The Booksnake Etc.

Day 2 of Marian Tee Mania. So yesterday I reviewed How Not To Be Seduced By Billionaires (it's just too long) #1 titled Chased. Now we are on the 2nd part of Constantijin Kastein and Yanna Everleigh's story, and it is titled "Courted"

Title: Courted (How Not to be Seduced by Billionaires #2)
Author: Marian Tee
Genre: Romance, Contemporary

SYNOPSIS:

24-year-old Yanna Everleigh doesn't want to fall for her CEO boss, Constantijin Kastein. But when she ends up in love with him anyway, she's going to try her best to make him realize that love isn't all that bad.

There we have it. A really short excerpt that really doesn't give anything away. But that doesn't matter because I WILL be. This is probably a good time to say that this review will have loads of spoilers, so if you don't want to ruin the excitement of reading the book I'm pretty sure you already know what to do. Otherwise, please continue reading.

Book 1 ended on a pretty sour note. They were getting hot and heavy when suddenly a wicked bitch from the east called Constantijin offering sex, and Yanna heard it of course. But even though that already sucks, that's not why they parted ways. No, that was caused by Yanna's condition.

"Court me. Make me feel you want me – just me".

And that's where it all went ka-boom! They went their separate ways and he avoided her for 18 days. I didn't just come up with that number, nor did I manually compute (that's just expecting too much). It's right on the first paragraph of the second book. You won't miss it!

TO LOVE:

From the title itself, I think it's safe to assume that Constantijin gave in and agreed to Yanna's condition. That is something to be happy about of course. But I just really loved how they were torturing themselves so much more! What do I mean? They came up with this rule that no one was supposed to know about the courting and their relationship...but then Constantijin gets crazy jealous over Drake and he'd end up doing something not so smart (I wanna avoid using the other "s" word). In return it would hurt Yanna and would cause a rift between them. It's a pattern on this book if you'd notice.

This installment in the HNTBSBB series gave me lots of emotional whiplash. I teared up a bit when they had misunderstandings, swooned during their mushy and steamy scenes, and smacked my head on any available surface a few times when they were doing something stupid.

And I just have to mention the intense lines. I love 'em! Here's a sample.

“A good reason?” I echoed, a little confused about what that could be.

He didn’t answer.

Lifting my head up again, I gazed into his eyes, asking worriedly, “Constantijin?”

A grin – the secretive and wicked grin that I so loved – touched his lips as he said, “Like when you agree that I can fuck you anytime, anywhere, any way."

It's dirty yet effective. There are a lot more quote-worthy lines in the book, so you really need to read it.

TO BLEH:
She apologized when she slapped him. I mean, come on! You slapped him for a reason -- work it!

I don't really have any negative comments about this book. And I'm not just saying that! I judge books pretty fairly.

SUMMARY:
Of course I'll be giving this a "TO-READ" stamp because how effing sadistic would I be to make you read the first part of this but not the second?!

So pick this book up everyone. I don't know if this is the updated price, but last time I checked it's $4.99 on Amazon. So I suggest you just get the bundle. I'm not sure if there's a paperback version of this, because I don't have one *grim face on*. I do hope to get some though *ehem*.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review, and please do share your thoughts about the book if you've read it, or once you're done reading it.

Book Reviews Specials

Marian Tee Mania (MTM) Day 1

February 25, 2015

Today is officially the start of my Marian Tee Mania, a.k.a MTM. For 30 days I'll be reviewing books of this NY Times Best Selling Author -- and her books alone.

The book I'll be reviewing is the first part of the How Not To Be Seduced By Billionaires series titled "Chased". A bit of background on how I came about this book. I was looking for new books to download (because I only have a few hundreds I haven't read yet) when I stumbled upon the Eternally Seduced boxed set [seen on the right]. It caught my attention and I decided -- Eh, why not? So I downloaded it, got to reading, and right there and then I knew that I would hunt down every single book written by this author because she is simply ahh-mhhey-ziiing!

