Hi there, thank you for the opportunity to read this, but I ccan't quite get into it

Neil Gaiman's name caught my eye when I first learned about this book. It was great to reread a chapter of American Gods, but that's his only contribution to this excellent collection of stories. Still, I am not disappointed because the book is fantastic. A few of the tales would have gotten four stars from me, but most of them are unabashedly five-star material. Some are more classic (Hurrem and the Djinn by Claire North reads like a long-lost story from the Arabian Nights) while others use unusual settings for stories about Djinnis (E.J. Swift's The Jinn Hunter's Apprentice happens in Mars, and it is insanely good) but they all bring a twist that makes them completely original (some stories are told by the perspective of the Djinnis. One is set in the future, another one features time travel, one more is a western, another favorite is told as seen by US soldiers watching via a drone). Glass Lights, by J.Y. Yang nearly made me cry and Queen of Sheeba by Catherine Faris King was probably my favorite. I don't know much about Djinnis (or genies), but this book challenged my assumptions. It is really, really good.

Anthologies are tricky things. You may miraculously jive with all of the authors contained within, and find that their myriad of voices washes over you like a cool breeze. You may pick and choose your favourites, skimming some tales and immersing yourself deeply in others. Even still, you may find that none of the voices are ones you’d care to hear, and regret the whole experience entirely.

When I saw this title on NetGalley, I admit that I requested it solely for the story by Nnedi Okorafor. I thought that if she had a story here, then that would act as a quality barometer and I would surely love the others as well.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

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The Djinn Falls in Love is a collection of stories about – you guessed it – Djinn. More widely known to the western world as genies, most people unfamiliar with their origins associate them with Disney’s Aladdin; a rather gregarious blue entity who lives in a lamp and grants wishes.

Well, I don’t think I have to tell you that Disney often grossly misrepresents things from other cultures.

I rarely quote book summaries in my reviews, but in this case I think it really says it best.

“Imagine a world filled with fierce, fiery beings, hiding in our shadows, in our dreams, under our skins. Eavesdropping and exploring; savaging our bodies, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends. Some have called them genies: these are the Djinn.

And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places.”

My interest was undeniably piqued by that fantastic description of this anthology, and of the Djinn. I tucked into this book with relish, and found that I wasn’t as wowed as I expected to be. Perhaps my expectations were simply too high, considering that most of these authors were award winners.

For the most part my reaction to this collection was ‘meh’. I wasn’t able to engage with most of these stories emotionally, and that’s a huge part of enjoyment for me. Sometimes it was the characters, sometimes the writing style, and sometimes there just wasn’t a satisfying payoff by the end of the tale.

Still, there were a few stories that I really enjoyed. Those were: History (Nnedi Okorafor), The Congregation (Kamila Shamsie), Black Powder (Maria Dahvana Headley), The Jinn Hunter’s Apprentice (E.J. Swift), Bring Your Own Spoon (Saad Z. Hossain), and The Spite House (Kirsty Logan).

Apart from those stories I found this book to be more of a slog than I anticipated. It got to the point where I would be reluctant to pick it up because I knew I’d have to read through many stories I wasn’t into to get to one that I would enjoy. Still, an anthology is always going to be a mixed bag, so I knew what I was getting into.

I don’t regret reading this, though had I not been required to write a review I probably would have skimmed most of this instead of reading.

I would recommend it those who already enjoy one or many of the authors contained within, or those who are supremely curious about Djinn.

I am a fan of short story collections; it allows me to find new authors and experience different writing styles. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with this book. There were a few stories that really moved me but the majority of stories did not. WS many of the stories just ended though I felt the content was not complete. Too often I wondered why I read the story and realized it had no emotional impact on me. For some good ideas lingered on with unfinished potential but too often the author didn't seem to know where they were going with the stories.
Though I did enjoy about two or three stories, over all I was disappointed.

Interesting collection of stories on a really wonderful theme: djinns. Loved the range of styles and stories in the collection. Note: Some of the stories are previously published (the Neil Gaiman story is an excerpt from American Gods, for example), while some are newly published.

Wonderfully immersive and original stories.

