When Joe escapes his humdrum human life to go to the mystical Hotel Convergence in Maine, the last thing he expects is to meet maddening, sexy, alpha demon Bael. And he certainly has no intention of hooking up with said demon.
Bael is taking time off from his warlike dimension when he meets Joe, but he knows Joe is his mate, and he'd tickled with Joe turns up pregnant. Can they find a way to make it work or will they be a summer fling gone horribly wrong.
This title has previously been a Kindle Vella serial story.
Minerva Howe is the kinky alter ego of author Julia Talbot. Julia lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Samhain as well as other publishing houses. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved.
The Alpha demon surprise baby The author must've wrote this during sleep deprivation lol. Everything felt so monotone the characters, the atmosphere even the plot doesn't flow quite well. I feel no emotions reading this. It moved too quick for too many things happening at once. I want Joe to struggle since he's no really doing well financially but it's just so easy for him, I hate the way Bael talks, he's so two dimensional. I wished for more depth even if it's just a little. The author focuses more on the comedy aspect of the book but most of the jokes fell short, instead of being funny it'd awkward.
I don't know if i think this book is just ok or if i actively dislike it, but due to conflicting feelings I'd rather call this book bad. I am very confused over if demons and aliens and all the supernatural beings are common knowledge or hush hush, because at times the characters act one way or the other. I also didn't like how Joe and Bael got together; they thoroughly disliked each other, actively antagonized each other, then almost randomly decided to be with each other? And I still can't decide if I like or dislike Bael. When he's sweet, he's very sweet. But when he's a jerk, he's the grandest one to be. And I am not the biggest fan of Joe, as I found how contrarian he is to be annoying at times. And between those two swings of the pendulum and the world not being sure wether it wants to be open or hidden and the secondary characters also being inconsistent, every chapter feels like it belongs to a different book. I stuck to this book out of sheer stubbornness, as I wanted to DNF at 20%. Which sucks because I usually like what Minerva writes. But this one wasn't for me.
When Joe, a financially struggling human, is offered a free vacation at the Hotel Convergence he jumps at the chance. Bael is a demon warrior whose boss warlord booked a vacation for him at the same hotel. They meet when they are checking in and they definitely get off on the wrong foot. This is such a fun book with so many funny scenes and great side characters. Joe’s granny and Bael’s warlord are a riot. The book ends in a great HEA. I recommend this sweet romance to anyone who likes mpreg stories with a huge dose of humor.
At 61% of the book, I had to realize I wasn’t going to work for me. The story has potential. The issue was the plot, pacing, and overall confusion. Joe is human…ish and Bael is a demon lord. Their relationship went from zero to 90 by chapter 3. Like the enemies to lovers lasted all of 3 minutes. One majorly confusing part was when Joe first meets Bael he’s unfazed. Giving the perception that humans are accustomed to seeing demons. Yet there’s multiple mentions that Bael can only go out at night because humans seeing a demon would cause problems 🤔🫤
Overall, the righting could have been a lot more cohesive and the MC’s have more depth.
