Jessica E. Subject's Blog, page 5

June 2024 reads...

Below are the books that I read in June and my review for each. 

I'm trying to do the Fold Reading Challenge to diversify my reading. In June, it suggested to read a book by a Cree author. And I did! In June, I'll be looking to read a book translated by an independent Canadian press. SNOWGLOBE by Soyoung Park
​Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort

Dystopian YA is a genre I love to read, so when I saw this book featured by another author in my social media feed, I was instantly intrigued and I added it to my wish list. Snowglobe is an intriguing story about a society where some live under the dome in what seems like a perfect life to those who live in the frigid cold outside of it. Those outside of the dome work in power plants to provide electricity for their community and within the dome. And those in the dome are either television stars with their entire life filmed, or the directors creating the shows for those living outside of the dome. But, nothing is as it seems. And Chobahm learns this when she is asked to take the place of a beloved television star, as her doppelganger. While part one of the story takes the time to show the comparison between the two worlds, and Chobahm's new life as Goh Haeri, it's in parts two and three that the majority of the twists and excitement happen. After reading the epilogue, part of the plot is wrapped up, but the overall story story continues with a couple extra chapters, teasing for the next book that is set to release in 2025. I really enjoyed Snowglobe and definitely plan to read the next in the duology when it releases! This story illustrates what life could be like in the future due to climate change, and also what your life would be like if you were always being filmed. Highly recommend! BAD CREE by Jessica Johns

Wow! I didn't quite know what to expect before reading this book, but I have seen so many recommendations for Bad Cree. This is a story about family, love, loss, grief, growing up, the effects of colonization, nehiyaw culture, dreams, nightmares, spirits, crows, and standing up to face it all. Bad Cree is an intriguing book where the tension builds and builds until the main character, Mackenzie must confront the monster and work to heal her own pain. But she won't do it alone. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more from Jessica Johns! ROAD TO RUIN by Hana Lee
​
While written in multiple points of view, Road to Ruin is the story of Jin, a magebike courier with special talents, who travels through the wasteland to deliver letters between a talentless prince, and a shield-caster princess who is treated like property and about to be sold off simply to bear children with special talents. But nothing is ever easy in any of Jin's trips across the wasteland. She has pteropters attacking her from above, storms chasing her across the desolate land, and raiders wanting to take her bike and her life. Her mission changes with a desperate plea from the princess where they encounter lost civilizations, bounty hunters, and so much more as Jin races to reunite the prince and princess. There's stolen kisses, a true love triangle, even if the feelings are unwanted, failing kingdoms, people returning from the dead, familial expectations, a belief system meant to exclude, and cruelty performed with the best of intentions. I was very uncertain how this story would end with some characters being swept into performing for one system of oppression into another. And I'm still not sure if the ending left me satisfied. Yet, I believe the MC, Jin, stayed true to who she was all along.

New Release ~ SPELLBOUND by Laurel Richards

SPELLBOUND
by Laurel Richards A powerful spellcaster, Hex works as a field agent for the State Watchmen Occult Division. When a museum curator is murdered with fangs and claws, he’s sent to investigate. Local law enforcement is convinced that Sarah is the culprit. She’s a recently turned shifter and an employee of the museum who was seen arguing with the victim. Hex isn’t so sure she’s guilty, though, and not only because he’s captivated by her. Sarah is no ordinary shifter, and this is no ordinary case. A break-in at the museum, magic artifacts, and a trail of dead bodies point to something sinister. Hex and Sarah team up to hunt for a powerful relic and the people who will stop at nothing to get it.

Content: contemporary m/f romance, love scenes, references to violent crimes and murders, magic use, alternate history
Buy at AMAZON Buy at APPLE Buy at BARNES & NOBLE Buy at KOBO Universal Buy Link Enjoy an excerpt... “Three days?” John “Hex” Robertson frowned at his boss, or at least at the video image of her on his computer. Field agents like him were assigned to cover large territories within their respective regions and tended to move around a lot. He was currently in a temporary office at a sheriff’s station in Bloxham County, Florida, while she was at division headquarters.

