"Spellbound lives up to its title!"

SPELLBOUND is another in Kathleen Nance's series about djinns. She has two very popular romance lines running for Dorchester Publishing, the Immortals about the children of the Ancient Greek Gods and the Djinn. And if you have not read any of Nance's Djinn, do not pick one up with "I Dream of Jeannie" in mind. They are smart, savvy books, that are fresh and original. Nance's djinn do not pop out of a bottles, they do not call anyone master and they do not grant wishes -- unless bound against their will.

The Djinn live on Kaf, a desert land where all good djinn, male and female live. But events in their lives keep drawing them to Terra -- our present day earth. In this intricate tale, we meet Zayne, the Minstrel of Kaf. But not just a musician, he is the keeper of the very essence of Kaf. His music brings rain, makes the land live in harmony, or could destroy it. It is very vital he maintain balance and imbue Kaf with that or the Djinns' very world could be ripped apart. Usually there is more than one Minstrel to Kaf, but accidents have claimed the other two, so Zayne carries the weight of Kaf on his shoulders. Only he is worried. It is time for him to take his mate, a female who gives his male nature gentleness and keeps him in balance. A woman with a voice that matches his own, so they may sing together for the security of Kaf. Since he needs this mate, his music has become unstable. He does not know why but there is suddenly magick in him -- Terra magick - not ma-at -- the magick of the djinn, and the two cannot exist together. He uses a conjuring spell to locate the woman who is to be his zaniya, and the face that appears is Madeline Fairbanks, a woman from Terra.

Madeline has her share of problems in her life. She is about to lose her job to an odd ball writer, because she cannot appear in public. What good is a PR person when they cannot make announcements about a writers work? Worse, he says she is dull looking, needs to get stylish. She has till the Summer Festival of St. John's Eve to get stylish, get over her stage fright and get him an interview with her stepfather, Cyrus Cromwell. Madeline is torn by his demands. She needs this job to keep her mother, a brilliant singer, in a nursing home after her breakdown a year ago. Madeline has no proof but she knows Cyrus is responsible. That he used black magick to make her mother such a popular star. But something went wrong, and it ended with her mother's mental collapse and Cyrus vanishing. Worse, she is low on money and just cannot afford to live in the apartment where she is staying.

Just as she thinks things cannot get worse, Tildy, an old friend, comes to the rescue and says she is going away for the summer and asks Madeline to come housesit. Madeline is delighted, for it means no rent for the summer. Only, trouble is she has to share the house with Tildy's friend, Zayne.

In short time, Madeline begins to find out Zayne is a djinn. This at first sets her against him, because she equates djinn magick with the same manipulation that Cyrus used on Irene to make her reach the top. But she soon comes to see Zayne is nothing like Cyrus. Zayne is tender, beautiful and oh so sexy!

Zayne is horrified to discover the woman who is to be his zaniya has stage fright. Further confusion comes when he hears her singing in the shower and she cannot carry a tune in a bucket. How can his zaniya not sing?

Nance gives a steaming, sexy, complex tale, that takes you to the magickal world of Kaf and the lush world of New Orleans, and a wonderful romance. Her writing style is as lyrical as the subject matter and she just gets better with each book.

I highly recommend all the other books in the Djinn series, though each can stand alone as well.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted May 5, 2003

Summary

As the Minstrel of Kaf, Zayne kept the land of the djinn in harmony. Yet lately, raging desires and unquenchable yearnings were throwing his life into discord and wreaking havoc on his home. He needed a woman to restore balance to his life, a woman with whom he could blend his voice and his body. And according to his destiny, this soul mate could only be found in the strange land of Earth.

Madeline knew to expect a guest while house-sitting for her eccentric neighbor. However, she hadn't expected the man would be so sexy, so potent, so fascinated by the doorbell. Zayne may have been a disaster with modern amenities, but he certainly knew what made her tick. With one soul- stirring kiss, she saw colorful sparks dancing on the air. But Madeline wanted to make sure her handsome djinni wouldn't pull a disappearing act before she could allow herself to become utterly . . . Spellbound.