The Alpha Demon’s Surprise Baby by Minerva Howe and Kiernan Kelly is a cute book about a demon and human who have an instant dislike for each other when they first meet, but then go on to find out they are mates with some interesting consequences. Joe was struggling trying to make a living in Hoboken, New Jersey, staying in an old studio apartment and without a job. Then he gets invited for a free week at the exclusive Hotel Convergence in Maine and he decides to take the offer because he really needed a vacation. When he was checking in, Bael, a demon who was also sent on a vacation by his Warlord, tried to cut in line in front of him. This started a series of confrontations that infuriated Joe and that Bael found amusing. He found himself trying to find Joe just to see if he could get a reaction from him, but when he saw him dancing with another man at a wedding he suddenly realized that Joe was his mate and whisked him off to his room. During this time Joe was also coming to feel something besides disdain for Bael so this led to some hot love scenes. But unbeknownst to Joe, he had something in his blood that caused him to become pregnant, which he could hardly believe. Bael was very happy but also worried because his Warlord was probably wondering where he was, and taking his mate and his half human demon child to his war loving dimension was not something that he wanted to do. Luckily a job for both him and Joe came about and they were able to continue to live where they were and raise their child together. The rest of the story was about Joe’s pregnancy and all the interesting things that happened during this time. But Joe and Bael really loved each other so they were able to get a very happy ending. I really enjoyed this book. It was very light hearted and often tongue in cheek. Joe was so fun but wasn’t a pushover and was willing to stand up to Bael and others when he needed to, which was often. Bael was quite funny, even though he didn’t mean to be, especially because he took everything that was said literally, often misunderstanding the real meaning. Once he realized Joe was his mate he was thrilled and very protective. The other characters also added a lot to the story, like Connie, the concierge at the hotel; Joe’s Granny who divulges a big secret about their family as well as helps to take care of their child; Headral, Bael’s Warlord who pays them a visit and develops quite a crush on Granny; Freddie, the poor guy who was dancing with Joe and met Bael’s ire; and the baby, who grew quickly and was known to spew fire. I also found the hotel to be a very interesting place in that it catered to all forms of beings from all places and dimensions, as well as invitations to visit often turned up just when they were needed. All in all this was a fun shorter read and I highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for something light hearted where you will often find yourself laughing out loud.
- Mates - Paranormal - Demon/Sort of Human - MPREG
Surprise you're not as human as you thought you were, oh and you're pregnant with a demon’s baby! There were lots of fun, silly, and cute moments in this story.
Joe is in a rut and just trying to get by day to day when he receives a mysterious invitation to an all-expenses paid vacation at the Hotel Convergence. He has vacation time and time off to just relax sounds great so he heads off to the hotel. Bael receives a gift from his warlord for a job well done in the latest war they just won. He is very grumbly about his misconception of how this hotel would treat him once he gets there. These two did not hit it off right away and they thought the other to be a complete nuisance. When they find out that their neighbors during vacation and have adjoining rooms, Bael becomes a trickster. Bael had me laughing because his little parlor tricks, as he called them, was demon flirting but all he was really doing was pissing off Joe. He admired the fire Joe had in getting angry with him so he kept at it thinking he would get lucky while on his trip. When these two finally get together, Bael is over the moon because he realizes that Joe is his mate, his one and only, but Joe has no idea just that he has a weird pull to the demon.
Their relationship is a hoot for sure and Bael was scared to death of his pregnant mate. He was fierce though during his pregnancy and his threats were top notch. Bael was in for a rollercoaster ride with adjusting to mated life, his mate’s pregnancy, and no longer being a demon warrior. Joe has a badass granny that you don't want to tussle with and she made this even better, especially when all the secrets about Joe's history come out. The poor boy was getting sideswiped left and right with all the new things he found out about his family throughout this book. I liked the hotel staff and all their little quirks, also how they treated Joe and Bael like family from the start.
There are areas where it feels a bit rushed or things were left out, although this is common with novellas. Joe turning into a groomzilla on top of being super hormonal was a bit much for me but it added to the silliness of the whole thing.
I received a free copy of this book via GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.
**3.5** I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this one. I know that I enjoyed reading the story, a fair few funny moments between human, Joe, and demon warrior, Bael. Then there is the odd occasion where I found my mind wondering or becoming slightly irritated with a character. This is an alpha/omega romance, though one of those comes as a huge surprise to the unknowing party. Joe and Bael, at first, rile each other up when they first arrive at the hotel but then Bael realises just why he enjoys doing that and sets out to claim his mate. During pregnancy, Joe came across as really whiny to me. Obviously he is going through massive changes and they've all come as quite the surprise but it seems to be never ending as Bael runs around for him, wanting his mate happy. I liked when Bael's overlord appeared, they are hilariously competitive. Joe's granny is also a good character to have around, saying things straight and to the point, though she was the barer of the big family secret. It took me a second to realise that humans are actually aware of the paranormal and then things made a lot more sense, especially with Bael walking around with his horns proudly displayed. Overall, I'd say it's an enjoyable story to read, fans of the authors will enjoy it. There's just a couple of things that fell short for me. I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.
