by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 30, 2022 | Book Reviews
If you’ve ever read the story about the Ugly Duckling, that is the transformation that happened to Harper in Christmas with my Best Friend’s Brothers by Kai Lesy. From a geeky, freckled girl she blossomed into a curvaceous young woman.
Ever since Harper and her best friend Kat were little girls, they felt bullied by Kat’s identical triplet brothers Jackson, Aiden, and Nathan. They were surprised when they were told this since to the three they were just ribbing their little sis and her friend … they were just joking/kidding around and never realized they were being hurtful already. This makes me wonder if it can still be called bullying if the bully is unaware that they are doing it.
Harper just got out of a bad relationship and decided to spend the holiday with Kat and her family at Chamonix in France. Harper is anything but rich while Kat and her family are the exact opposite so the opportunity to spend Christmas in France was a dream come true for Harper. It was also a chance to hopefully heal her broken heart.
Things get complicated when her attraction to the triplets is reciprocated and each one decides to bring it a step further. They’ve never shared before but there was no awkwardness the first time they did so with Harper.
There is also the shadow of a secret involving their father’s indiscretions in the past that ruined his marriage and highly affected his children, especially Jackson.
Christmas with my Best Friend’s Brothers by Kai Lesy is a feel-good story with a HEA. You can find it on Amazon for 2.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 29, 2022 | Book Reviews
When I picked up Snow and the Seven Men by Nicole Casey on KU it was out of curiosity about how the parallelisms with the fairytale will be executed. Snow White became Sasha Snow, the beautiful and smart lead character of the story. The Evil Queen became Amanda Queenie, the malevolent boss lady who hates Sasha Snow for no apparent reason. The huntsman became Hunter, the handsome and friendly co-worker.
The 7 dwarves became the 7 drillers of Seven Drawers Inc. Dan (Doc), Graham (Grumpy), Bash (Bashful), Harry (Happy), Seth (Sleepy), Jim, and Stevie. I think Stevie is supposed to be Dopey but there is nothing Sneezy about Jim. The personality matches are not exact but close enough to be recognizable. Dan is a medic, Graham is Mr. Doom and Gloom, Bash is shy, and Seth is always sleeping or asleep. This is no Prince Charming in this story because that role went to the 7 men.
The seven are unattached and it is for a curious reason … they have a pact that they will only be involved with a woman if she is willing to be involved with ALL of them at the same time. For most women, this would be difficult to swallow (pun intended). So when they come home to find an unconscious and obviously injured woman asleep in their bedroom you can just imagine their mixed emotions.
In real life, reverse harems are not socially acceptable in most societies so it is surprising how quickly Sasha embraced the thought of being with them. But then, I suppose the fact that she finds herself sexually drawn to all of them did not make that decision difficult.
It’s not all butterflies and rainbows for Sasha Snow. This story has its share of intrigue, conflict, and heightened sexual tension. “The seduction of Sasha” was especially fun, especially the Magic Mike routine. fans self
I found this story enjoyable and loved the HEA. I have no regrets about picking up this book. Snow and the Seven Men by Nicole Casey is on Amazon for 3.99 but free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 28, 2022 | Business
For playing a central role in financially empowering its nearly 70 million users, GCash, the Philippines’ leading finance app, again makes a mark on the global financial technology industry as its president and CEO, Martha Sazon was included in The Financial Technology Report’s list of top 25 women leaders in fintech.
“I’m honored to join other amazing women leaders in the Financial Technology Report’s annual list. This recognition is a testament to GCash’s positive impact on the lives of our millions of customers. It also shows that women, if given the opportunity and platform to shine, can be great leaders for various organizations, especially in this increasingly more digital world,” said Sazon. “This achievement will spur us to further push the envelope in introducing more meaningful digital financial solutions and making sure nobody gets left behind in the digital economy.”
The Financial Technology Report is a New York City-based news agency covering business, investment activity, and corporate actions related to the financial technology industry. It describes itself as, “run by a seasoned team of editors, writers, and media professionals highly knowledgeable on financial technology and the various companies, executives, and investors that make up the sector.”
In an article on its website, the Financial Technology Report said, “thousands of new fintechs are launched each year, but only a small percentage demonstrates the staying power to last in such a competitive market. While many begin with truly great ideas, it takes much more to build a successful company. To make it in the long run, fintechs need to acquire financial support, get the word out through marketing, and constantly be innovating—not to mention ensuring that their operations run efficiently and that they remain in compliance with regulations. And for all of these necessities, great leaders are essential.”
Sazon was appointed as CEO of GCash at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Her focus on customer centricity resulted in GCash becoming a lifeline to millions of Filipinos during a time when many lost their jobs. Under Sazon’s leadership, GCash has become the Philippines’ first and only “duacorn,” or a company with a valuation of $2 billion. It’s also become the country’s biggest e-wallet with a registered user base of nearly 70 million.
Sazon has also doubled down on making sure GCash is able to make Filipinos’ everyday lives better enabling the fintech firm to provide meaningful digital finance solutions that empower people and organizations – helping 63% of Filipinos who are unbanked.
