by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 29, 2023 | Book Reviews
If I had to base it on the cover art and the title I had assumed that Twisted Eros by Aria Skylar is a super steamy book. The first chapter led me astray into thinking this book would likely mostly feature BDSM. This is pretty far from the truth. While BDSM is hinted at the most we will see is light bondage and domination I’ve rarely seen in the dark romance books I have read in the past.
A smart, business-savvy, and successful woman goes on an “abduction vacation” with a sexy, masked stranger to get a desperately needed break. He whisks her away to a secret haven of rest and sexual pleasure. But our masked “kidnapper” has his own agenda besides pleasuring her and as the story goes they both end up on a voyage of self-discovery that gets them all twisted.
While some reviews have not been very encouraging about this book, I actually enjoyed it despite the sex scenes mainly being vanilla. I think I enjoyed the soul-searching that happened for each character and with each other and I thought her retelling of the tale of Eros and Psyche was interesting. If you don’t know the story of Eros and Psyche then, obviously, you wouldn’t get it but as a fan of mythology growing up, it was interesting to see the parallels.
Here is a comic version of the myth of Eros and Psyche.
Twisted Eros by Aria Skylar is the first book of the Modern Mythica series and can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as an ebook for a whopping $6.49. The paperback is $19.99. I find the price steep as I have read better stories for less, but it is still worth reading.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 10, 2023 | Book Reviews
I’ve been seeing Plain Jane by Celice Wylder pop up so often and I did add it a while back but I could not seem to start it. Part of it was because I wasn’t too keen on the cover art but another was because I read a book from Celice Wylder last year that I was not happy with.
Yesterday I decided to take the plunge and opened this book. I am so glad that I did as this is a jewel. The story is well written and probably the worst thing I could say about it is that the author would use terms like “bicep” or “clavicle” when she could just as easily say arm or collarbone. Jane is also always “strangling” Roman’s hair … last I check you can’t strangle hair – it has no neck.
That aside, though the story is riveting. It is a dark romance that breaks some shifter stereotypes that could be confusing. If you read on, though, you can forgive them and just enjoy the story.
From all the clues I expected more BDSM but I am still early in the story, only chapter 38 so far, so it could still manifest later. Roman has some hard nos that are frankly confusing but I am waiting to see how this story rolls itself out.
So far Plain Jane by Celice Wylder has 93 chapters and is still ongoing on Goodnovel. Since it is already going so much better than the other book I read (which I may review later) I’m one extremely happy camper.
If you are looking for a new story to read on Goodnovel, check out Plain Jane by Celice Wylder now.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 9, 2023 | Book Reviews
They say “don’t judge a book by its cover” but I can’t help it, I’m definitely judging. I don’t like the cover art because it is flat, the characters are tiny compared to the background, and they have no faces. Having said that, City Lights Starry Nights by Kimberly Readnour is supposed to be an age-gap romance in a small town in Indiana called Sugar Creek Falls. Aside from the fact that the age difference is briefly mentioned, the age gap is not apparent as Evie is a mature and level-headed woman despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
What can go wrong will go wrong! Her problems began when her parents cut her off before she even graduated in an effort to force her to go home and assume her place in society. Evie, on the other hand, wanted to work and help people. No matter how many jobs she applies for and interviews for it seems she just isn’t hirable, which is quite strange. The best she could do was get a waitressing job and she even got fired from that.
Dr. Liam Seymour is the older brother of Evie’s best friend and has hang-ups and festering emotional scars. Being the doctor of a small town means that he knows everyone and everyone knows him so getting into a relationship is difficult without everyone knowing about it.
When I started reading this, I assumed it wouldn’t take too much time to read. For some reason, though, at times I found myself slogging through it. There were just some scenes that felt like it was taking too long to develop properly or get to the point. Perhaps it is just my frustration at Liam’s “should we – shouldn’t we” thinking every time he looks at Evie. Even to me, his hang-ups seemed irrelevant.
He wanted something casual, no problem. He’s into some light BDSM and wants a submissive in the bedroom … so long as he talks about it with Evie first and she is ok with it, I don’t see the problem. But that is probably his biggest hang-up.
The author promises HEA so we know it will get there. The journey is taking so long, though … or I am just impatient. There’s more to the story than just their romance. There’s a weird ex, grumpy old men to charm, storms to get through, and an antiquated scheduling system to figure out.
City Lights Starry Nights by Kimberly Readnour is book 1 of the Sugar Creek Fall series so I am anticipating a story for Ethan and also for Matthew and Ansley (Liam’s sister) since history was hinted at earlier in the book.
If you have a Kindle Unlimited account you can read this book for free on Amazon or you can purchase it for 3.99.
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 | Sep 15, 2022 | Book Reviews
Arrested by Stephanie Brother has a (slightly) darker theme than most of her other books as the sexual proclivity of the main characters is unusual and borders on BDSM. Being steps (or almost steps) is not even that big of an issue as they met as adults when their respective parents announced their engagement.
Their romance may be unusual but I get the kink and I can get with the fantasy. 🙂
You can get a copy of the ebook at Amazon or you can also read it as part of the Forbidden set.
I’ve been seeing Plain Jane by Celice Wylder pop up so often and I did add it a while back but I could not seem to start it. Part of it was because I wasn’t too keen on the cover art but another was because I read a book from Celice Wylder last year that I was not happy with.
They say “don’t judge a book by its cover” but I can’t help it, I’m definitely judging. I don’t like the cover art because it is flat, the characters are tiny compared to the background, and they have no faces. Having said that, City Lights Starry Nights by Kimberly Readnour is supposed to be an age-gap romance in a small town in Indiana called Sugar Creek Falls. Aside from the fact that the age difference is briefly mentioned, the age gap is not apparent as Evie is a mature and level-headed woman despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
Auctioned to her Stepbrothers by Stephanie Brother was first published as 
Arrested by Stephanie Brother has a (slightly) darker theme than most of her other books as the sexual proclivity of the main characters is unusual and borders on BDSM. Being steps (or almost steps) is not even that big of an issue as they met as adults when their respective parents announced their engagement.
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