Angel Reads

21 Nov

I Tried Three New-To-Me Romance Authors

Posted by angelreads Guest Post 2 Comments

Hello, it’s Ely and it’s time for my guest post for this month! In preparation for this post, I picked up three historical romances authors that I’d never read before and now I’m going to share with you what I thought about them and all that good stuff. So, let’s do it.

Julia Quinn

First up, you might have seen that Angel and I recently buddy read The Duke and I, which we discussed over on my blog here. I absolutely loved it and I think Quinn has a serious chance of becoming one of my top romance authors. I’ve already read book two in the series and now I’m just waiting for the next ones to arrive. I find her writing really easy to read and her characters are all so fun and witty—I love that. So this was definitely a win.

Maya Rodale

I just read It’s Hard Out Here For A Duke the other day and honestly? I did not like it. I don’t often dislike historical romances—I definitely have my favourites, but most of the time I mostly enjoy them. I just found this one kind of boring. It’s kind of dual perspective, but it switches back and forth between the two characters multiple times in a chapter. They often repeat the exact same things and that just didn’t work for me. I don’t think Maya Rodale is an author I would pick up again.

Gaelen Foley

Rounding this off with another incredible author. I read The Duke a little while ago and also loved it. Side note; why do I like Dukes so much? Anyway, this is a very different type of story to other romances I’ve read and at the start, I wasn’t too sure about it. There’s a bit of a murder mystery to it and the protagonist is also a courtesan, which kind of seemed like a strange mix but it worked. I bought the rest of the series and I’ll be reading those shortly!

And there we are. Have you read any of these romance authors? Are you adding any of them to your list?

19 Nov

Author Interview: Rilzy Adams | Romance Thursdays

Posted by angelreads Author Interviews, Romance Thursdays 1 Comment

This week on Romance Thursdays, I interview Rilzy Adams. You can also check out last weeks interview with K.E Osborn, where we talk about writing MC romances and more.

Romance Thursdays is a feature that spotlights romance authors to highlight how amazing the romance writing community is. Each week I’m will be interviewing a different romance author from across subgenres as well as both traditionally and self-published. I want to share their experience writing romance and why they love it so much. While also focusing on their writing and books.

Rilzy Adams is the author of the Falling Like A Johnson series, Birthday Shot, Go Deep and many more black romances. Let’s get into this interview.

Hello Rilzy, and welcome to Angel Reads. For those that haven’t read anything by you yet. Tell us a little about yourself and your books?

Heya! I am a thirty-year-old attorney ridiculously obsessed with coffee, sushi, prosecco and love. My books cover a huge range, from fun, sexy, low angst ‘Go Deep’ and ‘Birthday Shot’ to more winding roads to love such as in ‘The Gift’, which explores finding love after the death of a spouse and ‘Yours Always’ which dealt with a couple trying to hold it together after their marriage is hit by a deep tragedy. I think the important thing is, regardless of how it is presented that love with all its beauty and, at times, chaos is at the forefront!

Why did you start writing romance novels? Is there anything in particular that drew you to it over other genres?

I started off writing epic fantasy and then I guess low fantasy but I started to realize that whenever I wanted to dig into a book and get lost that I always ended up picking up a romance novel. And I loved daydreaming about love. I think it is so important to write what you can’t stop reading and or thinking about it and so it was a natural transition.

You write a range of contemporary romances from series to standalones. Is there one that you prefer to write more? Why do you like switching between the two?

I think I like series more than standalones because you get to check back in with couples you have grown to love to see how things are progressing and also explore characters who might not have had the stage in a previous book but have interesting stories to tell. I write stories as they come to me and as much as I love series sometimes the story meant to be told takes the form of a standalone.

What is your favourite thing about romance as a genre? Why do you like reading and writing it?

I think love is just the most simple but yet most complicated thing in the world and there is so much beauty and hope in that even though sometimes the path to love and experiences with love can be painful. I love exploring that through reading and writing.

There are many subgenres in romance. Is there something new that you would like to try and write? Is there a subgenre that you love to read, but don’t think you would write something in that subgenre?

The answer to both of these questions is the same. I know at first blush it doesn’t make sense but hear me out :). I love the idea of writing a paranormal romance. Also, I love reading paranormal romances but I swear every time I have a plot that I think would be a good fit and I sit down to write, it just doesn’t work. So it might be that I don’t ever end up writing something in that sub-genre but definitely not for lack of trying.