“Why weren’t we called in sooner?” he demanded, already envisioning the trail going cold. “Violent crimes involving supernaturals are supposed to be flagged.”

Part of the Department of Public Safety, the State Watchmen were at the top of the law enforcement pyramid. Within the Watchmen, the Occult Division had been specifically designed to handle cases with paranormal elements. Although agents mostly participated in mundane investigations—using their special skills to assist regular law-enforcement and garner goodwill—supernatural crimes were their raison d’etre. A paranormal homicide should have come to their attention immediately, not three days later.

Lieutenant Corina Adams didn’t appear any more pleased with the delay. “The Hopkins’ police are feeling hostile toward supernaturals right now. A fire mage severely burned one of their own during a routine traffic stop. They’re out for blood and confident they’ve identified the perp.”

“Who’s the suspect?”

“Sarah Walker, a lone shifter. The victim, Brian Johnson, was her boss at Trust’s Museum of Ancient Cultures. He was mauled in his office while Miss Walker was in the building. She found the body and called 911. The detectives didn’t buy her description of a masked man breaking into the museum. The security guards on duty didn’t see anything, and she didn’t have a mark on her, though she claims she confronted the intruder.”

He asked the obvious question. “Doesn’t the museum have security cameras?”

“Yes,” his lieutenant answered. “They inexplicably malfunctioned at the time of the murder.”

“You called her a lone shifter,” he said. “Sarah Walker isn’t part of a pack?”

“No, and she’s unregistered too. The detectives heading the investigation didn’t know she was a supernatural until they took DNA samples and fingerprints from all the museum employees. They ran a rapid test, and her sample revealed the markers for a shifter. Those traces were not present in her routine bloodwork six months earlier.”

Hex arched his eyebrow. “Breaking HIPAA laws now, are you?”

Lieutenant Adams gave him a sour look. “I’m using common sense. Her doctor would have notified the CDC of a possible metamorph infection had she shown signs at her last checkup.”

“Those signs are hard to detect,” he pointed out. “The fact that routine forensic swabbing picked it up suggests she changed form less than twenty-four hours before the sample was taken. Assuming her doctor didn’t overlook her condition, she’s newly turned. Any other unexplained attacks in her vicinity?”

He’d seen inexperienced shifters struggle to control their new instincts and abilities. Lost tempers could erupt in violence.

“None that I turned up.”

“We don’t have many shifters in this state,” he said. “Statistically she’s probably a werewolf. A small pack of red wolves broke away from North Carolina a few years ago, but they’re mostly inland. There are occasionally rogue wolves and coyote shifters. She could also be an ailuranthrope. Cat shifters tend to be more solitary.”

“Then the question is whether she’s a tabby or a panther.” Lieutenant Adams gave him a pointed look. “You’ve got more experience with shifters than any other field agent. Do your own investigation and see where it leads you. Like I said, the locals have a score to settle. Miss Walker has the misfortune of being the first paranormal to cross their path, and they’re pissed that she slipped away during questioning. When she didn’t immediately return to her condo, they assumed she’d skipped town.”

Now he was intrigued. “Did she?”

“No, she showed up for work today. Now the detectives look at that as returning to the scene of the crime. Read the file I sent you, watch the interview video, and get up to speed. You’ll meet our tech analyst, Zoe Martin, at the scene.”

Hex knew the technomancer. Zoe was literally a tech wizard who worked magic with electronics. Even if she couldn’t recover the museum’s security footage, she’d determine how it had been sabotaged.

“Watch your back,” his lieutenant ordered him.

Hex narrowed his eyes. “You learn something from your crystal ball?”

The question wasn’t flippant. His lieutenant was a talented diviner—a traditionalist who preferred to use the crystal ball passed down to her from her great-grandmother.

“I know there’s more to this case than a novice lycanthrope losing control,” she said. “The locals won’t be happy to have a spellcaster take over. Don’t expect a warm welcome.”

