Angel Reads

09 Feb

Book Review: Heartland by Sarina Bowen

Posted by angelreads Book Reviews 1 Comment

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 239
Publish date: January 28th 2020
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ASIN: B07ZD8WWLZ
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.

Dylan is my best friend and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family’s orchard.
But I know better than to confess.
Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.
Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra…and he actually says yes.
But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship. And I don’t know if anything will be the same again.

Heartland:

I received an e-arc of Heartland by Sarina Bowen in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I’ve been reading Sarina Bowen for a couple of years now, and I’m always excited to read something new, especially about someone that I really enjoy. So when I heard that she was writing a book about Dylan and Chastity, I was intrigued. It wasn’t the matchup I was expecting, but I wanted to know more.

Jens Johnsson

Heartland by Sarina Bowen follows Dylan and Chastity as their once seemly easy friendship turns into something more that could change both of their lives. Chastity has always thought about Dylan as her best friend. He accepted her for who she was, where she came from and why she is a little different. When they were both on their farm’s things were easier. But now away at college, Chastity gets to see Dylan, the party boy. But then things start to change between them and both Chastity and Dylan see different sides of one another and life is about to get a little different.

I’m not going to lie, it took me some time to really like Chastity. I understood where she came from and where she grew it, but it also made it really hard to read at times. Her thoughts were very ‘childlike.’ But as the novel went on and Chastity came out of her shell, I really enjoyed getting to know her. I felt like her character arc was fantastic. Seriously, I loved it so much. The reader truly gets to see Chastity grow throughout Heartland. She becomes this strong, independent woman who can stand up on her own. That doesn’t let her past define her. And that was so fantastic to see.

Dylan was a pretty entertaining protagonist. Readers have gotten to see Dylan grow quite a bit and it’s finally time for him to shine and boy he does. There were so many times that the reader will want to scream at him, get him to face what’s in front of him. But he eventually got it. Dylan is a lot of fun to be around and while sometimes he acted like a dickhead, it wasn’t that bad. Throughout Heartland, the reader really gets to see Dylan grow. He comes into himself, he starts to understand and know what he wants, but he also has to face his past. And that comes with a lot of emotions. One of my favourite things about Sarina Bowen is that she can write male leads that are able to show their emotions that don’t hide from them. Stijn te Strake

The romance in Heartland for me had its ups and downs. For the most part, I loved it. Dylan and Chastity were totally adorable together. From the start, the reader is able to see how much they like and care for one another. But they can also see that there is a lot of push back from both Dylan and Chastity. It was really nice seeing them fall for one another, to see them go from friends to lovers, to something more. There were times throughout Heartland that both Dylan and Chastity had a lot of doubt, not just with their relationships but with themselves. And it was great seeing them work through that.

There are a lot of other themes that pop up throughout Heartland one of those guilt/regret. This was really interesting to see and I loved that it was looked into. This also caused a lot of tension between Dylan and Griffin. This really brought out a lot of issues that they have with one another, but it was also great to see them work through it all.

Laura Fuhrman

Overall, I really did enjoy Heartland by Sarina Bowen. It’s not my favourite in this series, but I really enjoyed getting to know Dylan a whole lot more. The reader gets to see them grow throughout the series and really come into himself in this one. The reader also gets to see Chastity put her life back together, to try and find a new normal. Heartland explores family and changing relationships. It has friends to lovers romance that is adorable and just put a smile on my face. I love the Shipley family so much and this really looks into a different side of them. If you’ve read the rest of the True North series, pick this one because it will melt your heart.

07 Feb

Starting the Year Off Right| January Wrap Up

Posted by angelreads Monthly Wrap Up 1 Comment

January was a great reading month for me. I always wanted to start the year off great, and while I did have a slow start. I was able to read a whole lot. For most of the month, I did read a lot of books from the same author. But I don’t even care.

I read a whopping 28 books in January and I’m feeling good already in February. I was on holiday in January so I didn’t read anything too heavy, but lots and lots of romance – which is pretty normal for me nowadays. But anyway here we go, these are all the books I read in January 2020.

The Bookworm Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts: This book was totally adorable and I adored reading it. It was the perfect way to start the year off. It had a lot of the things that I love about YA romance. The first love, coming of age and seeing the characters slowly fall for one another.

Taking Shots series by Cindi Madsen: I do a lot of rereading in January and that’s what happened here. I was feeling like a sports romance that I know I really enjoy and I hadn’t read this series in a while. I think that the Anatomy of a player might be my favourite.

