Cooper Bennett wants nothing more than a new life. An impoverished high school senior, he can’t seem to catch a break with both an abusive father at home and the star quarterback bullying him at school. Little does he know that one late summer night a monstrous burden would clamp down on him, finally making all his wishes come true. Sparks fly as Cooper Bennett finds himself in the midst of a … midst of a battle between dark forces and alpha shifters in this epic paranormal adventure that turns the sleepy mountain town of Goodman, GA upside down.
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His life is hard because of an abusive father and a bully at school. Life is about to change for him as he will be put in the middle of a battle others know nothing about. Follow his adventures and see him grow
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book – and I’m not just saying that. I’m not particularly easy to please and 5 stars from me is a rarity. I’m more of a 4 star person. With some 3 stars. And occasionally 2 stars. 1 star reviews seems kinda excessively judgmental to me but to each their own.
Anyways, I’ll start of with some vague trigger warnings:
lots of gore, lots of abusive, an abusive relationship – relationships actually, of different sorts, lots of death. This is no light romance novel. It’s got some light moments and some comedic moments, but it’s fairly dark and gritty, not for the faint of heart.
pros:
*well-written, clear and with few typos, if any. I don’t recall any in this book, so at the very least they weren’t blaring if there were any.
*complex characters of both the good and bad variety and speaking of that, there were a variety characters.
*potentially bi main character (which is important to me as a pansexual)
*homosexuality-friendly. For the most part. Homophobes were clearly not good people.
*gore written so well and gloriously descriptively, you feel bad even when terrible people die. (might not be a pro for everyone but it is for me. it also makes you realize, that life is sacred. I’m not saying this in a religious manner. I’m an atheist. I just value a life, and while this story tackles morality and shady ethics and “being a monster”, it doesn’t avoid the message that is that death a unique being is tragic. Human or… not quite human.)
*nice descriptive details. (yes, I have an imagination. It’s not a crime to enjoy well written prose nor is it a crime that authors flex their writing muscles. I hate it when people gripe about too much details. screw that. Plus, it’s not a consistent dump of excessive detail or anything.)
*bends stereotypes which is always a pleasure to see.
*lots of eye candy for the mind.
*not afraid to be a little lose and sexual, but not in a way that is overly erotic/pornographic. It mostly adds to the story and character development and it’s on every page. Not even close. I’m no prude, but I like mes a plot and this story has one. thank the lawdy.
*speaking of plot. yes, having a nice complex plot that is follow-able was good.
cons:
*sometimes the details didn’t add up or a later details contradicts a previous detail. It was rare though and didn’t detract from the plot so no real harm. Just some human err which is understandable.
*I had issues with the way the werewolf packs oriented themselves/the hierarchy/etc, but in all honestly it was still better than most representations and I’m not sure I have ever been truly satisfied with the presentation of how packs/shifter groups work, per se. At least there wasn’t any of that predestined mate/insta-love BS. There maybe have been a love at first sight thing. SORTA. But it starts off small and works it’s way up. Sometimes sweetly and sincerely. Sometimes menacingly. You’ll have to read to know what I mean by that~
PS – I’m being rather vague on purpose. I don’t want to give away spoilers or too much detail. Just enough to show that I’m not blowing steam when i say I liked it, I truly did. I would have said if I didn’t. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Not that I enjoy being mean, but what is best for the author is not really endless fluffy statements of praise. Everyone has room for improvement in any vocation they are in. And the whole point of book feedback should be not only validation but for ways better oneself. At least that is my point of view. This review was vastly positive though so hopefully no offense was taken ;-;
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What can I say about the story of The Secret Life Of Cooper Bennett? Well I’ll say this, this book was freaking AWESOME! This is the third book that I’ve read from Mr. Czermak and he didn’t disappoint me. Mr. Golden Czermak is fabulous at weaving his stories. He’s great at slowly building it up the story before he hits ya with the grand climax. He takes his time and then he gets ya! He had me completely hooked before I even finished the first page. I most certainly hope there’s going to be more books of Cooper Bennett because I have to know what happens in his future! I wish I was able to give more than five stars because this book definitely deserves more. If you have never read any of Mr. Czermak’s work well let me give you some advice, and that would be get this book heck get all of his books because you most definitely won’t be disappointed in your choice!
A great book! My first audio book and it was phenomenal.
