• Home
  • Book Reviews
  • Books
    • Monthly Wrap Up
    • Giveaways
    • Book Hauls
    • Events
  • Discussions
  • New Releases
  • Features
    • Top Ten Tuesday
    • Romance Thursdays
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV Series Reviews
    • Waiting on Wednesday
  • Beta Reading Services
  • #LoveOzYA
    • OZYA Interviews
    • OZYA Reviews
  • About
  • Contact
Angel ReadsAngel Reads
  • Home
  • Book Reviews
  • Books
    • Monthly Wrap Up
    • Giveaways
    • Book Hauls
    • Events
  • Discussions
  • New Releases
  • Features
    • Top Ten Tuesday
    • Romance Thursdays
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV Series Reviews
    • Waiting on Wednesday
  • Beta Reading Services
  • #LoveOzYA
    • OZYA Interviews
    • OZYA Reviews
  • About
  • Contact

Book Reviews

Book Review: A King so Cold by Ella Fields

Book Review: A King so Cold by Ella Fields

Sep 21, 2020


A King so Cold by Ella Fields

Pages: 431
Publish date: May 6th 2020
Publisher: –
ASIN: B084LG4PH9
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

When marrying your enemy is only the beginning…

Once upon a time, there lived a princess so cruel that even her husband tried to destroy her.

The results left her without a father, her husband without a memory, and herself as queen to a kingdom on the cusp of war.

Even so, after learning of her treasonous husband’s upcoming nuptials, she set out to find him and locked him in her dungeon. There, and only there, would she unveil a time when she once allowed herself to be vulnerable. A past detailing how her heart was coaxed to beat outside her chest, only to have it crushed by the cold hands of betrayal.

But true vengeance will need to wait. War is coming, and with it, decisions and danger masked in treacherous beauty.

All too soon, the young queen will learn that time could be the most dangerous foe of all.
For it is time that would reveal all the ways a dead heart can beat anew.

A King So Cold:

I didn’t know too much about this book before I picked it up, but it sounded interesting and that cover is just stunning. It’s been a little since I finished reading A King So Cold by Ella Fields and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. 

Content Warning: Dark Themes, Sexual Assult, Age Gap, Torture, Death. 

A King So Cold by Ella Fields follows Princess turned Queen Audra as she tries to lead her kingdom to victory. But her past is not far behind her. And when she finds out that her husband King Raiden is about to marry another – it’s something that she cannot have. When Raiden betrayed Audra, she let her cold nature drive her to want more. And now she wants revenge. But doesn’t need love from him anymore. She has herself. And Lord Zad. But war is on the horizon and now it’s more than her heart that she has to think about. 

I haven’t read much in the high fantasy romance genre. I’ve read a fair few supernatural and paranormal, but haven’t delved into the fantasy world yet. So I didn’t know what to expect when I jumped into this one. And while I still have thoughts about the book, overall I was splendidly surprised with A King So Cold and can’t wait to read more fantasy romance. 

Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash

Audra is cold and calculated. She isn’t a character that you warm up to right away or even like. Audra is manipulative, complicated and broken. Audra hasn’t had the best life growing up. Her mother died when she was young and her father was a pretty horrible leader and father. She always knew that she would become Queen, but not the way she did. And then when Audra did let her walls down she was berayed. And that messed with her a lot. Audra is a compelling character but isn’t someone that I would want to meet. 

Throughout A King So Cold, the reader can see Audra grow, change and make some hard decisions. Because in the end, she is a leader of her country in the middle of a war. And when she finds out the person that betrayed her is about to marry another – well she cannot have that. It was interesting to read a female protagonist who isn’t clean cut and nice. That can make a bad decision. That can make horrible decisions. And I found that fascinating. 

Lord Zadicus was such an interesting character. I think Zad has to be one of my favourite characters in the book. And like Audra, he isn’t perfect. He makes mistakes. Some big mistakes. But he is also sweet in a way. And I felt for him. 

Raiden is another complicated characters. You can’t like him or even feel for him. But I liked getting to know his story. Through flashbacks, the reader gets to see the soft side of Raiden. But he is just as callous as Audra. Raiden is wicked, smart, but also a dickhead. 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

A lot is going on throughout A King So Cold. And a lot of my problems or issues with this book come from the plot. I felt that this was too long. When I thought that things were going to be over, something else happened. And everything began again. There was just so much going on that at times it took me a while to understand what was happening. But this also didn’t stop me from reading. There is major tension throughout this book and this drives the plot even more. And even though a lot is going on, plot-wise. I felt that A King So Cold is very character-driven. Which I love. 

