Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle Series #1)

by Heather Demetrios

Overview

For fans of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy comes the first book in the Dark Caravan Cycle, a modern fantasy-adventure trilogy about a gorgeous, fierce eighteen-year-old jinni who is pitted against two magnetic adversaries, both of whom want her—and need her—to make their wishes come true.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Now in hiding on the dark caravan—the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command—she’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle. Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to release Nalia from her master so she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle . . . and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062318572
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Series:	Dark Caravan Cycle Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	838,593
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

When Heather Demetrios isn’t traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, she lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather received her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut young adult novel, Something Real. She is the founder of Live Your What, an organization dedicated to fostering

Editorial Reviews

The story unfolds at a swift, even pace, and the worldbuilding is superb; the jinn inhabit an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history. Readers will wish they had a jinni to grant them the next book in the series.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Blending ancient myth and glittering modernity, it’s an intricate and smartly written story.” — Publishers Weekly

“Exquisite Captive transported me to a world that was beautiful and terrifying, sensuous and dark, and utterly unforgettable. I’ll be haunted by Heather Demetrios’s brilliant and romantic take on modern jinni lore for many nights to come.” — Megan Shepherd, author of The Madman's Daughter

“A rich, unique world, full of characters who blaze as brightly as their tremendous powers—I was ensnared from the very first line! Exquisite Captive is a beautiful and clever reimagining of the mythology of the jinn, and utterly unlike anything I’ve ever read. Seductive, refreshing, and unforgettable!” — Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series

“Demetrios crafts a refreshingly diverse story with nods to Arabian culture in this lengthy blend of traditional jinni lore and urban fantasy elements.” — SLJ

From the Publisher

Exquisite Captive transported me to a world that was beautiful and terrifying, sensuous and dark, and utterly unforgettable. I’ll be haunted by Heather Demetrios’s brilliant and romantic take on modern jinni lore for many nights to come.

Megan Shepherd

Demetrios crafts a refreshingly diverse story with nods to Arabian culture in this lengthy blend of traditional jinni lore and urban fantasy elements.

SLJ

A rich, unique world, full of characters who blaze as brightly as their tremendous powers—I was ensnared from the very first line! Exquisite Captive is a beautiful and clever reimagining of the mythology of the jinn, and utterly unlike anything I’ve ever read. Seductive, refreshing, and unforgettable!

Sarah J. Maas

08/25/2014
As the last of the Ghan Aisouri, a race of jinni infused with the powers of the four elements, 18-year-old Nalia is a formidable warrior in her homeland of Arjinna. Transported to Earth and sold into slavery to an immortal half-breed master, Nalia faces an interminable future away from her beloved younger brother, Bashil, until a revolutionary named Raif offers to free her in exchange for a ring that will grant him power over their entire race. Nalia is emotionally complex and sharply drawn, trying to atone for her bloody past while she battles Stockholm syndrome with regard to her lecherous master, Malek; endures discrimination and distrust from her star-crossed lover, who hails from a lower caste; and tries to untangle the mystery of jinni trafficking and an evil force devouring young jinni women on Earth. Blending ancient myth and glittering modernity, it’s an intricate and smartly written story from Demetrios (Something Real), and the open ending paves the way for the next book in the Dark Caravan Cycle. Ages 13–up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2014-07-29
Nalia lives in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, a glittering world of parties and fast cars. She can have anything she wants—except her freedom. Nalia is "just another jinni on the dark caravan" of the slave trade, forced to spend her days granting wishes on behalf of her human master, Malek, in order to advance his wealth and power. Nalia was trafficked in a bottle from her home realm of Arjinna to Earth after a coup wiped out her entire caste. She is the only surviving Ghan Aisouri, a royal knight and the heir to the Arjinnan throne. Arjinna is now under the martial law of the ruthless Ifrit, the lowest and most despised caste, and all that matters to Nalia is returning home to rescue her 8-year-old brother from the brutal Ifrit work camps—but Nalia can only be free when Malek makes his third and final wish. Enter Raif, sexy leader of the revolution in Arjinna, who makes her an offer; Nalia must decide whether she'll break her most sacred vow to save the person she loves most, but she'll pay any price to be her own mistress. The story unfolds at a swift, even pace, and the worldbuilding is superb; the jinn inhabit an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history. Readers will wish they had a jinni to grant them the next book in the series. (Fantasy. 15 & up)

Kirkus Reviews