This is the story of Bijou, a 17 year old girl who can feel other people's emotions. The plot is confusing, predictable and it's not explained properly at any point of the story, besides, the characters are a hot mess. What lured me into this book was not only the cover but the Djinn story line since I had never read anything about arabic folklore. Unfortunately, although it was the main drive of the plot, I felt like it wasn't really flushed out and not having read anything about djinn before, it made the story hard to follow.
If you decide to read this book, know that the main storyline is about a "forbidden" teenager's romance. Going in, I had no idea that would be such a big part of the story and even though I got the adventure I wanted, the romance was not satistying, as their so called love for each other was so instant we didn't even get to know the characters well enough to fall for them.
Overall, this had some over used tropes and, for example, girl hate motivated by a guy, was one of the things that made me dislike this book enough to give it two stars.

I really enjoyed this story and the Sang's writing style was so easy to follow and made you want to keep reading to find out more! I loved all the different aspects within this story and how Bij came to know who she truly was, and all that power!! Female empowerment!!

This is a complicated YA book. I would give it 5 stars, as it kept my interest, but it seemed like the author intended this book to be the first of a series, but I’ve seen no indication of another book forthcoming. The ending didn't seem to me to take place at a natural spot in the action, and really left a lot unresolved, which I cannot discuss further without spoilers. If this was intended to be a stand-alone book, I feel too much was left unresolved or for the reader to make up in their own minds at the end. Perhaps the author can either make this the first in a series, or can add a bonus chapter or two in later editions.

The book is written from the perspective of Bijou Fitroy, the primary character. Speaking generally, so as to avoid spoilers, she has led a nomadic lifestyle with her secretive grandmother. Her newest hometown is the subject of a series of attacks and abductions, as she is confronted with an explosive family secret that impacts the world. The book tends to follow the popular plot line of “I didn’t know I had special powers, and now I have to save the world with them?”.

A lot of characters were introduced, which were necessary to advance the complicated, fantasy political plot within this book. I didn't have the problem some experienced with tracking the different characters, although the various clues the reader receives throughout the book of allegances might leave the reader flipping back and forth to double check their recollections. While for content purposes and topic matter this is a Young Adult/Fantasy book, due to its complexity, it might be a little advanced for some Young Adult readers.

While there is a significant amount of romance (YA with female primary character and multiple male love interests) within the book, I don't recall any sexual content. While there are references to kidnappings, assaults, and enslavement, I don't recall any gratuitous violent content, and what little description of violence there is served to advance the plot. However, this was not what I would characterize as a light read, as I read it over the course of a few days. While it maintained my interest, it is not a book to read in a quiet afternoon, but over the course of a few days.

Djinn is a continuation/ reimagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and this story reinterprets what a djinn is. Kromah defines 'djinn' as any supernatural creature that can conceal its appearance to humans and cites the fae, Mami Wata, gnomes, and werewolves as examples of djinn. It made the world confusing because I didn't know which parts of djinn lore I was already familiar with applied and which didn't, and at a certain point, it felt like they were djinn in name only. I was intrigued by the idea of Mami Wata being djinn because I hadn't seen those lores crossed, but they were peripheral to this story. Kromah's world is mostly an amalgamation of djinn and fae folklore, and I found it generic.

On the whole, this story felt very YA trope-y. There's insta-love, love triangles, she's not like other girls, and the new kid v the bully. The writing was a little choppy and made some of the characters' actions feel jarring. Additionally, there are so many twists and internal politics that it was difficult to keep track of why the reveals mattered and why people were upset with each other. That said, it was a quick read, and my issues with the story didn't bog down my ability to get through it. If you're into YA fantasy and like the listed tropes, you might enjoy this.

You know a book is good, when you can't stop thinking about it. That is Djinn for me. This book was an easy 5 stars! This book was fast paced, beautifully written, and has characters that you just can't help but love.

Djinn, follows sixteen year old Bijou, Bijou is not your ordinary teenage girl. She is an empath, who was raised and home schooled by her Gigi, who didn't let them stay in one place for too long. That is until she moved them to Sykesville, Maryland, and she was enrolled in public school. While she is there, strange things start to happen. With the help of some new friends, Bijou is trying to figure out what is going on, and in the process she finds herself.