What are some of your favourite tropes that you like reading and writing in the romance genre?

I love writing friends to lovers and enemies to lovers. I love reading enemies to lovers, fake relationships and forced proximity.

Who are some of your favourite romance authors? Who has inspired you to write?

I think hands down Christina C Jones and Nicole Falls are two of my favourites. I also like Brenda Jackson and I went through a period of time being obsessed with Eric Jerome Dickey. And I pre-order anything Katrina Jackson writes even without reading the synopsis, title or anything. I think I have also probably read almost everything in Nora Roberts’ catalogue – maybe not the most recent stuff – but between the ages of fifteen and maybe twenty I tore through her books.

What are some of the ways that you think we can start overcoming the stigma of romance novels?

I think I could rant about this forever. I honestly don’t get where the stigma comes from. Well, I mean… I know. It is definitely rooted in sexism and the thought that anything that deals with emotions like love is feminine and therefore frivolous whereas genres with believed masculine energies are lauded. Love is such a universal experience – at some point in everyone’s lives, they have longed for it, chased it, run from it, fallen into it, rose up in it, embraced it, tried their damndest to figure it out. It is the most relatable thing there is. And that is even before we consider that although romance novels tell a love story there are often so many other facets of life covered: dealing with loss, self-love, social issues etc.

When I was growing up I was told that romance novels were not ‘serious’ but I was never told that when I was dug into a fantasy novel. I think the only way to overcome the stigma is to continue challenging it. In these circumstance reading and writing romance novels proudly is in itself an act of rebellion against the idiotic stigmas.

Thank you so much for coming by Angel Reads. It was lovely having you here. And I can’t wait to read more of your books!

I’m so excited to start picking up Rilzy Adams books, I already have a few waiting on my Kindle. I hope that you enjoy this interview and will check out Rilzy Adams books up as well.

If there is an author that you would like to see featured here, please do let me know and I will try my best. If you are a romance author and would like to be apart of Romance Thursdays, don’t hesitate to message me.

Have you read any books from Rilzy Adams before? Are you excited for more Romance Thursday posts? Let’s Chat!

About the Author

I’m a twenty-something lawyer by day and an author of contemporary romance by night.

Although I love love, I flirt with urban fantasy and thrillers because, well, sometimes we need a few witches and gore to spice things up! I live in the Caribbean and am addicted to coffee, sushi, Prosecco and sunshine.

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website

17 Nov

Characters I’d Name a Pet After | TTT

Posted by angelreads Features, Top Ten Tuesday 11 Comments

This week I’m sharing the characters that I would like to name a pet after. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

I want to get a cat so bad. I’ve had two cats over the years, with a mix of birds and fish. And while getting a cat at the moment isn’t possible I hope that I can get one of my own soon. So today I thought I would share the characters that I would name a pet after.

Lucy from The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: I mean how couldn’t I. I can’t with Lucy at all. Every time he opened his mouth, I just laugh. He tries to be this antichrist, but in reality, he is a little boy who just wants to be loved. I think it would be a perfect name for a little black cat.

Kit from The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare: I mean why not? Kit is one of my favourite characters of all time and I cannot wait for him to get this own series. I’m dying to know more about him and the life he is living at the moment.

Luc from Origin series by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Luc is a blast of a character and I think he also makes for the perfect name for any little kitten that I may get.

Annabeth from Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan: I mean I could name my pet after many of the characters in this series and be happy. But not only do I love the name Annabeth. But she is also the daughter of my favourite goddess and that just works for me so much.

Daisy from Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas: Not only do I love Daisy so much, but I also adore the name. I can just imagine it now and It makes me want to have a little kitten so bad.

Jagger from Eyes Turned Skyward (Flight & Glory #2) by Rebecca Yarros: He just so happens to be one of my favourite characters from this series and I think it would make an adorable name for a little fluff ball. And in reality, I would name a pet after many of Yarros characters.

Riley from Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling #6) by Nalini Singh: I mean I would name my pet after many of the characters in this series. without a doubt, but this is my most recent read and I adore Riley so much.

Lada Dragwlya from The Conqueror’s Saga by Kiersten White: If you don’t know already I adore this series. It’s one of my favourites and it’s one that I’m always recommending. And If I could name my pet after any fierce and strong female, it would be Lada for sure.

And those are some of the characters that I would name my pet after. Are any of these on your list? What characters would or have you named your pet after? Let’s Chat!