Probably more like 2 1/2 stars. I'm getting bored of the series and am not sure if I'll carry on for book 4, even though I have it.

The editing seems to be getting worse with every book in the series. :/

I guess the novelty of the jinn has worn a bit thin. ( )

Read the full review at Witchmag's Boekenplank

*May contain some spoilers if you haven’t read the other books in the series*

It took me a while before this book managed to put its claws in me. But once it did, it wouldn’t let go until the end. Together we went through a whirlwind of events, including some very unexpected ones… I liked that this book had more “story” and less Charlie doing stupid things and Ari saving his sorry ass. It’s centered more around Ari and the true meaning of the Seal. A huge improvement when compared to the previous book, where only the beginning and the end managed to grab my attention. Mainly because Charlie and his stupid antics were too annoyingly present during the middle part.

And Charlie still hasn’t improved a bit. He seems to know exactly what’s wrong with him and he even knows that he’s addicted. But getting help? Yeah right. It seems that the only goal in his live is getting revenge. Does he really think that it’s what his little brother wanted? That he wanted Charlie to live a miserable live because of revenge for him? A life on the run? I’m sorry, but I don’t think so!

But enough about Charlie, let’s talk about why I really liked this story. First, there are the dreams. They are actually a bit more like hints for the reader. They give you some insight in the colorful history of the Jinn and let you speculate where the story is going. they show you how the war started and why it did. Who, surprisingly, the instigator was. It put the whole thing in an entirely different context, one that I didn’t see coming! And I love getting surprised like this ^^

Then we have romance time. A lot of romance time. Maybe a bit too much at times, so much I started wondering if it was used as filler. Anyway, the “love scenes” made the story feel lengthy at times. I know they are in love, but I don’t need to see this confirmed every other page. I also know Jai has issues when it comes to love and that Ari needs to show him love can also be a good thing, but still… At times it was just toooo corny.

Conclusion

4 HEARTS. Less annoyance about Charlie and more information about the Seal. A lot of important things happen, even with the sticky behavior of Jai and Ari. We’ve got abnormal dreams and hints, which lead to high expectations and funny, sometimes shocking events. This book isn’t one to stick with the familiar, it dives directly into the unknown! ( )