“I never do.” He ended the call and logged on to review the case file.
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May 2024 reads...

Below are the books that I read in May and my review for each. I guess I liked blue in May, as all the books I read during the month, including the one I'm reading now, have blue covers.

I'm trying to do the Fold Reading Challenge to diversify my reading. In May, it suggested to read a Historical Fiction by a South Asian author. I tried, but it was a DNF (which I never post about). So, I read a Medial Thriller by a South Asian author. Though I take some liberties with their suggestions, I am still diversifying my reading. And that is the point. In June, I'll be reading a book by a Cree author. And I already have one sitting on my bookshelf for that. ONE OF US KNOWS by Alyssa Cole

I was super excited when I found out Alyssa Cole was releasing another thriller, and pre-ordered this book. One of Us Knows is an intense thriller with so many twists and turns throughout the story! But, unlike When No One is Watching, the action and suspense take place externally AND within the MC's mind. I also learned a lot about DID from this book, presented with information I never would have thought about. And through it, I learned someone close to me has a friend with DID, so it helped to bring up conversation about DID. While I love Alyssa Cole's ability to write a fabulous thriller, it is important to note that there are some very gory scenes in this book for those who can't handle those types of scenes, and many of the secondary characters are horrible, horrible people. I definitely look forward to the next thriller from Alyssa Cole! DEADLY CURE by Mahi Cheshire

In the first chapters, I didn't like either of the two female MCs. They were both deceitful and held a lot of resentment toward each other, even though they were supposedly friends at the beginning of the story. And while I did feel sorry for them at certain points in the book, I never grew to like them. I did like Feng though. Needless to say, I still enjoyed the story. Not once did I consider not finishing it. The author managed to write a great thriller with less than admirable main characters, and I applaud that ability. THE KISS QUOTIENT by Helen Hoang

I loved this twist on the Pretty Woman story where the rich FMC is an autistic econometrician and the escort MMC is Vietnamese, does Kendo, and loves his mother. Helen Hoang captured all the emotions of the characters so well, and gave a good glimpse into what it's like to be an autistic female. The Kiss Quotient is sweet and oh so spicy, captivating me from the beginning! I look forward to reading The Bride Test to reunite with many of these characters again!

April 2024 reads...

Below are the books that I read in April and my review for each. I'm trying to do the Fold Reading Challenge to diversify my reading. In April, I read a book by a Sikh author, and in May, it suggests to read a Historical Fiction by a South Asian author. Though I think I take some liberties with their suggestions, I am still diversifying my reading. And that is the point. HIS DUCKING ALPHA DRAGON by Lorelei M. Hart

​This is a cute MM MPreg Shifter Romance about duck hoards, internet woes, fated mates, nesting, meggs, and adorable baby dragons! TJ POWAR HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE by Jesmeen Kaur Deo

This books is about so many things; growing up, young love, body image, body shaming, body hair, soccer, debate club, family, friendships, getting ready for university, learning who you are, traditional Indian/Sikh upbringing vs. leaving the traditions behind, Indian/Sikh parents vs. White parents, culture, online bullying, and so much more. And I enjoyed every bit of it, reading this book super fast (for me.) The characters were engaging, thrust into very real situations, and even though I wanted to point out some obvious things as an observer (and a parent,) I knew in the same situation, I would likely react the same way. Though maybe TJ was more brave and strong-willed than me.

This is a fabulous story! A YA must read! THE MIS-ARRANGEMENT OF SANA SAEED by Noreen Mughees

​I loved this story so much! While I was a little worried about the whole love triangle thing and what would happen to each of the characters in the end, I was so happy with the ending! Not only are the main characters wonderful, but so are all the secondary characters. Noreen Mughees did a fabulous job in illustrating their love for each other and how love can make us make the wrong decisions. Culture plays a HUGE role in this story, and it was so fabulously detailed and captivating! This is a must-read for me, and a great read for anyone looking to diversify their reading! The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed is an intense, yet a feel-good romance that will leave you anxious to read more from Noreen Mughees!

