Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5
As prince of the Anzuni demon clan, Jerricho’s entire life has been planned for him. At twenty-five, he will become the crown prince of the Anzuni, marry a man chosen by his parents, and bear his husband’s children all without choice. If that wasn’t enough, he must remain a virgin until his wedding night. To do otherwise would spark an unimaginable scandal.
With only ten months until his twenty-fifth birthday, the walls close in on Jerry, and the realization that he will lose his small apartment, his job at the library, and his freedom hits hard. But that’s nothing compared to losing the man he loves. Rex is a smart and sexy construction foreman with a keen interest in demon “mythology.” When Jerry and Rex give in to spending one night together, their indiscretion can’t be kept secret for long. But that’s only the beginning of their problems.
Someone wants to harness the power of Jerry’s bloodline and his ability to conceive—someone with designs on horrifying experiments, sex slavery, and murder. Jerry and Rex are at the mercy of power-hungry sadists. With no one left to trust, they must fight for each other, their freedom—and their unborn child.
Jerricho’s Freedom is more than I expected and perhaps the reason I didn’t give this story a higher rating. When I say that everything happens, I mean everything. There’s not a simple plot twist missing here, and the author added events and crossroads until the very end. There’s a lot happening and it can be overwhelming at times.
That said, the amount of world build and characters in the story is impressive. There’s a reason behind a reason for things to happen, but the author did an excellent job adding everything together and making sure the reader didn’t have any unanswered question by the end of the story.
There’s a strong case of insta-love but is mostly because Jerry’s and Rex’s friendship happens off-page. Everything we know about how they met and fell in love is told to the reader after they become a couple. I do think the mating part helps relief the impact, allowing the reader to see them as an established couple.
The story is dark and has some dub-con/non-con scenes. There are gritty scenes, lots of painful passages, and violence. I wanted a little more about the arranged marriage and more time for the MCs to connect to each other, but in the end, everything worked, giving the couple their HEA.
The world build is done well and it’s easy to see where the author adjusted reality to create a believable environment. I like most of the secondary characters and the settings were interesting. Even when the majority of the story takes place in California, it’s easy to forget the connection with reality.
Overall, it’s an interesting take on mpreg stories. It’s actually much more than a simple romance story. The author packed a turn for every corner and keeps the reader guessing continuously. A nice story for fans of dark fantasy.
The cover by AngstyG is a bit generic but goes well with Jerry’s description and the paranormal aspects of the story.
Sale Links: Dreamspinner | Amazon | Nook
ebook, 334 pages
Published: February 13, 2017 (second edition), Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 1635333083 (ISBN13: 9781635333084)
Edition Language: English
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 