Sometimes a fox just wants to take a little vacation from the stresses of being the alpha of his skulk. He just wants to put on his mask and enjoy some tail time chasing his ball. Occasionally a fox even manages to do that, but not tonight. When a frightened little non-human comes banging at my door, interrupting my me-time, I make myself set aside the things I thought were important so that I can get to know this adorable creature, and if he turns out to be my mate? Well, I’d burn armies to ash for him.
Genesis:
I’ve spent most of my life in the darkness of an oubliette wishing the Elves of Morgaine did actually forget about me. Fortunately, I escaped. Even more fortunate for me, a scary man in a hat has driven me to the door of the prettiest person I’ve ever met besides me. Jade’s nice and makes me feel treasured, and I would do anything to keep this fox shifter even if that means giving him my magic.
Genesis is an MM Paranormal Romance with two consenting adults who enjoy puppy play and a power exchange dynamic.
Jennifer Cody lives in Small Midwestern Town, USA, aka the sticks of Kansas. She has three kids and a Beardo she loves. Her sleep schedule is weird, so messages sent at midnight usually get answered relatively promptly. She reads all kinds of mm romance and urban fantasy, but her favorites are gay-for-you, small-town romances and over the top urban fantasy romances. Her own writing doesn’t always reflect her reading preferences, but mostly it does. She writes what she wants to read and reads extensively because she’s an addict. To books, obviously. And caffeine because sleep is for other people.
Okay, this is mostly a me thing. I am unfamiliar with this world and picked it up because of the puppy play aspect (which is not really gone into in-depth). A scared androgenous man shows up on Jade's doorstep and his determined to help him, especially after he finds out he was kept captive his whole life because he seems to be half-demon/half-fae. Jude's pretty sure he's his mate and Genesis (he had no name and they picked that one) starts to change physically and starts taking care of Jade (more of a Dom) despite the fact that Jade is the alpha of his pack.
I did like the fact that Genesis is new to everything in the world and kind of clueless and thrilled by everything. I liked the found family and how he is thrilled to have a family accept him and fight for him. However, I just found it dumped me into the world (my fault - as I said a me issue) and there were tons of characters and world-building that I didn't "get". Also Jade's fascination with big guys, like 2-3 feet bigger than him and the bigger Genesis gets the better he likes it. Eh, not my kink I guess.
Also, I've tried this author before and I just can't connect with her style. Not the author's fault but I rate this book based on my enjoyment and eh, I just kind of raced through after a bit to see how the confrontation would end. I think it's just not my jam, and that just me. *shrug*
Writing was technically fine, the stakes didn’t feel real because the problems were solved so easily. There’s a line between enthusiastic consent and sounding preachy, and this felt almost aggressively on the preachy side with it repeated and drawn out each time (though the characters did have drunk sex towards the end, which was surprising since that’s usually a borderline thing—especially since one character was drunk-to-slurring, and the other didn’t seem different at all). If I’d read all the related books then the other characters insta-bonding probably wouldn’t have felt forced, and it’s hard to evaluate the world-building since it assumes that we all know everything already (most stuff can be picked up on from context, though some things seemed intentionally confusing—like I guess another book probably explains why there’s a male character who’s a queen? It’s not like the male character identifies as female, that’s just the title they have, but it’s confusing when other characters make a big deal out of the queen and then we’re introduced to Ryan and it’s not clearly stated that Ryan is the queen until a bit later, and I don’t think it’s bigoted to assume a queen is either female or non-binary). Also, would have been nice to see a few more powerful ladies too, the powerful were either men or non-binary and the only woman that had any kind of power was evil and kind of stupid. Good for non-binary rep I think, though the ones I remember were orcs so not necessarily a positive connotation. A lot of characters were just publicly naked a lot which almost makes sense for shifters but it seemed excessive, and the long scene of Genesis picking out dresses to wear was a bit much (like it’s fine for guys/nbs to wear dresses, but it felt like it was included to make the point that anyone can wear a dress—except anyone who read that far was probably already fine with it, so it’s like being yelled at by someone you already agree with). It wasn’t bad, just not exciting, and too preachy to want to read more from this author.
This was delightful. Despite the horrific start to life Genesis had, this was upbeat and had some great humor alongside the kink (like Genesis thinking that the attraction he was feeling was hunger, leading to lots of eating). There was a pretty epic face-off too. I really enjoyed it!
DNF @ 65% Too much confusing world building and unnatural-sounding dialogue. I didn't realize this was part of an existing universe, but even then there were just too many characters/creatures and their magical abilities introduced that didn't actually matter to this story
There’s certain logic to Jade, a fox shifter with spiky red hair being the leader of a skulk. Genesis’ Elf Sire bedded a demon and confined his magical issue to a lightless dungeon for forty years. Unexplained is how Genesis learned language and reading in the brief time since his escape. His two-foot member suggests that he’s a male with a voracious appetite whose pink skin glows when he nude sunbathes. So this becomes an M+M romance.
