by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 26, 2023 | Book Reviews
I’ve been agonizing for two days on whether or not I should say something about this story, Denying the Alpha, by Teaganjayne. I started reading it on Dreame out of curiosity, mostly because it seems to be getting heavily promoted on Facebook and Instagram, and I figured that if they would promote it so much, then it must be good, right?
The blurb of the story, which is meant to attract new readers is interesting. After all, it got me to add the story to my library and start to read it. However, as I started reading it, I couldn’t help grimacing at the numerous grammatical and syntax errors in the story. Is it laziness or ignorance?
For example, “your” and “you’re”. While this is, perhaps, a common mistake. When done repetitively, I can’t help but think that the author just doesn’t know the difference at all. Another one is “defiantly” when what he/she/they mean is “definitely.” Dear native English speakers out there, I’m sure you can agree with me that those two words mean something different entirely. And how about interchanged genders and misspellings such as “rom” instead of from?
How about dragged-out scenes and characters who don’t appear to have common sense and take so long to come to realizations? Sigh. Over time, I have become more tolerant of all that, but this is just too much. I can’t even properly enjoy the story anymore.
To give it a chance, I bought ten chapters and continued reading, optimistic that it would get better. So far, I am on Chapter Twenty-1, and the story has FINALLY moved forward. If a seasoned author had written this story, the point where it is right now would have happened in chapter ONE … chapter TWO at the most.
The story opens with the blurb as part of the first chapter then after a beat, it moves to the story. It is the birthday of Faith Huntress, the youngest daughter of the beta. Her wolf has not yet appeared, but she gets overwhelmed by this amazing scent and she knows it must be her mate. She follows the scent, and it leads her to the room of Declan, the Alpha’s son, who she finds balls deep in her elder sister, Samantha. She gets hurt, makes a sound, and runs away.
That evening, she shifts without the help of her mate or family, which means she was in a lot of pain when it happened, but she survived it. She keeps mum about finding her mate. Later the same day, she feels a stabbing pain in her chest, and when she goes to Declan’s room and sees him and Samantha in another sexual position, she faints from the pain.
They bring her to the hospital, of course, without telling anyone what really happened. Declan knew she was his mate, but some family trauma made him decide he would reject her.
Fast forward to when she is well enough to leave the hospital. Faith confronts Declan and finds out part of the truth, and in the end, she has no choice but to reject him, and he pushes her down the stairs while telling her she WILL be his mate.
Make up your freakin’ mind!!!
I’ve reached the point where her family and the doctor help her escape, and she has renounced the pack and the alpha of Crescent Moon, and all I can think is … FINALLY! I am also asking myself … is there any point in going on? So far, my sentiment is that this book is long-winded and takes too long to get to the point. What has been written in twenty-two chapters could have all been expressed in five chapters, tops.
I’m truly hoping that she does not end up with Declan because that would just be messed up. Give her a second chance mate! Should I even give this book a second chance?
If you want to read Denying the Alpha by teaganjayne to form your own opinion, you can find it on Dreame by clicking HERE.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Sep 26, 2023 | Book Reviews
About a month ago, we were able to interview author Ashley Breanne and feature her on our sister site, Hearthandhomebuddies.com. In our chats, one of the things she mentioned was that she wrote this story called The Rebound, a YA/Teen story and that it was on Goodnovel.
According to Ashley, The Rebound: The Wrong Cinderella’s Story was the first book she published on Goodnovel. This got me curious. The first book of hers that I read was The Alpha’s Girl and I liked that a lot! So, I checked it out on Goodnovel and discovered it is only 66 chapters. I can do that. I can spare the coin for that.
From page one I was transfixed. What a fun story! It is one of those that I wish was made into a movie. It is definitely going to be a teen flick and, yes, it is most definitely a Cinderella story with a twist.
But what I liked most about this story are two things. First, Caleb may be the golden boy of the school since he is the quarterback, but he isn’t a manwhore. As a matter of fact, Violet is only the second woman he has even been intimate or in a relationship with. Awwwwww!
Second, Violet is not a damsel in distress, nor is she popular. She also isn’t bullied or bookish, etc. If she were to fall under any stereotype it would probably be a loner with only one friend. But then again, she didn’t have any problem making friends with Caleb or his best friend so it is obvious that she isn’t a social recluse.