New Website and Blog

Hello everyone! I've switched over to Weebly for my Website and Blog, so come and find me over there to stay up to date on what I'm writing and more!

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Enter to WIN $35 Amazon GC with @NNP_W_Light���s Summertime Books Bookish Event! #Reading #SummerReading #Giveaway

 

I'm excited to be part of the Summertime Books Bookish Eventhosted by N.N. Light's Book Heaven!
The event runs June 23 to July 3, 2022
My books will be featured June 26 & 28
Be sure to visit the event every day for your chance to WIN a $35 Amazon GC!
Visit the Summertime Books Bookish Event here!

Enter to WIN $35 Amazon GC with @NNP_W_Light’s Summertime Books Bookish Event! #Reading #SummerReading #Giveaway

 

I'm excited to be part of the Summertime Books Bookish Eventhosted by N.N. Light's Book Heaven!
The event runs June 23 to July 3, 2022
My books will be featured June 26 & 28
Be sure to visit the event every day for your chance to WIN a $35 Amazon GC!
Visit the Summertime Books Bookish Event here!

Is Utahn surprised? Weekend Writing Warriors from GENJ #Romance #SciFiRomance #MMRomance #KaddimBrothers

Hello and welcome to another Weekend Writing Warriors post!
Hello everyone! Thank you to all those who came to visit me last weekend! This weekend, I'm sharing one last snippet from GENJ, the second book in my Sci-Fi MPreg MM Romance series, KADDIM BROTHERS. Then I'm going full tilt on finishing and revising RET.
Set-up: Last weekend Genj landed on Orez and was standing outside of Utahn's bakery, ready to go in.
In this snippet, Genj goes inside. Enjoy!

I waited outside for the customer to leave then slid inside the bakery before the door closed, trying to be as quiet as possible. Utahn’s back was to me as he moved some jabkas from a storage container to the display case.
Clearing my throat, I anxiously awaited his reaction to me being there.
Releasing a yelp, he jumped then turned to face me. I expected him to be happy, excited, and run to give me a hug. But that was not what happened.
Utahn’s eyes went wide with surprise as the rest of his face fell, and he wrapped his hands around his stomach. His extended stomach, which I know wasn’t like that the last time I’d seen him.
“You… You’re…” This explained a lot. Why he barely talked to me. Why hadn’t he simply told me?He nodded, biting his bottom lip. “Yes, I’m pregnant.”


GENJKaddim Brothers book two
Genj is a cinnamon roll alpha. Even as one of the circuit’s best space racers, he’s shy and rather clumsy. Not qualities anyone wants in a mate, especially the omega he’s crushed on for years. But when Genj invites Utahn on a whim to visit him for a weekend, the omega agrees.
Utahn never expected his best friend’s older brother to reciprocate his feelings. Genj is a space racer, and everyone in the universe knows they rarely commit. When the two get together, sparks fly. And what once seemed impossible becomes a dream come true.
But situations change. And past relationships have a way of interfering with new ones. Can Genj and Utahn work through past traumas, or were they never meant to be more than a childhood crush?
NOW AVAILABLE IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK
AMAZON US | UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

Be sure to visit the other Weekend Writing Participants!Click on the button below to find this week's list...

Are Genj and Utahn finally together again? Weekend Writing Warriors from GENJ #Romance #MMRomance #SciFiRomance #KaddimBrothers

Hello and welcome to another Weekend Writing Warriors post!
Hello everyone! Thank you to all those who came to visit me last weekend! This weekend, I'm sharing another snippet from my new release, GENJ, the second book in my Sci-Fi MPreg MM Romance series, KADDIM BROTHERS.
Set-up: Last weekend Genj decided to take some unscheduled time off. He's heading back to Orez. And his brother is not happy. That didn't stop Genj.
In this snippet, Genj is now on Orez. Enjoy!