Title: Chased (How Not to be Seduced By Billionaires #1)
Author: Marian Tee
Genre: Romance, Contemporary

SYNOPSIS:

"My name is Yanna Everleigh. I used to think that being an old-fashioned virgin would be enough to keep gorgeous, sexy billionaires away - well, at least the kind who didn't do love at least. But I was wrong. If anything, it simply made my billionaire want me even more.

His name is Constantijin Kastein. He blows hot and cold, arrogant and cynical one moment and then disarmingly sweet the next. He makes me forget all about waiting for true love and just go for mind-blowingly hot sex. But he's also Netherlands' #1 playboy, and I'm my own worst enemy. I must be on my guard.

Maybe if I play hard to get and pretend that my heart doesn't beat madly every time I see him - pretend that my body doesn't go weak when he's close - maybe he'll finally stop trying to seduce me.

Or not."

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:
Constantijin is a billionaire (kind of a dead giveaway) and is also known as Netherlands' No. 1 playboy. He comprises 1/3 of the Pussketeers, and because he's good looking and rich he doesn't believe in love and relationships. Fine, so maybe a trauma from his childhood -- and well into his adult life -- also added to his cynicism.

Yanna on the other hand is cheerful, optimistic, and a hopeless romantic. She believes that if a man truly wants a woman, he should court her. She's an "otaku", a term used for people obsessed with Japanese manga (comic book) and anime. This is one of the reasons why she got accepted for a position in Kastein Inc.

Drake, also known as Mr. Fix-It is introduced (to me at least) in this book. He's an ex-sniper hired by Yanna's mother to be an incognito bodyguard for said protagonist. Unfortunately for him, he developed a bit of real feelings for our beaut. He has a dark past, and he will have a book of his own according to Ms. Tee.

There are other characters of course, but you'd have to read the book to know them. I can't do all the work here people!

TO LOVE:

I loved how marvelous it was. Kidding! (not about the marvelous part) For Filipinos who have read or will be reading this book, you would sort of have a clue already that the author is Filipino. There were a few times in the book when it had me thinking, "Is the author Pinoy?" I can't really put my finger on it, but regardless, I liked it.

Like any other books by Marian Tee, the male protagonist, in this case Constantijin, couldn't get enough of his counterpart. He's so crazy for her, driven by his need for her (sexual need, of course [eye roll]), that he ends up "attacking" her at the most inopportune time! Though to be honest, I think I wouldn't mind being on the receiving end of said attack *wink*.

And the thing I love most about Marian's books is its so intense that it will mess up your emotions. It's the kind of book that you can't read in public unless you want people to think you've lost your mind. In this book, my tear ducts were still controllable. But on the second and third -- I just lost it.

TO BLEH:

It ended with a cliffhanger that made me want to hang myself ON a cliff. I know it's really not a bad thing, since leaving your readers at the edge of their seats usually means that you're doing well as a writer. But still! I didn't have to suffer that long since I downloaded the complete set, but I feel sorry for others who didn't *insert melancholic music here*.

I guess one thing that I wasn't big on is the fact that it was a bit short. And most part of this book was him getting her alone and doing something naughty, then she'll say "no" again after she "had fun". I guess I was expecting a bit more from this book. And I get that this is sort of an office romance, but I think for 90% of the book, they really were in the office. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there weren't scenes on the street, in a coffee shop, a restaurant. The only break from the office they had was when they went to Las Vegas. Like I said though, correct me if I made a mistake, because I finished reading this quite some time ago so I may be getting some information wrong (wow! way to inspire confidence).

SUMMARY:

OKAY, so this book is stamped "TO-READ". If you're not familiar with Marian's books yet, you can start with this, like I did. Or you can start with the tamer ones. But I think you'll find that the Pussketeers are much more fun to follow.

I hope you guys found this review interesting at the least. We have 29 more days to go, and I am thrilled to review more of Marian's books. Stay tuned for Part 2 titled "Courted".

ETC. Home Specials

Marian Tee Marathon!

