Book Review: BOTTLED by Carol Riggs

Title: Bottled
Author: Carol Riggs
Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
My Star Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Blurb:


At seventeen, Adeelah Naji is transformed into a genie and imprisoned in a bottle. For a thousand years, she fulfills the wishes of greedy masters—building their palaces, lining their pockets with gold, and granting them every earthly pleasure. All that sustains her is the hope of finding Karim, the boy she fell in love with as a human. When at last she finds a note from her beloved, she confirms he has access to the elixir of life and that he still searches for her.

But someone else also hunts her. Faruq—the man who plots to use her powers to murder and seize the life forces of others—is just one step behind her. With the help of a kind master named Nathan, Adeelah continues to search for Karim while trying to evade Faruq. To complicate matters, she begins to experience growing fatigue and pain after conjuring, and finds herself struggling against an undeniable attraction to Nathan.

As Faruq closes in, Adeelah must decide just how much she’ll risk to protect Nathan and be with Karim forever. How much power does she really have to change her future, and what is she willing to sacrifice for an eternity of love? If she makes the wrong choice, the deaths of many will be on her hands.

My Review: 

First off, let me just say I'm obsessed with this cover. It's *gorgeous* and terribly fitting to the book. The heroine, Adeelah, is a mirror image of so many young girls I know. No, I'm not saying I'm friends with a bunch of genies (although, how cool would that be???). She has her walls high and refuses to get close enough to let anyone's cruelty get under her skin, all the while pining after a lost love she believes with all her heart defines her. It isn't until her new master shows her humility and kindness exists outside her bottle that she realizes she is her own person outside of the relationship that she's clung to for a thousand years. I love Adeelah just as much as I love the cover. And Nathan, well, let's just say I have a brand new book boyfriend. His unselfish nature coupled with his true gentleman nature makes him undeniably swoon-worthy. Carol's writing also deserves a standing ovation. The words are beautiful, well-paced, and deeply profound. A simple sentence holds a thousand wise meanings, and I found myself enchanted with her style from page one. She currently has two other books out with Entangled, and I've already purchased them both. I'm just saying, so should you.