Jinni series

Jinn and Juice (The Jinni -1) by Nicole Peeler — Jinn and Juice (The Jinni #1) by Nicole Peeler

Jinni series — by Nicole Peeler, author of the Jane True series.

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Light UF / PNR

Series Description or Overview[]

Lyla was cursed to live as a jinn for a thousand years. If she’s unBound, she’ll become human again when the curse expires. She’s been hiding out in Pittsburgh, hoping to stay under the supernatural radar. Rivers in the human world correspond to ley lines in the magical one, so the area was once full of magical beings. But iron poisons magic, so the large concentration of steel has polluted the lines, making them unusable. The city has now become a haven for Immunda, supernatural creatures that feed from humans (like vampires, for example) rather than taking magic directly from a ley line, who are less powerful than their magical counterparts. Since Lyla was originally human, she’s more at home among the Immunda, though her jinni powers also allow her to tap into the polluted lines.

A week before the curse expires, she’s discovered and Bound by a Magi. Oz is unlike any other Master Lyla’s had though. He needs her help to find a missing girl and promises to release Lyla as soon as they find her. But their quest keeps getting interrupted by monsters escaping from Sideways—the magical realm. Since a jinn is more powerful when Bound, Lyla is the only one in town strong enough to fight them. I loved the originality of these creatures, like the Bugbear, a monster that looks like a fuzzy brown version of The Tick. (I kind of want to give the book an extra star just for the Tick reference!) ~ Vampire Book Club

Lead's Species[]

Jinn (Djinn)

Primary Supe[]

Magi & Jinn

What Sets it Apart[]

Jinn as the lead's supe, Light UF— MaryJanice Davidson meets Charlaine Harris.

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

First person narrative told by Lyla, protagonist — and third person narrative from other perspectives.

Books in Series[]

Jinni series:

Jinn and Juice (Nov 25, 2014, Kindle) — Paperback: April 7, 2015

Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides[]

none yet

Other Series by Author onsite[]

Jane True series by Nicole Peeler

Themes[]

The cost of power

World Building[]

Setting[]

Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania

Places:

Sideways: the magical realm—where the purebreed supernatural creatures reside
Purgatory: club where Lyla works;
Sideways Pittsburgh: alternate Pittsburgh with magical ruins

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Jinnn, Magi, psychics, vampires, shape-shifters, Oracle of Delphi, sirens, bugbears, fire magic, ley lines, Sideways, Seer, kitsune, succubi, gaki, spider lithe (wraiths?), Will-o-Wisp, Slavic faery, siren, , , , , , , ,

Two Primary Supe Types:[]

Purebloods: powerful, purely magical beings, like Jinn or sidhe Lords that use Deep Magic that runs deep in the ley lines and the Nodes. Purebloods need Deep Magic to survive, so they cannot live in Pittsburgh because they can't pull magic from the Node.
Immunda: everything else—anything that gathers its magic parasitically off humans; also things with mixed human-and-magical blood, like shape shifters. Immunda can skim off the surface of the Node and ley lines, but they can't use the Deep Magic. (Jinn and Juice, p. 55) Pittsburgh has become a haven for the Immunda.

Glossary:[]

Jinn: born of fire and smoke—more powerful when Bound; fierce enemies with the Magi. Jinn have Fire power (black flames) and can change shape and size at will. Powerful Jinn can teleport. They survive by drawing power from the Deep Magic of Nodes. According to their own origin myth, Jinn were originally created from the heat of the universe, but in real life, two Jinn can meld together and reproduce. They stay as far away from Magi as they possibly can. ~ Fang-tastic
Magi: have the ability to See, Call, and Bind jinn. Taught that another species of being existed simply to serve them, whether they liked it or not. Fierce enemies with the Jinn.
Juice: magic — Pittsburg's juice is potent, but it's steel-soaked and poisonous to pure-blood supes.
Ley lines: invisible lines of magic underneath the surface—in this world they correspond to Rivers in the human world, steel has polluted the lines;
Will-o-the-Wisp: "ghost-lights", or "orbs"—Folk lore attributes them to fairies or elemental spirits
Gaki: Hungry ghost
Sirens: lure by their enchantig music or voice
Bugbear: monster that looks like a fuzzy brown version of The Tick
Iron: poisons magic

Groups & Organizations:[]

World[]

In this mythology, supernaturals can live either in the human world or in Sideways (which is similar to the Fae realm found in other mythologies). They can also create pockets of Sideways in the human world. For example, many supernaturals have Sideways pockets in their clothing in which they hide their weapons, making their guns and swords invisible to the human eye.. ~ Fang-tastic

This world has two general supernatural types: Purebloods and Immund. Purebloods are powerful, purely magical beings, like Jinn or sidhe Lords that use Deep Magic that runs deep in the ley lines and the Nodes. The Immunda are "everything else, anything that gathers its magic parasitically off humans…also things with mixed human-and-magical blood, including shape shifters. Those..creatures can skim off the surface of the Node and ley lines, but they can't use the Deep Magic." (Jinn and Juice, p. 55) Purebloods need Deep Magic to survive, so they cannot live in Pittsburgh because they can't pull magic from the Node. That is why Pittsburgh has become a haven for the Immunda. — The two main characters in the series are a Jinn and a Magi, two supernatural entities who are almost always fierce enemies. ~ Fang-tastic

✥ Jinn: have Fire power (black flames) and can change shape and size at will. Powerful Jinn can teleport. They survive by drawing power from the Deep Magic of Nodes. According to their own origin myth, Jinn were originally created from the heat of the universe, but in real life, two Jinn can meld together and reproduce. They stay as far away from Magi as they possibly can.

