by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 14, 2022 | Book Reviews
I have mixed feelings about Dibs on the Bartender by Giselle Harper partly because I am struggling with the switching tenses and wrong terminology that occasionally appears. Quite a few authors nowadays seem to do this … POV is in the present and the inner monologue switches from present to past to present tense.
The story has a tendency to drone. Three chapters in and I kept losing my place, I wasn’t getting engaged. Part of it, I think, was the fact that Niki, the main character kept going on and on about how she is still a virgin. Okay, we get it! She is saving herself. I commend it, I have no issues with it, but I think it was mentioned more times than it needed to be. It almost felt like every few sentences she would say, “by the way, did I already mention I am a virgin?” Yup. Too many mentions.
I kept reading to give it a chance and it does get better but it is slow going. Maybe it’s me, not the story, I don’t know, but I had higher expectations. It isn’t bad but it could be better.
Dibs on the Bartender by Giselle Harper is book 2 of the Vacation Yacht Romance series and is available starting December 16, 2022, on Amazon for 0.99 or free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 13, 2022 | Book Reviews
I eagerly opened iBooks to read Battery Operated by Stephanie Brother as soon as I got a copy of it. This is mostly because of the preview of this story in Snowballed. In a video that Tristan, Drew, and Carter were watching Lila, a popular social influencer, attacked another online channel called Down to Earth.
Down to Earth is a how-to show that features 3 gorgeous men – Brady, Cole, and Gideon. They made videos that showed people how to do things like grilling the perfect steak.
Why Lila attacked them is a mystery to everyone, including Lila, lol! But the damage is done and the men planned their revenge. While their revenge was anything but nice, Lila could not say that it was not enjoyable. As a consequence, she agrees to stay at their inn for a week with no tech except her cellphone.
During her stay, she finds herself attracted to all three men. Brady is easy to fall for as he is the friendly one who smiles a lot. Cole is a little more formal but is not unfriendly. Gideon, on the other hand, there is just something about him that rubs Lila the wrong way.
The dynamic between Lila and Brady changes when Brady discovers that without her toys to help her sleep Lila gets terrible nightmares. Since Brady didn’t know where Cole kept them, he offered to give her a “special turndown service” to help her sleep.
I consider Battery Operated by Stephanie Brother as a light romance. There aren’t too many ups and downs and their romance blossoms beautifully, but surprisingly fast with all three. I expected this with Brady since they already had a thing. The biggest question for me from the start was … what is wrong with Gideon and Lila? That question does not get answered until much later in the story.
I enjoyed reading this and I want Lila’s bed! Battery Operated by Stephanie Brother is the 7th book in the Roommates series. If you want to read it, too, you can get it on Amazon for 2.99 or free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
After reading this book you can read the bonus content here.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 10, 2022 | Events
In line with the 81st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan in 2023, Philippine Veterans Bank calls on bikers and other enthusiasts to support and join the upcoming Ride for Valor 2023. The annual event, a non-competitive 160 kilometers long bike ride and will trace the original route of the Bataan Death March. The ride commemorates the camaraderie, bravery, and sacrifice of Filipinos and Americans who fought for our freedom.
Aside from rekindling heroism, Ride for Valor slated on March 5, 2023, aims to bring to consciousness the historical significance of the Death March in the struggle for freedom of brave Filipinos during World War 2.
Mariveles is one of the two starting points of the infamous Bataan Death March and will be the same site where the Ride for Valor will kick off.
“Ride for Valor aims to be an instrument for today’s generation to rediscover the role of Bataan during World War 2,” said Mike Villa-Real, PVB’s First Vice President for Marketing & Communications. PVB is a commercial bank owned by World War II veterans and their families.
The “Ride for Valor” was initiated to raise funds for the Filipino-American Memorial Endowment (FAME) to enable them to save our heroes’ historical markers so that we may remember their sacrifice. About 10,000 brave soldiers died along the route; many of the bodies were never identified or recovered.
The Filipino-American Memorial Endowment (FAME), is a non-government organization that maintains the kilometer markers of the Bataan Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to Capas, Tarlac. In the past, Bataan Death March markers had been destroyed, uprooted, and neglected due to accidents and other road projects.
The format for 2023’s ride is Gran Fondo or “Big Ride,” where each participant will have a “passport” that they need to bring to three stops: Mt. Samat in Bataan, San Fernando Train Station in Pampanga, and the Death March Memorial Shrine in Capas, Tarlac.
A mechanic will be on standby to help those who will experience mechanical issues, and roving marshals to monitor the progress of the participants. Support vehicles are allowed, but participants should not ride the vehicle unless they decide to withdraw from the bike ride.
