The Secret Gift was an interesting start to a villain origin story. I thought Jezebel's power was unique, and I could see how she starts off feeling like she's being backed into a corner. It makes me want to read The Stolen Kingdom series, where her character originated. I'll be continuing this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I have never read anything by Bethany Atazadeh before so I was not sure what to expect but I was completely blown away by a brilliant story. I was drawn into the story straight away and I could see it all happening as the writing was so well done and descriptive. I am totally overwhelmed at how much I enjoyed this book as it isn’t my usual genre. I am immediately going to download the rest of the series as I need to know what happens next. Fabulous book! 5 stars.!

I was drawn to this book based on the moody cover, which made me feel immediately immersed in the dark world. I personally love all types of fairy tale retellings and was intrigued by the premise of this being a villain origin story. As expected, this allowed the reader to view Jezebel's deep wounds and misbeliefs stemming from her fear of trusting others and being used for her power. I love the relatability that stems from considering the intricacies of the human spirit and how our identities are shaped.

1 star 🌟

It's going to be a DNF for me.

I didn't realize I had to read a whole other series before starting this one. Did say it could be read as a standalone, but there were a lot of references to the other books.

Maybe one day I will pick it back up and give the other series a chance, but today is not that day.

Well written, enjoyable storyline and characters, who are having relatable developments! I would love to read more by this author!

Honestly... This is a novella and without the series, its hard to give a full review. I am rating it a 5 because I feel like it would be unfair to rate it anything else because I didn't understand what was happening

The concept is pure genius. A great page turner with plenty of twists

Beautifully written, compelling and thought provoking,

I want to preface this by saying that I have not read the series for which this novella is connected to, therefore I have definitely missed some nuances and cannot fully appreciate this backstory as it should be appreciated. I requested the ARC because of how popular the series is and thought this would be a good way to venture in.

After having read this novella, I will definitely be reading the series. I enjoyed the world building and the development of Jezebel as a character. I've seen other reviews that mention her descent into villainous behavior is drastic/quick, however I think that is a bit more realistic. When people have been wronged in real life they sometimes come to awareness slowly but at other times that is not the case. How often do we not see people suddenly "explode". I do think that perhaps that transition could've been written more expressively and maybe other readers would've picked up on it but overall this was so good. As much as novellas tend to be written as standalones, they are truly for fans of a series but this has turned me into a fan without having read the series.

This novella is a win for Bethany Atazadeh.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Bethany Atazadeh for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is the first book to a series. It is a short and easy read. The characters are well written and intriguing. I liked following the story and can't wait for the rest of the series to come out so I can see how everything plays out. There is so much betrayal and secrets in such a short book that it feels like you are reading a longer novel.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes finding magic and figuring it out, betrayal, and/or easier fantasy reads. I would also recommend this to anyone who is trying to find a shorter, easier read to meet their goals.

This book is based on Jinn mythology.

I liked the main character and I related with some of her struggles

The character development was decent but the main character deserved a better villain arc than she got. I felt she needed to be less forgiving and more malicious and vengeful.

This is a book that is definitely for young adults. It was a good read but for me the characters were so under developed and it was too sickly sweet. I am sure other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I believe this is the origin story for a character that is in another series; I haven't read it so I don't know what Jezebel becomes. BUT if this is supposed to garner sympathy for a character it doesn't really accomplish that. I was increasingly uncomfortable with how easily she was able to take the lives of four people, with little remorse. She ended up doing for herself what she'd feared she'd be made to do so...idk I really didn't sympathize with her even with her awful father. But not all characters are meant to be likeable and even being understood is sometimes in a grey area.

I am intrigued by the retellings in the other series though

This book is the first book in a new series about Jinns, set in their world. This was a quick and easy fun read. Whilst I did enjoy this book I felt that I could have done with a little more action to help draw me into this world a little more.
Jezebel has a rare gift in the Jinn world which she keeps secret as she doesn’t want anyone to take advantage of her, like they did with her mother. Her friend betrays her and he starts to use her gift for his own benefit with the threat of telling all of her gift. In the end Jezebel decides to stand up for herself and her freedom.
I enjoyed the writing style, the world building and could see where the plot line was going. I’m truly hoping this book picks up a little more in the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story about Jinns! But above all, this book has a plot that captivates you and you want to know the fate of its protagonist, let me tell you, it has one of the best plot twists I could find!

At first I felt that the story was very calm, tragic at times but calm, it's not that halfway through the story things start to take on situations of abuse and darkness and at the end a story development that you didn't see coming!

I did not know this was a villain origin story before I read it, but damn, the author has done such a great job of writing the slow descent of a girl into villain-y to protect herself. The writing flowed so well, I finished the book in like 2 hours. The characters and their motivations were well-written, and I had a lot of fun racing through the book to get to the end.

This book is the story of a girl who was suppressed and insulted all her life, who was blackmailed by those she trusted, who finally decided "no more" and descended into a bit of unhinged villain-y with a little accompanying guilt. In some ways, this arc reminded me of the ending of Malice by Heather Walter, so if you enjoyed that, you'd definitely enjoy this. Or, if you like YA fantasy in general, you'd definitely enjoy this!

--- ty to the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

thank you to net galley for the arc!

this book. it was good, just not good *enough*. it had all the trimmings of a ya fantasy novel but it read like a mildly interesting science textbook, which is a shame because I feel as though it had so much potential. oh well. such is life-full of disappointments and science textbooks.

Set in the Jinn world, Jezebel and her friends of little or no magic stumble upon an entrance to the human world. Jezebel has a powerful but secret gift that she's hid from them for fear that they would use her or see her differently. Of course, nothing ever happens as it should.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series, and I was pleasantly surprised with how interesting it is! Jezebel is relatable in her motivations for keeping her powers secret, even as she makes choices to protect herself. I'm not sure if it's a direct retelling or one specific fairy tale, but it definitely had some Aladdin influences that the book had its own spin on. I’m dying to know what happens next! The writing feels a little simplistic at times but that didn’t stop me from liking it. I have younger sisters who would definitely love to read this.

This book was so easy to read! It was a fun, whimsical adventure through a charming fantasy world. Honestly, this is teen fiction at its most entertaining - I was captivated, and genuinely couldn't put it down, despite probably not being the target audience. It was so refreshing to see a heroine make - while not necessarily the morally correct choices - absolutely the smartest choices! Jezebel covers her tracks and gets things done. Good for her. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series!

Well written with an enjoyable storyline and well developed characters. The level of worldbuilding is also good and I would love to read more by this author

I enjoyed this one a lot!
Jezebel is no damsel-in-distress and I just love her. She made mistakes, but she did what has to be done, as in the best she could do given the circumstances. I love that she is fierce and determined without being "bratty", and although I feel bad for some of the... cursed characters (lol), we all have to admit two of them deserved that treatment.
I love this book. Looking forward the next one!