This book was phenomenal. I could not put it down. I went into Djinn, thinking that I would separate the book into a few sections, and read a section a day. However, once I started reading it, I could not stop. I fell down the rabbit hole, so to speak.

I love how unique the story was. I have not come across a lot of books that have Liberian folklore, let alone Liberian folklore with a bit of Shakespeare mixed in. I thought the author did a phenomenal job weaving it all together seamlessly. Sang's writing and the plot really draws in the reader and makes them want to keep reading to see how the dots will connect and the story will unfold.

I also really loved the characters. It was really great seeing Bijou go from an awkward teenage girl, to someone who was strong and not afraid to fight back. It was also wonderful see how her relationships with Gigi, Sebastian and Amina evolved throughout the story.

All in all, if you are a fan of fantasy and folklore, I would highly recommend this book! I can't wait for the author to announce when the sequel will be out. I look forward to getting immersed in this magical world, once again!

Bijou has lived a sheltered life, homeschooled her whole life up until now, and moving from town to town frequently. She lives with her grandmother Gigi, a famous author who writes under a pseudonym and valiantly fights for their privacy. With this most recent move, Bijou has convinced her grandmother to let her attend a public high school for the first time. Adjusting to high school at the age of 16 is hard enough, but Bijou seems to have a whole lot of paranormal troubles to deal with now that she has teachers and classmates to interact with. 16-year-old girls who share her birthday, ones who are about to turn 17 on the Summer Solstice, are going missing. One of her teachers is obsessed with djinn to an extreme. Two of her new classmates seem to be seeing and feeling all the strange things she's noticing, but no one else does.

This is a fascinating coming of age story based on Lebanese mythology. Djinn is a term used for all paranormal creatures on Earth who are descendants of ancient pairings between humans and gods, the original four Elemental Ancients. The title, Djinn, is what caught my eye and made me request this book to review. I've been fascinated by djinn since reading the Bartimaeus trilogy as a teenager, and although this book didn't feature a witty creature from another plane here to do his master's bidding, it was entertaining and well written.

I think this is classified as YA only because the protagonist is a teenager and one of the central settings is a high school. The reading level and complexity of the plot are far more advanced than the average YA novels I've read, and I would be tempted to call it NA instead. I'll settle for calling it "advanced" YA.

I really do hope that Sang Kromah writes a sequel since the ending felt like it set one up quite nicely, though it did tie up enough strings to stand on its own. The reason I rate this 4 stars rather than 5 is that it took almost the entire first chapter to capture my interest, and the interludes into Bijou's dreams were so dense in the first half of the novel that I was constantly tempted to skim through those sections. Also, the cards Bijou constantly shuffles as a coping mechanism just plain disappear from the story partway through and it isn't acknowledged until another character calls her out for suddenly bringing them back near the end. I'm sure the lack of cards was supposed to be symbolic, but given how important they are to her in the beginning, the unnoted absence of the cards for a significant portion of the latter half of the novel felt like an oversight.

A lovely enjoyable read and more than I as expecting, this had me hooked. Great characters and development across the story, wonderful story and world building. A cliffhanger that means I am eager to know what next. Entertaining and fun

Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Djinn is a YA urban fantasy with Djinns as the fantastical creatures. The story is told from Bijou a young teenager's perspective. We follow her move to the new town filled with new beginnings. Bijou has been following her grandmother from place to place uprooting her life. The new town where they planned to settle hoping for a normal life gets turned upside down when supernatural events happen. Bijou finds herself finding truths about herself and her past making her question her whole life. The story started out being promising and then somewhere down the line went downhill for me. I was extremely intrigued by the concept of Djinns and how they were being portrayed in the story. The Djinns had a lot in common with the Muslim narrative found in the Quran. This was one of the reasons why I was drawn to the story in the first place. Djinns and their backstory were pretty fascinating and the smaller stories that we get to see in the book were all fantastic and had the creepy and weird vibe done remarkably well. While the first half was interesting and engaging the second half felt rushed and brought in more confusion than clarity tot he storyline. Overall the story was fun but lacked clarity. The stories within the book and lore were intriguing. I am giving 2.5 stars to this story. If you enjoy stories of paranormal creatures and Djinns, you might wanna check this book out.