The banter … the banter is what got me. “Listening” to them was just precious! The teenage girl inside me was giggling a lot at their interactions.
I give this book all digits up, not just my thumbs. It is an easy read and very light-hearted. I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I have. 🙂
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Sep 5, 2023 | Book Reviews
Another installment in the Love by Numbers 2 series, Seven Tattoo Artists and a Single Mom by Nicole Casey, connects to the previous story in the series, Six Hockey Players’ Rival. The female lead character, Madison, is the older sister of Leah from the previous book.
The story is certainly steamy, but I thought that things happened so fast. Even though it took at least a month for Madison to get into anything intimate with anyone, it was also at least a month of not talking to any of them.
All she knew about them were their names and what they looked like. The only ones she got to spend meaningful time with at the beginning were Taj (who drew her tattoo), Bryce (who inked her), and Marcus (who drove her to fetch a sick Chloe from school). I can’t recall who held her hand while she was being inked if it was Baker.
My point is … where was the courtship?
That’s just my take. I think there should be a little more romance before intimacy. I love the romance (ish) feels after, although it kind of went from them being strangers to suddenly taking on the role of lover to Madison and father figure to Chloe.
She also didn’t ease her way into an RH situation. She went from having no sex life to being with three men after one kinky conversation with Ti. Literal conversation, btw, as in they talked about kinks.
Is it hot? Yes. Is it enjoyable to read? Yes. Do I have questions? Yes. Would I recommend it? Sure! I say enjoy it for what it is and keep an open mind. And, most importantly … have fun!
You can find Love by Numbers 2 series, Seven Tattoo Artists and a Single Mom by Nicole Casey on Amazon, free with Kindle Unlimited.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 19, 2023 | Book Reviews
Crush On My Best Friend’s Alpha Dad by Luxie landed in my inbox as a recommendation, and I decided to try it. The author has just started writing it, showing great potential so far. I get the age gap romance; it happens a lot, especially when we talk about a man who was widowered early and looks like Patrick Dempsey in Grey’s Anatomy, aka McDreamy.
Her characters, CJ and Lenora, make decisions that I find questionable but, at the same time, make delicious drama that moves the story forward.
- CJ finds himself attracted to Lenora, so why in the world would he kiss her sister, Esme?
- Esme knew about how Lenora felt about CJ, so why would she kiss CJ in the first place? Is this a reflection of how much she doesn’t care for CJ or how much she wants him for herself?
- After catching them in the kiss and being hurt by their betrayal, why would Lenora decide to agree to become a girlfriend to someone she wasn’t even a little attracted to or, at least, could relate to?
So far, in the story (I am 41/45 chapters in) CJ’s being an Alpha wolf has no bearing. At the moment, it is all about Lenora’s unresolved feelings. I’m really curious to see where this story will go.
There are some grammatical issues that are forgivable (for now) that I hope the author will go back to fix, but overall, this has been engaging. If there is anything major I would ask the author to change, it would probably be the title. Not only is it a mouthful and unnecessarily confusing, it is also “spoilerish” because without even opening the book we know the dad’s a werewolf.
But see, here is where it gets confusing. CJ is the dad of Lenora’s best friend, Mariselle. At the same time, CJ is also friends with Lenora’s dad. So, would it be better to say “Crush on my Dad’s Best Friend” or stay with “Crush on my Best Friend’s Dad”?
I still think “Alpha” could be removed from the title. Without it, learning he is an Alpha becomes a gem we discover in the story. This, by the way, raises the question … where is his pack and why aren’t he and Mariselle in it?
Now that I’ve whet your curiosity, you can find Crush On My Best Friend’s Alpha Dad by Luxie on the Goodnovel app and read it for yourself.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 14, 2023 | Book Reviews
When I started to read My Dreams, His Reality by Shanika Rana after my sister started talking to me about it. It’s a young adult/teen romance, and, from the way my sister was talking about it, it seemed like a fairly innocent high school romance between the most popular guy in school who has possibly slept with every other female in school, and the quiet, reserved girl who hates him for being a man-whore.
While chatting, I picked up my phone, looked it up on Goodnovel, and added it to my library to check it out myself.
I can tell you this much right now, while it needs some editing, it is well-written enough that I can be forgiving. I confess that a big pull for me is the fact that Zara, the female lead, is snarky and independent. On the other hand, Harper is highly sexed and is dealt a mighty blow on his 18th birthday.