Regardless of my brother’s objection, I left the shuttle once it landed on Orez. Call it stubbornness, or my alpha instincts finally kicking in, but I refused to return to Eurebly without spending time with Utahn. There was something drawing me here, and I couldn’t shake it.
I didn’t have any bags to collect, all of my belongings I’d taken to Harasa either still in our weekend accommodations or with my team, heading to Eurebly. So, unencumbered, I dashed out through the sliding door of the small spaceport and caught one of the waiting hovercabs.
Ojokun’s training school was within walking distance. I probably should have stopped in to visit my former-teammate turned brother-in-law, and say some encouraging words to his future space racers, but I had time to do that another day.
The cab took me straight to my old neighborhood where Utahn’s bakery sat, along with several other shops selling locally made goods. After swiping my wrist over the scanner to pay, I stepped out and stood on the walkway. Through the window, I spotted the omega I wanted to be my mate. His hair, now dark brown again, was up in a net. His apron and his round cheeks were covered in rolef as he stepped up to the counter and greeted the customer there. I couldn’t wait to see his expression when I surprised him.


GENJKaddim Brothers book two
Genj is a cinnamon roll alpha. Even as one of the circuit’s best space racers, he’s shy and rather clumsy. Not qualities anyone wants in a mate, especially the omega he’s crushed on for years. But when Genj invites Utahn on a whim to visit him for a weekend, the omega agrees.
Utahn never expected his best friend’s older brother to reciprocate his feelings. Genj is a space racer, and everyone in the universe knows they rarely commit. When the two get together, sparks fly. And what once seemed impossible becomes a dream come true.
But situations change. And past relationships have a way of interfering with new ones. Can Genj and Utahn work through past traumas, or were they never meant to be more than a childhood crush?
NOW AVAILABLE IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK
AMAZON US | UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

Be sure to visit the other Weekend Writing Participants!Click on the button below to find this week's list...

Taking some unscheduled time off ~ Weekend Writing Warriors excerpt from GENJ #Romance #MMRomance #SciFiRomance #KaddimBrothers

Hello and welcome to another Weekend Writing Warriors post!
Hello everyone! Thank you to all those who came to visit me last weekend! This weekend, I'm sharing another snippet from my new release, GENJ, the second book in my Sci-Fi MPreg MM Romance series, KADDIM BROTHERS.
Set-up: Last weekend Genj was busy helping get everyone in the shed organized with the USRA for visitors to evacuate the planet. But, he also had some time to think....
In this snippet, we're getting closer to the moment you're all waiting for. Enjoy!

Since the race was now canceled for the weekend, I had no plans. If I returned to Eurebly, Ret would make us practice the thidemrev maneuver again, since we didn’t get to perform it here. But I had somewhere else I wanted to be.
As soon as we were given the signal, I ushered the rescued tourists to their designated space shuttle. Then I rushed over to the one heading to Quadrant One, with a stop on Orez.
Xac passed me, yanking on my flight suit. “You’re going in the wrong direction. Our shuttle’s over here.”
“No.” I shook their hand off. “Tell Ret I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
*And some more if you're interested...
They pursed their lips as their eyebrows lifted high into their forehead, but they didn’t say another word before walking away.
We both knew how my brother would react, and that was why I planned to be on my way to Orez before he learned I was taking some unscheduled time off.


GENJKaddim Brothers book two
Genj is a cinnamon roll alpha. Even as one of the circuit’s best space racers, he’s shy and rather clumsy. Not qualities anyone wants in a mate, especially the omega he’s crushed on for years. But when Genj invites Utahn on a whim to visit him for a weekend, the omega agrees.
Utahn never expected his best friend’s older brother to reciprocate his feelings. Genj is a space racer, and everyone in the universe knows they rarely commit. When the two get together, sparks fly. And what once seemed impossible becomes a dream come true.
But situations change. And past relationships have a way of interfering with new ones. Can Genj and Utahn work through past traumas, or were they never meant to be more than a childhood crush?
NOW AVAILABLE IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK
AMAZON US | UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

Be sure to visit the other Weekend Writing Participants!Click on the button below to find this week's list...