Wishes for Rohi by K.L. Hiers Release Blitz

Ashley Mostrich gets one heck of a birthday surprise when the guy he brought home for the night turns out to be the twin brother of the prince he didn't know he was supposed to marry. Unbeknownst to Ashley, his grandpa made a deal with a jinn and promised him off to the royal family before he was even born.

Zamir is the heir to the mystical kingdom of Palmyra and promises he will love Ashley in time, while his younger brother, Zaire, is trying to get into Ashley 's bed again. Ashley wants to be a faithful fiancé to Zamir, but he cannot deny the powerful chemistry he feels with Zaire. Additional jealousy flares when Ashley discovers that Zamir’s heart already belongs to another, but the pressure for the wedding is on because the future of the Palmyran people hinges on a royal union magically producing an heir.

Once Ashley realizes that Zaire’s feelings for him might be more than physical, he finds himself falling in love with the wrong brother and risking the fate of the entire kingdom. It’ll take a miracle—or one very powerful wish—for everyone to have a happy ending.

 

 

Book 1
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“Why does everyone keep calling me ‘savior’?”

“You don’t know? About the prophecy?” Zaire questioned slowly.

“No?”

Zaire made a sour face, mumbling a few soft curses before clearing his throat. “My brother is truly an idiot. Come with me,” he said, taking Ashley’s arm and guiding him back toward where the little girl was.

People were bringing her little trinkets and baubles, receiving a slice of the cake from her in exchange. She had a crown of flowers in her hair, well dressed, and seemed to be of some importance despite her youth.

Ashley watched for a few moments. “Who is that?”

“That is Lady Alana,” Zaire replied, waiting for the name to settle in Ashley’s brain.

“Lady Alana. Wait, she’s the birthday girl?”

“Yes,” Zaire said, something sad in his voice. “Our people are dying, Ashley. Slowly but surely, jinn are fading away. Every generation has gotten smaller and smaller, and there hasn’t been a new jinn child born in over thirty years.”

“Thirty years... Alana was the last one?”

“Yes. Even with all our proper breeding and perfect little arranged marriages, every mating ritual since her birth has failed. But there’s a prophecy, you see, that a royal wedding will bless the entire kingdom with an entire new generation of children.”

“Wait a damn second, that little girl is freakin’ thirty?”

“Yes,” Zaire huffed impatiently. “We don’t age as humans do. Now, do you understand why you are so important?”

“Everyone actually believes that me getting knocked up by your brother or me knocking him up is the future of your entire race?”

“Mmm, pretty much. It’ll probably be you getting knocked up, to be honest. But you know, no pressure!”

“Fuck,” Ashley mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face and chugging his drink.

“My brother knows what’s at stake,” Zaire said gently, a tone meant to be comforting. “He will make amends for his behavior, I know it.”

“Do you believe the prophecy?”

Zaire’s brows furrowed, and he glanced down at his mug as he thought over the question. He took a small sip before he said, “I believe that other people believe it’s true. I’ve never been much for fate or destiny. I much prefer the idea that I’m in control of my own life.”

“You realize this makes what you did even more screwed up?”

“Hmm?”

“If the prophecy is real, you risked the future of your race just to piss off your brother.”

“First of all,” Zaire drawled, wagging his finger, “I never planned for ‘what we did’ to go that far. I truly had no intentions of having sex with you. I was expecting to find a blushing virgin, not an insatiable bedroom hellcat—”

“A bedroom what now?”

“And second of all,” Zaire went on with a smirk, “it was quite impossible to think about the good of my people once I had tasted your gorgeous flesh.”

“Zaire!” Ashley protested, whipping around to see if anyone was listening. He stared back at Zaire, and he suddenly realized that although he could hear his voice, his lips were not moving.

“When you were screaming my name, all I thought about was wanting to hear that sweet sound as many times as I possibly could.”

Ashley gulped, blood creeping up into his cheeks as he stammered, “That’s… that’s, uhm, that was very s-selfish of you.”

“I know,” Zaire said out loud with a smug little smile. “I’m a very selfish person. At times, quite envious as well.”

“Envious?”

“Seeing my brother get all the things I want for myself has become a bit tiresome,” Zaire replied, his lips not moving again, and yet his voice was fully in Ashley’s ear as he stepped into his space. “Not very fair at all.”

“How, how are you doing that?” Ashley hissed, instinctively backing away.

“Doing what?”

“The talking without talking.”

“Magic,” replied Zaire’s voice in his ear.

“You’ve gotta stop saying those kinds of things,” Ashley barked, cringing when he noticed his raised voice earned them several curious stares.

“Hmm, I didn’t actually say a thing,” Zaire pointed out smugly.

“Fine! Stop not saying those things!”

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
Wishes for Rohi is the first installment in the Jinn and Tonic series, and the first I've read as a new-to-me author, K.L. Hiers. Due to a not-my-cup-of-tea situation, I believe this will be the first and last, as I will not be continuing on with the series.

To preface this review, the writing style suited me just fine, but the mindset of the narrator was too infantilized for my tastes. The emotions just skating the surface, completely at odds with the human condition – no fear, never questioning, just follows this stranger to a strange land with no doubts. High. A giddy high Ashley was riding the entire time, where nothing felt real, cavity sweet yet confusing, as the world building was never truly explained.

I can appreciate the fairy tale vibe the novel/series set. Obviously, this is fantasy, so the novel must be read with an air of disbelievability, but I still need an undercurrent of realism to make the character seem lifelike. Fast-paced, to the point where the emotions were nonexistent, moving on from one scene to the next without Ashley unpacking everything he just experienced.

Ashley's mindset was that of a child, giddy and silly, just following along without questioning anything, immediately making besties with anyone put in his path without questioning their motives, speaking and interacting with them as if he had known them his entire life, bantering and teasing – it was bizarre. In the next moment, he would be stomp-his-foot, f-bomb dropping, slap-happy, just waiting for him to throw his drink like so popular in black and white films featuring flighty heroines – behaviors infantilized, saccharine sugar sweet, but at odds with the cursing and seduction. I never truly got a bead on Ashley's true personality.

The romance and warm and fuzzies are front and center, where you hardly notice that it's not a fully fleshed out world and magical system, or at least it was never explained in-depth to the reader via Ashley, because Ashley apparently didn't seem to care, too high on insta-love and romance and wedding planning and royalty and forbidden romance. As I said, Ashley didn't seem to have a personality outside of being giddy or a flash of anger at the stranger he was to call husband.

I can see the appeal of the novel, those looking for a quick escape without much drama will undoubtedly devour the novel and ask for another helping. I just needed more depth, more emotion, more actions/reaction dictated by the human condition, even when set in a fairy tale fantasy novel.

Never fear, everything is tied up in a pretty bow. A trio of siblings get their happy endings. The bestie sister's romantic insta-pairing at the end is what solidified my decision that this author and series isn't for me.

Zaire, especially in cat form, was the shining star of the entire novel, and the only reason I read until its completion.

 

 

K.L. HIERS is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

Connect with K.L.

Facebook  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: K.L. Hiers’ Hot Dog Shack

 

 

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Wishes for Rohi (Jinn and Tonic #1) by K.L. Hiers to read and review for this tour.