Reviewed by: Sue Eaton
TITLE: The Sim Ru Prophecy
SERIES: The Jaguar of the Backward Glance
AUTHOR: Andrew J Peters
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 297 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2025
BLURB:
The second installment in award-winning fantasy author Andrew J. Peters’ ferociously-imagined feline shifter saga.
Now a fugitive from two murder investigations in New York City and a bizarre, big cat attack at a bank in Barbados, Jacks, a werecougar, flees to South America to find the capitán of a militant group of werecat dissidents, rumored to have a central base deep in the Amazon. The world is on the verge of all-out war between shifters and humans, and Jacks needs to somehow broker a deal for peace. The lives of his human boyfriend, Farzan, and Farzan’s family are at stake.
But a special U.S. intelligence agency emerges as a new, possibly even more dangerous threat. Both the werecat guerillas and the U.S. government will stop at nothing to get an arcane codex with instructions both for unleashing the primordial sabretooth god and for banishing feline shifters forever. While Jacks dodges danger from both sides and decodes the ancient book, he’s left with the impossible choice of how to use it.
REVIEW:
This book ambitious, multi-layered, and downright serpentine at times a lot like trying to decipher a puzzle box, so many twists and turns before you crack it. Flashbacks and visions interlace with real-time events, mimicking the fragmented nature of the prophecy itself. Political machinations, spiritual quests, and romantic turmoil weave together, often simultaneously.
The setting is lush, ancient, and culturally textured it doesn’t just frame the story; it’s integral to how the plot unfolds. You’re not just following characters, you’re deciphering myth, legacy, and cosmic stakes.
At the emotional core of the novel lies the slow-burning tension between Jacks, the spirited outsider navigating a mystical destiny, and Farzan, caught between duty and desire. Their relationship carries the weight of betrayal and misunderstanding from book one. Peters doesn’t simply rekindle their connection, he forces them to confront their past with painful honesty.
What makes their relationship so compelling is the hesitancy. Moments of closeness are often interrupted by political obligations or personal guilt, but when vulnerability cracks through, it’s poignant and rewarding. Their relationship doesn’t fall into the trap of neat resolutions. It’s messy, charged with longing, and constantly evolving.
Their intimacy is strained by Farzan’s obligations and Jacks’ refusal to compromise his independence. Book one left scars of betrayal, abandonment, and shattered trust which continue to simmer beneath their interactions. They struggle to speak openly, each fearing rejection or misunderstanding. Moments of tenderness are haunted by old guilt and unresolved tensions.
Jacks is immersed in prophecy and mysticism, while Farzan often operates within the realm of diplomacy and tradition. Their worldviews diverge sharply, while Jacks follows his intuition, Farzan seeks structure. This lead to confusion over what they truly mean to each other.
The rise of the new Intelligence agency isn’t just a background player, it’s a central antagonist that rivals even the werecat dissidents in terms of threat level. It’s introduced as a covert, highly resourced group with a singular mission: to secure an arcane codex that holds instructions for both unleashing a primordial sabretooth god and eradicating feline shifters forever. Their methods are ruthless. Surveillance, manipulation, and black ops tactics make them a formidable force that Jacks must constantly evade.
As Jacks flees from murder charges and a supernatural attack, he discovers that this agency is tracking his every move, pushing him deeper into the Amazon jungle. The agency’s interest in the codex isn’t just about control, it’s about weaponizing ancient magic to tip the balance of power in a looming war between humans and shifters. Their unrelenting pursuit forces Jacks into uneasy alliances, including with militant werecat factions, as he tries to broker peace while decoding the codex’s secrets.
With the agency hunting Jacks for the arcane codex, Farzan becomes collateral, his safety is no longer guaranteed, and Jacks is tormented by the fear of dragging him into a war he never asked for. Jacks leans toward radical action to protect shifters, while Farzan, ever the pragmatist, urges caution. The agency’s ruthless tactics push Jacks toward desperation, which clashes with Farzan’s more measured approach.
Surveillance and manipulation by the agency make it hard for Jacks to know who to trust. Even Farzan’s motives come under scrutiny, especially when political alliances blur personal loyalties.
Their relationship becomes a battleground of ideals vs. intimacy. Jacks wants to shield Farzan, but doing so means keeping secrets and making unilateral decisions. Farzan, meanwhile, struggles with feeling sidelined, he’s not just a love interest, but someone with his own stakes in the conflict. The agency’s involvement forces him to assert his autonomy, even if it means challenging Jacks. It’s a turning point where both characters begin to see each other not just as lovers, but as co-conspirators in a dangerous, morally complex world.
Despite the chaos, Peters gives them moments of clarity—quiet scenes where they acknowledge the cost of their choices and reaffirm their bond. These aren’t sweeping reconciliations, but earned moments of mutual respect, where love survives not because it’s easy, but because it’s chosen.
This book and series is unapologetically intricate. It’s a tale that asks you to follow threads of memory, myth, and emotion through a labyrinthine world. And at its center? A flawed, fragile love between two men who are rewriting fate as much as they’re navigating their own scars.
RATING: 
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