by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 25, 2022 | Book Reviews
Loved this! At first glance, The Alpha’s Freakshow by Miri Googag may remind you of a Barnum and Bailey show. If you don’t know what that means, think of The Greatest Showman.
I think we can all agree that werewolves are common knowledge to most readers. Occasionally, we’ve encountered other shapeshifts like werebears and dragons. But how often do we read about shifters who are elephants, monkeys, tigers, or birds of prey? For the much bigger or much smaller shapeshifters, I don’t know how believable it is without factoring in magic since I think body mass is one controlling factor of how big or small a person would be once they shift.
So how would a regular-sized person shift to a regular-sized falcon, even one of the bigger size? Same with a monkey? To be fair when I read “monkey,” my mental picture said chimpanzee so I could be wrong. I was thinking of something bigger but the author did not say ape so it must be that. Magic!
Maggie was an ordinary teenage girl who, while out hiking with some friends, was bitten by a dying wolf that her friends were prodding with a stick. Little did she know that it would be the bite that would change her life and cause her suffering for many years.
Becoming the Alpha of his birth pack was not something Axel ever wanted. He was content with becoming his twin brother’s beta. But fate had other plans. On his birthday his eyes changed color which revealed him to be The Ultima. This prompted his brother to try to kill him. With the intervention of a close friend, he is not killed but instead grievously hurt (and close to death) and cast out instead. A werebear later rescued Axel and together they put together the Freakshow, finding other shifters, and putting on a show for humans.
SECRETS. That’s what this book revolves around. Maggie is hiding the fact that she is looking for the Ultima. Axel and everyone in the Freakshow hides the fact that Axel is the Ultima. And more secrets get revealed along the way. The biggest secret of all … how does the Ultima choose its victims every blue moon? Find out for yourself by reading The Alpha’s Freakshow by Miri Googag on Goodnovel.
All the secrets, to be honest, drove me nuts! It made for a good story, though. Waiting for Axel and Maggie to admit how they feel and just “embrace the love” was getting me antsy.
This is more than a love story, though. There are many details I didn’t mention above to avoid spoilers but, take my word for it that this book has a lot of intrigues, exhausting action, and happy outcomes for many characters. I also like the fact that this story does not discriminate and allows characters of different types of species/shifter animals to fall in love with each other.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 13, 2022 | Book Reviews
I don’t normally do this but sometimes I have to make an exception. His Reject: The Alpha King’s Hybrid by Moon Flood is really good. I would go so far as to say it is a REALLY GOOD NOVEL. Kudos to the author! It is well-written and the pacing is fast. Are there grammatical or spelling issues? Yes, but thankfully not a lot!
I started reading this on Goodnovel because it was offered to me at 70% off and after reading the first chapter I decided to take the plunge and downloaded the rest of the chapters.
Carrot is the lead character. She is an Omega and at 20 still does not have a wolf. She discovers that she is mated to Noah, the psychopath Alpha of the Red Lake pack. She is an orphan and has been treated as a slave all her life so she assumed she would be rejected. Alas, he doesn’t reject her but he also does not acknowledge her … choosing to shag other she-wolves so that he could watch her writhe in pain. She rejects him but he does not accept it, instead, he imprisons her in the dungeon to prevent her escape.
With help, she manages to escape weeks later and inadvertently travels to the capital city where the Alpha King, Killian, lives. I won’t go into the details of how that happened so that you would read it.
To avoid pushing through with an arranged marriage, Killian decides to claim Carrot (now called Amethyst) as his mate, acting lovestruck and enamored in public. Afterward, they discuss and Killian convinces Amethyst that it is to her advantage that they pretend to be mates. Since she knows that Noah is her mate and she plans on seeking revenge against him and Red Lake for all the injustices done against her, she agreed.
His Reject: The Alpha King’s Hybrid by Moon Flood is still a work in progress and I quickly caught up with the latest chapters. Author Moon Flood, I do hope you update soon. If you would like to read this story you can find it on Goodnovel and on other reading apps.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 11, 2022 | Book Reviews
They say that no idea is truly original because everything we create is built on something someone else wrote or made which, in turn, was built on someone else’s idea, too. At times we even end up plagiarizing ourselves! That being said, I believe that, despite the formula, authors should infuse something in their story that will make it stand out, be different, and not easily be thought of as a copy of someone else’s work.