February 24, 2015

Book Reviews

Room For More by Beth Ehemann

February 15, 2015

NOTE: If you have not read book 1 of this series titled Room For You then I might spoil it for you through this review. But that's just me being considerate. (wink) Feel free to ignore this comment though. :)

I've recently posted my review of Room For You and it was pretty obvious that I loved it. This second book though...why don't we find out? :)

Title: Room For More (Cranberry Inn #2)
Author: Beth Ehemann
Genre: Romance, Sports, Contemporary, New Adult

SYNOPSIS:

Four years ago, my dreams were shattered in an instant.

Three months ago, I found something I haven’t had in years.

Hope.

That hope came in the form of a sexy, carefree hockey player named Brody Murphy. He swooped in and won me over with his big heart and the way he cared for me…and my girls. When they look at him, they see the father they’ve never had.

Now, my past and present are colliding and the outcome might just be too much for me to bear. Can I make the right decision when I’ve spent my whole life making the wrong ones?

REVIEW:

So if you've read the first book, or my review for said book, you already know most of the main characters. But there will be a couple more characters that will be introduced and focused on.

Viper has been introduced in the first book, but he will be mentioned more throughout the book. You'll also meet the woman that may just change Viper's polygamous ways. Oh! One other thing...Zach is back. The biggest douche in the planet is back in their lives. But we'll get into more of that in a bit.

TO LOVE:
Much of the things that I loved in the first book hasn't changed. I still love Brody and the Twinkies -- but so do other people. I absolutely found Zach's return quite amusing. I was a bit anxious to know what kind of lame excuse he could possibly come up with. Surprise surprise! It wasn't that lame at all. If you actually think about the reason he left in a rational perspective, you would know that he made the right decision. Probably not the way he did it though, but it's good that he left.

While we're broaching this subject, it's good that Kacie didn't feel anything romantic towards his ex. To be honest, I was expecting for her to feel some sort of attraction to this sperm donor, but no. She just felt bad for him somehow, for all the things he had to go through.

I was thrilled to see how comfortable Kacie has become with her relationship with Brody. She's more affectionate and doesn't try to hide it. It's great. There really was some growth there.

Another thing I loved is how Kacie was given tough love by her best friend Alexa. She was very upfront about how stupid and irrational Kacie was being -- and I loved that!

TO BLEH:
Picking up from Kacie's stupidity (and I would call it stupidity because I hated her for not anticipating how hurt Brody will be by her withholding important information). She did not tell Brody that Zach is back, that they're working together, and that he has seen the kids. If I were Brody, I would've left Kacie. Why? She was being selfish!! Sure she had her reasons, but they're not justifiable! It would've been easier to accept if she was just honest. But no, she chose to be selfish. I'm mad because she hurt the most perfect man in the world of make-believe! And she even snapped at Alexa for being honest about it. I guess the truth really does hurt. (stupid)

(Breath in, breath out) Okay, now I feel better. Like other readers, I was also confused as to why Brody's parents had to be divorced. I don't see how it could have been relevant to the story. Aside from more pages in the book, and the conflict it gave Brody, I don't see why it had to happen. Is it to show them that no relationship can last? I don't think that's the message Beth wanted to share with us though.

SUMMARY:
Anyway, that is that...oh! Before I forget, the ending is awesome. It really is. I give this second installment a thumbs up. As if there was really any doubt. ;)

So pick this book up, but not before the first book, which once again is titled Room For You.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it, and please feel free to share your thoughts about it.

Book Reviews

Room For You by Beth Ehemann

February 10, 2015

In honor of my soon-to-be-published interview with bestselling author Beth Ehemann, I'll be reviewing her ahh-mazzzz-ing creation, The Cranberry Inn series. This is the first installment titled Room For You.

There are 3 parts to this, the other two I'll be reviewing as well of course. But without prolonging it anymore, here's an excerpt of Room For You.

Title: Room For You (Cranberry Inn #1)
Author: Beth Ehemann
Genre: Romance, Sports, Contemporary, New Adult

SYNOPSIS:

Four years ago, my dreams were shattered in an instant.

