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.

Ten Books I Loved Less Than I Thought I Would

Feb 21, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone join as you please. This week’s topic is: Ten Books I Loved Less Than I Thought I Would

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye: I was in the minority of this one. I was expecting to love this book. It was supposed to have everything tha I loved and it all fell flat for me | Full Review

Caraval by Stephanie Garber: I actully really liked this book, but it wasn’t what I expected. I felt a little let down and didn’t love it as much as everyone | Full Review

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles: Again, another one that I enjoyed reading but wasn’t 100% loving. I enjoy things about the book, but then there were parts that I didn’t life | Full Review coming soon.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: I adored the writing of this one. But, I was totally confused at times and needed something more | Full Review

Moon Chosen by P.C Cast: Overall, I loved the world of this book. It was captivating and intriging all at the same time. However, the length and certain moments in the book that I didn’t love | Full Review

Heartless by Marissa Meyer: I was expecting to love this one, but I was left totally dissapointed. There were multiple things that didn’t sit right with me | Full Review

Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers: This book just wasn’t for me. I was expecting to really like it and I ended up hating it | Full Review

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Now, I like these books, but I don’t feel the hype towards it that others feel.

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee: Another one with a lot of hype that I didn’t love as much as I thought I would. I still enjoyed it as a whole though | Full Review

Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle: This book was emotinal as hell, but I felt that I was missing something. Something that would have made me love the book | Full Review

And that is it for thsi week! Have you read any of these books? Do you feel the same as me? Do you feel differently? What are some books that you liked less than you thought you woulld? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Feb 19, 2017

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Pages: 350
Publish date: February 2017
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780008183011
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

How can you have a future if you can’t accept your past? Mel Hannigan doesn’t have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, facing the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything to her and struggling to deal with a condition that even her closest friends don’t know about.
To protect herself and everyone else, Mel tries to lock away her heart, to live quietly without pain – but also without hope. Until the plight of an old friend, and meeting someone new, shows her that the risk is worth taking, that opening up to life – and who you really are – is what can make everything glorious… And that maybe Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own. A beautiful, captivating story about living with mental illness, and loving – even with a broken heart.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful:

I received a copy of A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstorm from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is one of those book that is hard to review. It’s one of those books, where readers are going to have lots of different thoughts. There are lots of different ways that mental illness can present, people experience if differently and people relate to it differently. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good representation of bipolar and the ways it can affect people.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful follows sixteen-year-old protagonist Mel, whose bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. But, when old friendships start to come to the surface. New friendships start to come to life and the wall that Mel has built around her life start to crumble.

Mel is the kind of protagonist that you don’t love, but you also don’t hate. I really enjoyed her emotions, her realness. I felt so much for her, that I wanted to hold her tight. A lot has happened in Mel’s life and her bipolar makes it that much harder. Throughout a lot of the novel we don’t exactly know what has happened to Mel, and we are taken on a ride.

The friendships in A Tragic Kind of Wonderful weren’t great – per say. But, they were also real. It’s heartbreaking to see throughout how friendships can tear you apart. But then there are those that build you up.

Mel also had a hard relationship with her family, that really torn her apart at times. But it was also great to see that they were there for her. That they cared for her. Here we have a family that has gone through so much heartbreak. And not only do they have to deal with one family member with mental illness, but nearly the whole family.

The romance in A Tragic Kind of Wonderful wasn’t my favourite. But I also didn’t hate it. I felt that it moved too fast, and I was taken back at time at how their relationship worked. On the other hand it was totally cute at the same time.

I saw a couple of reviews saying that her life took over the book, but I don’t agree with this. Mental illness are about balance, and when that balance is tipped, things change. Outcomes are different. So the book shouldn’t just be about the mental illness, but the balance that they create. And I think this book explores both.

Dr Jordan told me everyone with bipolar disorder is different – endless variations of moods, emotions, intensity, frequency, reactions, episodes, delusions, breakdowns…

I think this is perfect. This is one story of many. And that is why I liked it, it not only shows her story, but shows the outcomes and explores that there isn’t just one possibility with mental illness.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the book I was confused at what was happened. The reader was jumping here and there. And because of the state that Mel was in, it made it hard to really pin point what was happening.

Overall, A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a difficult read. It explores life, family and friendships. A poignant novel that explores mental health and the influence it has on the person, their families and everyone around them. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a beautiful story that evokes all types of emotions.

Have you read A Tragic Kind of Wonderful? What did you think of it? Are you planning of reading it? Have you read other books by Eric Lindstrom.

Book Review: This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton

Feb 17, 2017

This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton

Pages: 288
Publish date: February 2nd, 2017
Publisher: Atom Books
ISBN: 034900272X
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all, they are world’s most tragic band. In fact, she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes into making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.

But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.

All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.

This Beats Perfect:

I received an ARC of This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton from Hachette Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book. I wasn’t expecting much, I just felt like a good read for summer. But, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I sat by the pool for a couple of hours and finished with a smile on my face.

This Beats Perfect follows protagonist Amelie Ayres a music lover, who isn’t into your ‘typical’ teen music. But, when she’s allowed backstage at The Keeps only UK concert, it’s not what she expected. She doesn’t love their music, but respect them as musicians. And then she finds herself connecting with lead singing ‘Maxx’ over creative struggles. However, before all this – she is thrown to the sharks – or the media with the hashtag of #Who’sThatGirl. And boy bands, fans, new girls and social media don’t really mix.

I really enjoyed Amelie as the protagonist of This Beats Perfect. She has this love for music that is so strong, but her nerves always get the better of her. She feels like she home with the music and you can feel it while reading. The passion that she has shines through, but also the anxiety that comes with it. It’s nice to see anxiety presented in this way, as I don’t see it much in YA. Amelie is totally relatable, and the reader feels for her the whole way through.

I really liked the sense of family and friendship throughout This Beats Perfect. I adored Amelie’s relationship with her dad. Even though he was always away for work and her parents weren’t together – it worked. They cared for each other and nice to see. The friendships that Amelie has before and builds throughout the book were also really nice to see. It’s getting g more and more comma to have these amazing friendships in YA nowadays and I am loving it.

The romance in This Beats Perfect was a little shaky for me. I really enjoyed them together but felt it moved a little too fast. They had some beautiful scenes together and I loved how Amelie and Max connected through music and what they believe in. It was nice and different to see.

I’ve read so many books (mostly on Wattpad) about girls and boy bands – but this was something different. There was something more than the girl and boy falling in love. It’s about finding yourself.

Something that would have been love the book, even more, if there wasn’t as many characters. This Beats Perfect felt overcrowded. I kept on forgetting who was who, what their jobs were. There was just a little too much.

Just a quick note, I really don’t like the cover – at all. It seems so outdated to me. The ARC cover, on the other hand, I loved.

Overall, I was so surprised with This Beats Perfect. It was fun, addicting and put a smile on my face. It explores the notions of finding yourself, loving what you do and finding those who will stand by you. It’s about family, friendship and those you love.

Have you read This Beats Perfect yet? Did you like it? Are you planning to read it? Are there books similar to this one that you love. Let’s Chat!