It sounds the same but not
When I started to read The Alpha’s Rejected Mate by JK Bartolome my immediate thought was that this was very similar to Alpha Atlas by Jane Doe without the bully squad of the Alpha to be.
Angel is quiet, shy, and overweight. She tends to wear baggy clothes and people assume it is because she has no sense of style. Consequently, many of her peers ridicule and bully her. In addition, her wolf, Slade, has not shown up yet so they think she is wolfless.
Gabriel is the soon-to-be Alpha. On the day he found out that Angel was his mate, he did not hesitate to reject her. Stupid, weakling Angel did not accept the rejection, she just walked away and decided to leave the pack.
Time passes and she returns as a warrior to train Gabriel’s pack to defend themselves. Does this sound familiar yet? She is no longer the fat, shy, and retiring girl they knew. She was now an unbeatable warrior.
While she was away Gabriel was busy humping every willing she-wolf and Angel suffered through it all. Upon her return he decides to stop all that and accept her as his mate, hoping she does not reject him. Pffft!
Go ahead and call me a grammar nazi
From page one, it is clear that English is not this author’s first language. I’d forgive it if I saw some effort to use a grammar and spellchecker. Sadly, it looks like we have another lazy author here who cannot be bothered to, at the very least, use the tools that come built-in with document software like Word or GoogleDocs. It is so prevalent that these authors think we will just forgive the awful grammar which leads to them not making an effort to fix it.
Be responsible
If doing so feels like more work for them then they should hire an editor or proofreader. Even I cannot claim to be perfect so I religiously check for grammar and spelling errors and sometimes, some still get left behind. The point here is TRYING because the reader can see when you try.
It’s always the same … messed up pronouns, tenses, etc. Sigh.
In addition, I have to add, that anyone who writes in an established genre should research the genre first. It is better to research and get it right than mess up big time and get called on it by a lot of people. Or … create their own world and mythology.
How old are you?
From the way it is written I can only assume that our author is young, or at least wrote it when he/she/they were younger. I gauge this from the juvenile behavior of the characters, and the very limited skill and technique writing in the love scenes (which speaks of inexperience) as the best that could be described is oral sex, and not even very descriptive at that.
He/she/they do not also seem to understand what happens when a female goes into heat. Wolves are like dogs when they go into heat … they will want to have sex RIGHT NOW with any male and every male nearby will have an almost uncontrollable urge to have sex with her. This isn’t fiction, that’s really how it is with canines.
In the standard mythos about werewolves, they react the same way as wolves. So, the fact that the author did not really describe this properly leads me to believe that the author is young and does not know this or … did not do his/her/their research.
To be fair, it is not a bad story. It just could be better. It doesn’t need massive plot changes. All it really needs is cleaning up at the very least. Do I hate it? No. Do I like it, meh … okay is the best I can give you. But just to give you perspective, I did finish it. There are only a little over 30 chapters so it isn’t difficult to read.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Nov 2, 2022 | Book Reviews
Taming the Playboy Alpha by Stardust Wendy is a story I started reading on Goodnovel a few months ago when I was in the mood for something in the young adult/teenager category. I’ve never read any other story by Stardust Wendy so I was curious to see how well she writes.
The main character is Freya, born an Omega with dreams of attending a school just for Alphas. To achieve her goal she made a deal with a wizard who could temporarily make her seem like an Alpha without granting her the strength and characteristics of one. In return, she will do him a favor which he will reveal at a later time.
Meet the playboy Alpha, Silas Bloodmoon. He is the Alpha prince and the Alpha heir of her pack. He is hands down the most popular boy in school along with his friends Lucas and Adam. Everyone in school knows that Silas and Elena of the Crescent Moon pack are a couple.