I started this book and I was instantly hooked. It has such a typical Young Adult feel to it that I actually felt quite nostalgic reading it despite the fact I had never read it. I finished this book in 2 sittings, it was quite addictive. There were so many twists and turns and every-time I tried to predict what was going to happen I got it wrong, which I loved.

I really enjoyed the mystery around Bijou. She was a great main character, I enjoyed seeing her annoyed if I'm honest, she can be feisty when she wants to. I wanted to know everything about her; why she was able to feel the feelings of those around her was my main question.

Another thing I loved was that throughout I didn't know who could be trusted, that left me on edge throughout. I didn't even know if Bijou's closest friends could be trusted. The other characters in this book were well developed. It didn't feel like Bijou was the only developed character, which I really appreciated.
Kromah did a fabulous job of mixing folklore with modern culture, the two just flowed together so effortlessly. I enjoyed learning about the Djinn, something I knew very little about beforehand. Her writing style was flowing and easy to follow. I also greatly appreciated the Buffy references, being a huge fan myself.

I thoroughly enjoyed Djinn and I think I'll be re-reading it in the future.</p>

*this is an honest review in exchange for an arc through net galley*
~this is just my opinion, and someone else might have a different experience with this book~

Djinn follows Bijou, a teenage girl who craves normalcy. She can feel other people's emotions, which makes interaction with others difficult. Her grandmother is a famous writer who does not want to be discovered, so they move around a lot. Bijou has a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers, and this book follows her journey uncovering the secrets that have been kept from her all of her life.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept me guessing till the end and held my interest easily. The only issue I have with the book, which is more of my fault and less of the books fault, is that I had a hard time remembering the characters. There are A LOT of characters in this book, many of them hardly appearing, but all of them playing an important role. For this reason, I think this book would make an AMAZING movie, because it would be a lot easier to remember who everyone is. I would recommend reading this book in one sitting, because I think it would be easier to recall key points in the plot that way. Most of the book is vital information for the plot, so memory is quite important.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book!

I've always had a fascination for Middle Eastern history and folklore. I was very excited to start this book called 'Djinn', expecting a story about this particular mythical creature I've read about in myths.

This book, however, is not specifically about those djinns. Here, djinn is the name for all creatures from the Otherworld, like the well-known fae. This story is based on Liberian folklore.

We meet Bijou, who lives with her grandmother Gigi. They've been moving around a lot, but have now settled in the small town of Sykesville. Bijou is not any regular girl - she can sense the emotions of most people. All of these emotions can overwhelm her quickly, so she's been home schooled for a long time. But now she's 16 and it's time to meet new people, make friends, and go to school.

At school she meets Sebastian, who is supposed to help her get familiar with her new school. He is one of the Others though - someone whose emotions cannot be distinguished by Bijou. When Bijou, Sebastian and his twin sister become friends, strange things start happening. Why can Bijou feel all these things? What do her visions mean and why do they seem to come true?

This book kept me guessing on who could be trusted all the way to the end of the story. Along the way we meet a lot of characters who are more than they seem and I loved how it came together in the end. All of those names and their loyalties were a bit too confusing for me at times though.

This book deserves to be read if you're into djinn, the fae or a midsummer night's dream! For me it was a 3,5 star read.

An exciting book that keeps you guessing until the end wondering what everyone's true motives are. It was nice to see the characters develop and find themselves while grappling with their fate and a huge prophecy. The magic elements are also unique and wonderfully woven into the characters themselves.

I picked up this book because of the title. Djinn is another spelling of genie so I thought that’s what it would be about. It is not. But I’m not disappointed with what I got instead either.

The story is one that has been told hundreds of times before but it’s different. It follows Bijou as she goes to school for the first time in 16 years. At this school, she will meet people who will help her understand the weirdness in her life and she will finally learn the truth about who she really is. A bit like in Fallen by Lauren Kate, like Tithe by Holly Black, or even a bit like City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. So, the plot itself isn’t original.

What is original is the setting, and I don’t mean Sykesville. The book uses Arabic folklore and African folklore and Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which the author gives a twist of her own. The djinn are a little like the fae that have swamped YA fiction in recent years, but they are also different in their powers and their connection to the elements. And, let’s not forget, plenty of Buffy the Vampire Slayer references.

A few things are a little on the nose, such as their teacher suddenly teaching them about the djinn in stories and folklore. Even before you know about the djinn, that gives it a little away.

