Off the Shelf: Epoch by Jewel E Ann

This book ripped my heart out and put it back together again. So much happened and it left me torn in two directions, much like Swayze was. 

The book picks up where Transcend leaves off. Swayze is dealing with the death of her friend Erin and her growing memories of Nate. She suspects that there is more to the death of her friend, not to mention Morgan’s death all those years ago. 

Nate is also dealing with a lot, including his growing feelings for Swayze and his concern for her safety as she decides to trod a path of investigation of her memories of Morgan and the deaths of Erin and Morgan. 

Griffin is also torn, worried about Swayze, worried about Nate’s relationship with her and worried about their future. He feels that Swayze’s preoccupation with Morgan will destroy her, destroy them and he has to make some difficult decisions during the course of the book in a bid to support her and do his best for her. 

As you can probably tell, the angst meter on this book was off the scale! I love angst in a novel and this took me through all the emotions from frustrated to angry to sad to elated! 

Jewel E Ann knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat and this book was no exception. It was incredibly well paced but I did find myself galloping towards the end there just because I was so anxious to see how it would end. One criticism I do have though is that I felt like the danger to Swayze was too neatly resolved. This is probably (definitely) my love of romantic suspense novels speaking here but I really wished there had been more of a confrontation between Griffin and the threat to Swayze. I struggle when the pivotal part of a novel is dealt with in past tense. It’s like I got cheated of the best part and I couldn’t help feeling that way with this one. 

Overall I thought this book was a lovely conclusion to the duet. I definitely enjoyed the first part of the duet more but the way this ended had me so happy. It just ended on such a hopeful and beautiful note that I was left thinking “I would read this book in every century...”

I gave it 4 stars...and I seriously can’t wait for more from Jewel E Ann!

To see what she's up to visit her here.

TK MAJ

Off the Shelf : Transcend by Jewel E Ann

*ARC REVIEW*

Please note that this book was provided for free by the author's publishing PR in exchange for an honest review. Feel free to check out my full book review policy here for more details.

I can honestly say it’s been a while since I’ve connected with the plot of and loved a book as much as I love Transcend. This book was more than story it was more like an experience. There were elements of romance, the paranormal and a emotional tug of war that left me breathless. I am so glad I was given the opportunity to review the ARC by Jewel E Ann and I will be adding this author to the list of people to keep up with. I have already pre-ordered the second book in this series and I am so glad I only have a few days to wait until I see the ending of this wonderful tale. 

I don’t really want to speak too much about the plot. I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone. All I’ll say is this: the story revolves around a girl named Swayze who has a unique gift that she’s struggled to figure out her whole life and a recently widowed man called Nate whose life story brings everything to a head when Swayze takes a job as the nanny for his baby Morgan.

There are so many elements to this story: there’s romance, suspense, the paranormal and some interesting philosophical questions that are posed. The romance involves Swayze and her boyfriend Griffin and the struggles they face as a couple in light of Swayze’s gift and her relationship with Nate and Morgan. The suspense comes in at the end of this first book and involves an alleged murder which I am keen to delve deeper into in the second book. The paranormal element essentially comes in the form of Swayze’s gift and exploring its true meaning and parameters. The philosophical question posed by this story is essentially what happens to our souls when we die? Do they live on? Can aspects of our souls be found in others? What does that mean for those left behind to mourn us? 

Man, this book was a trip but only in the best way. I just constantly kept wondering what would come next, what boundary would be pushed and would the characters end up better or worse for it. I am honestly enthralled at this book and the world created by it. It’s really simply written. There isn’t any spectacle to this book but it still manages to be stunning all the same. Ordinarily paranormal elements of stories take up the bulk of the plot, after all a werewolf story or a vampire tale are so clearly paranormal, but with this novel the unfamiliar aspect of it was so seamlessly woven into the familiar that it was believable and so much more enjoyable for it.