The cover model has a significant bulge in the proper location.
Strange to say the pair are the more “normal” characters in this tale.
The text uses profanity and the latter half of the book is obsessed with the pair’s sexual coupling. When two magical creatures engage in congress the air literally crackles with energy.
The president of Ukraine would love to be able to turn his adversaries into ash without causing nuclear fallout.
This was another fantastic story from a fantastic author. Jennifer Cody continues to amaze me with her creativity and ability to write amazing characters, intricate plot and create immersive worlds. This short story advances the look into a very intricate world that began with the Diviner's Gamer series and continues to grow and expand. Genesis and Jade are great together. I love that Genesis comes into their own and finds a family, friends and allies. I love how Jared finally has someone who he can be his full self with. I love how much I love these characters and want to read more of their adventures.
Jennifer Cody's books are and have always weaved beautiful stories. I do love the Universe of the Houston Hub the most. To watch everything unravel and everyone find their special person(s) is an amazing ride that keeps you enthralled from beginning to end. There is never a time during the exploration of this universe that'll detour you or make you lose interest. I'd be surprised if you didn't want to reread it afterward. Therefore, I totally recommend buying your own copies that you'll be able to revisit when you like.
A great mix of discovering new facets of the Houston Hub world, playing with D/s and switching roles, and enacting fiery vengeance on your tormentors.
Genesis turns out pretty badass, and if he ever feels like it, might wind up royalty, if he can use his father’s claim to the throne…and if he leaves anything of that world standing once he’s done. I suspect he’s happy with foxes, and only if the queen tries something will he turn his power on Morgaine.
This is my first story by Jennifer Cody and I must say I'm impressed. Jade and Genesis' story was so beautifully heart wrenching and heart warming. A young half-demon/half-fae, Genesis really landed on his feet when he asked Jade for help. The fox shifter Alpha of his skulk didn't realize how badly he needed Genesis until they both met. A delightful story about two people finding out just what it means to be part of a family. To be two halves of one whole.
This is a short story set in the same world as the diviner's game series. Genesis escaped enslavement and had been living on the streets of Houston, when he is dropped off at the skulk headquarters and meets Jade the fox shifter alpha. This is a fun and sweet fated mate story with some puppy play.
Absolutely gorgeous! I love how open and loving Genesis is, despite the neglect and abuse he's suffered. He soaks in sunlight, obviously, but he also soaks up all the love around him and gives it right back to the skulk and everyone else who showers him in love. I'll be keeping this on my re-read shelf for a long time so I can fill up my heart along with him.
Sometimes all you have to do is open the door to new possibilities. In this book it just happens to be a an actual door.
It always interesting when one MC doesn't have their memory. They work together to figure things out and a long the way they develop a pretty cute relationship
I loved this short story with the Huston Hub. We got just a tiny of some of those from the beginning of this world. Genesis and Jade were super cute. Definitely recommend checking out everything related to the Huston Hub.
Hard to keep track of the different species and their abilities, plus Genesis himself is a one-off. Couldn’t work out why a fox shifter would need knee pads, but a fun short-ish read, that’s very entertaining.
This takes place 15 years after the Shattered Pawns series. I tried reading it just after the Diviner's Game series, and I found the side characters confusing. It was much more fun after the Shattered Pawns books, or at least some of them. (I wrote this review before all that series was out.)
Jade and Genesis were entertaining, but I definitely enjoyed this more for the world-building and glimpse into future adventures for the characters I've already come to love from other books in this series.
I enjoyed Genesis and Jade’s story. The only other book I’ve read by Jennifer Cody was Mr Monster Kok, so there were definitely points of confusion as I’m unfamiliar with the world she’s created. However, I was still able to follow along just fine.
The Houston Hub short stories are spin-offs of The Diviner's Game series. You don't have to read that one first but it was a great series and is enhances these stories.
I am also looking forward to the spin-off series of novels "Shattered Pawns."
Entertaining novella in the paranormal world. Half elf Genesis escapes his confinement to land with his fated mate Jade, alpha of the fox shifter skulk. Mating isn't the only hot scene; food is critical; and there's a awesome standoff.
Cannot get enough of this series!! Think this might be one of my go to stories to read as needed. I find the writing stimulates my mind and doesn't bog it down where some stories can. Would recommend!
A cute and fun dip back into this world - I loved Genesis and his beautiful outlook on life (despite everything he’s been through). He absolutely deserved all the happiness and Jade was the perfect person to be by his side.
I know it was a short story but I wanted it to go longer, but that’s just me be whiney. It was so good. Loved to see repeating characters from stories past.
I love it, the personality genesis my favorite, it so sweet, i loved the development of his persona, and i lowwve to see my old friends and theirs kids