This story is one of the funniest books I've read recently. I suspect that a lot of it was written "tongue in cheek" but whatever the intention of the authors it was super entertaining. I don't often mark passages in books when I read but a couple of places had me totally LOL-ing.
Joe and Bael are getting married and planning the food for their reception. Joe is talking to the hotel concierge: Joe nodded. “That would be perfect! Meat, meat, everywhere. Oh! Have someone do a Spam sculpture as a centerpiece for the buffet.” “One Spam sculpture, got it,” Connie said. The distaste in her voice was plain, although she probably did her best to hide it. Joe lifted his nose in the air. “Bael likes Spam. It’s his favorite moldable meat.”
Joe's comment on finding something out about the baby he is going to have: Joe began to hyperventilate. “Twice? Twice as big as I am now? Am I having a baby or an SUV?”
I forgot that this book is the first in a new series until I looked at the details again after reading it. If the next book is anything like this one it should be another very entertaining story. It would be great if Bael and Joe put in an appearance, too. So much fun!
I'm going to start out saying YMMV... This wasn't my favorite book by these authors, but I can freely admit that my taste is influenced by how I'm feeling at a particular time. That said, others might enjoy this book a lot more than me. This book had a few issues, one of which is that I could never figure out if humans knew about the paranormal world or not, or if only a few did. If the latter, how did Joe know/discover that there was a whole nother world out there? I say this because on one hand, he didn't seem to find anything unusual at the hotel initially, but then easily accepted that magic was in use and affecting things around him (like when Bael was first messing with him.) Bael was kind of flat for me too; he is a mighty demon, right?, but then he's just deciding that Joe was the one for him - when five minutes before he found him irksome. I dunno, maybe I'm just not that into this particular book, when another reader will find it everything they hoped for. I give it 3 stars because there are some big holes in the world building and character development felt a bit one dimensional.
This is a very short book with a lot of info thrown in, which IMO hurt the product outcome. Joe and Bael are cute together and I really liked how they go from enemies to lovers but it was way too fast. Their bickering was so fun but it flew by in about 20 pages. There's not much world or character building. There's big gaps of time with abrupt segways. There's the issue of Joe knowing about supernatural creatures at the beginning but then when he takes Bael to meet his grandmother he hides him, sneaking him in the back through an alley because suddenly humans don't know about supernatural. But when Joe and Bael are at the Hotel they crash a human wedding and no one is surprised by Bael's horns. Freddie a wedding guest knows about supernaturals and he's from Boston. So do humans know or not? This is part of what suffers when you write a novella and try to throw a novel's amount of content into it. I did like the supporting characters but again not background on them.
Joe is more than ready to escape his less than satisfactory life when he gets an invitation to spend some time at the mystical Hotel Convergence in Maine. He meets an extremely annoying demon named Bael. He never dreamed they would wind up together in bed. Bael knew that Joe was his mate and was delighted when he turned up pregnant. Joe for his part is not too excited. As far as he is concerned men do not get pregnant. This changes everything.
I loved this story for its humor and the unexpected comments. I also found it to be a bit fanciful. Bael was true alpha while Joe did not know what he was turning into. He did have human expectations and it was fun to see Bael wanting to please his pregnant mate. If you are intro some humor and something fun, this is perfect for you. I was supplied a complimentary copy containing five stories, and my honest and voluntary review is provided with pleasure.
Joe, a human, and Bael, a demon, both get letters to visit Hotel Convergence in Maine for a one week stay. After an inauspicious initial meeting, Bael is intrigued by Joe and teases him until Joe cries, startling Bael, that wasn’t his intention. Bael is enamored of Joe, and when he catches him with another man, Bael steals him away. The two soon hook up, and that is when things get interesting for Joe. Bael claims Joe is his mate, and he is now pregnant. Many hurdles await as they adjust to pregnancy and prepare for the baby/demon to be born.
Entertaining, very humorous tale had me laughing out loud as I read through the book. Joe is a hoot, Bael is clueless sometimes, Joe’s granny has lots of unknown information to share with Joe, and Joe’s old boss shows up to stir things up. A delightful evening read.
I received an ARC of this book and this is my voluntary review.
