3.5 stars ( )

Famed aviatrix Evangeline Starke never expected to see her husband, adventurer Gabriel Starke, ever again. They had been a golden couple until his sudden death with the sinking of the Lusitania. Five years later, she is shocked to receive a mysterious--and recent--photograph of Gabriel. With her eccentric aunt Dove in tow, Evie tracks the source of the photo to the ancient City of Jasmine, Damascus. There she discovers that nothing is as it seems. Danger lurks at every turn, and at stake is a priceless relic, an artifact once lost to time and so valuable that criminals will stop at nothing to acquire it--even murder.

This was a light romance/exotic adventure/mystery that moved along quickly and involved many characters. I didn’t always like Evangeline as her reasons for doing risky things were often silly. There was a sprinkling of humor throughout and the story took many surprising turns. Although I guessed a number of the surprises, overall it kept my interest. ( )

There are a few things you can always count on with a Deanna Raybourn novel: a plucky heroine, stellar dialogue, wonderful descriptions, copious amounts of wit, a smouldering romance and a bit of history to ground it all in reality. City of Jasmine has all of that, as well as a textbook MacGuffin to keep the plot moving forward through the Syrian desert in 1920. Raybourne's greatest achievement might be always making me want to visit whatever setting she's selling. Since vacationing to Syria isn't an option right now, I'll just round up some friends and head to the hooka bar down the street.

What I loved most about City of Jasmine, though, were the little connections to her Lady Julia Grey series, as well as her Africa novel, A Spear of Summer Grass. I can get easily bored by a series - the same characters doing the same thing over and over - but connecting her books through past characters (Tarquin March from Lady Julia, Ryder from A Spear of Summer Grass) gives readers the series they crave while keeping the characters, plots and settings fresh. Plus, sussing out all of the connections is like hunting for little Easter eggs. If I'm not much mistaken, Raybourn obliquely mentioned Nicholas Brisbane in the City of Jasmine denouement. These little tidbits make me want to go back and re-read her previous novels to see what other connections there might be. (It is also going to drive me crazy if I don't figure out how old Julia and Brisbane would be in 1920. Are they still alive? For someone who hates math, I am constantly trying to figure out ages and dates in novels. It makes my head hurt, but it weirdly makes me love a novel more.)

If I had one complaint, and this is a complaint I have for almost all Historical Fiction novels: there wasn't a map! Publishers listen up: It should be the Golden Rule of Historical Fiction to include maps, especially in novels where there's a journey. Please?

In short, if you are looking for a fun read with enjoyable characters doing adventurous things in lush settings, you can never go wrong with a Deanna Raybourn novel and City of Jasmine fits the bill nicely.

(I received an Advanced Reader Copy of City of Jasmine through a contest on Raybourn's blog.)



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Review Posted on HarlequinJunkie.com

I’m going to preface my review by saying this isn’t what I would call a ‘standard’ romance novel. I’d classify it as more of a Historical Intrigue/Adventure story. That being said, if you stop now – you’re missing out on one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, written by an amazingly talented author. If you decide to pick this up, do yourself a favor, go and get the prequel – Whisper of Jasmine. It gives the background on the two main characters in this story, and sets up the intrigue plotline as well. Read More ( )

A surprising disappointment! I can't believe I'm saying this about one of Raybourn's books because she is one of my favorite authors and I've really liked everything she has written but this one really didn't do a whole lot for me. I felt like the storyline was all over the place. It's like she couldn't decide what the main plot should be so she just threw all of her ideas in there together; from searching for Evangeline Starke's missing husband, to locating a missing artifact and to top it off, leading a group of Bedouins to fight off rebels etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, I do like a lot of action in my stories but a little cohesiveness goes a long way and this one was lacking in it. I also didn't care for Evangeline's personality. She came across as rude and childish most of the time I thought. The story wasn't completely terrible but it definitely wasn't Raybourn's best writing either.  ( )