Angel Reads

03 Aug

I Was Really Good This Month | July Haul

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In July I tried really hard not to buy many books. I tried to limit my book-buying to ones I already had on order at work. And I stuck to it, I seriously can’t believe how good I was. I only bought 3 books this month, with a couple arriving that I had already bought and a few arcs.

I’m so happy that I was able to stick to it. July was a slow month for releases so that did help. Anyway here are the books that I purchased and received this month. Like always these are in no order.

The Extraordinaries (The Extraordinaries #1) by T.J. Klune: This has been on my tbr since I read The House in the Cerurela Sea earlier this year and I bought it as soon as it arrived at work. I can’t wait to dig into this one and read it. I’m excited that is for sure. This sounds like it’s going to be fun but also moving and I can’t wait for that.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo: I’ve already spoken about how much I loved The Poet X, so there was no doubt that I was getting Elizabeth Acevedo’s new book, especially with how many good reviews it had already gotten. I’m so excited to read this one. But I will need to be in the right frame of mind because I think I will be crying like a baby.

Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer: I finally picked this one in July. I bought the rest of the series late last year, but I trouble getting the final book in at work. But I finally did. And now I can’t binge read the series. I’ve already read the first book and enjoyed it quite a lot so can’t wait to read more.

The Promise in a Kiss (Cynster #0.5) by Stephanie Laurens: Ely recommended I start this series and this one finally arrived. I’ve already heard good things about this series and I can’t wait to dig into a long historical romance. I love them so much. I now have books 0.5 and 1, so I think I will start them both next month.

The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn: I haven’t read an Avery Flynn book before, but this one sounds like it’s going to be fun. It also sounds like it’s going to be hate to love romance and I’m so in for that. I love the tension, the fights that really aren’t fights, the banter. And everything that follows that.

The Reality of Everything (Flight & Glory #5) by Rebecca Yarros: I received this one for review and I could not be happier. It’s one of my most anticipated reads and I can’t wait to share everything about it. But let me tell you I cried a lot in this book.

A Widow’s Guide to Scandal (The Sons of Neptune #1) by Hallie Alexander: Like I said in my review this one took me by surprise, but I’m really excited that I got asked to review it. I didn’t know much about it. And there were no reviews at the time, but I’m so glad that I took the chance.

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata: This is Zapata’s most recent release and I had to pick it up right away. It was available with Kindle Unlimited which was really great for my buying ban. I’ve already read this one, and while I didn’t like it as some of her others, I still enjoyed reading it.

And those are the books that I got in July! What are some of the books that you received or bought last month? Let’s Chat!

02 Aug

A Very Slow Reading Month | July Wrap Up

Posted by angelreads Monthly Wrap Up 1 Comment

July was a really slow reading month for me. I only managed to read 7 books in July and most of them were at the end of the month. This normally does happen around this time of year. I’m not sure why, but it does so I knew that it was coming.

And while I didn’t read many books this month, I did read a good range and I enjoyed most of them. I’m already having a good start to August, so let’s hope it keeps on going like this fro the rest of the month. Anyway, let’s get into it.

Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones (Check, Please! #3-4) by Ngozi Ukazu: I finally got around to reading this one and gosh did I love it. This book like the first one just put a smile on my face. It makes me so happy. The romance is ADORABLE and I want everyone to read it. I even got my younger sister to pick it up recently and she loved it as much as I did. It’s a sports m/m romance that includes baking. What else more could I want?

Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards #1) by Sarah MacLean: I’ve been wanting to pick up Sarah MacLean for some time now and I bought the first book in her newest series a few months ago and it finally arrived at the end of June. And I’m so glad that I picked it up. Because this one was fantastic. I love romance so much. It’s full of banter and mystery and made reading it so much enjoyable. I’ve just ordered books 2 and 3 and can’t wait to read them when they arrive.

The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) by J.R. Ward: I’ve slowly been making my way through this series again. It’s a massive series and I don’t want to do what I did the first time is read 11 books in a row and then get burnt out. So I’m trying to spread them out. I enjoyed this one quite a lot. I liked being back with Wrath and Beth and seeing how their story is going, but from their point of view. They had to deal with many issues in this one and I liked how it explored both supernatural and mundane themes.

