I am trying really hard to appreciate Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother by Joy Apens. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I hate bullies and bullying in any form but I gave this story a shot because I was curious to see how the author would develop the romance between the lead characters.
Having read so many bully romances I was prepared for the male lead, Hardin, to be Jasmine’s bully. What I didn’t anticipate was how many times he sexually assaulted her. I’m sorry, is this supposed to be okay? We are just supposed to accept that since Hardin and Jasmine are the lead characters no matter what happens it is okay because they may end up together.
Pardon me, but there is nothing right about sexual assault, whether it is something as “minimal” as fondling or all the way to penetration. IT IS NOT OKAY.
As a story arc and trigger, I get it, especially at the beginning when they don’t know each other and Hardin is still horribly bitter. But 25 chapters in and it is still happening? And Jasmine is still not reporting it? How is this right? Like most prolific readers I immerse myself in the story and embed myself in the character. This means that I put myself in Jasmine’s persona and I am not okay with being violated repeatedly.
He called her a slut, whore, etc., took her virginity, and all she can do EVER is cry. SIGH. Victim mentality.
I know at some point in the future we will see a change of heart with Hardin and he will somehow fall for her. At some point, it will probably be revealed that they are mates. Fyi, at the part I’m at there isn’t any sign so I don’t even know if the author will allow for fated mates or if this is a human-like romance in a werewolf romance setting.
At the moment, I don’t ever want them to be together. I want Jasmine to end up with Lorenzo. In her shoes, I would never forgive someone who has done what he has been doing. It doesn’t matter if her body responds. If the girl you are with is saying NO and crying the entire time (even if she is supposedly wet) that means her mind does not agree. It is still rape.
IT IS NOT OKAY. If you are curious and want to weigh in, you can find Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother by Joy Apenson several reading apps including Goodnovel, where I found it.
I finally caught up to the latest chapter (Chapter 37 as of this update). It is her birthday and, what does Hardin do? He rapes her. SERIOUSLY?!? And this is a romance novel? Even if it categorized as a dark romance I think there has to be a cap on how much abuse a girl can take.
To be honest I have mixed feelings about Tasting All My Mates by Alexis Dee mainly because I’m also reading Sharing Beatrice, which I recently reviewed and it follows the same formula. A young Omega girl is rejected by her first mate and finds several mates soon after who all happen to already live together, then realizes she isn’t like other Omegas … that she has powers other wolves do not possess.
For several chapters onwards none of her mates are willing to accept her and even go out of their way to mock and bully her. One particular mate is kinder than the rest but also does not accept her. All her mates at some point are willing to accept her if she agrees to reject the rest.
Names are different, and the setting is different, but the story flow is more or less the same. What probably makes this story slightly different is that Enya, the female lead character has a stronger backbone than Beatrice at the beginning of the story.
To be fair, Tasting All My Mates was supposedly written first so, if anything, this is the template for Sharing Beatrice. The story has potential and, yes, despite how expensive it is, I have spent money to read more chapters just to see if it gets better. If you are a fan of serialized TV shows, that is more or less the experience you get when reading this book. Each chapter feels like an episode of a TV show.
So far I’m on chapter 94 and she hasn’t tasted a single mate, lol! For the grammar nazis out there (like me!) beware of all the grammatical and spelling errors. Believe me, there are a LOT! That aside, if you can get passed that, the story has a lot of potential … just don’t read it at the same time as Sharing Beatrice like I am doing or you will not be able to help but see. the parallels. 😀
If you would like to check this story out yourself, you can find it on the iReader app.
When I open a book or a reading app and I find myself excited for the new chapter, that is how I know that a story is good. This is how I feel every time I open The Omega’s Triplet Hybrids by Saree Bee on Goodnovel. I already told you all what a blast I had with Omega’s Twin Hybrids a while back. This sequel to that story has upped the ante.
Daphne’s life before finding the Skynest and going to the island was as depressing as I could imagine, without being physically tortured and imprisoned. She loses her job, her sister dies from an overdose, and she gets evicted from her apartment … how much worse could it get? Oh, yes! She has to live on the streets now as she has nowhere to go.
Tearful and hopeless, she is approached by a stranger and offered a card with an address to a shelter called Skynest. Little did she know that she was an Omega and was destined to be mated to a shifter or three!
Christian, Vance, and Liam are triplets and princes … next in line for the throne once they are mated and have children. We met Liam in Omega’s Twin Hybrid as the annoying black dragon that gave Jack a hard time. Christian’s animal is a wolf, while Vance’s is a tiger. These brothers are close and from a young age, they agreed that they will only have one mate together. This also means that they will rule, together, as three kings.
Poor Daphne! She is unlike any Omega that has come before. No one told her what to expect so she was probably the first omega ever to want to go back to the city and not get mated. Imagine her shock to discover that upon landing on the island they (the Omegas) were going to be hunted like prey by all the single men on the island looking for a mate. And the chase begins!
Which brings us back to the triplets … how is that going to work? And considering how much she wants to go back to New York, is there any way they can convince her to stay? Will she learn to love all three?
I did a quick review last August 2022 of Sweet Revenge by Kalenca and posted it on Facebook and Instagram. When I revisited the post I felt that it was insufficient so here is a more comprehensive post.
From the way the story is written, I would guess that the author is probably Chinese, based on the stereotypical cultural references … women not being good enough to become head of a company, all the bowing, all the slapping (seriously!), and being stigmatized for having sex before marriage even if it is rape.
What intrigued me about this story that got me to read it is that it is between a transgender man (Antonio, formerly Antonia) and a gay man (Damian) who fall in love with each other. But let me back up … they met in a former life accidentally when Damian inadvertently raped Antonia thinking she was the hooker his father hired. At the time, his father had dosed him with a drug akin to Viagra to force him to have sex with a woman. This was because Damian’s father would not accept that Damian is gay.