The romance in A King So Cold is sexy and forbidden. Audra and Lord Zad know that starting something more than what they have is going to cause trouble. But they can’t keep their hands off one another. The romance is angsty, complicated and sometimes very frustrating. But I also enjoyed it a lot. I’m not usually a fan of messy romance. I just get angry. But I think that it did work out fantastic here. There is a ton of chemistry between the two and it gets steamy at times. In saying this, there were times when things did get a little too complicated. 

A King So Cold has such a good array of characters. From our leading protagonist and love interest to Ardra’s close court members. I loved the contrast of characters. From those that lead to those that follow or fight. I liked that the reader can get to know them all, even if it’s just a little bit. 

Photo by photo-nic.co.uk nic on Unsplash

Overall, A King So Cold by Ella Fields is a dark, haunting and sexy adult romance. This isn’t an easy read. At times I needed to put the book down for a little bit. But it kept pulling me in. It’s magical and whimsy but also filled with vengeance and blood. There are unreliable characters and a protagonist that isn’t one for everybody. A King So Cold explores the notion of betrayal, revenge, but also love and lost. This book is not for everyone, but if you are looking for something that is dark, dangerous and a little different than this for you.  

Have you read any adult fantasy romances? What did you think of them? Have you picked up A King So Cold by Ella Fields? Let’s Chat!  

Series Review: WAGS by Naima Simone

Series Review: WAGS by Naima Simone

Sep 16, 2020


It’s been a long time since I’ve read a sports romacne series that I just devoured. But as soon as I started the WAGS series by Naima Simone I knew I was going to love it. And I did. So today I thought I would share my thoughts on the 3 books currently published. 

I normally don’t read many football romances, but the WAGS series was fantastic. It’s entertaining, the romances are steamy and sweet, and the characters are fantastic. And I will be reading more from Naima Simone now. It’s that good combo that sports romances have where you get the sports, you have the romance, but you also have characters arcs as well. So let’s get into it! 

Scoring With the Wrong Twin: The first book in the WAGS series was such a blast to read. I think it was the most entertaining of the three. This was just a fun read. This one follows the shy and awkward Sophia Cruz who has a hard time telling her twin sister ‘no.’ And when she asks Sophia to pretend to be her in an upcoming photoshoot, she says yes. She wasn’t expecting to meet Zephirin Black. Sparks fly from the start, and there’s a connection right away. The only problem is, he thinks that she is her sister. 

Sophia was such an interesting character. While she was shy and awkward at times, she had these moments that she was able to stand up for herself. I liked that we got to see Sophia grow throughout Scoring the Wrong Twin. We get to see her grown from the first page. She gets to love herself and in doing so, gets to love others around her. I loved that she is smart and quirky as well. 

It took me a little bit to like Zep, but a lot of it was because of the wall that he built. Like it was hard for Sophia to get to know him more, it was hard for the reader. But once those walls started to break. It became easier to like and connect with him. Zep was really interesting. And Scoring the Wrong Twin went on the reader gets to know him more and understand him. 

I enjoyed the romance in the firsts WAGS book, and although it isn’t my favourite. I still loved seeing Sophia and Zep start to fall for one another. My main problem was that I wanted to see more. I wanted to see them have more conversations, and do adorable things for one another. At times I felt that feelings were made ‘off the page.’ In saying that I did feel that Sophia and Zep had some great chemistry and it was a fun romance for sure.  

Overall I had such a blast reading the first WAGS book. Sophia and Zep had amazing chemistry and I loved seeing them figure each other out and break each other’s walls down. It was a great start to the series and introduction into Naima Simone world. 

Photo by Riley McCullough on Unsplash

Scoring off the Field: This is a friends to lovers and is the second book in the WAGS series and follows Tennyson Clark as she wants a new start. She has been secretly in love with Dominic Anderson for far too long now and she wants to move on. But Dominic is an overprotective playboy and it isn’t going to be easy. Dominic doesn’t like change, and when Tennyson tells him she wants to quit her job as his assistant he wants to stop her. But his feelings start to morphe and is that the only reason he can’t let her go? 

I loved Tennyson Clark as a protagonist and character. She was quick-witted, smart and I just wanted to hug her. From the start, the reader can see how much she cares for Dominic and she knows that moving away from him is her best option. It’s the only that she can find herself again. I liked how while at times she thought she was weak, she was strong. Tennyson’s character growth was lovely to see and I liked that she grows throughout the book. 

