by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 23, 2023 | Book Reviews
I started and stopped reading Billionaire Bad Boys: An Off-Limits Romance by Lacy Nash so many times, I really wanted to give it a chance but I wasn’t getting engaged. The pace of the story is very slow. The first time they meet we see the spark but it isn’t until chapter 19 that we get Bryan’s POV and find out for certain that he is attracted to her, too.
The pulse of this story is just steady. Barely anything happens to make a beat jump up. We have Jackson’s stalking and Matilda’s predictable protective society matron attitude. One would think those would be enough but with most of the story being from Lily’s POV we aren’t really getting the whole picture, just her thoughts.
Bryan is reputedly a billionaire playboy but I have yet to see him do anything that would qualify as bad, really. If anything, he actually looks pretty angelic to me. Conflicts resolve themselves quickly without too much drama or build-up. It’s just too pat for me.
After 20+ chapters they acknowledge their mutual attraction and become an item. Yes, it takes more than 20 chapters for them to even hold hands. Maybe I’m just not the target audience but I feel I have read better stuff from this author. You should still try it when it comes out. It might be your cup of tea, it just isn’t for me. It isn’t yet but it should be out on Amazon soon.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 18, 2023 | Book Reviews
“What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?” Whoa! I loved that riddle! Do you know the answer?
When I decided to review We’re All Mad Here by Leann Belle it was mostly because I was curious about how the author would reimagine Alice in Wonderland which is a dark tale that Disney manage to tame it for the kids.
This story is really, really good. It is actually very dark and gory. This usually isn’t my thing but I was fixated and couldn’t stop reading. If Lewis Carroll was into BDSM I think he would possibly have written this story in much the way Leann Belle did. I think that she was able to perfectly capture the essence of a dark and twisted Wonderland with a healthy (some would say unhealthy) mix of sex in many forms.
Her interpretation of the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum (yummy twins!), and the Mad Hatter and the March Hare are just delicious! All those luscious men! I’m glad Alice was able to show them a thing or three. Also, I was imagining Nina Dobrev as Alice the entire time, at her current age, not her age in The Vampire Diaries.
Am I recommending this book? Hell, yeah! But it comes with a warning. There are several scenes that could be triggering so if dark romance is not your thing, proceed with caution.
If you have a Kindle Unlimited account that means you can read it “for free” at Amazon or you can purchase it for 3.99. I promise this is really good! It took me 2 days to read because there were some scenes that were just really … challenging, I think that is the word I am looking for, but once I got passed them it was all good.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 17, 2023 | Book Reviews
Three Stepbrothers’ Prize by Nicole Casey did not meet my expectations. The first book in the Love by Numbers 2 series, Two Sugar Daddies’ Virgin, was such a joy that I anticipated more of the same if not better.
I understand getting lost in the moment. I understand wanting to just forget about inhibitions and responsibilities and just live in the now. However, I don’t know why, in this day and age, our main characters have not even thought about any form of contraception, not even condoms. I would have thought a morning-after pill would have at least occurred to Parvati after her night with Daniel. After all, they were at a luxury resort in Hawaii, not the boondocks. Also to consider … they were not on vacation for one day, they had many opportunities to get something. The three guys are billionaires, they could easily get a box of condoms each.
While this could qualify as a reverse harem I wouldn’t call it a menage. In the one instance in the story when the brothers “shared” her, they actually took turns so it was more like a train.
There are also more than a handful of parts that need to be tweaked such as incorrect terms like “imaginative” instead of just “imagine” and homonyms. The editor in me had a blue pencil out.
This story is just ok but I’ve read better from Nicole Casey. It is mostly because I did not feel any connection to any of the brothers. Their characterization to me was very two-dimensional. Unlike in other stories, I could not imagine myself in this one. I was really just a spectator and not really enjoying the view. I confess there were times when I skipped pages because I was bored.
Three Stepbrothers’ Prize by Nicole Casey will be published on Amazon soon.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 14, 2023 | Book Reviews
When I was told that I had PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) I was resigned to the fact that I will be fat for the rest of my life. Most information I find online tells me that it is a side effect of the condition, that it is hormonal, etc., etc. Knowing I am not alone does not make me feel better. I can’t believe that there is nothing I can do. I’m usually careful with what I eat but it does not seem to have any effect on my weight. I’m not losing weight but, thankfully, I am not gaining any either.
I came across this book called PCOS Diet Cookbook: Essential Guide for PCOS Insulin Resistance Diet with Delicious Recipes and Meal Plan to Boost Your Fertility by Dr. Archibald Johansson which not only provides information about PCOS but also suggests some good meals to help improve our health.
Personally, at my age, I am not at all concerned about fertility. I care more about losing weight and feeling good. I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet but since I do cook I can already tell that many of them would be delicious.
What bothered me though was that it lists the food to avoid includes processed food, unhealthy fats, soy products, dairy, and gluten. And yet some of the recipes include tofu and milk.
Aesthetically, the page format appears to be in long format (8.5×13 or 14) or probably half-short and most books just don’t come in that size anymore. In addition, someone should really come in and fix the layout. For the recipes, for example, most if not all of them don’t actually need to be more than a page long but they are because of the layout.
Content-wise, it is worth taking a look at. Aesthetically, it still needs a lot of work before publishing. This book is available at Amazon in paperback format for 11.99.
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.
“What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?” Whoa! I loved that riddle! Do you know the answer?
Three Stepbrothers’ Prize by Nicole Casey did not meet my expectations. The first book in the Love by Numbers 2 series, 
When I was told that I had PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) I was resigned to the fact that I will be fat for the rest of my life. Most information I find online tells me that it is a side effect of the condition, that it is hormonal, etc., etc. Knowing I am not alone does not make me feel better. I can’t believe that there is nothing I can do. I’m usually careful with what I eat but it does not seem to have any effect on my weight. I’m not losing weight but, thankfully, I am not gaining any either.
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.
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