Antonia, at the time, was inebriated and tricked by her cousin into entering a hotel room to rest as she intended for someone to rape her. Antonia accidentally ended up in the wrong room, which is where Damian found her.
Disowned, ostracized, and later, Antonia discovers she is pregnant from the rape. Never having been comfortable in her own skin, she made the choice to transition after giving birth and took on the guise of Antonio and ends up working for Damian, the man who raped her, as his bodyguard!
The way the story is written (as in the language) is repetitive and, at times, redundant, and I am assuming it is either because English is not the author’s first language or the author is young. DEFINITELY, the author did not get a copy editor.
With a title like Sweet Revenge, it will make one wonder who the revenge is targeted towards. I’d recommend that you read this book and find out. Sweet Revenge by Kalenca is on Goodnovel and has only 157 chapters so it is, thankfully, a normal novel length. I think you will enjoy the story. I know I did.
A couple of weeks ago I came across The Four Alpha Princes and the Omega by Raelyn Karson when I was looking for something to read in the young adult/teen category. The title seems to imply a reverse harem situation. The preview certainly seems to imply it (to this smutty brain) but I was curious how this story would spin.
The title mentions four Alpha princes … Braxton, Jace, Lex, and Sebastian. This simply means they are the sons of current Alphas. The omega is Izariah (sometimes called Iza) who is an omega. She is a werewolf but her wolf has not manifested yet.
Izariah hates bullies. Even though she is small and wolfless, she cannot help but defend victims of bullying, even if it means she gets hurt in the process. This is how she met the four princes … when Braxton was bullying a smaller guy who messed with the side mirror of his bike. When Braxton tried to make Izariah submit by using an Alpha command, he was shocked to discover that it had no effect on her. This led to his decision to make her life miserable.
37 chapters so far and at this point, Lex and Sebastian seem to be nothing more than bystanders to all the drama. Jace, on the other hand, became her self-assigned hero who rescued her from whatever misdeed Braxton (and his minions) cooked up. Things come to a head when a prank goes too far and Izariah almost dies, making Braxton realize his stupidity.
As you can tell from my narrative above, the title (so far) seems to be off and should probably be called “Braxton and Me”. To be honest, the story development is so very slow. I feel like I am getting a minute-by-minute update on their lives. Is this a tv series where we need to get inundated with all the minutiae? How long is this story going to play out?
While I think it is a good idea not to reveal too many things to the reader from the get-go, I also think that it should not take 20, 30, 40, or 50 chapters to do so. Sigh, it feels like a waste of money but I feel compelled to check every day to see if the story will move along or not. Fyi, it has … but it still moves at a turtle’s pace. At this point in the story, I would not recommend this book because of how slow it is, but it doesn’t mean it won’t redeem itself down the line. And just to be clear, I am not looking for heat, I’m just looking for a compelling/riveting story.
The Four Alpha Princes and the Omega by Raelyn Karsonis available on Goodnovel.
As reverse harem stories go I’d have to say that Nanny for the Bossholes by Rebel Bloom is top-notch. It combines several elements that make this an interesting story: a sassy female lead character, three rich brothers who are suspicious of her motives, a grief-stricken child, and a hippie dad.
Aggie is possibly the best digital strategist in Dallas, Texas but she lost her job because the CEO of the company she worked for (who was also her boyfriend at the time) fired her when she refused to get pregnant, not because she never wanted children, but more like she wanted to focus on her career for now. She applies for a position with the competition, a company owned by the Graves brothers (Zander, Knight, and Kyrin). Thinking she is a corporate spy they turn her down … but later end up hiring her as a nanny for their newly-orphaned niece.
Aggie is not a nanny and tells them this point-blank, but they offer her a year’s salary if she will agree to be Grace’s nanny for one month and a possibility of an interview and test for the position she wants. How could she resist that offer? Later, she discovers that these men are too darned irresistible and she gives in to temptation. Despite that, she still remains sassy and talks back to her bosses.
Are they in a relationship or is it just fun and games? Whatever their status, it can’t be denied that everyone was enjoying it … and was probably getting a little more emotionally involved than they planned. I found the story titillating and I definitely loved her sass. Throw in her dad, Mark, and the rest of her kookie family and you get a 3D view of who Aggie really is. How could Zander, Knight, and Kyrin resist that?
This was fun to read. I have yet to be disappointed by anything Rebel Bloom has written. If you would like to check out Nanny for the Bossholes by Rebel Bloom on Amazon it can be purchased for $2.99 but is free with Kindle Unlimited.
I am trying really hard to appreciate Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother by Joy Apens. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I hate bullies and bullying in any form but I gave this story a shot because I was curious to see how the author would develop the romance between the lead characters.
To be honest I have mixed feelings about Tasting All My Mates by Alexis Dee mainly because I’m also reading 
When I open a book or a reading app and I find myself excited for the new chapter, that is how I know that a story is good. This is how I feel every time I open The Omega’s Triplet Hybrids by Saree Bee on Goodnovel. I already told you all what a blast I had with 
I did a 
A couple of weeks ago I came across The Four Alpha Princes and the Omega by Raelyn Karson when I was looking for something to read in the young adult/teen category. The title seems to imply a reverse harem situation. The preview certainly seems to imply it (to this smutty brain) but I was curious how this story would spin.
As reverse harem stories go I’d have to say that Nanny for the Bossholes by Rebel Bloom is top-notch. It combines several elements that make this an interesting story: a sassy female lead character, three rich brothers who are suspicious of her motives, a grief-stricken child, and a hippie dad.
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