This collection was unlike most books I have read in recent years. Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin collected wonderful stories from all over the world showcasting the different types of Djinns (or Jinns, or Genies or whatever you would like to call them); this diversity of authors made for a really ecclectic and amazing collection. The stories told are unique and still relatable; every author brings something different to the table and every story is a surprise. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, every single one of the stories was a great addition to the overall collection.

I especially loved reading about the different myths relating to djinns and how that influenced how they were portrayed. To be perfectly honest, when I hear the word "djinn" I automatically think of Aladdin - the djinns in these stories were very different to that. Some djinns were nasty, some were misunderstood, some were really lovely and some were maybe no djinns at all.

What I loved most were the stories set in the future - the worlds these authors created were without fail totally different from what I usually encounter in distopian or sci-fi stories and I really appreciated that. It made me think about what we take for granted in literature and how that can be challenged and be made original again. I am so used to seeing Western authors use the genre to criticize their societies, that I never stopped to think about the fact that authors from all over the world can use dystopian literature to tell their stories and their critiques and that these stories will vastly differ from my usual fair.

Overall, I can whole-heartedly recommend this collection! It made me think, it made me feel, and it showed me lots of authors I never heard about but want to read more from.

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I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Rebellion in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!

This book has 21 stories on the subject of Djinns. With one or two exceptions these appear to be new stories. The djinns are mainly an Islamic concept and the spelling varies almost as much as the characteristics. They can be quite "devilish", they can grant wishes, they live for exceptionally long periods, they are magical and these terms really only scratch the surface of these beings that are created by godly fire. It's a subject that has always intrigued me so I was looking forward to reading this anthology.

These stories vary widely in era, approach and general setting. There are ones that have a far older feel and ones that are either modern or even sci fi based. Some of the content is violent (djinns can be seen as devils or devilish at least). Some content is sexual. Some are short and some are longer. If you have an interest in the subject there should be something for you here.

I guess the majority of these tales I did enjoy at least to some degree. The nature of such an anthology is that not all the stories will appeal to every reader. For me there were probably four standout stories. Neil Gaiman's story I enjoyed but, as it is from American Gods, I had read it before. It simply reminds me of what an excellent author he is.

I did enjoy the dark mischief of The Spite House by Kirsty Logan about djinns who are no longer that and do not grant wishes… or do they? It was well written and enjoyable.

There were two others which stood out for me. I found Black Powder by Maria Dahvana Headley extremely atmospheric and very well written. This really was one of those stories that effortlessly creates pictures with words. With a real feel of the Wild West and trappers this was also faintly contemporary and mysterious as well as edgy. Great story.

The other stand out tale also created a vivid picture with words for me. Reap by Sami Shah was a clever story. It is set in the USA with a section operating drones. However the real story occurs in Afghanistan as observed by the drone operators. I found it very atmospheric and crisply written. This is one that will stay with me, along with Black Powder, for some time to come.

I think there will always be highs and less attractive stories in such an anthology. Equally what those highs are will vary from reader to reader. However I thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the stories and even the less appealing ones were largely ok for me. This would be a good read for lovers of fantasy and certainly for anyone with an interest in tales about djinns.

There were two or three short stories that were very well executed in this collection, but majority of them did not quite make the mark. The one most anticipated - by Neil Gaiman - is one I've already read before, so this might have contributed to the slight feeling of disappointment. I did, however, discover new authors.

This is a collection of stories about djinn (jinn/genie/etc), a concept that can be found in a variety of cultures. The stories run the gamut in terms of genre and culture, with each author being allowed to write (and spell) djinn as they prefer (thank you editors for not homogenizing the spelling, it was appreciated!). While Neil Gaiman is probably the most popular author in the collection, I actually skipped that story (it's an excerpt from American Gods, which I have already read and didn't particularly care for). This left me with a bunch of other stories, a few authors I had heard of, but most whom were completely unknown to me - and this is the kind of short story collection I like, something that introduces me to different authors that are amazing and multicultural and leads me down a rabbit hole of finding their other works to read.

So, I ended up being completely blown away by this collection. The stories were great, and while there were a few I didn't quite like as much as others (there are always some in a short story collection), there were so so many that I loved.

I was going to list a few of my favorite stories in this collection, but I ended up listing almost all of the stories, so instead I will just list my absolute favorite - "Reap" by Sami Shah. This story is amazing, and I've been coming back to it days later.

Overall, I can't recommend this book enough.