Freya’s goal for entering the school was just one thing … to learn. She was not there to make friends or enemies and she definitely was not on the lookout for a boyfriend. Things don’t work out the way she planned when Silas starts to show interest in her and actively pursues her. For Silas, it started off as a game, a bet, but later he couldn’t help but be fascinated by her.
As a storyteller, I think that Stardust Wendy is good because she got me engaged and anxious for the next chapter to be released. As a writer, though, she needs help as her grammar and spelling are less than desirable – incorrect word usage, misphrased idiomatic expressions, and tenses (!), to name but a few.
For those of you who read my reviews, you would notice that I probably say that a lot! This is because many of the authors who write on reading apps 1) are most likely not native English speakers, 2) do not have editors who go over their chapters before publishing, 3) never took a course on the correct way to write a narrative story and are not familiar with Freytag’s pyramid.
But while I noted all the things that could be improved, I could still read on and enjoy the story. The only part of the story that I found dragging was Freya’s torture which ran for several chapters. I thought that was overkill.
I’m glad that I was patient with Taming the Playboy Alpha by Stardust Wendy because it is a wonderful story! I hope that she decides to get an editor (me!) and will publish this as a paperback or ebook and release it on Amazon and Applebooks soon.
In the meantime, you can read this book on Goodnovel.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Oct 23, 2022 | Book Reviews
Let me tell you something about He’s My Alpha by Cassandra M. I have been trying to write my review of this story for weeks now and I keep stalling – not because I have nothing to say but because I have a LOT to say. And yet I will restrain myself so that I don’t inadvertently give unforgivable spoilers.
Jacob and Claire have known each other for years, ever since they were kids. They are 5 years apart in age. Claire used to bring him treats like cupcakes and cookies that they would eat by the lake. Jake would let her join in when he and the other boys were playing, despite the protests of the others. Sweet, ain’t it?
Even at a young age Jake already knew that he didn’t want a Luna and mate and mentioned this to Claire, which made her sad. She even asked him, what if she was his Luna?
Fast forward to the present. Jacob Galhart is the Alpha of the Black Shadow pack and he does not want to have a mate. Claire Montrell is the sister of the Black Shadow pack’s Gamma, Aaron. On the day Claire turned 18, you know what happened? If you said that they discovered that they are mates then you are correct. But Jake refuses to accept her but does not reject her. Meanwhile, Claire is hurt and feels rejected and, of course, decides to leave.
Why is Jake so against having a Luna, and a mate? It all boils down to a curse and is pretty messed up. Their story gets more complicated when another Alpha enters the picture and wants Claire to be his Luna. Btw, said Alpha is not a bad guy. He is just really attracted to Claire.
Intrigued yet? To know more about this messed up couple check out He’s My Alpha by Cassandra M on Goodnovel. I swear Jake was driving me batty! You are likely to be as annoyed, frustrated, exasperated, and hooked on this story, lol!
This story is also available in paperback format on Amazon in case you want to hold and own the physical book.
I don’t normally do this but sometimes I have to make an exception. His Reject: The Alpha King’s Hybrid by Moon Flood is really good. I would go so far as to say it is a REALLY GOOD NOVEL. Kudos to the author! It is well-written and the pacing is fast. Are there grammatical or spelling issues? Yes, but thankfully not a lot!
When I started to read The Alpha’s Rejected Mate by JK Bartolome my immediate thought was that this was very similar to Alpha Atlas by Jane Doe without the bully squad of the Alpha to be.
From the way it is written I can only assume that our author is young, or at least wrote it when he/she/they were younger. I gauge this from the juvenile behavior of the characters, and the very limited skill and technique writing in the love scenes (which speaks of inexperience) as the best that could be described is oral sex, and not even very descriptive at that.
Taming the Playboy Alpha by Stardust Wendy is a story I started reading on Goodnovel a few months ago when I was in the mood for something in the young adult/teenager category. I’ve never read any other story by Stardust Wendy so I was curious to see how well she writes.
Jacob and Claire have known each other for years, ever since they were kids. They are 5 years apart in age. Claire used to bring him treats like cupcakes and cookies that they would eat by the lake. Jake would let her join in when he and the other boys were playing, despite the protests of the others. Sweet, ain’t it?
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