Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Sexy in a Bottle by Andrea Laurence


Valerie Thomas has hidden herself from the world, isolating herself in a New England lighthouse while she waits to die. Somehow, it’s easier for her to cope with the reality of her illness if she doesn’t worry about who she’s leaving behind. Not that there is anyone important in her life to really miss her.

Rajan has been trapped inside his gold and sapphire prison since his last master dropped the necklace into the ocean. He never expected to wash up naked on a rocky coastline with a beautiful woman hovering over him. A djinn, trapped by a sorcerer’s curse, Raj offers Valerie three wishes, but the stubborn woman refuses to make them.

As strong nor’easter threatens Valerie’s tiny island, she and Raj discover the key to ending each other’s miserable, lonely existence. But can the genie and his mistress both get their wishes granted?


Where to Buy


A sexy story of two people who find love that they'd never expected to find. One has spent centuries in servitude and long given up hope of ever being freed, the other is simply waiting for fate to catch up with her and give her the death she knows is coming. Both have given up really wanting anything for themselves, and therein lies the key to them finding happiness with one another.



Valerie is working on a secluded island as a lighthouse keeper, by choice spending her remaining days in solitude as she waits for an inoperable aneurism to take her life. While she is mostly resigned to her fate, and doesn't really wish for things to be different, still there is a small part of her that desperately wants to live, or at the very least to be able to experience more in life before her time is up. While making preparations for a coming storm, she happens to find an old necklace washed up on shore and thereby sets in motion a chain of events that no one could have predicted.

Raj has been trapped in the gem of the necklace for centuries, bound there by a sorcerer long ago who was fulfilling something of a right of passage. He has long since become accustomed to his captivity and servitude and initially approaches his service to Valerie much like any other "job". She isn't anything like he's been accustomed to, however, and as he spends time with her due to her refusal to make any wishes, and the two of them being trapped on the island by the storm, he starts to fall for her and to dread the day when he'll have to return to the stone.

This isn't a very long book, and thus the story moves at a fairly quick pace, but it never really feels all that rushed or as though things are happening unnaturally fast between them. They don't immediately jump into bed together despite an almost instant attraction, primarily because she doesn't believe what he's telling her and is sure he's just someone who fell overboard from some boat or ship and hit his head. She takes him in, but she keeps her distance as she's not entirely certain he's stable or can be trusted not to snap given provocation however nice and harmless he seems. Even when she finally is convinced of what he is, her actions make sense given that she's basically a fairly selfless sort of person. There's really only one detailed love scene here, and it's pretty hot, but also fairly brief. I would have liked to have seen more of the heat between them that had them wearing out the sheets for two days straight.

I liked this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick paranormal romance read. There aren't any suprises here really, and there are some genuinely heartwarming emotions. While most of it is pretty predictable, it's still a pleasant way to pass an hour or so (depending on how fast you read), just don't expect it to really rock or world or do much more than bring a few smiles to your face (and maybe a tingle or two to other parts). 3½ stars.

I received a free copy of this book from the author as part of the Goodreads PNR NaUBA group's Author/Reader Exchange program in return for an honest review.



2 comments:

  1. Ooo I hadn't seen this one yet. Love the cover and it really does sound like a fun little pnr to pick up between longer reads. Thanks for the heads up on it!

    ~Anna
    herding cats & burning soup

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  2. This sounds like a quick, sexy read. Thanks for the recommendation!

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