The Year We Hid Away (The Ivy Years #2) by Sarina Bowen: I now felt like Sarina Bowen but didn’t feel like re-reading the whole series, so only picked up a couple. I just love this one so much, there is so much going on in both our protagonist lives, but when together, these two just worked.

The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years #3) by Sarina Bowen: This was the other one that I felt like re-reading. I adore Michael and John Rikker so much. They melt my heart and I love seeing this two fall in love with each other once again.

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen: Then I got Sarina Bowen’s new book and I put everything down to read it. My full review will be up in a couple of days for this one. But I did enjoy it.

Fake Boyfriend Series 1-6 by Eden Finley: I had heard good things about this series on twitter and by others and I thought that I would give it a try. It was an okay series overall. But I did enjoy some books more than others. Overall, there were some pretty great moments for me.

Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey (Check, Please! #1-2) by Ngozi Ukazu: I needed a little change of pass and this one came into work for me. So I decided to pick it up and I adored it so much. If you want a super cute, graphic novel series that is short then this is for you.

Lust Hate Love (Fallen Angel #4) by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine: I read the first 3 books in this series late last year and totally forgot that this one came out. So, of course, I had to pick it up. It was lots of fun that is for sure.

An Affair In Paris (Fallen Angel #3.5) by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine: I just read this to finish the series. Basically all smut, it was okay.

Angel’s Halo MC Books #4-#8 by Terri Anne Browning: Again late last year, I read the start of this series and decided to finally read the rest of them. MC books are wild and that’s why I love then. I’m going to say, this isn’t the best romance books out there, but they are such great fun.

The Rocker Series #1-#5 by Terri Anne Browning: I couldn’t just read one of her series and I had to start on another. And I can tell you right now, I’ve read even more now. Like I said before, this isn’t a great series. But what I love is that the author combines the worlds of her series and characters pop up here and there.

And that is it for January! What are the books that you read last month? What was your favourite? Lastly, what are you looking forward to reading in February? Let’s Chat!

04 Feb

Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads

Posted by angelreads Features, Top Ten Tuesday 9 Comments

This week I’m sharing Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

Something I have found out in the last couple of years is that I don’t give out 5 stars a lot! 4 Stars no problem but 5’s, this one is hard for me. So today I’m sharing the books on my TBR that I think might get to that 5-star mark! Like always these are in no order.

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare: This will be no surprise to anyone that this has made my list. I have n doubt in my mind that this one will be a 5-star or very close to a 5-star. This is the first book in her new trilogy in the shadowhunter world and I can’t wait!

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1) by Jessica Townsend: I’ve had this one since it came out, some time ago, but I just haven’t picked it up yet. But I have heard nothing but good things about this one. And I have no doubt it’s going to end up with a high rating.

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett: This is one of the only Jenn Bennett YA Contemporaries that I haven’t read it, simply because I keep on forgetting that I do have it. But I have loved and adored each of Jenn Bennett’s other books that I have read. So most likey this one is going to close to a 5-star.

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: This one is a strange one on my list. Science Fiction is always something that I struggle with reading, but I have a feeling about this one. I think I’m going to really love it.

Circe by Madeline Miller: Song of Achilles is one of my favourite books of all time, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Circe, so this is going to be very close to a 5-star for me for sure. It’s got everything that I love, by an author who writing I adore.

Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman: This has been on my TBR since before it came out, and I just haven’t had the chance to pick it up. But it sounds like something that just sounds like me.

Great And Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros: Is something that I am both looking forward to and not prepared for. I have cried in every one of her books that I have read and given pretty high ratings to each. I know that this one is going to tear me to pieces, but most likely be a 5-star.

The Ones Who Got Away (The Ones Who Got Away #1) by Roni Loren: I cannot wait to start this series. I’ve heard so many good things about it, especially from people that I know. And I think that this has the potential to be a 5-star read for me.

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett: This is the second Jenn Bennett on this list, but I feel even more confident that this will get a 5-star. This includes coming of age, a ‘bad boy’ and I am so ready. Like I said before I love Jenn Bennett and I can’t wait to read more from here.

Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6) by Lisa Kleypas: Now this one is something that I think might even be my favourite of the year. I read all of Lisa Kleypas books last year and I’m so excited to pick this one up.

And that is it for this post! What are the books on your TBR that you think will be 5-star reads? Do we have any that’s the same Let’s Chat!