I tried to pick up the pieces and glue them back together the best I knew how, but something was always missing.

A father for my two girls.

But then, Brody Murphy landed on my doorstep, literally. He was a carefree, playful hockey player who barged into my life and messed with my head. He left me more confused than I had ever been.

What if the one thing I thought I needed was the only thing holding me back?

REVIEW:
Okay. Let me be completely honest here for a second (not that I'm lying the rest of the time), this book, along with it's sequels, have been sitting in my e-book reader for a pretty long time now. I just started reading them a week before Beth Ehemann agreed to do the interview with me. Coincidence? Eh. Point is, boy am I happy I finally got to it.

It's a really good book. It's light, funny, and romantic. There were some incidents when I just wanted to hit Kacie, but hey! All is well.

Lead Characters are Kacie Jensen and Brody Murphy. Kacie is a single mother with a beautiful set of twins named Piper and Lucy, while Brody is a professional hockey player for the Minnesota Wild. There are several key characters in this story, and they all play an important part. Bur you'll know that once you read the book. (wink)

TO LOVE:

Where do I begin. First of all, Brody is simply drool-worthy. He's every woman's dream guy! He's the right kind of playful, sweet, intense, responsible, loving, and protective. He's not the typical bad boy or billionaire that we usually read. He's also not the notorious playboy that we normally associate with athletes. He's also not afraid of relationships!! It's amazing really. It's like, he's a regular guy who just so happens to play hockey for a living.

I like how Lucy and Piper are different. When you read the book, you'd notice how one is more laid back while the other is really hyper and sweet.

And the fact that Kacie has twins but still manages to snag such a stud is enough to make single moms out there not lose hope. Single moms be like, "Oh yeah! I'm still hot!"

There are so many other things that I love about this book, but I won't be able to state it all. I will however tell you that there are lines in this book that will just give you butterflies.

TO BLEH:

I think I didn't like how Kacie keeps downplaying her feelings for Brody. She keeps on insisting that things will end eventually, and it can really get annoying! Sure she's been through a lot of sh** in the past, but come on -- you can tell from the very beginning that Brody was different! But whatever, things worked out anyway.

SUMMARY:

So overall I would give this book a 4 1/2 stars out of 5. No question about that. And I'm not just saying this because I've an interview with the author scheduled, okay?! :)

If you haven't yet, do pick up this book. It is awesome. A really good read and you won't get bored.

Interviews

Author Interview: MARIAN TEE

February 04, 2015

The long wait is over! Some of you might know that NY Times Bestselling Author Marian Tee has agreed to do an interview for the The Booksnake Etc. And here it is right now!

Let me just say that Marian Tee is hands-down one of my favorite authors. Definitely in the Top 3. She takes me on a roller coaster ride every time I read her books. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry, she makes me nervous...all in a matter of minutes!! Her talent can trigger hyperventilating. This is a true story. I always cry so hard when I'm reading her books that I end up hyperventilating, and causes my fiancee to threaten me about taking my books away. Well that ain't gonna happen beyotch!

A little bit of background about this lovely author:

She's Filipino-Chinese, but she's lived in the Philippines her entire life.

She has a long-time boyfriend. 12 years according to her blog.

She studied in an all-girls school from preschool to high school. (hmmm,,,interesting)

She loves all things Japanese. (Come on, who doesn't like US, right? LOL)

She's multi-lingual. Fluent in maybe half a dozen or so languages. (pretty, talented, and smart)

Okay. So without further ado...

1. What or who is/has been your biggest inspiration when writing?

Hi Ara! Before anything, I’d like to thank you for your support and, of course, for having me here.

Regarding inspiration – I’d say there are two things that keep me writing: the stories that I want to read but can’t seem to find (which is why I end up writing them for myself) and my loved ones. My work is my passion, but it’s also my bread and butter so, as much as possible, I don’t allow myself any ‘off’ days. If I’m not actually writing, I’d be plotting, blogging, or I’d go read a book or watch a movie to kick-start my imagination.

2. Do you let family members or friends read your books? Because you have to admit, some of the scenes you write are R-18.