Like in the first book it took me a while to warm up to Dominic. I think it’s mainly because he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. But also because he thought he wanted Tennyson in some ways and not others and that did put a mark on their relationship. I loved that he was protective and he felt that he needed to make sure that she was safe. Dominic grows throughout this WAGS book. And the reader gets to see not only his feelings change but the way that he looks at things. 

The romance in this one uses one of my favourite tropes of all time childhood friends to lovers. I love the richness and the history that it involves. Tennyson has loved Dominic for a love time and while she tried to hide those feels it hurt it. Dominic didn’t realise the feelings he had for Tennyson were more than friendship. And slowly throughout the book, they come together and both of their feelings are put out in the open. But there is a lot of pain in the process. And that also hurt them. 

Overall I loved reading this friends to lovers romance. Tennyson and Dominic were adorable and the reader can see them go from friends to more. But they are more than just lovers, they are best friends. They both need each other in more ways than they think. And that is shown throughout the novel. 

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Scoring the Player’s Baby: This is the one that I was most looking forward too. I love reading unexpected baby romances. Then throw that it with sports romances and I’m all for it. The third book in the WAGS series follows Kim Matlock and Ronin Palamo as a one-night stand turns into something more when they have a baby on the way. But they both have their problems; Kim has divorced her cheating football player ex and swore to never be with a football player again. And Ronin wants nothing more than a family, but right now he feels like he’s is being torn apart.  

Kim has gone through a lot before even the book even starts. Her ex-husband is a cheating bastard, and her dad is not any better. She doesn’t have many good male relationships to fall back on.  Because of all this, she does have a lot of trust issues and the effects all her relationships. As the novel goes on the reader can see that her walls start to and the true Kim comes out. 

Ronin is my favourite male from the WAGS series so far. He is funny, sweet and protective all wrapped up into one. From the start, the reader can see that Ronin has taken an interest in Kim and as the novel goes on it turns into something more. He cares a lot about family and will do anything for them, even those not related by blood. 

The romacne in Scoring the Player’s Baby was sweet and hot at the same time. Both Kim and Roini both have their issues and together they can break down each other’s walls and see beyond that. There are many ups and downs between these two. But the reader can see that do they care and love one another. It just takes a little bit more to break down Kim’s walls. 

Overall I think this is my favourite of the WAGS series. The romance was fantastic, the plot was engaging and I wanted to read more and more. I do wish we were able to see a little bit more of Kim and Ronin after the ending, but hopefully, there will be more books and we get to see more of them and the baby.  

Photo by Ömürden Cengiz on Unsplash

Overall I had a blast reading the WAGS series by Naima Simone. While each book was different, they still all connected and made sense. I liked all the romances and the couples. Again each one different and unique from each other. Scoring the Player’s Baby is my favourite so far, but I enjoyed everyone that I did read. I can’t wait to read more from Naima Simone for sure. Just need to work out what to pick up next. 

Have you read the WAG’s series by Naima Simone? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What are some of your favourite sports romacnes series. You can check some of mine out. Let’s Chat! 

Some Good and Some Bad | Mini YA Reviews

Some Good and Some Bad | Mini YA Reviews

Sep 13, 2020

I’ve been reading more young adult lately and I thought it would be fun to review some of my recent YA reads. I had some good and some bad times with my latest reads. There is one that I loved reading and had a good time with. And then the other was sort of DNF for me. Anyway, check out my thoughts now. 

Prince Charming (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Pages: 296
Publish date: May 1st 2018
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9781524738259
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair, a part-time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

Prince Charming:

I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while now and I finally picked it up recently. Ely picked this book as one of the books on my best friend picks my tbr. I bought it when I was in the States last year. And I’m so glad that I did pick it up because it was such a nice read. 

Dasiy was a pretty easy protagonist to get along with. She was fun and entertaining and I liked her a lot. She tried to not let people tell her who she should be. Even though her sister and the royal family did try to change her. She tried to be herself the whole time, but she also knew that this is her sister’s life now. I liked that she challenged everyone. It wasn’t in a bad way, but she tried to challenge everything that the royal family wanted for her. 

Dasiy’s family was hard to get along with. She just wanted to be herself, but that is hard when her sister is marrying a prince. But that was hard to see Daisy forced to change herself. I felt that her sister was a pain in the ass most of the book and all I wanted was for Dasiy to be herself.  

