However, in the background of all this we know Jafar is hunting Ali, the man Jasmine had been sold to who is apparently 100x worse than Jafar and he would utterly destroy Jasmine which isn’t what Jafar wants. However, it is Tink, a stylist, who tells her that if she really wants to be free of Jafar she has to make a deal with Hades who runs the Underworld, a notorious sex club where all the underbelly dealing of Carver City take place and that is exactly where Jafar is taking her tonight. At first, Jasmine fights Jafar on everything because that is all she knows how to do but when she begins to realise this isn’t going to get her what she wants, she begins thinking of new ideas to escape Jafar. I also noticed quite early on that Carver City, is an extended universe where all the stories in this series take place as we meet both Meg and Tink who are characters in the second and third books of this series. Obviously Jasmine loses as she knew she would but she doesn’t ever use the safe word she has with Jafar not even when he takes her on the floor like an animal for their first time which shows how much Jasmine is aware, she wants Jafar even if she doesn’t want the entrapment that comes with him. Jafar even sweetens this deal and adds that if she can get to the front doors before, he catches her, he will let her leave with her inheritance in addition to her freedom and Jasmine takes the risk. While she wants to be free, the thought of being Jafar’s also doesn’t repel her in the way it should. However, they have been playing a little game for a while it seems but now Jafar dares to touch her but he does give Jasmine a choice she can leave with freedom but without her inheritance or she came belong to him.

The opening chapter was gripping as we learn that Jasmine’s father has basically sold her to secure an alliance before he is betrayed by Jafar who know owns Jasmine. The first book is an Aladdin retelling and obviously follows Jasmine and Jafar which I was really excited to see. Review: I recently saw that Becca from Becca and the Books was planning to read Desperate Measures in 2021 and her explanation of Disney retelling but with smutty romances between the Princesses and the villain had me hooked.

Desperate measures wicked villains