by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jun 7, 2023 | Book Reviews
If I could only use one word to describe Grand Slammed by Stephanie Brother it would be sweet. This may come as a surprise to some of her readers who are more exposed to her steamy books, but yes, Stephanie can and has written romantic tingle-inducing books. It isn’t always about the heat, although there is definitely enough heat in this book to get the blood pumping.
We met Naomi in Roommates 8: Power Drilled as the massage therapist hired by Great-aunt Evelyn to provide massages for the wedding guests. Towards the end of the story, we know that she hired Naomi for 1 week to give massages to her nephew and friends in Florida. This is where the story picks up.
Dominic is Great-aunt Evelyn’s nephew. He and his friends Justin and Tyler are professional baseball players who have recently retired and are studying for the LSATs in preparation for entering law school in Georgia. This seems like a drastic career change for these young men (who are possibly in their late 20s or early 30s) until she learns why. It just made my heart melt. Philanthropy is just so hot!
Interestingly, in this story, Naomi does not give any “special” massages. If at all, she finds herself on the receiving end of a 6-hand special massage. I don’t know if this story is shorter or if I just read it really fast. The way it was written flowed so smoothly that I didn’t notice the transition of chapters except to note whose POV it was already. Also … not much drama to worry about. There wasn’t even any hullabaloo about Naomi having 3 boyfriends.
Absolutely HEA guaranteed! You can find Grand Slammed by Stephanie Brother on Amazon for $2.99 or FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Don’t forget to read the bonus chapter by clicking HERE.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jun 6, 2023 | Book Reviews
I discovered Bullied Mate of the Lycan Kings by Deenma on Dreame while looking for something new to read. I didn’t see the preview blurb on the app, just the first chapter, and it was an intriguing start.
Everyone in school hated Lily, a wolfless Omega, because of her father, who was executed for being a traitor. Despite that, she has always been a good student and mostly kept her head down and tried her best to ignore everyone’s bullying. One day she just reached her breaking point and tried to take her own life by slashing her wrists. She would have become successful, too, if not for Cade.
Cade became her only friend and later her boyfriend. When asked why he saved her he told her that they are mates. But things are not as they seem as it turns out, he was playing a long game and plotted with his friends to pull the ultimate prank on her which ended with a rejection.
In despair, she pulls out of school and decides on homeschooling. A couple of years later she enters Shadow Cove Academy, an elite school in hopes of graduating with flying colors so that she could enter an ivy league school after and improve her and her mom’s lives. It is there that she meets the three most powerful Lycan Alphas … Aiden, Ren, and Zac.
On her first day, she accidentally bumps into Aiden … that was all he needed to green-light the bullying from everyone on campus. She also meets Ren who becomes her guardian angel. Then there’s Zac who has a deep dark secret only a few people are aware of. She finds herself strongly attracted to Ren but unfortunately, he has a mate, Mauve. As the book progresses her only friends are Ren, Rhea, and Chelsea.
The title and the blurb imply that this is a reverse harem. It also shows 4 males. However, 68 chapters in and there are no signs that the story is going anywhere in that direction. Also, if I had read the blurb first (which I only saw a few minutes ago when I visited Dreame from the computer) I probably would not have opened this so soon as it is way too graphic for me for a blurb. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for steamy scenes per se, but I think the build-up to those scenes matters.
That aside, many parts of the story are quite compelling. I confess I found chapters 65 to 68 difficult to read because I don’t like seeing Ren suffering or in pain. I only wish that the story moved a little faster so that we could see how Aiden, Ren, Zac, and I assume Cade, find themselves mated to Lily which will lead to the contents of the blurb.
If you think this is something you might want to sink your teeth into you can check out Bullied Mate of the Lycan Kings by Deenma on the Dreame app.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jun 3, 2023 | Book Reviews
Craving His Virgin Mate by Sam Crescent is the second book of the Poison Wolves MC series that revolves around Agatha, a human, and Bayon a member of the Poison Wolves MC. Even without reading the first book, I still got a sense of what happened there since the author made sure to reference back and make short explanations. Although it does not erase the fact that I wish I had read the first book first. Seems like a lot happened in that story!
In comparison, Craving His Virgin Mate by Sam Crescent appears tamer. (I cannot give you 100% assurance on that since I haven’t read the first book yet.) There is no big bad but there was still a mystery that needed to be solved.
Agatha is a solitary creature. Growing up she mostly kept to herself, did not make any friends, and spent most of her time with her adoptive parents or taking long walks in the forest. When her adoptive parents died she decided to uproot and travel with no particular direction or place in mind. She found herself in a town called Poison.
For whatever reason, the people of Poison seemed to hate her, they were not at all welcoming, not even a little bit! Despite that, something about Poison made her want to stay. Poison felt like home.
Poison is actually a pack of werewolves. Boyan is a member of the Poison Wolves MC that protects Poison. The Poison Wolves MC is made up of men who are all technically Alphas but decided to band together instead. Their club president is called Alpha. I don’t know if that is his club name or his designation as the leader. He seeks out Agatha to find out why she seems adamant about staying despite being mostly ignored or rudely spoken to by the pack members.
And then he discovers that she is his mate. This is problematic because of events that happened in Book 1 where they discover that humans cannot become werewolves so a mating between a werewolf and a human is likely not feasible. Despite this, Boyan could not help seek her out, in the guise of finding out more.
But there really is something mysterious about Agatha. Aside from her not wanting to leave, her scent also disappears into the pack! How is that even possible? Is she a regular human or was she one of those that was experimented on by Dr. Milton? Curiouser and curiouser!