I loved this book. It was a fun, cute read. Great world building and wonderful characters. I loved both Joe and Bael. They did not have a good first meeting due to Bael's impatience and grumpiness at check in. But I loved the way they kept interacting with each other at every incident. I liked their dynamic and could wait to see how they'd get together since they clearly don't get along. The dialogue in this book could get quite funny and kept me amused.
“You’re very tense, sir. Try to relax,” the masseuse said. Her fingers dug into his back. “I am relaxed.” The masseuse snorted. “Sir, if you were any more tense, you’d shatter.”
Bael going out of his way to "torture" Joe was beyond amusing (though Joe didn't think so). I wish this book were longer. They were so great together. 5 stars.
This book is amazing! The tale of Joe and Bael is fun, flirty, sexy and a whole lot of fun to read! They meet when both are given a vacation at the Hotel Convergence. Bael is a demon warrior and Joe is human. So he thinks. There are many surprises that await Joe as he is first angry with Bael and then attracted to him. Bael soon knows Joe is his mate and does all he can to convince Joe. There are lots of hilarious moments, especially when Joe’s Granny gets involved and a lot of family secrets that will shock Joe. In the end, they get their happily ever after in a place where a human/demon baby is safe and secure and loved by all who see her.
I read an ARC copy of this book and am volunteering my honest review.
This is a cute book that brings a human and demon together at Hotel Convergence. Joe is the human that it turns out, is an omega. Bael is a demon alpha and is used to fighting wars on a daily basis. When they first meet, it is not a meet cute scenario. They keep running into each other and Bael makes it a mission to annoy the little human all the time. That's flirting right? Read along to find out how these two finally get together. There is plenty of humor with Bael trying to grasp human slang. The only complaint is how whiny and annoying Joe was during his pregnancy. I wanted Granny to tape his mouth shut at times. There are a few characters I want to read about in future books. Hopefully, a sober Freddie will find someone soon.
Joe is down on his luck, trying to figure out which bill gets paid this month. He receives a beautifully embossed envelope with an invitation to the Hotel Convergence in Maine. It's a vacation, even if turns out to be a timeshare. Haedrel wants to give one of his best demon warriors a vacation and sends Bael to Maine. Joe thinks Bael is rude, Bael thinks he's adorable. A demon's idea of flirting is hilarious. Joe is a little more traditional. Their romance is sweet. Sex is great. Bael's difficulty with the language is amusing. The relationship between Joe and Bael works really well. Secondaries are amazing. Have never had so much fun reading Minerva Howe.
I received an advanced copy of this book and this is my review.
Minerva’s books are always hit or miss for me. This one was somewhere in between. While I loved the premise of it, the setting and the world, I felt it was a little rushed, and sometimes felt a little odd.
In the beginning I thought this would be a fun enemies to lovers, pranks being thrown, type of story. But it quickly turned into Bael backing down, and insta love ish.
I didn’t feel like there was enough time for Joe and Bael to actually find a connection, and I didn’t feel like they were really in love throughout the whole story.
While the mpreg was interesting, it was really mostly Joe complaining the whole time, and I didn’t enjoy it. The spice also wasn’t as flushed out as other books.
3.5 stars There were parts of this story that were cute, sweet, and funny, but there was something missing for me. At times it felt rushed, almost like details were missed. I feel if there was a little more to some chapters and/or sections, it may have flown better. I was also lost at times - It seemed to go back and forth with what is known and what's hidden. Joe's threats when pregnant show how fierce he is. Bael's desire to be the top demon bring out hilarious times. I will also say, there is a scene that I haven't seen before in any omegaverse story and I thought that was a very interesting way to handle it.
A sweet and sexy read... ...and one I really enjoyed. Bael was one tough demon warrior who had a soft heart for Joe and the pregnancy woes that Joe went through. Any woman who's given birth can relate to Joe's PG trials but how Bael tenderly treated these experiences was so marvelous. Of course, there was angst. Joe's family history, revealed by his Granny Gallo, lent to Joe's anxiety of life. Hotel Convergeance is populated with creatures from various dimensions that also adds kinky flavor to this story, and I look forward to whatever books Ms. Howe plans to add. This ARC review is totally my voluntary and honest review.