Interested participants may register by clicking HERE or via the Ride for Valor Facebook page. Only bikes with brakes are allowed in the event, and participants must be fully vaccinated.
Around 80,000 Filipino and American soldiers and prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese military to march 69 miles from Bataan to Tarlac during World War II. Around 54,000 reached the camp while 20,000 died due to starvation, dehydration, disease, and brutality of their Japanese captors.
Bataan death march. Photo credit to https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 10, 2022 | Book Reviews
Auctioned to her Stepbrothers by Stephanie Brother was first published as Room Twenty-Eight: Their Willing Victim as part of the Club Sin: Chicago Session 1 collection. It was a collaborative effort by various authors that all happen in the same place … Club Sin.
Even before opening the book, I had an inkling that there would be BDSM in this story and I was curious just how deeply into the lifestyle these characters would be.
Honor is a sweet, beautiful girl with simple dreams. But when she finds herself buried in debt with no feasible way to get out of the hole a lifeline was thrown her way and she grabbed it. She signed up on a website where men bet on women to be their plaything. Her beauty and innocence make her highly desirable. In the end, the highest bid was from three brothers.
From the start, the three men made it clear that they were making just one bid … that their bid meant that she would be shared by all three. Kylian, Nate, and Lyle are billionaires who can well afford to bid on her individually but in this instance chose not to. All of them wanted her and they were okay to share.
When Honor was a young girl her mother married the father of Kylian, Nate, and Lyle, a ruthless businessman with a vicious temper. The four of them spent many happy moments together. But their parents’ marriage was anything was wonderful and eventually Honor and her mom left. Their leaving made life for the boys go from bad to worse.
It’s twisted but Honor realizes that her feelings for the brothers are not filial and if it takes BDSM to heal them and bring them all back together then so be it.
The transformation is amazing to “watch”. Are there triggering scenes? Yes. Are there instances of sexual violence? Yes. Are they in context? Yes! Is this story worth reading? ABSOLUTELY. Their blossoming love is worth witnessing. You can grab a copy of Auctioned to her Stepbrothers by Stephanie Brother on Amazon for 2.99 or free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
After reading this book you can read the bonus content here.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 9, 2022 | Book Reviews
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to start reading The Irresistible Wrong by Elsa Duke. Every time I opened the book and read the first few lines I would lose interest. Sometimes it is the cover art that didn’t attract me, but often if the opening lines don’t engage me, then it isn’t happening. Today I decided to push past page one and was finally able to read it and finished it in four hours.
When Piper’s dad and Oliver’s mom got married, Oliver was already an adult while Piper was still a kid. Their ages are ten years apart and while Oliver annoyed Piper often, she couldn’t help developing secret feelings for him as she grew older.
On her 18th birthday, she decides to seduce him. Lo and behold, Oliver is not immune to her charms. He succumbs but tells himself it will never happen again. Piper on the other hand decides she wants it to happen again and again and again.
Is it just a case of a horny teenager and a seduced adult? It certainly would seem like it if we didn’t have a front-row seat to their thoughts.
Some details are not very clear like Oliver is supposed to be a firefighter (I think) so far he is a buff desk jockey. I don’t know how at 28 he could be chief or director of anything. Piper’s dad owns a resort/s and despite being a firefighter, Oliver is working there, too.
Piper has just graduated from high school and is getting ready to go to Columbia in the fall. For the summer, she decides to take care of Oliver’s daughter. Yes, there is suddenly a daughter in the picture.
Long story short … they hook up, realize they are in love with each other, and they live happily ever after. Any conflict that happens in the story are moments that pass by quickly but they do move the story forward.
The Irresistible Wrong by Elsa Duke is on Amazon for 0.99 and free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
I eagerly opened iBooks to read Battery Operated by Stephanie Brother as soon as I got a copy of it. This is mostly because of the preview of this story in Snowballed. In a video that Tristan, Drew, and Carter were watching Lila, a popular social influencer, attacked another online channel called Down to Earth.
The Filipino-American Memorial Endowment (FAME), is a non-government organization that maintains the kilometer markers of the Bataan Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to Capas, Tarlac. In the past, Bataan Death March markers had been destroyed, uprooted, and neglected due to accidents and other road projects.
Auctioned to her Stepbrothers by Stephanie Brother was first published as 
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to start reading The Irresistible Wrong by Elsa Duke. Every time I opened the book and read the first few lines I would lose interest. Sometimes it is the cover art that didn’t attract me, but often if the opening lines don’t engage me, then it isn’t happening. Today I decided to push past page one and was finally able to read it and finished it in four hours.
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