The way Agatha and Boyan are with each other is hot, to say the least. From the title, you can tell that Agatha starts the book with her virginity intact so part of me was curious to see how the author would have them jump that little hurdle. In my personal opinion, it was perfect! I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Craving His Virgin Mate by Sam Crescent could be classified as quick and light reading. There is enough going on to keep me engaged and enough chapters to give me something to sink my teeth into. Since it was written so well, I couldn’t help but look for the first book, Hard For You, just so I can get the complete story firsthand.
I recommend this book, definitely! But better if you read the first book also. You can get a copy of Craving His Virgin Mate by Sam Crescent on Amazon. The Kindle version is $3.99.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jun 1, 2023 | Book Reviews
I’ve reviewed a story by Caroline Above Story before and I enjoyed the book (which is still ongoing) so I thought I would give another one of her stories a shot. I scanned through her books on Goodnovel and stopped on My Professor Is My Alpha Mate by Caroline Above Story. “Taboo” romances are often interesting if written properly and I was curious to see just how taboo this story would be.
The book begins with Lila turning 18 soon but already in college/university (yep, a smart egg) and an art student. When she catches her boyfriend in a liplock with another woman, she turns to the nearest male and kisses him, not realizing that the person she kissed was a teacher. Oh, boy!
Enzo is the youngest Alpha (in his early 20s) and was tasked by the council to teach combat in the shifter school. When Lila kissed him randomly in the corridor, he didn’t react or kiss her back. His expression remained stoic but inside he was shocked.
Lila decides to switch classes to one her cheating boyfriend is not a part of and discovers that she kissed the professor. Talk about embarrassing! It isn’t until a few days later when she turns 18 that they discover they are mates. Enzo has a lot of things going on and while he acknowledged the mate bond he was not willing to claim her. Interestingly, he was not rejecting her either! Poor Lila. I honestly wished at first that she would just reject him.
But things are not as simple as that. There are so many things that are getting in the way … pack issues, uncontrolled powers, friends with issues to resolve, “mortal enemies”, and thirsty she-wolves lusting after Enzo.
Their romance is frustrating as it is a slow burn but I still feel compelled to read the new chapters as they come out, lol! Are there spelling and grammar issues? A few, such as not always remembering how things are spelled (is it MONRO or MONSTRO?) which is frustrating but I choose to just read it however I want to and move forward as there are more interesting things happening anyway.
So far, I am enjoying My Professor Is My Alpha Mate by Caroline Above Story. Classification: light reading, slow burn.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | May 17, 2023 | Book Reviews
Age gap romances are “in” right now and Silver Fox Secret Daddy by Ruby Emhart is one such story.
Dr. Jensen Banks is a well-known heart surgeon. He is well-known for his skill in the operating room and in the bedroom. Panties fall when he walks into a room. Yes, he is that hot. At 47, Jensen has it made … a successful career, any woman he wants, and no romantic relationship to tie him down. To the casual observer, Jensen has everything. And yet a memory of a passionate moment in the past often enters his thoughts and makes him wish for more.
Luna is an aspiring doctor who just got hired to intern at a hospital in Boston. An amazing encounter in Heathrow Airport’s VIP lounge restroom left her with memories of the best sex of her life and a baby she later named Eloise. Little did she know that her trip to Boston would bring her closer to her baby daddy.
Bring in the complication: Peter. He is Jensen’s best friend. He also happens to be Luna’s estranged father. Jensen talks to him often about “the one that got away”. Luna reconnects with Peter in an attempt to possibly build a familial relationship with him and talks about this man she is dating. None of them realize they are talking about each other.
I think I both love and hate Ruby Emhart at the same time because she makes me wish that men like Jensen actually existed in droves. I mean, where are all these sexy silver foxes? Most men I meet who are in their 40s and up don’t seem to measure up to these book boyfriends. At the same time, it does make me smile to think of the “what if”. 🙂
Wait until you meet their uber-lovable daughter, Eloise.
This story was more interesting than I thought it would be. Are there funny moments? Yes. Are there parts that make me want to giggle like a schoolgirl? Yes. Are there scenes where I want to hit Luna at the back of the head? For sure. Are there steamy scenes guaranteed to make my eyes glaze? Absolutely! Am I telling you to read this book? Hell yeah!
This story shows us how love can change preconceived notions and push people to become better versions of themselves for someone else. Silver Fox Secret Daddy by Ruby Emhart is the fourth book of the Boston Billionaires series. Grab a copy now on Amazon in Kindle or paperback. With a Kindle Unlimited account, you can read for free!
Everyone in school hated Lily, a wolfless Omega, because of her father, who was executed for being a traitor. Despite that, she has always been a good student and mostly kept her head down and tried her best to ignore everyone’s bullying. One day she just reached her breaking point and tried to take her own life by slashing her wrists. She would have become successful, too, if not for Cade.
In comparison, Craving His Virgin Mate by Sam Crescent appears tamer. (I cannot give you 100% assurance on that since I haven’t read the first book yet.) There is no big bad but there was still a mystery that needed to be solved.
The book begins with Lila turning 18 soon but already in college/university (yep, a smart egg) and an art student. When she catches her boyfriend in a liplock with another woman, she turns to the nearest male and kisses him, not realizing that the person she kissed was a teacher. Oh, boy!
Dr. Jensen Banks is a well-known heart surgeon. He is well-known for his skill in the operating room and in the bedroom. Panties fall when he walks into a room. Yes, he is that hot. At 47, Jensen has it made … a successful career, any woman he wants, and no romantic relationship to tie him down. To the casual observer, Jensen has everything. And yet a memory of a passionate moment in the past often enters his thoughts and makes him wish for more.
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