I am going to resist the urge to share too much about this book except to say that if you love romance, love stories of family, of love lost and how one goes about dealing with it, if you love to smile as you read heartwarming paragraphs and still be on the edge of your seat, wondering what comes next, hoping and wishing it all turns out alright for everyone involved then this book is for you. This book is for everyone in my opinion. It had it all and I for one am very appreciative I have discovered Jewel E Ann! I can’t recommend it enough! I can’t express the way it moved me enough! 

Just go get it already!

This book was a 5 star read all the way.

Check out more of Jewel's work here. 

TK MAJ

Release Day Blitz : Transcend by Jewel E Ann

Transcend, an all new romance filled with love in unexpected places from Jewel E. Ann is LIVE!

“In another life, she was my forever.”

An unexpected tragedy leaves Professor Nathaniel Hunt a widower alone with a newborn baby.

He hires a nanny. She’s young, but well-qualified, with a simple life, a crazy name obsession, and a boyfriend she met at the grocery store.

Over time, he discovers she knows things about him—things that happened before she was born—like a hidden scar on his head, his favorite pizza, and how he cheated on a high school Spanish test.

She speaks familiar words and shares haunting memories that take him back to over two decades earlier when he lost his best friend in a tragic accident.

“I’m afraid of what’s going to happen when you realize I’m not her.”

Transcend is a sexy, mind-bending journey that uncovers possibilities, challenges beliefs, and begets the age-old question: is there life after death?

Read Transcend Today!

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Preorder Epoch Today!

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About Jewel E. Ann

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

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Off the Shelf: Bitten by Desire by Annabelle Jacobs

When last we left off in the human/shifter universe of Annabelle Jacobs, Nathan and Jared had found love and defeated a rogue gang of shifters while they were at it...or had they? Alpha Newell of the Primrose Pack and Alpha Harley of the Regent’s Park Pack who previously joined forces now play a subtle game of back with one trying to stage a takeover and the other willing to use all he has to resist. 

Enter Sebastian, Jared’s best friend and unwitting pawn in this new stage of the game and Tim, cool, calm and mostly collected Regent’s Park Pack doctor. Having to pretend to be dating Sebastian to protect him from rogues and anyone else out there with ill intent will be no hardship for Tim who’s been fighting a growing attraction for him...or will it? Everything seems set for a slow trip to bonding until Tim learns that recent events have Sebastian rethinking his stance on shifters and doubting he could ever be with one as anything other than friends with some very lovely benefits.

Sebastian was really fun and I totally understood where he was coming from with his aversion of any type of relationship with a shifter. After seeing his best friend fall for a shifter in a way that seemed to be despite himself, the last thing Sebastian wants is to dabble with shifters. He wants to fall in love without what he calls the influence of any “shifter magic” and this is all even though he has some strong feelings for Tim. Sebastian had so much going on with him. He struggled with money and had this sense of pride in that while he was happy to live in Jared’s apartment, he insisted on paying his way. He also really hated getting injured and having to rely on people to get around. He was a loving brother and that was so sweet. I really fell for him and identified with his desire to avoid any shifter trouble (even though it somehow kept finding him). 

Tim was such a breath of fresh air! He initially came across as this easygoing doctor who didn’t really give into his shifter side and I thought that was a great contrast to Nathan and other shifters we had been introduced too so far in the series. I didn’t have long to wait to see how wrong I was in assuming that Tim was all bark no bite because the good doctor was definitely a shifter at times. He was very possessive and protective of Sebastian and it had me feeling all the warm and fuzzies. He honestly cared so deeply for Sebastian and his happiness even at the risk of not having him in his life forever and that endeared him so much for me. I loved how kind, caring and sensitive he was but also how he showed a little teeth and a lot of claw at just the right moment. 

There was a lot of political intrigue in this story as compared to the first one and that had me so happy. I love a good mystery slash thriller and there were elements of that throughout the novel. There were questions I had as a reader all throughout the book and who doesn’t love that? It kept me interested and seeing the increasingly strained dynamic between the two packs play out was a really great part of the story. 

