Jerricho's Freedom

Where do I start with this book? It starts out as though it’s going to be a run of the mill, demon based, paranormal romance, and that would have been OK, but half way through it ‘shifts’, pardon the pun, and becomes a lot more complex. The plot expands to encompass science fiction, conspiracy theory, slavery and world domination for starters.

Jerricho, Jerry, is a librarian and he’s also an Anzuni Demon Prince. He’s approaching his 25th birthday which is when he’s expected to marry an obnoxious man of his parents choosing, Ty, and bear his children. Oh, and he’s expected to be a virgin when it happens! Jerry loves his parents and knows he must obey the laws of the Anzuni clan, but he would love to keep the hard-won freedom he’s had for the last few years. After meeting his ‘fiancée’ for the first time, he also desperately wants just one night with the human man he’s fallen in love with, Rex. Thanks to his friend Keith, he gets that chance. Jerry must leave after their one night and return home to his parents, and it breaks his heart and also Rex’s, but more importantly he later finds out he’s pregnant, and of course, Rex is the father.

Jerry’s world descends into chaos; he’s rejected and beaten up by his, so called, fiancée for not being submissive enough and for being pregnant. He also has to tell Rex the truth, not just about the baby but about demons and his royal status as well.

It’s at this point that the book shifts direction! There are forces at work against Jerricho and Rex who want to see the heir to the throne removed and are not beyond murder and kidnapping to achieve their goals…but that’s not all they want. These people are taking and using demons for their own profit. Imprisoning them and experimenting on them, turning them into sex slaves and worse!

In the second half, the pace of the story ratchets higher, and there’s no let-up. There’s always something happening, and the last few chapters are so fast paced I had to stop and remember to breathe. More than once the story could have been tied up, but thankfully it wasn’t. As a result, the book is quite long with lots of plot twists and just when you think everything will be alright something else bad happens.

I liked it a lot, but I can imagine it would be too much for some. Jerry and Rex are adorable, and the love they obviously share shines out. However, this isn’t a cosy afternoon read, it’s a dash from one ‘hold your breath’ moment to another. It takes some concentration, but the story itself pulled me along and made me read on until I knew how it ended and the ending is a very satisfying HEA.

I was interested from the moment I read the blurb for 'Jerricho's Freedom'. A demon prince, a human with no clue that the mythology he loves is real, and mpreg? Oh yeah, sign me up. I could certainly empathize with Jerricho's frustration over thousands of years of tradition, and the fact that all he ever wanted was his little spot in the human world far from Anzuni politics just endeared him to me. Rex is sex on a stick with a big heart and a loving nature. I couldn't wait to see what turmoil they bring to the world.

Jerricho's first meeting with the husband his parents have picked out for him grossed me out as much as it did Jerricho. Ty has the nerve to tell Jerricho how life is going to be for him under Ty. Pun intended. I didn't blame Jerricho for vowing that Ty wasn't getting his virginity. Jerricho wants his first time to be pleasurable knowing the rest of his life is going to be miserable, so he heads straight to Rex, the man he's in love with but can't have.

I'm not going into more of the plot because I believe it's rather self-explanatory based on the description. What I am going to talk about is how surprised and happy I was to see the author didn't go for the predictable. I will say this now, though, contrary to my perception of the tone this book was going to take based on the cover and the blurb, Jerricho and Rex's story is not all that dark. There are moments, of course, and some of them are hard to read, but overall I felt this was a good suspenseful romance.

I had expected the mystery revolving around who was abducting the young Anzuni males and I fully anticipated that whoever was behind it was also behind getting Jerry and Rex isolated away from Jerry's parents, the king and queen. The faction interested in harvesting the power behind the royal male line’s ability to have children did a good job of hiding themselves in plain sight. The treachery and betrayal, not to mention treason, was well written and kept me interested in what was happening at all times. I admit to being surprised more than a few times by the unexpected.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense and convoluted whodunit in this novel, I have to admit - and it's probably just me being too picky - that sometimes the continuous "just this close to being freed and then captured again" became a little tedious. However, the writing was top-notch and the devious twists and turns were fantastically done. I give high praise to the author for an exhilarating story.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

Reviewed by Morningstar for Diverse Reader

This was a “sit on the edge of your seat” kind of story. This one definitely had some dark parts and made you feel like you could lose all hope that they would get rescued. There was double crossing and more double crossing, science experiments gone wrong, sex slaves and rape, bad guys with a temper, beatings, and of course male pregnancy.

Jerricho is a demon prince and as such he has the ability to get pregnant. He’s kind of the black sheep prince since he rebels against the life his parents have set out for him. He hates the idea of having to marry someone his parents chose, he hates the idea that he will no longer have the sense of freedom he has now working at the library and the construction site with his best friend Keith. Even though he is willing to give up his freedom when the time comes. One last rebellion, one last moment for himself ends up changing his future much more than he thought possible. I completely understood his fight against the life that he was given no choice but to follow; because who doesn’t want to marry for love instead of station.