There is more than meets the eye with My Dreams, His Reality by Shanika Rana, and so far, I am enjoying the process. This is supposed to be a trilogy and is 254 chapters. I am on chapter 44 and still having fun reading as of this posting. This book has become part of my Goodnovel reading cycle.
I can only hope the good narrative is sustained until the end. Also, author, not too long, please.
Important update:
One of my readers gave me some good news that I just have to share with all of you. My Dreams, His Reality by Shanika Rana is on Amazon! And the best news yet … IT IS ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!
Talk about bang for your buck!
The three books in the trilogy are:
- My Dreams, His Reality
- Dreams Fade Away
- Reality Sets In
If you have a Kindle Unlimited account, reading these books is free! If you choose to buy the books, they cost $4, $5, and $6 respectively.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 9, 2023 | Book Reviews
I discovered The Alpha’s Human Surrogate by Nina GoGo on the Goodnovel app when I was offered some books to read for free within 24 hours. Of all the stories I was offered, I chose this one because the blurb was the one written in the best English … which should tell you something about the rest, lol!
The blurb says this:
“Now, let’s discuss sexual experience,” he says, his tone matter-of-fact. “It’s essential for me to understand your level of comfort and any potential concerns in that aspect.”
I feel my cheeks flush, the topic leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable. I take a moment to gather my thoughts before responding honestly, “I… I have not had previous experiences, but I am willing to learn. And… and I can assure you that I am absolutely clean.”
Alexander’s gaze softens, and he almost seems surprised. But he eventually gives a soft laugh as he says, “I understand. Moreover, you still need to go through some tests to ensure that it is a smooth process.”
***********************
Hi, I’m Sophia, an ordinary college student. I have a happy family and two handsome roommates, but because of an accident, I had to secretly become a surrogate mother in order to pay for my father’s enormous medical expenses. What I don’t know is that the intended father, a polite and distinguished 34-year-old man, is the most influential and mysterious figure in the city. And what is beyond my control is when I give birth, I’m shocked to discover that my twin babies have wolf ears!
Note: I formatted it for readability. The original blurb is just one loooooong paragraph.
As the story begins I marvel at how little I would have to edit if I was her copy editor. There were still hiccups, but I anticipated that and could forgive it so long as the author does not make huge, repetitive errors like mixing up genders, tenses, figures of speech. It was going fine until I saw BIG holes in her writing that are usually an indication of inattention …
She does not keep track of her characters!
I’ve mentioned this before, I have a cinematic brain. This means that when I read I see the scene unfold in my head. So you can imagine my confusion when characters seemingly teleport from one location to the next and back. She also seems to take for granted how time works. In addition, she forgets what she said before about her characters.
- It takes several weeks for her to manifest pregnancy symptoms.
- A few weeks into gestation she can feel the baby kick.
- Alexander never enlightened Sophia that he was a werewolf and didn’t prepare her for giving birth 4 months from conception.
- The children are 1 year old and are already bigger than toddlers as they are walking and talking like 5 year olds.
- Alexander starts off a rich man in a luxury sedan who lives in a mansion to being some rich guy living in a corporate estate to again living in a mansion.
- Jake and Tyler are described as platonic guy friends who occasionally bring home their dates (and are at it all night) to suddenly having feelings for Sophia.
Author, make up your mind! And keep track of your story!
As an editor, let me tell you, those holes are difficult to plug as it means a rewrite. But as a reader, if I am in a forgiving mood, I can still enjoy it and just laugh at the author’s faux pas. I just pretend to myself that Alexander is actually Nightcrawler or maybe knows astral projection. 😛
I’ve read around 27 chapters already and I don’t even know if I want to call this book a romance, although it is. The romance aspect is very subtle but is implied. I have yet to encounter any steam but, who knows, maybe there will be some later in the book.
If you think this is a story you could get into or would like to try, The Alpha’s Human Surrogate by Nina GoGo is available on the Goodnovel app.
The story is certainly steamy, but I thought that things happened so fast. Even though it took at least a month for Madison to get into anything intimate with anyone, it was also at least a month of not talking to any of them.
Her characters, CJ and Lenora, make decisions that I find questionable but, at the same time, make delicious drama that moves the story forward.
While chatting, I picked up my phone, 
The blurb says this:
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