angelreads, Author at Angel Reads

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I Read Angel’s Romance Recommendations

Jul 26, 2020

Hi, everyone! It’s me, Ely from Earl Grey Books back with my monthly guest post! I have to admit that I had bigger plans for this post, but I kind of ran out of time to do what I wanted. So instead, we’re doing my original idea on a smaller scale.

Anyway, I’ve been following along with Angel’s romance recommendations post and I thought it’d be fun to read some of them. So in preparation for today’s post, I read two them and now I’m going to share with you what I thought.

Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros

I don’t know what I was expecting from this one other than for it to completely rip out my heart. Angel made me read The Last Letter earlier this year and that destroyed me, and this one was just another book of me sobbing from start to finish. On a more serious note, I like Yarros’ love interests a lot—they feel genuine and I very rarely want to throttle them or scream at the protagonist to run. That doesn’t happen a lot for me in contemporary romances, so this one gets my tick of approval.

Him by Elle Kennedy and Sabrina Bowen

This is very different from the sort of romance I usually read. While I’ve read a few ice hockey/sports romance in the past (mostly from Kennedy and Bowen), I’ve never read an m/m romance before. I’ve read adult and YA m/m stories before, but never anything just romance. While I didn’t love this, I did really like it and both Wes and Jamie. It was just missing a little something for me. I don’t know what that something is, but I just know it wasn’t there.

So it’s a little bit of a shorter post today, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway. I’ll see you all next month!

My Best Friend Picks My TBR Check In

Jul 25, 2020

At the start of the year, my best friend Ely, and I picked 5 books that we wanted the other to read in 2020. It was a fun way that we could force each other to read books that have been on our tbr for a while or we’ve wanted the other to read for a while. You can check out my tbr and the books that Ely picked for me to read.

So today we thought we would do a mid-year check-in. Show what we have read, what we thought? What we are planning to read next? You can check out Ely’s check-in now as well.

I’ve read two books from the books that Ely picked for me so far. But one of them was quite big so I feel pretty okay with that. I’ve also really loved both books that I’ve read.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare and Various: I don’t know why I hadn’t read this one yet. I had my copy from when it came out but I just hadn’t picked it up. But I’m so glad that I finally did. I enjoyed most of the stories in this one. It’s one of her best anthologies and captured the world in a different light. I loved that we got to see a different side of the world, from different characters and their perspectives. It was this great combo that includes characters from all her series, along with different timelines. This kept the stories fresh and interesting.

I loved that Jem was also such a focus in these series. I miss him so much. And it was great that we got to see him over such a massive span of time. I love seeing these interactions, his emotions and I loved that blanks were filled in on time that we missed.

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes: I adored Girl Against the Universe. It was an excellent novel that does focus on mental health. It’s not a love fixes all kind of novel but explores how those around can help you in a way that you never thought. Maguire and Jordy were adorable and I love them so much. They were both such interesting characters. Maguire was such a perfect protagonist. She was really easy to get along with, even though she wasn’t always likable. Her character arc was fantastic and I loved seeing her grow.

The romance was hella adorable. Like it melted my heart so damn much. I can’t even begin to explain. I love the friendships she builds, and the family bonds she repairs. These were all done so well. I also really like the way mental health was explored throughout the novel. It wasn’t overlooked, it didn’t overshadow. It was the perfect combo.

I’ve already loved the two books that I’ve read and I can’t wait to dig into more. I think I’m planning on reading Prince Charming (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins and I’m excited! Have you read these two books? What did you think? Let’s Chat!

The Estellosaurus Book Tag

Jul 24, 2020

Time for a new bookish tag, today it’s The Estellosaurus Book Tag. This tag was created by Estelle from Estellosaurus.

What are you reading at the moment, if you aren’t reading, what have you just finished?

I just finishing reading Hands Down by Mariana Zapata. I’ve been slowly reading through Zapata’s backlist and this is her newest release and I really enjoy it. Like most of her books, they are slow burning and big, but I enjoyed reading it. I also just started reading A Widow’s Guide to Scandal by Hallie Alexander.

What book does everyone love that you just don’t get?

When Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey first came out everyone loved it. So many romance and even non-romance bloggers and booktubers were talking about it. But I just did not like it. It was an okay read, but I’ve read so many better romance books this year. You can check out mine and Ely’s chat about Fix Her Up for more.

What book or book series deserves its very own Netflix (other streaming sites are available) series?

Ohh a recent book that I’ve read that I would love to see an adaptation of would be The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. It’s one of my favourite books this year and gosh it would be beautiful! But also funny, and emotional and fantastical.

Is there a book you just could not finish? Why?

Pursued by the Rake (Season of Scandal #1) by Mary Lancaster is a recent book that I couldn’t finish. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters, and the storyline really confused me. I really wanted to like this one. It sounded so interesting, but it really was a disappointment.

What book is your go-to recommendation when someone asks you to suggest a good read?

At the moment I love suggestion Red, White And Royal Blue, Check Please!, A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer and anything Rebecca Yarros.

Is there a book you’ve read multiple times? Why do you keep going back to it?

The Infernal Devices – this series hurts me. But it’s so beautiful and just makes me smile so much. I would read nearly all of Cassandra Clare’s books again and again. I’m a massive rereader so it’s something that I do regularly.

What was that one book you had to study at school you would definitely never, ever read again?

Anything by Jane Austen. I’ve tried to read a few of her books, but haven’t been able to get into any of them. I might try again in a couple of years, maybe I will see it differently then. But for now, I will get it a few years.

Is there a book that stirs a memory for you of a point in your life?

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead for sure. It was one of the first series that I really feel in love with. That got me reading YA and Urban fantasy.

If you could re-write the ending of a book, which book would you pick and how would you change it?

Not really. I think that an author writes their novel the way that it’s meant to be written. Do I wish that some things were different – maybe? But I don’t think it’s up to me.

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And that is it for this tag! I’m tagging anyone that wants to do it. What are you currently reading at the moment? Let’s Chat!