Haha! If you’re thinking if you were in my position, you’d never let your family or closest friends read your R-rated books, well – I’m like that, too. If they want to read steamy romances, they can read someone else’s. Mine’s off-limits! Haha. ;)

3. What are the trials you went through before finally being a NY Times Best Selling Author?

Oh, a lot!

All the usual problems that authors after a trad pub deal experience, I experienced as well.

All the worries, misgivings, and doubts that most authors suffer from when they’re rejected by an agent, editor or publisher or when they’ve received a particularly nasty review – I had – have - tons of those, too.

Having to give up (albeit temporarily) on my dream because I lost confidence in myself? Check.

Forcing myself to take a job (article writing) that I enjoyed but didn’t exactly love just to make ends meet? Check.

Feeling incredible guilt for not being able to help provide for loved ones as much as you want because you were pursuing your passion? Yep, totally experienced this, too.

Being compared to other people with “real” jobs and made to feel inadequate and directionless in life? HUGE CHECK haha.

So, you see, life wasn’t exactly a bed of roses but the important thing’s not to give up.

4. Which female (obviously) character from your books can you relate to the most?

I’d say…Mairi (The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire) because of the way she goes after her dream with such tunnel vision, KC (Drawn) because of how in love she is with her work, and probably…Bobby (Heart Racer) because I can be terribly manipulative (and snarky) when I’m armed with the best intentions.

5. If given the chance, which author would you want to do a collaboration with?

LYNNE GRAHAM. Because Greek billionaires, hello. :D

6. Where did your "obsession" with hot greek billionaires come from?

Oh, hey I think I already answered this. Haha.

But really, it started with Lynne Graham (a Harlequin author), and from there I obsessively searched for other authors who had Greek billionaire heroes, too. Other really great Greek billionaire romances that I fell in love with along the way include Sharon Kendrick and Lucy Monroe.

I love how, even with shorter books (category length), they still manage to sweep me off my feet and – at times – I even cry at their endings. I think of those times, and when I start to write, I want my readers to feel the way I felt when I was reading those books.

7. I assume, like some of your characters, you also like all things Japanese. What is the most fascinating thing about Japan, or its people, do you find the most interesting?

Yes, I love, love, love all things Japanese, probably because of the way it feels so “pretty” to live in Japan and be Japanese. I love the idea of wearing yukata to festivals, the cute bento boxes, the tradition of giving chocolate to the guy you like on Valentines Day, the way they draw such exquisite characters for shoujo manga (oh, please don’t get me started with their bishounen haha)…

If I were so blessed to be able to live in Japan with my loved ones, I feel like every day would be an adventure. And boy oh boy, the stories I’d be able to write! Haha.

8. Would you ever do a meet-and-greet with your fans?

Possibly. Someday. When I’m not so shy anymore. (I am so sorry for being shy, though. >.<)

9. Has your life changed at all since you became a NY Times Best Selling Author?

The ‘NYT bestselling tag’ changed the way certain people looked at me, is all. But what really changed my life was self-publishing.

10. Do you have any message to your fans who are aspiring to become writers as well?

When I was aspiring to be an author as well, I remember feeling really frustrated at times when an author’s answer to this question was so vague. But now I realize it has to be that way because what worked for one author may not work for another, and of course you’d want to avoid offering any false hope or misleading advice.

So the safest advice I can give would be…to figure out what works for you, one step at a time if you will. Figure out what kind of book you really want to write – the kind you’d enjoy writing your entire life. After that, decide how you want to get published. And finally, write.

You may commit mistakes along the way like I did, maybe even get on the wrong path for a while (like I did, too), but if you keep writing and keep working on improving yourself (I’m still working on this, too), then I sincerely believe, with God’s grace, it will happen.

Thanks for this, Ara! God bless!

So that is our interview with the incredible Marian Tee. Hopefully it won't be our last, though. :)

Alright-y, that is that, and like I've been saying - do read her books! They are great and so worthy of your time.

Feel free to share your thoughts.