The Golem and the Djinni

This is my second attempt, and I had the same issues as the first time around.

The Humans of New York vibe didn't work for me. I enjoyed it, but I felt that it was wrong for the story. The first time around, I stopped at the Djinni infodump. It got worse. I felt like Wecker was showing her hand, because only Major Plot characters get a backstory. I honestly felt she could have weaved it all through a little more deftly.

Because, she deftly weaves information throughout the rest of the story, in a delightful way. She tells us obviously the Djinni doesn't need to carry matches. Later, she shows, instead of tells, us why. From 1/3 of the way through, when Things start happening, it is a lovely story. You all know I'm a sucker for religion in a story, and even better they're “real” (as opposed to secondary-world ones). In fact, the biggest disappointment was the end, but I can live with it.

Ok, I can't. Spoilers for literally the last pages: WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A ROMANCE?? UHGH.