angelreads, Author at Angel Reads

About angelreads

This author hasn't written their bio yet.
angelreads has contributed 1344 entries to our website, so far.

2019 Book Covers That I Love

Aug 6, 2019

Today I’m talking about all the covers that I’ve loved this year. I decided to have my own freedom with this week’s Top Ten Tuesday and it was so much fun. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

Covers are always one of the first things that attract me to a book. Sometimes when I am processing books in at work and I spot something in the boxes, it’s the cover that grabs my attention first. There are times where I’m not even interested in the book, but the cover is just gorgeous. So today I am sharing some of the covers from 2019 that I’ve loved so far.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig: This cover is just so gorgeous. At first, you don’t see everything, but then you take everything in and everything stands out. The rockpool, the sea creature, and the font work so perfectly.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1) by Brigid Kemmerer: There should be a surprise that this has made my list. I love this cover so much. It’s simple, but also conveys everything it needs to. Plus what’s on the inside is just as amazing. I also love how the colours work here, the blue, greys and silver, but then you get the pop of green.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: Every time I see this cover I fall in love. I can’t tell you the one thing I love, I just love it all. The colours are perfect together that blends well with the simple font.

Her Royal Highness (Royals #2) by Rachel Hawkins: I just love this cover. It’s simple but totally works. The faces in the glasses, the way that the body goes into the background. Very minimal colour use. I just love it.

Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill: I haven’t heard really anything about this book, but the cover for this works for me so well. It coveys so much with a simple image.

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett: This cover is a little more busy than the others on this list. But it really seems to work here. The gold and the pink really work nicely and make the cover stand out.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: I love the cover for this one. Illustrated covers are popping up more and more in romance and I really like how it was used here. In saying that I do have thoughts on these types of covers for romance – but I might talk about that another day. Check out my discussion with Ely about our love for this book.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: This cover is stunning. I love that it’s mostly the one colour, with the little hint of something different. It works beautifully here. Plus I cannot wait to read this one

***

And that is it for this post! What are some of the covers you have loved so far this year? Do we share any that is the same? Let’s Chat!

Last 10 Books on My Wishlist

Jul 30, 2019

Today I get to talk about the last 10 books that I’ve added to my wishlist. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie, so I want to share the latest books that I’ve added to my wishlist. Most of the time I use my Goodreads to-read shelf to add all the books that I want to read, even if I don’t have them. It’s an easy way for me to keep an eye on books coming out or simple older books that I just want to read. So here we go, these are the last 10 books that I’ve added to my wishlist.

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett: Well there is no surprise that this one is on my TBR. A historical fiction fantasy, um yes, please. Theodora has always dreamed about treasure hunting with her father, but when he chooses Huck, her ex-love as his travelling companion. Now Theodora is alone in her hotel room. Until Huck arrives back without her father. Now Theodora and Huck have to come together to find him. It’s then they learn what her father has been searching for. A magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula. But they aren’t the only ones looking for it.

The Burning Shadow (Origin #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout: A couple of months ago I read the first book in this series and now I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen next. After the events of the book first, I know that The Burning Shadow is going to as intense and addicting. Evelyn Dasher found out not only a lot of the Luxen but herself when she was thrown into Luc’s world and now she has to come to terms with everything she found out, but that is not the only threat simmering away.

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett: Another Jenn Bennett contemporary, hell yeah! When Josie Saint-Martin returns to mothers hometown to run her grandmother bookstore she tries to pull off the ultimate camouflage. She dates the most popular boy in town until he breaks up with her during his high school graduation party. But when Josie tries to get revenge, it backfires, massively. Now she has to spend her summer doing community service along with Lucky Karras. In a town where secrets and gossip rise, there is bound to be trouble.

Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud: I’ve been hearing a lot of things about this one lately and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Zora Emerson wants to change the world, and when she gets invited to a prestigious summer program, she is all in. Even if she feels out of place. What she didn’t expect was to meet Owen. A prince of an island off the coast of England. Then Owen invites her back home for his brother wedding and Zoe is thrown into the spotlight. Can she survive this new crazy?

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: This one is being pitched as a Romeo and Juliet retelling mixed with the Godfather. When a monster awakens in 1920s Shanghai it stirs trouble between two rival gangs. Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai, heirs of the rival gangs, need to work together before the monster destroys everything.

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner: This one sounds like a cute as, queer romance that I will devour. When tabloids declare that a famous female Hollywood showrunner and her female assistant are dating. Not only are both their jobs are threatened, but also their credibility. And as rumours spread things start to get harder. But what happens when they realise that the rumours might be true.