Prior to leading GCash, Sazon had 20 years of experience in various fast-moving consumer goods industries like food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, and telecommunications. She spent 12 years at Globe Telecom, the largest mobile network in the Philippines, where she headed the Broadband business and pioneered many breakthroughs and achievements for a wide array of products.
Previously, Sazon was also named “Philippines: CEO of the Year” at the IDC Future Enterprise Awards 2021. Earlier in 2022, she was recognized as a “Master Innovator for Digital Transformation Innovation” during the 2nd Annual Mansmith Innovation Awards and Summit.
About GCash
GCash (G-Xchange, Inc.) is the #1 Finance App in the Philippines. Through the GCash App, 69M registered users can easily purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills at over 1,600 partner billers nationwide; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts; purchase from over 5.2M partner merchants and social sellers; and get access to savings, credit, loans, insurance and invest money, and so much more, all at the convenience of their smartphones. GCash is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.), the first and only duacorn in the Philippines.
GCash was recognized by The Asian Banker (TAB) and by the IDC in 2021 for its outstanding digital financial inclusion programs.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 28, 2022 | Book Reviews
I was going through Goodnovel for something new to read when I stumbled upon Taming My Sexy Personal Assistant by HDallywrites. The title intrigued me … was this going to be a male or female POV? Who is the personal assistant? While it is common for the PA to be female, it isn’t always the case.
Before I knew it I got sucked into the story because of how different the approach was. First of all, our lead female character, Skylar, is sexy as hell and loves sex. She shuns relationships and favors one-night stands once a week and never repeats. Our lead male, Luca, is a billionaire and Skylar’s boss. In contrast, he is a one-woman-man. He has not been involved with anyone casually or otherwise in months.
Circumstances lead to Skylar and Luca becoming more than PA and boss and the sexual tension is high as the story progresses. Getting involved is not as simple as it seems as Luca insists that if they start something, it will not just be a one-night stand and Skylar is wary of that.
Storywise, this is developing wonderfully, and it isn’t even completed yet! However, I must call out the author for being careless. Not only can he/she/they not keep track of character names (Skylar is sometimes called Luca) he/she/they also often lose track of who is talking and use the wrong pronouns a lot. He/she/they also tend to use BIG words that would make a reader call up a dictionary or Google just to figure out what it means. Sometimes we could figure it out based on context, but not all the time.
If you can get passed all of that, you should be able to enjoy this book. I admit that I find it annoying but I just keep a notebook handy where I keep track of all the stuff that makes my teeth ache referencing the chapter so I could revisit it later. Hopefully, later I can find the author on social media and we could converse online about this story.
Taming My Sexy Personal Assistant by HDallywrites is really steamy and the story development is pretty good! You can find this story on Goodnovel where it is categorized as a billionaire romance. This is a story worth printing on paper (after it has been proofread).
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 27, 2022 | Business
Sterling Bank of Asia President and CEO, Mr. Cecilio San Pedro during the 2022 Outstanding BSP Stakeholders Appreciation Ceremonies
Sterling Bank of Asia (SBA), one of the country’s leading thrift banks, was recognized by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during the “2022 Outstanding BSP Stakeholders Appreciation Ceremonies” held last November 29 at the BSP Assembly Hall.
BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla, in his message, recognized both the public and private sectors for their contribution to the implementation of appropriate, responsive, and well-calibrated policy actions.
SBA is the only savings bank among the nine award recipients from BSP’s head office for its outstanding participation in BSP’s Cash Service Alliance (CSA).
“We are honored to be recognized by the BSP for our strong commitment to the development and protection of the financial services industry,” said Cecilio Paul San Pedro, President & CEO of Sterling Bank of Asia. “This award is an affirmation of hard work and dedication in improving the financial well-being of our clients and every Filipino,” San Pedro added.
For more information, visit https://www.sterlingbankasia.com/.
When I picked up Snow and the Seven Men by Nicole Casey on KU it was out of curiosity about how the parallelisms with the fairytale will be executed. Snow White became Sasha Snow, the beautiful and smart lead character of the story. The Evil Queen became Amanda Queenie, the malevolent boss lady who hates Sasha Snow for no apparent reason. The huntsman became Hunter, the handsome and friendly co-worker.
“I’m honored to join other amazing women leaders in the Financial Technology Report’s annual list. This recognition is a testament to GCash’s positive impact on the lives of our millions of customers. It also shows that women, if given the opportunity and platform to shine, can be great leaders for various organizations, especially in this increasingly more digital world,” said Sazon. “This achievement will spur us to further push the envelope in introducing more meaningful digital financial solutions and making sure nobody gets left behind in the digital economy.”
GCash (G-Xchange, Inc.) is the #1 Finance App in the Philippines. Through the GCash App, 69M registered users can easily purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills at over 1,600 partner billers nationwide; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts; purchase from over 5.2M partner merchants and social sellers; and get access to savings, credit, loans, insurance and invest money, and so much more, all at the convenience of their smartphones. GCash is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.), the first and only duacorn in the Philippines.
I was going through Goodnovel for something new to read when I stumbled upon Taming My Sexy Personal Assistant by HDallywrites. The title intrigued me … was this going to be a male or female POV? Who is the personal assistant? While it is common for the PA to be female, it isn’t always the case.
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