Suckered 2: Meet the Parents

by Teshelle Combs

Alexei Vladel is the Prince of Vampires, cursed to work at LoveBubble, Inc until he chooses to believe in love and bring a mate home to his family. His goth werecat girlfriend is the perfect candidate, but he has to get past her parents—and his pride—to get her back to the vampire world before Valentine’s Day.

53 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2025

About the author

Teshelle Combs is the award-winning author of books like The Underglow and the First Collection.

She's well known for her fantasy romance standalones like The First Dryad, The First Stone, The First Nymph, and The First Flame. (Read in any order, listed in order of writing).

Tropes include enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, arranged marriage, twists & turns, and more.

Find TC @booksarebrightstars on TikTok.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexei and Kat back at it again with another fun installment at LoveBubble! I just love this series, and the begrudging romances our main characters have. I can’t get enough! Definitely worth the short read on a busy day! ❤️
5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

[Bevany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best ending to a book i may have ever read. A short anti-valentines book for a great fun and quirky quick read. I absolutely love these characters and loud out loud many times. I love that the holiday tales all intermingle characters.

[Jesica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this new installment in the Alexi and Kat story. It’s so quirky and actually makes me laugh out loud. Can’t wait for another and to see what Alexi does next in his quest to be free.

[Never · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexei is easily one of my favorites in the Holiday Haters collection. And Kat is a woman who knows how to grt what she wants. I do love a good grumpy/sunshine story, and it's even better when the sunshine isn't all the sunny but is a sugar fueled mistress of
mayhem instead!

Alexei and Kat are back in this hilarious short story, and in between interrupted shmexy time romps, deaths by bagel, and a dad who works in law enforcement, poor Alexei is really beginning to understand just how much he's a sucker for Kat!

You won't regret this fun read!

[Sammi O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, alexei, you undead prince of darkness. This book was great, it kept with the theme of the characters speaking with the reader. Alexei is still trapped but with a little happiness to his life, though, once he realizes, makes him want to stop. Unusual deaths have happened in lovebubble and to try to break the curse of it, kat calls in the big guns. Her dad. We meet some parents, learn of a rivalry and see some repeat characters. It was a great short read

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sweet Alexei… well not so sweet, but I think deep down he’s a big ole teddy bear. This was a quick read and had me laughing the whole time. The side characters Tess creates are sometimes even better than the main. Felicity is a hoot and you just have to love her. Thank you for bringing me more of my Alexei

[Elisha Ethridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choke on a 🥯 !! My new quote!!
I absolutely love this addition to the Holiday Haters series!! Alexi and Kit in Suckered 2 is just as hilarious and seriously Bagel worthy!!

If you don't already own these anti holiday books then you are lacking in a fantastic read!

5 🌟 Characters
5 🌟 World
5 🌟 Story
3 🌶 spice
💯 percent recommended

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this!! It is a super quick read and was fun to read!! Once I picked it up, I didn’t wanna put it down until I was finished. Some great humor throughout it!!! Out of all things, a death by a bagel, I’m weakkkk!! I would say the spice level is probably a 3 out of 5!!! Hopefully we get a 3rd one!! Lastly parts of me wants to find an Alexei hahaha

[Sefri Kuehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd installment in this book series made the long wait worth it~ Alexei is, as always, a very grumpy vampire. But one who will do anything to make Kat happy, even if he tells us the opposite. It was hilarious to see him meet Kats dad, and I was soooo happy to see Grace in this again!^^ what another lovely story from the fantastic Tess Combs!

[Tabatha Slagle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Holiday Haters novella in the books and another five star from Tess.

If there's one thing I can tell you before reading, don't drink or eat anything while you are.

The belly laughs in this book are limitless. The spice is tasteful and delicious. Definitely need more Alexei and Kat but also more Felicity.

She was definitely the cream cheese on the bagel of this story. 😉

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love the Holiday Haters series soooo much and this one wasn’t a disappointment either. So many bagel emergencies oh my! Alexi still tries to play off that he doesn’t love Kat, but the things he goes through for her is so sickenly sweet just like her blood he loves. Full of laughs and great times, definitely a great read :)

[Bobbie Gonyaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready for smexy fun, jaw aching belly laughs,, lovable characters, and a smile fixated on your face. A hot Vampire, a sultress Kat, and the sweet bagel lady, Felicity. This rom com quick read is one you don't want to pass up. Highly recommended!

[Joy Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This newest addition to the Holiday Haters series is *chefs kiss* well done! I loved getting to read more about Alexi and Kat! The broken 4th wall element makes the story that much more entertaining and adds a layer of humor to the well written story.

[Serret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexei is still stuck at LoveBubbles and no matter what Kat tries they can't get rid of Keif. He is about to be in trouble because he forgot their anniversary. Only to find out someone has died by choking on a bagel. But Kat has a few tricks up her sleeve that no one was expecting.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just another disastrous day at LoveBubble. I love that the series breaks the 4th wall and adds humor to the story. As if we can help ha ha. You're on your own Alexei. There's lots of spicy fun. It's an awesome way to spend a break!

[Alicia Gillispie · Rating 4 out of 5]

And it just got even more entertaining! I kept grinning as I read the shenanigans of Alexi and Kat as they try to hide their criminal actions from none other than Kat’s father. If you want dark and twisty and humorous, then this is the short story set for you!

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexei's definitely my favorite holiday hater! He had me chuckling and giggling the whole story. I'd read any stories with Alexei as the mmc.
We can't forget about Felicity. She's something else, in the best way lol

[Tara Ptack · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the second installment of the Holiday Haters, poor Alexei is still at LoveBubble. It’s filled with perfect banter, chaos, and death by bagels 🤣 This quick read will have you laughing all the way through.

[Emerald Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5!!!

[Sarah Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun installment of Alexei & Kat's story and all of Felicity's glory. The banter and humor in this novella are phenomenal. I'm going to need Alexei to get his own full book.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun, quick read following Alexei and Kat. Humor, banter and a touch of steam makes this awkward meeting of the parents so good!

[Ashley Fairbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute quick read. Love the sass back and forth between the characters. I would definitely fit right in 😉

[Brittni Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexei is back!! Who doesn't want a dose of hot vampire for valentines day?! You won't want to miss this installment in the Holiday Haters! It had me laughing till the very end.

[Coco Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chaos that ensues will have you giggling. Death and bagels lol

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felicity cracks me up. Alexei is the perfect broody male mc. I finished this in an hour.

[Jasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading the short stories. They are so much fun to read and always have me laughing. I’m looking forward to the next one.

[labibliofille · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thoroughly enjoy these characters, not a lot happened and I almost wonder what the point of this installment was.

[Sheila Osmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved every single one of the holiday haters books, they just keep getting better and better! I can’t wait for the next one!

[Shernina Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the holiday hater books so much and look forward to them each and every time! They banter and the plot is always top tier! I loved the plot in this one and Cat is one of my faves in this series! She’s so sassy! I can’t wait to see where her and Alexei go! Another thing that I loved was the tie in of Grace from Nixed! I won’t tell you how, but she does appear and it’s great!

[Jessica Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so surprised when I found out which parent was being met and his appearance was not what I expected! The type of 180 that Kat performed throughout the book was hilarious and kept Alexei on his toes again. Love these short stories that Tess continues to write!