✥ Magi: born with latent abilities, but their true powers don't kick in until they are initiated by another Magi. During the initiation ceremony, the mature Magi Calls an unBound Jinni, who then says a different set of magical words to initiate the immature Magi. Immediately, the new Magi's eyes turn silver and his/her magical powers are activated. ~ Fang-tastic

A Magi captures a Jinni by speaking magical words in a See, Call, and Bind sequence. Once a Magi Binds a Jinni, that Magi becomes the Jinni's Master. The Jinni must do the Master's bidding and never lie to him/her until the Magi either dies or rescinds the Binding spell. In this world, Jinn are almost always bound to Magi. They can sense one another, so it is difficult for a Jinni to remain free. Most Magi are power-hungry, cruel Masters who use their Jinn for selfish purposes.

✥ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh lies at the confluence of three rivers, two above ground and one underground, and the moving water indicates the presence of magical ley lines. When ley lines converge, they form a powerful Node of magic, pulsing with magical "juice." A century of industrial development and its accompanying pollution have permanently polluted the ley lines and the magical Node under the city. Most magical beings cannot draw on the Deep Magic of the Pittsburgh Node because its magic will poison them. ~ Fang-tastic

✥ Jinni: have super magical powers, but are also subject to the will and whims of whoever happens to be their Master. Jinni can be either Bound or unBound — meaning that they can be Called and then basically owned by whatever Magi happens to find them. Once Bound to a Magi, jinni must be obedient and carry out their Magi’s orders. On the plus side, though, Bound jinni have access to all sorts of tremendous powers that they can’t access unBound, so there’s that. ~ Bookshelf Fantasies

✥ Magic Node: Pittsburgh sits atop a huge magic node but, because of the industrialism and especially the steel factories, the magic has become tainted. Only mixed bloods, or Immunda, can tap the node; pure bloods would be slowly poisoned by the steel taint. This works for Lyla because she can skim off the top of the node while avoiding the normally pure-blood Magi who would bind her. ~ Badass Book Reviews

More World-building: Fang-tastic Fiction

Protagonist[]

see Notes section of explanation of two different names for protagonist.

✥ The series heroine is Lyla, a thousand-year-old Jinn who is a belly dancer at a magical nightclub called Purgatory. Lyla is unique in that she began life as a human and was changed into a Jinni after being cursed by a powerful Jinni named Kouros. Other Jinn view Lyla as an abomination who deserves to be killed, which is why she is hiding out in Pittsburgh, where other Jinn cannot tolerate the steel-soaked, poisonous Node. Because Lyla is a Jinni in a human body, she is the only Immunda who can draw on Pittsburgh's Node without being poisoned. As the first novel opens, no one else knows about Lyla's curse or that she can access Pittsburgh's Node, except for her tight circle of friends. ~ Fang-tastic

✥ Curse: Lyla was cursed to live as a jinn for a thousand years. If she’s unBound, she’ll become human again when the curse expires. A week before the curse expires, she’s discovered and Bound by a Magi. To escape an arranged marriage, her family’s jinni, the evil Kouros, granted Lyla her wish: to live a thousand years as Jinn.

✥ History: Lyla was the teenage daughter of a an ancient Persian king, desperate to avoid being married off, when she was cursed by the genie she sought help from. Now she is a Jinn and a belly dancer/burlesque performer at a Pittsburgh club, biding her time until the curse expires.

✥ Circle of Friend: Surrounding Lyla are a Peeler-esque cast of unusual characters, including a psychic drag queen, an oracle, a will-o-the-wisp, a half troll and a pair of icky-creepy spider wraiths. This odd community works together in a paranormal burlesque club and forms a family of sorts — and they all band together to protect Leila when she is Called and Bound by a new Magi, the kinda-hot Ozan (known as Oz). ~ ~ Bookshelf Fantasies

Charlie: He owns Purgatory and is an immortal oracle possessed by gods.
Rachel Divide: She is a human—a psychic gay drag queen and Charlie's lover.
Yulia: She is a will-o'-the-wisp and Lyla's best friend.
Aki: He is a kitsune, a shape-changing fox (from Japanese mythology).