I love this world Annabelle has created. I am trying really hard not to go back into it to quickly because I have a TBR list the size of my arm (which is still growing!). I can’t wait to read the next book and there will probably be another gushy review here for you all! 

I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one. I just enjoyed the couple that little bit more. It got five I love their love stars! 

TK MAJ

Off the Shelf: Bitten by Mistake by Annabelle Jacobs

M/M shifter romance is so niche, so rarely done right and what is slowly but surely becoming a favourite genre. I stumbled onto Annabelle Jacob’s’ Regent’s Park Pack series on Goodreads and by golly was that a brilliant find! Let me just put everyone out of their misery (ha!) and say that this book was amazing and I can’t wait to read more in the series. Now sit back and relax as I count the ways in which Nathan and Jared’s story had me oohing and aahing and wishing for my own shifter boyfriend!

The Regent’s Park Pack is a group of shifters who turn into wolves in the night (the night of the full moon that is). They live in a world where everyone knows they exist and are subject to two sets of laws- this of the human world and those of the shifter world. In terms of human law shifters are free to bite humans and in so doing give them the chance to turn into shifters with the rising of the full moon but the agreement for a shifter to bite a human has to be in writing and filed with human authorities. If a shifter bites a human without his or her consent, the human is free to choose the shifter’s punishment, including the punishment of death. 

Jared has a dark past with shifters and the last thing he wants to deal with on a night out is any shifter trouble. Too bad there are a couple of shifters out at the club and one of them catches his eye despite his firm stance on getting involved with shifters. Nathan is attracted to Jared on sight but before he can convince him to change his mind and take a chance on him he is called away on Pack business. There a rogues on the loose and before they know it Nathan and Jared’s paths will cross again, a misplaced bite will have they sharing an apartment and more than a kiss or two and an unexpected bond may form. 

The writing style of the author was so great. There was enough humour to offset the serious moments but the angst factor was pretty up there (yay for angst!) I enjoyed this new imagining of shifter and human society coexisting and the challenges it posed for both the human and shifter characters in the story as they tried to navigate each other’s society without getting on the wrong side of the law.

Jared was this guy with a past with shifters and more than enough reason to be angry with them. He considered them arrogant and cocky and was more than happy to be one of the few humans not giving anything to spend a night with a shifter. He was firm in his beliefs and I loved how he gave as good as he got. With a human/shifter dynamic it was easy to see how Jared could have ended up being submissive to Nathan but that was really not the case. The two bickered back and forth and it was hilarious to read.

Nathan was actually one of those arrogant, cocky types which I actually found to be hilarious and such a fun pairing thanks to the author (I see what you did there Annabelle). He was so self-assured and wouldn’t budge in his confidence even when Jared tried to pretend he wasn’t into him (a losing battle if I ever read one!) What I loved the most about him was his attraction to Jared and how protective he was of him. He was so possessive but caring and honestly my heart skipped a beat every time I read the scenes between them. There were moments of uncertainty and vulnerability on Nathan’s side that had me wanting to reach into the book, hug him and tell him everything would be ok. 

The book had an action plot that I would definitely say was secondary (but no less gripping). The Regent’s Park Pack had to join forces with their uneasy allies the Primrose Pack to try and eliminate the threat to not just each pack but Nathan and Jared in particular. There was no love lost between the two packs but with a common enemy on their doorstep they had no choice but to combine forces. Working with others was a challenge to Jared who was more than a little jealous at times (for which I didn’t blame him!) This part of the story had me gripped and honestly I couldn’t wait to see how it would be resolved! 

Overall, this book got a well deserved, gritty but heartwarming 4.5 stars! 

And yes, I immediately jumped onto the next book in the series. A review of that will be up soon! 

Visit Annabelle here for more!

TK MAJ