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Books I Enjoyed But Rarely Talk About

Books I Enjoyed But Rarely Talk About

April 14, 2020 Posted by angelreads Features, Recommendations, Top Ten Tuesday 8 Comments

This week I’m sharing the books that I enjoyed reading, but I rarely talk about. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. 

I’ve read a lot of books now. While I read a lot of books before I started blogging, it has probably tripled by now. And while I talk about the books that I love a lot of the time, today I wanted to share the books that I enjoyed reading, but I feel like I don’t talk about them often.

I tried to get a mix of books here from romance and contemporary to young adult and fantasy. Here are the books that I’ve loved reading, but rarely talk about. Like always these are in no order. 

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand: I read this one late last year and adored it. It tore me into a thousand pieces but it was so beautiful. It left me a mess not going to lie about that. But I feel like I haven’t talked about this one too often. It’s such a fantastic read and if you need a good cry – this is for you. 

Romanov by Nadine Brandes: This is another one that I read last year and I truly enjoyed it a lot. I love my historical fiction so mix that with a little magic and romance – I’m all for it. It’s a really solid retelling that is atmospheric. I honestly don’t know why I haven’t talked about this one more often. Full Review.
 
Eyes on Me by Rachel Harris: I’ve always really enjoyed Rachel Harris books and I feel like I talk about her older stuff more. But this is one of her most recent novels and I loved it. It’s a great YA contemporary that explores many things from grief to friendship and love. I just love how Rachel Harris writes so freely while also writing characters that feel very real | Full Review.
 
Dragon’s Lair (Wind Dragons MC #1) by Chantal Fernando: I picked this one up last year when I first started getting into MC romances and I feel that I rarely talk about it now. While getting this post together I’ve started to re-read the series and I have no regrets. It’s just a good MC series. I’ve read a few more MC novels now and I think it’s still one of my favourites. 
 
Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand: I put off reading this series for such a long time and I still don’t know why. It was just great. It is a solid series that I think if you love your angel/urban fantasy then this is for you. While a couple of years old, it still felt pretty easy to read and wasn’t annoying in any way. It doesn’t feel out of date or anything.  
 
The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine: This is such a fantastic young adult contemporary that I cannot believe I rarely talk about. It has fantastic disability rep, as well as being charming and a fantastic read. It’s one of those books that just makes me happy. And sometimes you need that. But while also being all this, it’s also heartbreaking at times – and that is my favourite mix. 
 
Ruined (Ruined #1) by Amy Tintera: I talked about this one a lot when the series first came out, and I feel like I need to start returning my praise to this series. This YA fantasy series is what I love about fantasy. Full of royal intrigued it is also being fast-paced with action and magic. Add in the romance and it’s my perfect fantasy. 
 
The Darkest Hour (KGI #1) by Maya Banks: This is another series that I’ve talked about here and there. But I don’t think I’ve given it enough credit. This is a great romantic suspense series that is full of action. Sometimes things get a little crazy, but hey, I like that. It’s a massive series which is something that I also love reading. If you’ve read this one and have any similar recommendations please let me know. 
 
Disruption (Disruption #1) by Jessica Shirvington: If you haven’t read this duology yet, please pick it up. This a fantastic dystopia/science fiction series duo that is just fantastic. I could sit here and write about this book for a love time. But I won’t. All I want to say is. This series has a fantastic blend of science fiction and living in a different world. The romance is soooo good and the friendships are the bomb. Please read it. 
 
The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere #1) by Heidi Heilig: I feel like this book was made for me. A historical fiction, with time travel, and set in Hawaii. Throw in a great romance and the perfect friendship group and that is what I want in a book. I rarely talk about this one anymore, but it’s fantastic. 
 
And that is it for today! What are some of the books that you enjoyed reading, but rarely talk about now? Do we share any that’s the same? Let’s Chat! 

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  • Jo
    · Reply

    April 14, 2020 at 9:14 PM

    I enjoyed Romanov too. Have you read the author’s other magical retelling Fawkes?
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/top-ten-tuesday-259/

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  • Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books
    · Reply

    April 14, 2020 at 11:51 PM

    I recently read and LOVED The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand and it made me want to read allllll her solo books. This is a great list– so many underrated gems!!

