Review: 4.5 stars Most romantic in the series to date
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 14, 2014
Devil DeVere has hit upon a plan to help both Selime and his friend, Simon, better known as Sin.  All these years Sin was believed dead but was actually being held as a prisoner of war.  Sin's returned home changed almost beyond recognition both physically, mentally, and emotionally.Once again our devious Devil devises a scheme designed to kill two birds with one stone.As much as I have loved the books in this series JEWEL OF THE EAST is my favorite.  Sin and Selime are two hopeless broken people, one is aware of it and one is oblivious.  You couldn't ask for a more beautiful love story than two such people being each other's salvation.  The following excerpt shows how Sin has matured since last we saw him while also highlighting Selime's disbelief in what he speaks of."No. I tell you the truth. Aashiq never truly loved Asma. If he had, he would have known her, even had he been struck blind and deaf." "But her shape and voice?" "Would still have spoken to his soul. He would have known her, Salime," Simon insisted. "I maintain that he never truly loved her to begin with. Aashiq, like the Jinn, was merely enthralled with her beauty." "You speak with such scorn. I cannot believe that you have never been so infatuated." "Me?" Simon laughed outright. "A hundred times I have been an utter fool for a pretty face. But that was in the madness of my youth." "And now?" she asked. "Are you not still moved by beauty?" "Every man is," he said softly. "But some men have eyes to recognize other kinds of beauty. I don't mean a preference for fair over dark complexion, or a plump figure over slim. No, I refer to the grace of her movement, the brilliance of her smile, the melodious tone of her voice, her unique scent, her easy laughter or sense of the absurd, the peculiar way she cocks her head, the sparkle of her wit; even a steadfast character has beauty. Beauty appears in myriad manifestations. Hundreds of unseen things can make even a plain woman beautiful if a man has not scales over his eyes."  She stared at him in breathless incomprehension, feeling as if scales had suddenly dropped from hers. She hadn't believed such a man existed...yet his words made her pulse race. She shook herself out of such fanciful thoughts, reminding herself that in the end they were only words. And words could not be trusted.In many ways the excerpt says it all.  Wonderfully romantic and sensuous, JEWEL OF THE EAST speaks to what we all desire, to be loved not for our outer appearance but for whom and what we are inside.  Truly sigh worthy.Reviewed by IvyD for Manic Readers & Miss Ivy's Book Nook