Sidekick[]

Name: Yulia / What: will-o'-the-wisp / Sidekick-to: Lyla / About: Lyla's roommate / Book First Seen: Jinn and Juice
Name: Charlie/ What: oracle / Sidekick-to: Lyla / About: Lyla's best friend / Book First Seen: Jinn and Juice

Characters Chart[]

Characters	What	About
Lyla (Leila)	Jinn, belly dancer	a week before the curse expires, she’s Bound by a Magi; wields black fire; "I'm decently strong for a Jinni…When I'm Bound, I'm a lot stronger, And when I'm Bound to a strong Magi…I'm even stronger."
"Oz", Ozan Sawyer	magi, Leila's new master	newbie to the supernatural world; binds Lyla; potential love interest;
Charlie	oracle, friend	Lyla’s best friend; runs the burlesque club where Lyla performs as a belly dancer; wise; gay; Oracle of Delphi; has gods inside of him, has wide magical channels; amateur taxidermist; Lyla's circle of friends;
Yulia	will-o-the-wisp, friend	Slavic faery; Lyla’s roommate; Lyla's circle of friends;
Rachel Divide	human psychic, friend	She is a human—a psychic gay drag queen and Charlie's lover;
Aki	kitsune, friend	shape-changing fox; Lyla's circle of friends;
Big Bertha	troll	bouncer
Kouros	jinni	the treacherous jini that turned Leila into one; evil; was Leila's family’s jinni;
Trip and Trap	spider lithe	Leila's friends;
Diamond	succubus

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste columns.

Author[]

Nicole Peeler

Website: Nicole Peeler
Genres: Light Urban Fantasy, slightly romantic
Other Pen Names:

Bio: Nicole D. Peeler writes urban fantasy for Orbit Books and, in her spare time, is an associate professor at Seton Hill University, where she co-directs their MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. Having recently finished the final book of her award-winning Jane True series, she is looking forward to the upcoming publication of Jinn and Juice, the first book in a series about a cursed jinni living in Pittsburgh. Nicole also lives in Pittsburgh, although she’s neither cursed nor a jinni.

Full Bio: About Nicole « Nicole Peeler

Contributors[]

Cover Artists[]

Artist: illustration by Nathalia Sueellen, Design By Lauren Panepinto, Cover — Source: Spring-Summer 2015 US Cover Launches - Orbit Books | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

not listed at ISFdb

Other Contributors:[]

Audio Book Narrator: Kara Bartell — Source: Jinn and Juice, Read by Kara Bartell - Orbit books
Editor: — Source:

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: Orbit
Author Page:

Jinn and Juice: Paperback, 384 pages, Pub: April 7th 2015—ISBN 0316407356

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE—Jinn and Juice (2014): Cursed to be a jinni for a thousand years, Leila nears the end of her servitude—only to be bound once again against her will. Will she risk all to be human? Born in ancient Persia, Leila turned to her house Jinni, Kouros, for help escaping an arranged marriage. Kouros did make it impossible for her to marry—by cursing Leila to live a thousand years as a Jinni herself. If she can remain unBound, Leila's curse will soon be over. But Ozan Sawyer, a Magi with the ability to See, Call, and Bind jinn has other plans. Oz needs Leila to help him penetrate Pittsburgh's steel-soaked magic, a juice potent but poisonous to supernatural creatures, in order to find a missing girl with her own mysterious connection to Kouros. Unfortunately for Leila, becoming Bound to Oz may risk more than just her chance to be human once more—it could risk her very soul... Jinn and Juice is the first in a new series by fantasy writer, Nicole Peeler, set in a world of immortal curses, powerful jinni and belly dancing. ~ Goodreads | Jinn and Juice (The Jinni, #1) by Nicole Peeler

✤ BOOK TWO—:

First Sentences[]

Jinn and Juice (2014) — Then chubby little human was dong his damnedest to hump my leg, but the palm I'd placed on his forehead kept him at arm's length.

Quotes[]

Nicole Peeler Quotes (Author of Tempest Rising) ~ Goodreads
The Jinni Series ~ Shelfari

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes (similar elements)[]

Djinn:

Light UF:

Category links at bottom of page

Notes[]

In the Kindle version that came out in the fall of 2014, the protagonist's name is Leila. Apparently, her name was one of the things that received an edit, among other things. The paperback edition released

External References[]

Books:

Jinn and Juice « Nicole Peeler ~ Author
The Jinni series by Nicole Peeler ~ Goodreads
Nicole Peeler ~ FF
The Jinni - Series Bibliography ~ ISFdb
The Jinni Series ~ Shelfari
Jinn and Juice by Nicole Peeler ~ LibraryThing
Jinn and Juice series by Nicole Peeler ~ FictFact
Nicole Peeler - Summary Bibliography ~ ISFdb (author)

Excerpts & Audio Extracts:

Summaries:

Jinni series - Fang-tastic Fiction

World, Characters, etc:

The Jinni Series ~ Shelfari
Jinni series - Fang-tastic Fiction

Content References:

Reviews:

Interviews, Guest Posts, Author Commentary:

Special Feature: Author Interview with Nicole Peeler - Jinn series

Jane True Interviews:

Articles:

Author:

Nicole Peeler
Nicole D. Peeler - Wikipedia
Nicole Peeler (Author of Tempest Rising) ~ Goodreads

Community, Fan Sites: