Jewel E. AnnReseñas

(I'm autistic) let's not describe autism as an epidemic, thanks.
There is a lot of "autism speaks" type language in this book and I don't like it one bit, I didn't even get past 40 pages. The kid is also described as having "mild autism,"(this is not a thing) while being one of those characters that also happens to be a genius. It is sheldon cooper levels of stereotype. Like the language is on the one hand saying that raising this kid is too hard and on the other hand the kid seems to be hypercompetent, so the premise where the music therapist works with children with coordination, I don't see how she could help unless she is magic.

SAD½

Title: Because Of Her
Author: Jewel E. Ann
Publisher: Jewel E. Ann LLC
Series: Jack & Jill Series
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Because Of Her" by Jewel E. Ann

My Sentiments:

The title...'Because of Her' says it all about this particular couple...Jackson and Francesca [Frankie] had a beautiful and tormented love story. Let's not leave out some other colorful characters...Eloise, Molly, Corinne, Archer, Slade, Jessica, Livy, and I will stop here...because there are even more interesting ones that help keep this story going...

This was some read that the reader will have to keep up with as we find Frankie has come to take care of her family's death wishes; however, what will she discover that will start her needing some answers about her nephew's death? Jackson also has some secrets as a trained assassin on his final mission. Will he be able to accomplish it? What I loved most about the story was seeing how Jackson's family came to help him when it was much needed. Now, what is all that about? The reader will have to pick up this read to find out.

Be ready for a twisted, intriguing, suspenseful, secretive, well-written, haunting story and an ending that will... Pick this one to understand how this author delivers it to the reader.

By the end, you will get quite an outstanding, fantastic read.

I read SIncerely, Dane by Ilsa Madden Mills and this short story was such a sweet read.

This is a cute and fun novella that is part of anthology and I hope will eventually be a full length story. Dane and Piper went to school together from high school on and now that Dane’s twin bother is married to Piper’s best friend they end up spending a lot of time together. Piper has always crushed on Dane but believes he has her firmly placed in the friend zone that she just accepts their relationship as is until one night a text makes her think about more. Dane hasn’t had it easy in life, he derailed at one point, and his relationship with Ari fizzled out because deep down I truly believe he’s always felt like Piper was his. In this story Dane comes to Piper’s apartment dressed as a werewolves and so the chaos ensues. He recruits her to help with a scavenger hunt that ends with an epic ending/beginning. The tension between them was tangible, the chemistry off the charts, and the can they will they flowed off the pages. I rally hope we get more of their story!!

Well written book but not for me. I absolutely couldn't stand Jessica/Jillian. I didn't find her compulsion to hurt others endearing or worthy of sympathy. I get she had a "trauma" that left her messed up but I just plain didn't like her. I did LOVE Luke....I hope he found somebody else worthy of him. I won't know because I don't have any desire to continue. There were many hilarious, LOL moments. If it had just been a book about Luke and some normal girl it would have been awesome! Thanks to KU.... no loss for skimming so much of it.

Really well written! I enjoyed this one very much. Many LOL moments.

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
If This Is Love is a standalone that is a new release from Jewel E. Ann. This is also my first book by this author, and I will admit I did have certain expectations on this one. It's everywhere on bookstagram so I was curious to see what all the raves were about with this one. The narration was superb on this and is what kept me with this story. I will say that if you want a great western romance, then this one does check off the box. While I had my issues with this one, it still will deliver especially if you love from beginning to end conflict aspects.

Summary
The set up of the story is that our characters meet and practically grow up together. The hero is older than the heroine, but when they first meet he is still young. They build a friendship but then it turns into something more over the years but there is a forbidden theme to it as the hero is being forced to marry someone he doesn't love. The relationship between Milo and Indie is slowly built into a crescendo but any intimate connection is forbidden for both of them, and its a story that shows how they find a way together.

My Outlook
I really struggled with this one. Now, don't get me wrong, I admire a strong forbidden romance but I absolutely do not like it being dragged out till the end. The characters were also hard to get behind. They both have this level of immaturity that never changes, it only gets worse throughout the story.I am not sure if it was the narration or the story itself, but with each chapter, I became more and more frustrated with this story and most especially the heroine. You get why the hero is doing what he does but even when Indie learns the truth about the position that he is in, she only proves why he took so long to tell her the truth. I know she is young, but she doesn't really grow that much, she only gets worse in her mature level and I was unable to resonate with her much. And with all the forbidden feels to the story and how the intensity builds up, I was highly disappointed with the ending, it just felt so lackluster and unsatisfying. So I really struggled with this and there were moments that I wanted to DNF it. But I really wanted to see how everything would turn out so I kept with it. I am curious about books from this author, but if this is her style, I am not sure I will keep reading her.

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4
World Building:4
Cover:4
Hero: 4
Heroine: 2.5
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels: 4
Ending:3
Overall View: 3

Two More Days

*A note before you slog through all of this. 1) I only listened to some of the stories. I skipped unfamiliar authors due to time constraints. B) I'm leaving this long mostly blank list as I had a hard time finding a list of the story names and authors so hopefully, I can save someone else a little time.

Tequila Mate - Author - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Always Cake - Max Monroe - 3 Stars - Emily, Austin - Two best friends born on the same day. They celebrate their birthdays together every year and on their 24th the night goes further than planned. Now it’s their 35th birthday and they have decided to honor the pact they made when they turned.

Confessions - Lora Richardson - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts

Heels Over Head in Love - Willow Aster - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Second Summer - Laurelin Paige - Stars - Character Names - Thoughts/Review

Protected - Dr. Rebecca Sharp - Stars - Characters - Review/Thoughts.

The Vanished - Jennifer Wilson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Shelby - Jewel E. Ann - 3 Stars - The issue with this being an audiobook is I forget names quickly - I wasn’t expecting his tale of revenge. It was indeed sweet.

Sunshine Rae - Kandi Steiner - 2.5 Stars - Parker and ? - Just an okay story. Nothing mind blowing, just angst about being in love with your best friend who is about to propose to his girlfriend. It’s been done before and done better. Also, I didn’t really like the narrator as she sounded very juvenile.

From Friends to This - SERIES INFO - Dominique Laura - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Kiss - SERIES INFO - M. Robinson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stone Heart - SERIES INFO - S. J. West - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Without Yesterday - Lexi Ryan - 2.5 Stars - James Cooper, Krystal aka Kris, - Honestly this I’m in a relationship but super attracted to someone else bit is not my thing. It was well written and there was no cheating, but I didn’t like the vibe.

Good Girl Gone Bad - SERIES INFO - R. K. Lilley - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Of Potions and Poison - SERIES INFO - Chanda Hahn - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Breaking the Rules - SERIES INFO - Charleigh Rose - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stray - SERIES INFO - Jessica Hawkins - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

A Home for Hobgoblins - SERIES INFO - Eric R. Asher - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Falling for my Stepbrother - SERIES INFO - Kelsie Stelting - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

When Fire Strikes - SERIES INFO - Marni Mann - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Armageddon, Again - SERIES INFO - Aileen Erin - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Strike One - SERIES INFO - Meagan Brandy - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Office Hours - SERIES INFO - Alessandra Torre - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Pineapple - SERIES INFO - Leia Stone - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Sincerely, Dane - Ilsa Madden-Mills - 3 Stars - Dane and Ava - A cute story. I loved the scavenger hunt and how it didn’t end the way I expected it to end.

Dark Eyes - Karina Halle - 3 Stars - Amethyst, Wolf, Shannon, Ezra - It was nice to see a PNR twist in the middle of all the contemporary stories in this anthology. This was an interesting examination of who the real monsters are. This world shows me more and more of that every day.

What If… - K. Bromberg - 3 Stars - Shiloh ”Shy”, Jake - I liked the set-up of this second chance even if it involved one leaving their fiancé (who we could all tell was wrong for her)

When It Happens - SERIES INFO - Micaela Smeltzer - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

F*ck - Tijan - 3 Stars - Tysan Koda, Kase Crow, Aiden - Why did I find this story so hot. At first, I was disenchanted by the thought of another jerk hero but that somehow melted away.

The Dress - Colleen Hoover - 3 Stars - Can’t Remember the Names - A woman chooses herself over a superficial man. It was okay. I think I am fatigued from all of these stories.

O. M. G. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or do both! I hated that Parker had no contact for two years with her twin for cheating on her with her boyfriend when she she caught them together, and now they were moving back. To make matters worse they expected to live in the farmhouse they inherited from their grandparents. With no jobs in Parker's field, she accepted a position with her next door neighbor to be her go to errands for Sabrina, and fell in lust with Gus as she hated cheaters, Gus did not make it easy on her and kept after her. Gus relationship with his wife had lessen each year when his wife stayed away for weeks and once home, she had no time for him. WHEN LIFE HAPPENED IS AN AWESOME BOOK AND MY FIRST TIME REVIEWING THIS AUTHOR!

This story completely broke my heart. Emmett's love for both his wife and daughter drove him to take keeping a promise to the extreme. He truly was an incredible person. The story is told from Emmett's POV so it did make it a little difficult for me to understand the motivations of Tatum, his now ex-wife. Her need to place blame truly made the breakdown of the family that much more awful.
Connor Crais was the perfect narrator for this book. He was incredible and his ability to make the listener feel the pain the characters are going through absolutely elevated this book. I wish I could give more stars.

4.5 stars

Loved it.

Steamy scenes were good but needed amping up in some areas.
16 & up could read this one.

Well written. Fantastic characters.
Great humor. Some heart wrenching areas.

I will look for more from this author.

O. M. G. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or do both! I hated that Parker had no contact for two years with her twin for cheating on her with her boyfriend when she she caught them together, and now they were moving back. To make matters worse they expected to live in the farmhouse they inherited from their grandparents. With no jobs in Parker's field, she accepted a position with her next door neighbor to be her go to errands for Sabrina, and fell in lust with Gus as she hated cheaters, Gus did not make it easy on her and kept after her. Gus relationship with his wife had lessen each year when his wife stayed away for weeks and once home, she had no time for him. WHEN LIFE HAPPENED IS AN AWESOME BOOK AND MY FIRST TIME REVIEWING THIS AUTHOR!

This is one of those rare times when a books lives up to all the rave 5 star reviews. First off it was written in 3rd person (yeah for that) point of view from several different people. The story was well written and sucked me right in. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It was built around two elements which normally I refuse to read - extensive use of flashbacks and a love triangle of sorts. And I was TOTALLY enthralled. The heroine was fun and sad at the same time. The slow reveal of her story was played out perfectly. The heroes were both interesting and traded off having the edge as to who I liked best. If you hate love triangles, like I do, know that this is not really a traditional one. The story ends on a massive cliffhanger. Thank goodness the second book is out.

All I can say is thank goodness the next book will be out in February. I pretty much expected what was going to happen here but that doesn't mean I had to like it! Dang it, I was hoping against hope but I sort of just wanted to get it over with since it was tearing me up. As to the story with Jackson who I love and the woman he falls for, I didn't quite care. I had a hard time buying into their story. It didn't seem as if there was any real reason for him to love her. It was kind of just like, well she's an older woman and I like older women so I'll fall for her. And what did she see in him? Well that was a bit more obvious. I mean how hot is he? Maybe if he hadn't been so determined to have her from their first meeting, if they had been shown talking and falling in love more thoroughly. I don't know, something was just missing. The situation with Jackson is the reason that I dropped a star.

OMG! the stuff that we keep finding out in the flashbacks about Jillian. Pretty shocking. Can't wait for the next one.

This book was almost a 5 star read. It had some 6 or 7 star moments. I loved the dialog between Vivian and Oliver particularly the scene with them telling on each other at his parents house. I can really get behind a goofy heroine and she was that. I will say however I had a problem with her opening his mail and then trashing his house. Who does that? Oliver was a pretty nice tortured hero who fell hard for the heroine but he had some major issues that resulted in some not so sterling moments. Still I like a nice complicated hero also. This was a book where even though you knew you were waiting for the other shoe to drop you could still enjoy the journey which isn't always the case. I did guess what the deep secret in his past was pretty early on. Maybe because oddly I had just finished another book where the exact same thing happened to the hero. I liked that the heroing never gave up on the hero.

My biggest disappointment with the book was the ending. I think more pages should have been devoted to his recovery and less time to his just wasting time in Portland. But I really hated the epilogue. Normally I can take or leave them. This was I just didn't like at all. I would have rather their future had been left up to my imagination.

4.5 stars

What did I just read?!? Like everything this author writes, it comes with the knowledge beforehand that she is going to mess with her reader and their emotions. I thought I'd be prepared for that. Nope. I wasn't in the least. So many twists and foreshadowing of great things to come.

I cannot wait to see what is next.

4.6 stars

Wow. Rarely, if ever, can I be rendered speechless. However, this book/duet definitely did it. This is a complex story. There is a lot in it that makes me truly ponder other possibilities of this thing called life. These characters are unlike others that I have read and their story is intense.

I cannot say anything else other than to read this duet, be open minded, and prepare for one unbelievable journey.

Outstanding.

Having read the first book, I was all in for Nate to get a Happily ever after. His story moved me. Getting Gracelyn's story too this too, and in a manner that resonates for obvious reasons of kids but also with what they have in common. There are some powerful messages in this book, which is another thing I love with this author. She makes you think.

I'm so going to need a story about Morgan in the future when she is grown. Because she was amazing. It doesn't even have to be with Gabe. Just give me that sassy and smart girl her story.

Wow

I love this author. She is always guaranteed to mesmerize me with her stories, and this book was no exception. What I thought I knew was happening in this book had a major twist that I didn't see coming. Totally unexpected. I loved everything about this book except a certain scenario with Alex and how that could just be wiped clean, or even that even had to happen. I did, however, love the feeling of hope that this book gave me at the conclusion. I hope that Jackson finds a way. Livy and Wylder deserve it.

Highly recommend this book. I would love to see more from this world.

One of the best of 2021.

I know, unequivocally, when I read a book by this author that she is going to take me on a journey that will change the template of the person I am. She proved that yet again with this book. I thought I had it all figured out by the blurb. I was wrong. So very very very wrong.

I so often got swept up into the notion of love when I read. Not surprising since I read romance. There are a lot of books out there that fill the need and have characters that make me swoon. It is natural. However, sometimes I forget the epicness of love that is so unconditional that it feels like my soul is being consumed. This book consumed me. It was captivating. For the life of me, I could not picture what had happened in this story that would change this epic love.

Told in past and present I was able to watch this story unfold between Emmett and Tatum. I loved everything about their connection; the easy rapport, the playfulness, the one-in-a-lifetime type of love. Therefore, as the secret slowly came out, I was even more heartbroken all because of a promise. The unconditional love that Emmett has for Tatum and Lucy had me questioning if I have ever felt love as profound. The sacrifices he made. My heart hurts. He stole it, much like he stole Tatum's. I was able to fall in love and feel everything that Tatum felt. Tatum grew on me. Especially, as the story grew. At first, I didn't understand but as the story progressed I felt the plethora of things that she felt. Add in Lucy. Sweet lord, this girl... Such a mixture of both of her parents. I loved the relationship that she had with her dad.

The author captivated me with a story that packs a wallop of a lesson. yet, she is mindful that some things are beyond questioning. It doesn't mean that the lesson doesn't need to be learned but rather that some good can come from those things. I loved this story about love. One of my favorites of 2021 and from this author.

4.5 stars

I always know when I get a book by this author that she is going to take me on a journey. This book was definitely that. I loved the characters. Even the secondary ones were exemplary. Lake is one of my favorite characters that this author has written. I loved her humor and her outlook on life. Her and Cage were proof that kidney existed. I loved watching their story unfold.

Highly recommend this powerful story that teaches the lesson of resilience, unconditional love, and acceptance of all that life offers.

4.4 stars

I love it when a book makes me think. Like really think. This author is always a queen at writing exceptional books and creating characters that leap off the pages but this was in another league.

The book started a little slower than normal but once it took off, there was no stopping it. Fisher is one beautiful man...

4.5 stars

I'm not sure how to even process this book. The first book made me think. Or moreover, Reese did because of how her life and beliefs were. In this one, it wasn't as much about contemplating things, but rather more of trying to make sense of how the pieces fit.

I was prepared after the first book to see Reese in a new light as she had discovered herself. What I wasn't prepared for was what that new life would be like if it meant Fisher would have to "rediscover" her.

This story hurt at times. I can't imagine what they both felt. I, actually, at one point wondered if a happily ever after for these characters would happen. I was getting frantic at the end. Yet, this author proved yet again why she's A queen. I was worried about some of the questions I had. However, the answers were even better than I was expecting.

I loved these characters. Like, really loved these characters. Reese was special and Fisher... Yeah, he's A total top book boyfriend. Especially, after getting his perspective of events at the end.

Higher recommend this duet, and anything this author writes.

4.4 stars

I love anthologies. This one was really unique because of how each story started. It was interesting to see them all take a different approach to their story that fit into a plethora of romance subgenres.

The only thing better than having a new book released by a favorite author, is discovering a NEW AUTHOR you can love. The rush of reading those first few pages, falling in love, and then rushing out to buy every single thing you can find with their name on it. What a thrill.

Well Jewel Ann is that for me. What a delight. Just devoured the Jack and jill Trilogy and am well into ONE. I couldn't stop myself. I love these characters. It is so rare to find yourself so invested in perfectly imperfect, totally flawed people that you seriously care about.

It's been a long time since I have been ugly crying over a book and still voluntarily going back for more. I like dark. I like sinister. I like erotic. But this group is still in all something completely different.

It's been awhile since I got to the end of a book and felt like it was truly a great use of my time. I am madly in love with Jewel Ann and Luke and Jessica and Jackson and Ryn and AJ and Cage and Lake blah blah blah.

Ann writes with palatable humor and angst. I went from weeping to laughing out loud... and I kept going back for more. Total page turners.

I would recommend having all three before you begin because I hate a cliffhanger, I just need to know everyone is resolved at the end of my journey. Then dive in and prepare for a delightful time.