Rex’s obsession with mythology ends with him at the library using that hobby to spend time with Jerry, getting to know him, and falling for him. But he doesn't think Jerry feels the same in return; so until that first kiss he had no idea the feeling was reciprocated. Now he is determined to find a way to be with him, even by nagging Keith to help. As sweet as Rex is, he is also strong, a leader, and super protective if Jerry even after he finds out things about the world he thought were just stories.

I loved these two together, I was fighting for them to make it out alive the whole time! I loved it all. Yes, there were some minor things that I wish were different, but nothing big enough that it took away from the overall story with Rex and Jerricho. The sex between these two were hot and so them! There were many, many secondary characters who played active parts in pushing the story along...some I hated and some I loved!

I had a feeling, while reading, who the bad guys were and then I kept second guessing myself because it seemed too easy and I thank Jake for that because the twists were great and kept me on my toes. Some people may not like a story with a lot going on but to me this story would be less if not for all the smaller things that pushed the bigger plot. I do wish that we had more on page time of Jerry and Rex in the library, because seeing them interact would’ve given me a better base of their relationship depth then I did with what I was given.

I also really hope we get Eli’s story because I fell for that guy while reading this one!

Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.


Jerricho is Crown Prince to the Anzuni race, a demon race living among the humans for thousands of years. He is expected to marry the man chosen for him and he is expected to like it. But he doesn't. Jerry loves Rex. When Jerry's fiancee tries to use the heavy handed approach, Jerry decides he is having that one night, that one night of happiness with Rex he may never get again. But that night leads to a chain of events that lead both Jerry and Rex fighting for their lives. And that of their unborn child.


The m-preg genre (sub-genre?? trope??) is growing on me! This book deals with it very well, and I liked how both Jerry and Rex reacted to their unexpected news.


I liked this book a lot but for two things.


one: there is a lot, and I mean A LOT of double crossing and triple crossing and even quadruple crossing!! It got very confusing, for me at least, trying to figure out who were the bad guys and who were the good ones! Even when everything was explained and laid out for me, I was still a little lost.


two: Only Jerricho has a say. Yes, yes yes I know, I KNOW I say it a lot, but had Rex had his say?? I think this might have been a five star read, even with the confusing good/bad guys, I really do. I needed to know what he thought when Jerry left; when Jerry told him the news, and what he was thinking about, in the cage opposite Jerry. I really REALLY needed to hear from him.


It does get a little gory when talking about what's happening to the missing men and their mates, and there are some scenes of dubious consent but only one or two, and they are short. To be honest, it's only writing this review that they spring to mind, it didn't click while I was reading. I'm trying NOT to give spoilers, you see, but you need to know.


I'm left feeling that there should be another book after this one. Is there?? There is a huge fallout from Jerry and Rex' rescue and I'd like to know how that pans out. I'd like to read more about Keith, Jerry's best friend and his mate, Gunn. Eli is still missing. Even Ty, the heavy handed fiancee, I'd like to see what happens to him when he gets THAT news.


First I've read of this author. I liked it. Lots. I would like to read more.


4 solid stars


**same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Booklikes, Dreamspinner Press, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble**

Jerricho is a demon prince on earth. He is destined to marry the man chosen by his parents on his twenty-fifth birthday and bear the heir to the throne. He is infatuated with his weekend boss. The day he meets his fiance Jerricho realizes he doesn't want to marry this mean arrogant man, even though he must Jerricho wants to lose his virginity to a man he cares about so he goes to Rex.

Things escalate from here. Jerry ends up pregnant even though he and Rex used condoms. Jerry is tried for treason among other things. He and Rex are taken to California to serve their sentence of studying the culture so Jerry can take over the throne when the time comes. This is where the twists start coming one after another. Just when you think things are going one way. Whoosh a twist, and it goes another. Poor Jerry early escapes a couple of times only to be recaptured causing, even more twists. You don't know who to trust.

The plot is good, and there are many subplots. I thought the story was good enough without the sex trade and all the erotic stuff, but that's just MYopinion.( this part could be a trigger with dubious consent) I am nit usually a big fan of Male Preg, but I think it worked in this book and I loved Jerricho the way he wanted his baby so much.
There are lots of characters that are intriguing. I loved Rex. He went out of his way to do what he could for Jerricho. I also loved Kieth Jericho's best friend and another demon. There were characters mentioned we didn't get much of that I would love to see their stories. I hope this turns into a series but hopefully not such a long book.

The only real issue I had was Jerry being a demon prince he had the power to freeze time, but it didn't work on his race. That pretty much made him powerless. The demons in this story were humans with horns and tails. I would have liked a been more for them. More powers and strength.

If you like demons, Mpreg, construction workers, mythology, suspense, erotica, don't mind sex slaves, drug induced sex, and like a great all over romance, you should enjoy this.