Miles was such a fun character. He made me laugh quite a bit and that just made reading Prince Charming much more fun. He acts like a spoilt brat at times and while that frustrated me. I think it made great banter between him and Dasiy. But I also loved that he had a soft side and that was lovely. 

The romance in Prince Charming was pretty adorable. It had a little bit of a love to hate vibe, but nothing too intense. The best way to explain the romance is sweet. It’s fun and Daisy and Miles are adorable together. They have great chemistry and they made me laugh quite a bit. In saying that I wish that were was a little more focus on the romance. I felt like it was going there and then it fell flat. I just wanted that little bit more. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading Prince Charming a lot. It was fun, entertaining and made me smile a lot. Daisy and Miles were adorable together, but I like I said I wished I was able to see more of them. I felt there was room to add a lot more. In saying that I do want to pick up the next book in the series for sure. It sounds like it’s going to be as fun reading as this one. 

Dark Secret (Darkhaven Saga #1) by Danielle Rose

Pages: 184
Publish date: 9781642631654
Publisher: Waterhouse Press LLC
ISBN: February 18th 2020
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

There’s no wrath like that of a witch scorned.

Seventeen-year-old spirit witch Ava López is the self-appointed guardian of the witches and humans of Darkhaven, an idyllic village nestled between the forest and the sea. Her watch: vicious and bloodthirsty vampires.

Ava is a novice in the eyes of her coven. If she expects to protect them and the secrecy of their powers, she must gain better control of her own. When a full moon ritual goes awry, control may be lost forever, and Ava is exiled from her coven. Forced to seek refuge among the beings she had always sworn herself to hunt, she vows revenge on those who have upended her life.

But the more time Ava spends away from her coven, the more she discovers a startling truth: the witches haven’t been honest with her. Ava’s quest to strip the truth from everything she’s ever known begins with the toughest realization of all—coming to terms with who she has become.

Dark Secret:

I was looking forward to picking this up. I didn’t know much about it, but it seemed right my alley. Sadly I was very disappointed with the outcome. It lacked on a lot of different levels for me. 

I call this a DNF because I just scanned through the second half of this one. I wanted to see if I was going to be able to get into it better, but it wasn’t for me. And I was just confused most of the book. The reader is thrown right into the action. Which I wouldn’t have minded, but it all felt rushed and nothing was explained. 

This is a tiny book and I felt that it tried to put way too much into one book and everything suffered for it. It was like one thing was happening after another, and then was no room for a break to explain everything that was happening. 

One of the things that I felt did suffer was the characterisation. I feel like I didn’t know her at all. She feels flat and didn’t feel real. I wanted to like Ava. And like the rest of the book, the reader is thrown into her character arc. And we don’t get to know her. I didn’t feel that she grew throughout the book and annoyed me a fair bit.  

The world of Dark Secret was also confusing. I wasn’t able to get an image of the world. Normally it takes me a little bit to get an idea of what a world looks like, but this book was moving too fast that I wasn’t able to fall into it and grasp it. 

Overall, Dark Secret isn’t the book for me. I wanted to like it. But nothing stuck and everything feel flat. The characters weren’t great and the plot just confused me. I have seen people that have enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for me. 

 

And that is it for these mini young adult reviews. As you can see I’ve had some bad and some good times lately. Have you read any of these? Are you planning to? Let’s Chat! 

  • 1
  • 2
  • …
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • …
  • 113
  • 114

Recent Posts

  • Books That I Was Surprised That I Loved
  • Completed Series I Want To Finish This Year
  • ARC Book Review | Just Drive by Devyn Sinclair
  • ARC Review: Wild Side by Elsie Silver
  • Another Good Reading Month | February Wrap Up

Subscribe to Angel Reads

Enter your email address to subscribe to Angel Reads and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Bookstagram

angelreads

book blogger 💻| romance books 💜| bookseller 📖
💌 angel@angelreads.com
📚53/150

April was a very good reading month for me, especi April was a very good reading month for me, especially after last month. I had some really fantastic reads in April. I did do a lot of re-reading this month but I had such blast. I re-read Caught Up and Play Along and the first 4 books in the Ironside Academy series. 📚

I read some books that I’ve been waiting for including the new book from Kels and Denise Stone, as well as the new Tessa Hale. ✨

Overall it was such a good month, lots of binge reading series and starting on some new authors. I’m so excited to see what May brings. 🖤

What was your favourite book that you read in April? 