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon: This one sounds like it’s going to be both heartbreaking. In a time when the Vietnam War is still going strong and homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness, Jonathan escapes to his imaginative safe haven to get through it all. With his hero David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, he can be anyone he wants to be there, including a boy that doesn’t like other boys. And when he completes his treatments, he will be normal—at least he hopes. Then he meets Web and he is everything that Jonathan than wishes he was, including not ashamed of being gay. And he is the first people in his life that sees him for him.

The Rakess (Society of Sirens #1) by Scarlett Peckham: I don’t know much about this one except it follows female rakes who weaponize their scandalous reputations to fight for justice and the love they deserve along the way. For those that don’t know, I’ve been really getting into historical romance lately and sounds right up my alley.

Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2) by Alisha Rai: When a viral tweet sends Katrina King into the spotlight, all she wants to is hide. And that’s what happens when her bodyguard and somewhat secret crush, Jas Singh, takes her away to his family home. Now alone in a remote setting, feelings come to the surface Katrine doesn’t know if she can trust herself when it comes to love, even if Jas is droppings hints.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig: Annaleigh lives a sheltered life with her sisters, father and stepmother. But they were once twelve, and now the halls of Highmoor are lonely. Because four of the girls are dead, with each death even worse than before. There is also the whispers that her family is cursed. But with her sisters sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, Annaleigh doesn’t know if she should stop them or join them. And then she meets a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own.

***

And there we are. Those are the last 10 books that I’ve added to my wishlist! Have you read any of these? What did you think? Are any of these on your wishlist? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Jul 28, 2019

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Pages: 337
Publish date: May 7th 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 9780785217244
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are to either release the spell and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her.

That is until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

Romanov:

Romanov by Nadine Brandes has been on my radar even before it was released. I’m a massive history buff and I’ve been looking for a new historical fiction read for some time. So I managed to pick up a copy while I was in the US and I’m so glad that I did. I don’t know too much about the Romanov family history, I’ve only watched and read a couple of things, but after reading Romanov I so want to find out more.

Romanov by Nadine Brandes follows Anastasia as the last of her family falls apart. With her family now in exile in Siberia, Nastya knows that she has to protect the only thing that can maybe save her family. But it’s a dangerous journey, and the leader of the Bolshevik army knows what he’s looking for. But now Nastya needs to decide if she would release the spell or enlist in the help from Zash. He doesn’t act like the normal Bolshevik soldier but can she trust him?

I really enjoyed the concept of Romanov. The thought that Anastasia didn’t die along with the rest of her family has always been really interesting to me. And Nadine Brandes really plays with that in Romanov. I think why I liked it so much, was because it reminded me of And I Darken by Kiersten White. In that while based on true events and people, they put their own twist on it.

Erwan Hesry

Nastya was a really interesting protagonist, while I did have a hard time trying to connect with her. But that didn’t really change my reading experience. Nastya came off as a younger protagonist as well as “innocent.” However, that is what also made her really interesting. She knew that she was her families last chance and she would do anything to keep them safe. I really enjoyed Nastya’s character development throughout Romanov. The reader is able to see her grow and take charge of everything around her.

The notion of family was a massive theme throughout Romanov and it was fantastically executed. There really isn’t a happy ending here. We as readers already know that most if not all of Nastya’s family were going to die before the book finishes, so that made the relationship she had with her a little more heartbreaking. In saying that, I loved getting to know the family through Nastya’s eyes. Even though this family goes through hell and back, they stick together, they love each other and Nastya will stop at nothing to keep them safe and healthy.

Ryan Hafey

The relationship with Zash was very heartbreaking and it really tore me apart. They are both on totally opposite sides in this war. And his isn’t just a soldier. He is one of the people keeping her family prisoner. But Nastya sees something different in him and she puts off her faith in him. It was really interesting seeing the interaction between Nastya and Zash, two very different people, on two very different sides. The reader is able to see them both struggle with who they are.

There were times throughout Romanov that I really struggle to read, especially towards the end. I knew what was going to happen, but gosh it still broke me when it did.

I really enjoyed the magic aspect of Romanov. It was tied so effortlessly throughout the book that it neither overtook or was hidden in the background. Magic blended so nicely into both the time of the novel, as well as things that happened in real life. Magic was a really interesting element to the book and loved finding out things here and there.

Photo by Francesco Paggiaro from Pexels

Overall, I really enjoyed Romanov by Nadine Brandes. It was a great twist on historical fiction. With magic, romance and the fight for family on the backdrop of war, Romanov is a fantastic read. Nastya is such an interesting protagonist that really captures the reader from the start. She is captivating in her innocence and her persistence to do the right thing for both her family and herself.

Have you read Romanov by Nadine Brande? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What are some of your favourite historical fictions with a twist? Let’s Chat!