by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 3, 2023 | Book Reviews
Our man Clay Nikolaidis is a ladies’ man. At least he was until his sister, Reece, gave him a corgi named Zeus in Man’s Best Wingman by Bryant. In case the names sound familiar, that is because we first encountered Clay and Reece (by name) in Princes of Ravenwood. Clay is part Greek, part Russian, part English, part American, and all man!
Big guy, small dog, you’d think it is a foolproof plan to get the ladies, except that Zeus is very picky about who he will allow Clay to mate with … which is no one he has met until he meets Xenia and her dog Tinkerbell.
Xenia is a spicy Latina from Puerto Rico who trains dogs for a living. That is how she ended up with Tinkerbell, a big fluffy dog with anxiety issues. Xenia is her emotional support human.
This story is a laugh-fest from start to finish! A modern-day comedy of errors, if you will. It felt like Murphy’s Law was working overtime to mess up Clay and Xenia’s fun times. As I am reading I can see all of it happening in my head and I couldn’t help but laugh each time. Thankfully, things get better as the chapters progress.
If you are looking for something light to read that will make you laugh, then Man’s Best Wingman by Bryant is right up your alley. You can find it on Goodnovel. It is only 44 chapters so can be read in a day easily.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 2, 2023 | Book Reviews
His UnEGGsalted Omega by Lorelei M. Hart and Colbie Dunbar was a delight to read. 95% of the book is happy, happy, happy which was quite refreshing. To be honest, there really isn’t that much difference between an MF, MM, or FF romance except for the gender of the main characters. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter, especially if the society the author created accepts that kind of pairing. In this world created by the authors, MM or MF pairings are commonplace.
I’m not new to reading MM stories but I must confess I was puzzled about the mechanics of male pregnancy. For the omega to be able to get pregnant that would assume that he has the reproductive organs to match, but does that mean that his anal canal is somehow connected to a uterus? Also, in this story, after the babies are born they latch to feed. Latch on what? Does that imply that Aldo had mammary glands that produced milk?
If the intention is for the story to be an MM romance, why would female physical characteristics be imposed on the omegas?
The story establishes some things, though. First, it is the omega partner who gets pregnant. Second, in mixed mating, there is no way to tell what kind of baby/babies will be born and how. Since Kirin is a dragon and Aldo is a chipmunk will they have dragon babies or chipmunk babies? Will they be hybrids of both? Will they be chipmunks that will come out of dragon eggs?
There are some passages that felt overexplained but if you skip over them it’s okay. There are also misused words or two in some sections, but nothing a copy editor who will actually read the whole story cannot easily fix.
Overall, His UnEGGsalted Omega by Lorelei M. Hart and Colbie Dunbar is a feel-good story. You can find this book on Amazon for 4.99 on Jan. 9, 2023, or for free with Kindle Unlimited.
I enjoyed it so much that I looked up the first book and will be reading it soon just so that I get to read about the romance of Abel and Cedric.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 1, 2023 | Book Reviews
I started reading The Secretly Rich Man by Two Ears is Bodhi on Goodnovel more out of curiosity than anything else. I was curious to know how he would manage to keep his wealth a secret. From the first chapter, this question gets answered so I may as well tell you. He grew up a pauper (the author’s term, not mine) and he receives a call from his sister. It turns out that his family is secretly rich, as in amongst the richest people in the world. She wanted him to learn to adjust to the lifestyle and required him to spend a huge amount every month. Since he grew up with nothing, this “command” was not an easy task for him.
The story goes on to detail his school life, love life, business decisions, and basically how he deals with being wealthy while maintaining a low profile. This meant that to the eyes of most of his classmates in university, he was still “the pauper” and he did not try to tell them otherwise.
Despite being bullied and looked down on, he kept his sunny disposition and continued being helpful to his fellow classmates.
I started reading this in 2021 and actually got as far as 161 chapters before giving up when I was not seeing any end in sight. The story and character development have potential but desperately need an editor if there is an intention to publish to print. Can you imagine how thick the book would be if not cut up into several volumes?
I did some research online and this story is quite popular but I must confess, I don’t really know why. The story is 2,513 chapters long and has so much repetitive content that could have been taken out without detracting from the story. To be honest, it felt like instead of a novel, I felt like I was reading the precursor of a TV script, I mean, hello, 2000+ chapters?!?
But that is my point … This story is not meant to be a novel or a movie. It reads like a TV series so maybe it should be turned into one.
I also don’t understand all the bowing and slapping so I figure it is a cultural thing. If I had to guess I’d say the author is Asian, probably Chinese based on what I see in Asian dramas. All that bowing is not common in most cultures, and honestly, the slapping … how is it ok for a father to slap his daughter? In addition, how is it ok for girls to gang up on a guy and beat him up? The reason is inconsequential because if he really did something wrong, then a guard should have been called.
And may I also add how the author seems to be so brand conscious and likes to take/his/her/their time mentioning different brands of luxury items like bags, cars, and clothes and goes into explicit detail describing each one … as if our lives depended on knowing all that information.
The Secretly Rich Man by Two Ears is Bodhi is available on several platforms but I first encountered it on Goodnovel. Read at your own risk.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 1, 2023 | Ponderings
I woke up to a new day and realized … it’s 2023 is here and a new year!
A new year means an opportunity to start things fresh. It means a chance to shed all the baggage of 2022 and begin the year with excitement and eagerness. I means making a list of achievable goals and building on them.
Happy new year, everyone!
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 31, 2022 | Book Reviews
Daddy’s Next Door by Rebel Bloom is AMAZING! OMG, this book is fantastic! Such a page-turner, I couldn’t put it down. The age gap didn’t bother me as I know quite a few luscious silver foxes. These guys are in their late 40s so that isn’t even really old yet … they’re just old enough to have adult children.
Even as things developed quickly between them, I felt it was organic and not forced, which made it great. I loved how Barrett, Dominic, and Holden have such different personalities, and each one is able to bring something different to the relationship.
I loved how they were all in early in the story so there wasn’t much conflict amongst them. The way Rebel Bloom handles emotional scenes is just perfect! The most troubling thing that plagued Sugar (or SJ as most people would call her) for most of the book was the fact that Barrett is her best friend Sam’s father.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would! Daddy’s Next Door by Rebel Bloom is available on January 1, 2023, on Amazon for 2.99 but free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
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/.
His UnEGGsalted Omega by Lorelei M. Hart and Colbie Dunbar was a delight to read. 95% of the book is happy, happy, happy which was quite refreshing. To be honest, there really isn’t that much difference between an MF, MM, or FF romance except for the gender of the main characters. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter, especially if the society the author created accepts that kind of pairing. In this world created by the authors, MM or MF pairings are commonplace.
I started reading The Secretly Rich Man by Two Ears is Bodhi on Goodnovel more out of curiosity than anything else. I was curious to know how he would manage to keep his wealth a secret. From the first chapter, this question gets answered so I may as well tell you. He grew up a pauper (the author’s term, not mine) and he receives a call from his sister. It turns out that his family is secretly rich, as in amongst the richest people in the world. She wanted him to learn to adjust to the lifestyle and required him to spend a huge amount every month. Since he grew up with nothing, this “command” was not an easy task for him.
Daddy’s Next Door by Rebel Bloom is AMAZING! OMG, this book is fantastic! Such a page-turner, I couldn’t put it down. The age gap didn’t bother me as I know quite a few luscious silver foxes. These guys are in their late 40s so that isn’t even really old yet … they’re just old enough to have adult children.
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.
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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