Desperate Measures book review

My Savior… Or My Ruin?
One night, and my entire life went up in flames. All because of him. Jafar. As my world burned down around me, he offered me a choice. Walk away with nothing but my freedom… Or rise to his challenge and win my fortune back.
I bargained.
I lost.
Now Jafar owns me, and even as my mind rails against his rules, my body loves the punishments he deals out when I break them.
But a gilded cage is still a prison, I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom.
Even betray the man I’m falling for.

Another foray into the adult romance scenarios and I loved the retelling aspects of this one. Desperate Measures is based on the story of Aladdin and Jasmine but with Jafar as the hero. I think it was an interesting change and it added more to the story than the original. However as much as I enjoyed the retelling elements I thought the ending was a little irritating. It wrapped up way too easy! I do love the characters but I think I would have loved a little more development. Especially when it came down to the ending and the way every one ended up.

The Characters in Desperate Measures

Desperate Measures is based on Aladdin. We then follow Jasmine when Jafar has overthrown her father. Although the politics are similar the setting is city based instead of the desert. I really love how they write Jasmine and her curiosity of the world around her. The city added a roughness to her encounters and fits the overall feel of the book and sexual encounters with Jafar. I really wish there had been more development of her in the outside world and with other people other than Jafar and within The Underground.

Jafar was an interesting enigma, and I was a little disappointed by the fact he wasn’t closer to the original story. It would have been great to see more of his darker side when dealing with Ali and the politics of the city. I did like the interactions between him and Jasmine, it was an interesting dynamic. It grew naturally throughout the book and I loved it. I’m definitely interested to see how the other books deal with their dynamics.

Good and Bad things

I think the good things about Desperate Measures are the dynamics that are created between Jasmine and Jafar. It was a great relationship and I loved the moments they shared, especially when there was raw emotion with them dealing with it all. I love how Jasmine questions a lot of what was going on and whether it was right for her. It was great to see the ending go in a completely different direction. I appreciate the effort that was made.

The bad for me was just how short this book was. I really wanted more development and more time with the characters and their stories. There is a lot going on and I feel there is a lot missing from the story that would have pushed it to new heights. I wish we could have seen more from Jafar’s point of view and how he dealt with everything around him. All in all, it’s a fun read but missing some potential.

Recommendations

I do recommend this one. I like the story and the characters and I’m looking forward to reading the other books. Plus there are some really good retellings coming up. I’m hoping the dynamics work out the way I want them too.

Have you read this series? Let me know what you thought down below.