I enjoyed how funny this was! I wasn’t expecting so much humor to be honest. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was so enjoyable. Bael is sent on a holiday to relax and decides messing with Joe, who has been assigned the hotel room adjoining Bael’s. Bael and Joe end up in the same places by accident, then because they want to be next to each other. The banter was witty and random.
Overall, I would read more by these authors. I enjoyed the book. At only 162 episodes ages, it was far too short for me. I want more of this couple.
*Reader Note: I received a free copy of this book through Gay Romance Reviews (GRR) and this is my honest review.
This book was so much fun. I was laughing, smiling and cackling like a crazy woman.
Bael’s wooing methods were questionable but entertaining as hell even if he did make Joe cry.
Joe was a hoot. He made me laugh when he turned into groomzilla lol. I was laughing hysterically when he put Bael in his place when it concerned their little one.
Fantastic book! I was cracking up from beginning to end. The book wouldn’t be complete without warlord and granny.
*I voluntarily read this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else's*
This story was cute. It took me a hot minute to like our growly demon Bael. He thought he was wooing Joseph although that wasn’t very clear at first. Joseph believed he was being an annoying jerk. Despite their initial miscommunications, these two find their way to each other. I didn’t really care for Joseph’s grandmother and her secret keeping ways though. Other than that, I enjoyed the story. I had a feeling the characters at the hotel were going to be a bit extra as soon as Joseph got his invitation. They should set up their own matchmaking service. 😉🥰
I wanted so desperately to like this novella, and it started out so promising, but very quickly way way too much happened. Information was thrown at the reader left and right and it didn’t always follow what we’d been told earlier in the story. And granny! Ugh, she had the potential to be a super rad character and she ended up being annoying? And all her secrets got to be too much.
I would love to see this cleaned up, the worldbuilding to be a bit fuller, and the plot holes handled…at least that’s what I needed🙃
This was an ok read. It had its good moments but nothing really stood out about it. My main MC's Joe & Bael were ok. Joe being a human/thinking he is one but knowing about other species was good. Although, he had human thought processes that annoyed me. Ball the demon was much more enjoyable. Seeing that he was from a different dimension and had to learn about how things worked in the human realm was nice. He knew about humans but not their customs or word phrases. The story/plot was pretty basic but still entertaining. All in all not a bad read but not a memorable one either.
This is hilarious and sweet! A Sunnix demon warrior, Bael, and a human from Hoboken, Joe, meet at the Hotel Convergence in Maine. The cast of quirky characters, including hotel concierge Connie, Granny Gallo, Sunnix demon overlord Haedrel, and Freddie, all contribute to make this story fun and enjoyable. Then there's Belladonna, big and adorable, burping fireballs and turning Overlord Haedrel into a puddle of goo. It's a quick read and highly entertaining. I recommend reading this.
Joe and Bael meet at the Hotel Convergence, but don't automatically hit it off. When they finally do, things heat up quickly! Bael realizes Joe is his mate, and like two seconds later Joe is pregnant! Adjusting to mated life and pregnancy is a roller coaster ride for Joe and Bael, but their story was just too cute.
The Alpha Demon's Surprise Baby is funny and absolutely absurd, but so fun to read.
Joe’s life is not going in the direction he wants it to so when a few week at a hotel is given to him, he jumps at the break. Bael has been sent to take time off from his Warlord and discovers how much fun it is to aggravate Joe. But then he realizes one important thing: Joe is his mate.
What happens next has humor and interesting twists. Really enjoyed this book and look forward to more in the series.
OMG...I had sooooooooooo much fun reading this paranormal romance. Bael and Joe is relationship goals...I only wish I could have a partner that I can banter with as these two. This was highly entertaining and the side characters were hilarious too. If this is the beginning of the series, I really can't wait to read more shenanigans from this Hotel Convergeance.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed Joe's story, though he tends to be a slightly dramatic man. However, considering the surprises the authors had in store for him, I can hardly blame him. I enjoyed the character's chemistry, their animosity that just enhances their explosive moment when they give in to their feelings. And frankly, Granny stole the show. Overall enjoyable read.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.