REVIEWED by Jay V.
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ITLE: Genie in a Vodka Bottle
AUTHOR: Rob Rosen
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 182 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 11, 2021
BLURB:
Mysterious forces are at play when Paul’s vacation to Spain unexpectedly detours to Gibraltar and then Morocco, to a vodka bottle in a hole in the wall bar, to a handsome genie with a slew of secrets, plus almost limitless powers, virtually no memory, and a keen desire to be freed from his curse. Along the way, Paul is reunited with his ex-lover and the genie’s previous master as fate draws them ever deeper into a murky, dangerous past.
On our heroes travel, from the frigid north of Russia to a magic carpet ride across China, ultimately finding themselves in the deserts of ancient Jordan. Here, they encounter another of the genie’s previous masters and a power far greater than they could’ve ever imagined, all within a massive temple carved into a mountainside. Can our intrepid foursome uncover the truth before the curse takes them all and possibly the entire world down? Will love win out in the end? Or is the genie forever doomed to a life foretold in fairy tales?
REVIEW:
Paul is not having a good life – he’s broken up with his boyfriend and is now taking a trip meant for two by himself. He’s getting strange hints that eventually lead him to a real Genie. There begins an exploration of trying to figure out how this situation came to be.
For some reason, this was a somewhat tough read for me. I generally like the humor that Rosen brings to books but the pacing seemed slightly off. The book is shorter and with that, there was some condensing of the story while other parts were too long. Things moved fast, as did Paul – he’s having sex with all these guys and it didn’t feel genuine. I get he is on the rebound, but can’t decide to be happy or sad about it and that reflects early in the book. Things progress pretty fast when he meets the Genie and they begin a relationship pretty quickly. And neither character have much depth in the beginning – yes, they grow as people/entities, but it’s hard to get behind them early on.
I guess I’m struggling with the book since I’m not sure I know what it is – it does have historical and mystery but also has a lot of sex. Is it erotic fiction? or erotic romance or something else? Not quite balanced for my taste. While I like some books that cross boarders of definition, this one didn’t quite do it successfully. Now, if you are a Rosen fan, I think you will like it as you’re used to his pacing, but outside of the core fans, I think you’ll be a little lost and it’s hard to travel along the thinking as there’s a lot of trying to uncover the truth then a flip to a lot of sex. There are some really fun moments, though, and Rosen plays up so many references to the Genie, it can be surprisingly delightful.
RATING:
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