Seriously, one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! This was my first of many books to come by Golden. The story grabbed me and didn’t let go. Off to the next in the series…
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Secret Life of Cooper Bennett by Golden Czermak is a wonderful story to read. I am so in love with this story with the strong characters and the wonderful story line. I can not wait to see what comes next I loved it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book was a wonderful surprise. I must say right upfront that prior to reading this book I had never even heard of this author. However, as I enjoy a PNR/fantasy read every now and again and the blurb was appealing, I decided to give it a shot and I am so glad I did. This wonderful, well written read quickly sucked me into Cooper’s story and kept me fully engaged and invested. Copper himself, is a complex character that easily steals into your heart. With a heartbreaking home life and things really not that much better at school, he is easy to sympathize with and/or relate to, depending on your own life experiences. In addition to the powerful emotions woven into the book, you have a strong storyline filled with drama, danger, friendship, hints of romance and the battle between good and evil. Truly an excellent read and I look forward to reading more books about Cooper soon. This is my completely honest and totally voluntary review.
Wow! I have gone out of my norm and I am wonderfully suprised! This is my first book by Golden and I must say the rumors are true. Golden is one great author. You have to pay attention to all the details, no distractions or you’ll miss important parts. I definitely recomend this book especially if you are into the fantasy world of werewolves, shifters, etc. I really fell in love with Billy, Cooper, and Alyssa and their strong bond of love and friendship.
The Secret Life of Cooper Bennett is a good paranormal read. It’s a captivating story filled with enough drama and suspense to keep the pages turning. I can’t wait to read more!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Terrific story of a young man’s journey.
The story starts with a bit of the area’s history, establishing the major players and conflicts. Then it becomes Cooper’s story, and how his destiny is tied to forces beyond himself.
This is a captivating book, filled with action and suspense and a little more realism than usual. It’s a complex story of love, loyalty, and family that takes a few unexpected turns before settling in for the HEA. It’s very well written, with exquisite detail that creates a kaleidoscope of emotions permeating throughout the characters. It’s unlike any other paranormal novel I’ve ever read. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Cooper Bennett is a young man from a small town; a small town that harbors a secret. He’s been dealing with bullies, both at home and school, his whole life until his life is completely upended and forever changed.
This is another great story by this author that is bound to take you for a ride. Mr. Czermack has an amazing talent to create complex fantasy worlds and suck you in for the time you’re reading his stories and Cooper’s Bennett’s story is no different.
I really enjoyed everything about this book: the plot, the characters, the relationships and everything about the world of Cooper Bennett and if you’ve read the Journeyman series, you’re in for a nice surprise.
I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time and it didn’t disappoint at all!! As a huge paranormal fan this story gave me everything I could ever ask for in a book. The backstory, the plot, the build up. Everything was on point. I loved how the story unfolded and the pieces of the puzzles all started connecting and I had several aha moments!! The last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat and I did not see that coming from a mile away. The way everything unfolded and came together had my jaw dropping.
“things can be replaced, but people: no, their uniqueness is forever lost to darkness once their lights go out…”
Czermak has such a way with storytelling and I honestly don’t know how he outdoes himself every time, especially in the paranormal genre which is a very hard thing to do. Another thing I loved about the story was how I felt like I was alongside the characters. Czermak is one of few authors who can actually make me feel like I’m apart of the journey while I’m reading every time and I love it!! This book was such a good read because it had some powerful life lessons and several moments in this book that will stay with me for a long time.
My very favorite PNR ever. Another work by Golden that I feel would make an excellent movie or TV show. Cooper Bennett is one of the best characters ever written and one I will remember many years and books to come.
A tad late with my review, I had it all written out and saved, then just forgot about, well I thought I posted it and when I was looking for ones that needed to be posted I found this one.
Golden you weaved such a magical story that left me awed at what you wrote, you took me on a magical trip that I will not forget soon.
Cooper is a high school senior that is facing a hard and abusive life in Goodman, yet not all is lost, for one night a burden is thrust on him that shows a promise of a better life one that he always wanted, one that would be filled with love with the girl of his dreams and would also make childhood friendships much stronger.
Those effects of his actions do not go unnoticed. Grayson Manning and his athletic son Liam see things much differently and will do everything in their power to send all that Copper has affected into ruin.
Beautiful story well told and characters one grows to love. Thank you Golden for a wonderful trip through a story.