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #smut #recentreads #aprilreads #aprilwrapup
IT’S RACE WEEK! 🏎️ If you didn’t know al IT’S RACE WEEK! 🏎️

If you didn’t know already I love F1, have ever since I was younger and decided that this year it would be fun to combined my love for F1 and reading together. 📚

After a week off we are back at it. We are in Miami this week’s and things are only just heating up. This week I’m reading Falling Off the Cliff  Kanitha P.

…

Formula 1 legend in the making and rising star Thiago Valencia is chasing redemption as well as his second World Champion title. With a tarnished reputation and an undetermined future in F1 that hangs by a terribly loose thread, he can’t afford to lose his seat. Thiago is ready to do anything to redeem himself and erase his past mistakes. When a mysterious woman intrudes on his private party in Monte Carlo, he is certain the universe has brought his polar opposite into his life as salvation. He is sunshine, she is moonlight; he is a bright star and she is a moonbeam.

Destiny takes the wheel, steering Kamari into Thiago’s orbit, but her open disdain and closely guarded heart warn her to stay away. Enchanted by her charms, Thiago is intent on melting her freezing barriers and tearing down the walls shielding her heart.

When Kamari agrees to help him save his future by being his fake girlfriend, the unexpected happens, triggered by a game of lies, secrets and desire.

As they plunge towards the finish line, the race veers offtrack and neither of them are ready to fall off the cliff.
… 

How Race Week Reads Will Work 

On Monday of race week I’ll announce the book I’ll be reading for the week, then throughout the week I’ll be posting stories and my thoughts. And then on Sunday, race day my review and final thoughts will go up.

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #f1 #formula1 #ausgp #raceweekreads #f1romance #sportsromance #fallingoffthecliff #kanithap #fullthrottle
A little late but I am finally getting to share Ra A little late but I am finally getting to share Race 5’s Race Week Reads review. This week I read, Downforce (Pit Lane #1) by Hannah Lily.

🏎️ Review 🏎️

I had so much fun reading this book. I knew I was in for a ride as soon as I started Downforce. It was entertaining, fun, and I just had a good time reading it. And while it does explore some heavy topics, I don’t think it took away from the fun nature of the book.

Right from the start, we can see the tension between F1 Presenter, Olivia Fraser and F1 Driver, Jonah Scott. And while silly at times, it was fun seeing them interact together. Both really didn’t like each other. They both had said things about and to one another that sometimes it caused chaos. And I was here for it.

I did find that at times, just silly things happened. I am not a massive rom-com reader, and there was a lot of falling into one another, and arguments stemmed from nothing. This is honestly just because I don’t like these types of scenes, but it didn’t really make me dislike the book at all.

I loved the whole road trip aspect of the book, it’s different from other F1 books I’ve read so far this year and just made for some interesting banter and lust. I do wish that the road trip was a little longer than it was because I did feel like the romance moved pretty quickly here, but again, it didn’t really affect how much I was enjoying the book.

The romance was this combination of being slow burn and full of angst right at the start, to the road trip happening and then bam. But I loved it, though. The banter between Olivia and Jonah was fantastic. I loved seeing them grow not only with one another but with themselves as well.

Overall, I had a great time reading Downforce and will be continuing the series for sure when the other books come out. The romance was angsty and just felt right. The found family aspect really worked well here, and the F1 aspects were pretty okay. Not the best I’ve seen, but not the worst either. If you are looking for a fun read that has a great romance and a little rom-comy, then pick this one up.
I’ve already had a pretty amazing reading year. I’ve already had a pretty amazing reading year. There have been so many books that I have enjoyed but there are some that I have just loved. 🖤

I didn’t realise before I put this post together that all of these books are from authors I’ve read and loved before. There hasn’t been a Rebecca Yarros book that I haven’t rated under 4 Stars. Elsie Silver is just making me love everything that she writes. Wild and Wrangled may be my favourite in the series. 📖

Three rereads also made it to this list. Binding 13 still makes me gasp and smile all at the same time. And Caught Up and Play Along just hit every time. 📚

I’ve honestly had a great year so far and since making this post a few more books I’ve read I’ve ended up loving. It’s going to be hard to pick my favourites at the end of the year that is for sure. ✨

What books have you loved reading this year? Are any books that made my list on yours? Let me know! 

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #smut #recentreads #2025favourites #onyxstorm #wildside  #binding13 #caughtup #wildandwrangled
Follow on Instagram

GoodReads

Angel - Angel Reads's bookshelf: currently-reading


goodreads.com

Contact Us

Send us an email and I'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message

© 2013 - 2025 · Angel Reads · Disclaimer