts of the book because they show us who Leela is and how she came to be the woman in the present chapters. We learn about her life and the events that caused her to become trapped as a genie. We also see how her life is in the beginnings of her enslavement.
 

I loved the main characters. Leela is cunning and manipulative; she tries to find loopholes through her commands to suit her needs and what she wants to do. She is very "hard" because of her past as well as her past masters (over 1000 years of masters) and doesn't let anyone in to see her true self. She becomes very protective of Jered and beings to care for him, against her will. Her magic is awesome and she can grant almost any wish/command, however her power is also limited. She is a quick thinker and does what she has to to protect those she cares about.
 

Jered is the other main character who comes into possession of the ring that binds Leela to him. He is a sweet 17 year old kid. When he find out he has a genie his first wish is to help others by wishing for world peace, which Leela can't grant because of her limited powers. But Jered is that type of person, who wants to help people and is against hurting people. He also sees and treats Leela as a human and not a slave. He eventually begins to care for Leela and the romance blossoms.
 

The character I loved the most though was Taj, who is Leela's djinn friend who was trapped as a genie as well. Taj is the villain's djinn, who is sent to kill Jered and take Leela for his master. Taj is not a bad guy at all but he must follow the command of his master~ he has no choice. I love Taj because he is feisty, kind, sarcastic and hilarious. His quips had me laughing. Taj is serious when he needs to be and like Leela, tries to find loopholes in the commands his master gives him.
 

I also like the character of Gabe who is Jered's best friend. He is funny as well and he is always at Jered's side to help him and fight alongside him. I also like Sophia who is Jered's half sister. She is a little kid magician but has immense power and helps Jered fight the villain as well. She is a very clever little girl who comes up with good plans to help.

I absolutely hated the villain in this book which means that she is a great one. The villain was well written to make me feel the strong emotions I felt about it. The villain is pure evil and I wanted to go into the book and kill her myself.
 

I'm not gonna say much about the romance except that it was cute and that it didn't take up all of the story, so it didn't annoy me.
 

The only thing that kinda bother me was how rushed the last chapter was. It seemed as if everything had to be wrapped up quickly and I wasn't too happy about that.

I'm not too sure what the next book is going to be about since this book had what seems to me to be a clear ending. But whatever the next book is about, I will definitely be reading it!

SPOILER

I hate what happened to Gabe. Out of all the people in the book he had to die. WTF is that about? He helped Jered and Leela fight the villain only to be killed. I was and still am NOT happy about that.
 

Rating: 
 

1 comment:

  1. This sounds pretty interesting! The only thing I've known about Djinns are from the show Supernatural... lol. I plan on reading this soon now!

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