Under Locke by Mariana Zapata: As I’ve said before, over the last couple months I’ve slowly been making my way through Mariana Zapata’s backlist of books. I think this one has to be one of my favourites. I liked the romance a lot in this one, as well as everything else that is going on. If you don’t know already, I love tattooed and tattooing so this one appealed to me from the start. Like all her books the romance is very slow, but I like seeing that sometimes in romance.

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata: As I was reading her backlist titles, she released a new book and it was available on KU so I jumped on it. I enjoyed certain parts of this one, but it wasn’t my favourite that is for sure. I liked that it was a second chance/friends to lovers romance. It made for great tension and banter. I liked the friendship that Bianca and Zac had how it built. However, I felt that they jumped from friends to lovers, without anything happening. The reader knows how Bianca feels, but I felt that we didn’t know that about Zac and that made it jarring.

The Reality of Everything (Flight & Glory #5) by Rebecca Yarros: This book murdered me. I cried so much while reading this one. I can’t talk about this too much as it does spoil the rest of the series, especially the previous book. But gosh, Rebecca Yarros is able to write grief in such a way that you feel everything and anything. It hurts the soul. My full review will be up soon for this one. But if you have read the first four books in this series, you need to read this one.

A Widow’s Guide to Scandal (The Sons of Neptune #1) by Hallie Alexander: This book took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. It includes not only a fantastic romance but also great characters. Henrietta was such a pleasure of a protagonist. I loved knowing about her life and I loved getting to know her more. Marcus was a character and he added another dimension to the novel that lifted it. You can check out more of my thoughts in my full review.

And those are the books that I read in July! What books did you read in July? Have you read any of the books that I have? What are your plans for August? Let’s Chat!

01 Aug

Book Tag: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus Character Book Tag

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Today I’m doing the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus Character Book Tag. This tag was created by May @ Forever and Everly, and she also created all of the graphics you see in this post expect the post banner. I was tagged by Ely @ Earl Grey Books.

I love the world that Rick Riordan has created and after re-reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians earlier this year it reminded how much I love these books. So what is better than doing the Percy Jackson Tag. Anyway, here we go!

I’ve spoken about this already this year but there are two books that take this spot. And they have to be Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare and The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Chain of Gold was simply amazing and it felt incredible to be back in the shadowhunter world. I loved all the characters and the time period.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a magical and profound novel that truly takes the reader on an experience. You can check my full review to see what else I love.

I really could add The House in the Cerulean Sea again but I will resist the temptation. But This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield. It’s a powerful read that explores the low socioeconomic communities in Australia. This book made me feel so many things from anger to hope. From sadness to being proud.

This poignant coming of age story that captures the lives of those that struggle day by day. This is the perfect example of how amazing #LoveOzYA is and why more people should be reading it. You can check out my full review now.

For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I actually spoke about books that I love that less that 2000 ratings on Goodreads. But one of my favourite series that I think needs more love is The Conqueror’s Saga by Kiersten White. I really wish more people would read this series. While it’s a few years old now, it’s still one that I’m always recommending to customers and other readers and bloggers.

I love that is a gender switch historical fiction of Vlad the Impaler. It’s got court intrigue, war and explores the lengths people would go to for love, approval and just the thought of being forgotten.

This is a really hard question for me. Most of the time I go into book thinking that I will like it at least. I normally don’t pick up books that I think I will dislike. However, It Ain’t Me, Babe (Hades Hangmen #1) by Tillie Cole was so out of my comft zone, but I ended up really enjoying it.

This series is so much darker than anything that I had read before. But this series is so intersting and took me by surprise. It deals with a lot of dark and harsh issues that did make parts really hard to read and it’s not a series for everyone. You can check out my series review now.

This one has to go to City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. While it’s not her written work or even my favourite of hers. There is something about where this series started that makes me feel comfy. This series and the world always feels fantastic to jump into. Whenever ever I pick up a new book in this world, I just have to smile, because it does feel like home.