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  • Kyra
    · Reply

    April 15, 2020 at 12:53 AM

    I really want to read Ruined and Unearthly – they look so good!

    My TTT post! 

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  • Lydia
    · Reply

    April 15, 2020 at 2:00 AM

    I’ve heard good things about Romanov!

    My TTT.

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  • Brooke Lorren
    · Reply

    April 15, 2020 at 3:52 AM

    I still need to read Romanov! I got it on sale last year so I have no excuse (except time).

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  • Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books)
    · Reply

    April 15, 2020 at 5:11 AM

    I haven’t read any of these, but ROMANOV is one I definitely want to get to sooner rather than later. The Romanovs are so fascinating and I adore the animated movie Anastasia 🙂

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

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  • Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse
    · Reply

    April 15, 2020 at 9:53 AM

    Eyes on Me! I just read that this winter and LOVED it! SO cute!

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  • Bec @ Happy Indulgence
    · Reply

    April 16, 2020 at 1:49 PM

    The Last Time We Say Goodbye is AMAZING. Absolutely heart wrenching, but so so good. I cried a lot reading it.

    Also Ruined!! I really enjoyed that a couple of years ago but have been terrible and haven’t finished the series yet. Same with Disruption, read the first book but never got around to the sequel.

    And now I have every other book here open on Goodreads to look into further. I love finding books that are basically hidden gems. The one I always recommend is Heart’s Blood by Juliet Mariller.

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I have a love-hate relationship with this series. I have a love-hate relationship with this series. But I ended up really enjoying this one. It’s best friends to fake dating to-lovers. It’s always been you, bad-boy/good-girl, and I loved that. While Save Your Breath has quite a few tropes, it really leads itself to it, and it works. 

Aleks and Mia have known each other for years now. Since they were teenagers, that angst has been building up this whole time. And you can tell right from the get-go, it’s fantastic. I even wanted more of it, because I love pain. When Aleks went to live with Mia’s family as a teenager, sparks flew, but for many reasons, they both put their feelings aside. And well, now they are not only going to be fake-dating, but they might as well be engaged, too. 

I really enjoyed seeing how both Aleks and Mia both tried to hide how they were feeling throughout the whole ‘fake-dating’ situation, but anyone could see it. They know each other as no one else does. Aleks has a lot going on, and while I do think this was brushed over a little too much, Mia is his centre. Mia is a massive music star and is a female in the industry, so yeah, people don’t respect her. Obvsiouly because why couldn’t a female star be badass and write about the things that she has gone through? Aleks and Mia get each other, and that is very clear from the start; they are both just trying to squash everything. We get to see them slowly start to show how they feel, and well, one night it all explodes. 

Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot; it’s not my favourite of the series, but I had a great time reading it. I liked Aleks and Mia a lot as characeters and while I think the mental health aspect could have been explored a whole lot more, I can see why it wasn’t. The romance was slow and spicy, the angst was great, and the payoff for these two was what they needed. 

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🏒Sports/Hockey Romance
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Content Warnings
Mental Health Struggles 
Suicide Intention 
Family Deaths 
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#romancebooks #bookstagram  #angelreads #spicybooks #bookreview
Well February wasn’t the best reading month. I onl Well February wasn’t the best reading month. I only ended up reading 3 books in. 3 pretty fun books but one of my slowest readings months in a while. 

And I’m going to be honest here it’s because I’ve been constantly reading Heated Rivalry fanfics. 🤷‍♀️ I’m having the best time though. 

How was your reading in February? Any 5  star reads? 

🏷️ 
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January was a really solid reading month. I read s January was a really solid reading month. I read some books that had been on my tbr for some time, reread a few things that peaked my interest. I also started a few new series. And just had a good time!

I just had a really good start to the year. While February is a little slow so far I’m looking forward to what I can pick up.

What did you read in January? Any 5-star reads? Let’s chat! 

🏷️ 
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A couple of these are on my TBR already and some have just caught my eye and that makes me super excited to pick them up. 🖤

What are you looking forward to reading this month? Let’s chat! ✨

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