A plus point, I find, is that Bijou isn’t the only one discovering her life has been nothing but lies strung together. Many things have been kept from almost all the characters, which meant that even those who could help Bijou get the answer she needs will discover things they might not want to know. There are secrets and betrayals, there are prophecies and strange dreams.

I enjoyed the story and hope there is going to be a second book, especially considering the way the book ended. Not exactly a cliffhanger but definitely a lot of loose ends I would love to see tied up.

One last thing. The cover isn’t my favorite. it definitely represents Bijou but if I’d seen only the cover and the title hadn’t intrigued me (I’m working a story called Djinn so yeah, I just had to read it), I don’t think I would have picked it up. Which would have been a shame. Don’t let the cover scare you off!

trigger warning
<spoiler> being orphaned, being kidnapped, mind control, being posessed </spoiler>

After years of constantly moving from one place to another, Bijou and her grandmother Gigi finally settle in one place, which also means that the homeschooling may stop and Bijou gets her wish of attending a regular school.
The first day is more exciting than Bijou would have guessed, because she meets the guy she's been seeing in her dreams.

This book feels unedited. As if the author picked her favourite concepts from books and mushed them together without smoothing the edges, maybe even wish fulfillment. It reads like a early 2000 ya, and I am so over this.

Let me try to gather my thoughts. It begins with tell, don't show.
We're told that Bijou has been taught by her grandmother so far, who is a famous author and disgustingly rich, so they were able to be on the run in comfort. Our protagonist doesn't know and maybe doesn't even suspect they're on the run, though.
Not only has she been trained in reading, writing, math and other basics, but they're also doing martial arts. This is mentioned once in the whole novel, and sorry, that doesn't work. Yes, you might learn a technique and then have it in your brain, but your muscles need constant training or they atrophy.
Even if you never were into martial arts yourself, this is basic health knowledge. You can't preserve muscles without work, and if this works because you're not human, it needs to be adressed.
That issue kind of works for many of the problems which can be found in this book.

Bijou is an Empath. She feels other people's emotions and her only way of warding this off is by concentrating on something else. She uses a stack of cards she shuffles.
This is a great technique I myself use to ground myself - though not by shuffling.
Despite never been really trained in how to control this ability or cope with it, Bijou decides she wants to go to a high school full of very emotional people a.k.a. teenagers. It's a stupid idea, and I wish it had been explored at all. We get the onset of panic attacks, but the scene always ends before something can happen, things can escalate.

Another thing that bothered me about her being an empath is that she's constantly surprised by people arriving without drawing attention to themselves. She is not alerted to another's presence by feeling a different set of emotions.
I get that it would work this way in school, where simply too much is going on to concentrate on a single individual, but it looks more like either Bijou needs to be aware of a person to feel their emotions or the author simply forgot. If it's done on purpose, it should be adressed, and it's such a basic thing that I ask myself why the editor didn't catch that. It makes me wonder how this was edited, especially since the lettering on the cover looks kinda off, like a self published book.

At the beginning of the book, there is a big drama happening in P.E., which is given much room and then never really mentioned again. It's kinda ignored, both by cast of characters and the author, which feels off.

As Bijou starts to get a clue on what is happening, she is made aware of that she has powers that are still growing. She has no idea how big they'll get, but she does not explore. Or try to harness her abilities. She does not ask question about these powers, or how she could handle them, despite being dependend on her deck of cards to be able to focus in school - which again, is constantly tugging at her empathy because we're talking hormone-addled teenagers.
Sorry, but no. She's just so passive. She has no plans, no sense of self-protection. She has no hobbies, the only thing that makes her appear slightly more three dimensional is the card deck, but then that's so overused that this effect is cancelled out again.
All these characters feel like simple names that are tossed around, not like real people, and since there are so many of them, I kept confusing them for each other towards the end of the novel. Oh, apart from Kit, who felt very natural. But Kit is a big grey cat who random appears, wants to be petted, and goes off again. It's never even solved where she came from.

And then the book simply stops in the middle of the scene in the big finale.
I am aware of the existence of cliffhangers, but this is ridiculous.

I have no interest on reading further despite being left hanging.
This would be okay if it were a manuscript, but I have trouble to believe this is a finished product that went through editing. No recommendation from me.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.