I love the relationship between King and Harleigh Rose in The Fallen Men series. The banter between the two is so good and just put a smile on my face. I loved seeing how they cared for one another and would do anything not only for each other but for their family as well.

Both King and Harleigh Rose have gone through a lot growing up, but they have always had each other and the reader can see that from the start. They are both so protective over one another and I liked really enjoyed that.

This is a recent read of mine, but it has to be The Reality of Everything (Flight & Glory #5) by Rebecca Yarros. This is the 5th book in the Flight & Glory series and gosh it tore me apart, but I couldn’t stop reading it. The emotions in this book are very real and raw. But also so beautiful. Rebecca Yarros is able to write grief exceptionally well. I can’t for everyone else to read this because it’s fantastic.

This one has to go to Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1) by Lisa Kleypas. Before I picked this one up I had only heard good things about it. And as soon as I started reading it I could tell why. The characters are fantastic, the romance is adorable. The writing is also fantastic. I love how Lisa Kleypas writes her characters and the way that everything connects in all her series.

This is a historical romance series that I always recommend others. Because it’s got everything that you would want from a historical romance series.

At the moment this would be Check Please! by Ngozi Ukazu. This series just makes me so happy. It would make me forget that I was stuck on an island. I just got my younger sister to read it and she loved it as well. It is a sports romance graphic novel that explores an m/m relationship and that just makes me so happy. The romance is adorable. Bitty just gets me and I want everyone else to read it.

There are two current books on my TBR that I think I will give 5 stars or they will come very close for sure. The first is The Extraordinaries (The Extraordinaries #1) by T.J. Klune. As I said The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books this year and with all the great reviews that The Extraordinaries has been getting I don’t expect any less from this.

The second would have to be Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. I read The Poet X earlier this year and fell in love. I can’t even begin to explain how beautiful and stunning is and I know that Clap When You Land will be exactly the same.

Ohh so many, but I need to get my hands on Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett. I love all the books I’ve read from her, but this one sounds like it’s more up my alley than any of her other books and that makes me so excited. It got pushed back until November but I’m so excited to read it.

This one has to go to Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes. Ely picked this one for me in our Best Friend picks our TBR challenge and I’m so happy that she did.

It’s an excellent novel that has a great 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. If you are looking for a positive mental health novel that has a little bit of everything then this is for you.

This has to go to no other than Percy Jackson. No many how many times I read it I still laugh whenever I read it. It has a great combo of being funny, but also it looked at more serious events that happen throughout the story. Percy is similar one of the best characters I’ve ever read and it is because of his humor. This series is one of those series that I laugh out loud with.

This has to be Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I love so much about this book and series. It’s one of the first I read that got me into YA. It’s everything that I love in a supernatural/paranormal YA book that I was looking for then and it’s still something that I look for today.

I love the characters, the romances, the storyline. I love the emotions that I go through reading this series. There are so many ups and downs, but they are so real and I love it.

This would have to be Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. There were so many things left to happen, so many things left unsaid in previous books and I had no idea where she would be going. What was going to happen? I was so anxious to finish this book.

I don’t even know the answer to this one. So I went to my Goodreads and check. Solitaire by Alice Oseman has a 3.55 rating on Goodreads. But I loved it. It was a 5 star read for me. And if I reread again now I think it would still be the same rating.

I love so much about this book. From the characters to the romance. The writing is gorgeous and the plot grabs you right from the start. Solitaire is funny, beautifully written, and also incredibly moving.

I normally don’t finish books that I’m already disliking and it’s even rarer for me to dislike a book so much that I would want to punch it, so I can’t think of anything for this.

I read so many romance books now that this list could become very long. But a recent romance that I loved is Grey and Beatrice from Project Duchess (Duke Dynasty #1) by Sabrina Jeffries. The romance was just fantastic. I loved the banter, the build-up and everything else as well. I’ve also really enjoyed Sabrina Jeffires other couples in this series so far.

Woo! That is done. That took a while, but I had so much fun doing the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus Character Book Tag If you would like to do this tag, go on ahead. Have you read any of these books mentioned? What do you think? Let’s Chat!