Angel Reads

11 Apr

Book Review: Repeat by Kylie Scott

Posted by angelreads Book Reviews No Comments

Repeat by Kylie Scott

Pages: 304
Publish date: April 7th 2019
Publisher: –
ASIN: B07KWCJ9S6
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

When a vicious attack leaves 25-year-old Clementine Johns with no memory, she’s forced to start over. Now she has to figure out who she was and why she made the choices she did – which includes leaving the supposed love of her life, tattoo artist Ed Larsen, only a month before.

Ed can hardly believe it when his ex shows up at his tattoo parlour with no memory of their past, asking about the breakup that nearly destroyed him. The last thing he needs is more heartache, but he can’t seem to let her go again. Should they walk away for good, or does their love deserve a repeat performance?

Repeat:

I received an e-arc of Repeat by Kylie Scott from InkSlinger PR ink exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve slowly been making my way through Kylie Scott books – and I’ve really enjoyed all that I’ve read. So when I heard that she was bringing out a new book that also included a tattooist artist as a love interest – I knew that I needed it. Repeat first came out as an audible audiobook in January, but now you can get the ebook.

Repeat follows protagonist Clementine after she tries to put her life together after an attack leaves her with no memory of her life before. She can do the basics of life but remember anything about her life isn’t going to come easy. She doesn’t know who she is or who she was. So when she finds out the tattooist artist who did her tattoos she knows where to start. But then things become way more complicated. She used to date Ed, and she nor Ed know why she left him. Now she has more to figure out, but could someone still be out there to get her?

Repeat was a really interesting read. I didn’t really know what to expect when going in. While the theme of a character losing their memory is and has been very common, it’s done in a different way here. Kylie Scott has managed to use a common trope, especially in romance and make it her own.

Romina Farías

Clementine was a really interesting protagonist. I really wanted to love her, but there was something that made me hold back – and I don’t think that this is a bad thing. Clementine doesn’t remember anything about her life before she was attacked. It was such an interesting concept that Kylie Scott utilised here. Clem knows nothing about her life before, so the reader gets to see her trying to put the pieces back together. It was really interesting seeing Clem find out about her life from other people, but I also loved that she didn’t take everything on board. She found that this was the time to change who she is, and she becomes who she felt she needed to me.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Ed at first, he didn’t really want anything to do with Clem and I understood why. But it was also very hard to read. He was very standoffish and sometimes he came off as someone who didn’t care. But that isn’t the case. The reader can see that Ed cares about Clem a whole a lot, and even though she really hurt him, he knows she needs help right now. And as Repeat went on, I grew to like Ed more and more. His love for Clem really shined through and I really wanted him to be happy.

Kylie Scott has a knack of writing both male and female characters that and interesting, but also have many sides to them. They all have their faults and there was nothing different in Repeat. Both Clementine and Ed have their up’s and downs and that is what made reading about them more real. The reader is able to see that they both care about one another, but is that what’s hurting them the most?

Morgan McDonald

The romance in Repeat was really interesting. Ed and Clem have a lot of history, but Clem doesn’t remember any of it. Including why she broke up with him, and how it tore them both apart. I also really liked that the reader was as much in the dark as Clem. So we were finding out everything about Ed and Clem together, with her. It was like they were falling in love again. The other week I talked about my favourite romance tropes, and Repeat explores that of a second chance romance. And I thought it was done really well here. I did feel that at times it moved a little too fast, but it wasn’t a massive issue for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed Repeat. It’s a second chance romance that is gritty, hard to read at times, but also put a smile on my face. Clemintine and Ed are really interesting characters that were perfect for each other, without being perfect themselves. Kylie Scott knows how to write a good romance and she has done it again with Repeat. It’s addicting, sexy and just oh so good. If you are looking for a romance that is a little different than this is for you.

08 Apr

Book Review: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

Posted by angelreads Book Reviews No Comments

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

Pages: 432
Publish date: April 16, 2019
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9781534425149
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.

Serious Moonlight:

I received an e-arc of Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about this book.

I’ve read two of Jenn Bennett’s books previously – and adored them. Starry Eyes was a great second chance romance, while Alex, Approximately just got to me. And Serious Moonlight was just so good, a mix of romance with a little mystery, it just worked here.

Serious Moonlight follows Birdie as she begins her summer job at a historic Seattle hotel. Closed off from the world, Birdie took comfort in a life where she could be a heroic detective. After an awkward encounter with Daniel Aoki, they now have to work the night shift together. But when they stumble on a real-life mystery, they have to work together if they want to discover who the famous reclusive writer is meeting at the hotel.

João Silas

Birdie was a really interesting protagonist in Serious Moonlight and I am not sure how I feel about her. Birdie has had a hard life and that has really influenced her. While she does have an outgoing nature at times, I felt that she is also very withdrawn. Not only does she like to keep to herself, but doesn’t know how to handle certain situations. However, this made for an interesting read. Because Birdie’s character development and character arc were fantastic. The reader is able to see Birdie really grow throughout Serious Moonlight and not only become comfortable with others but also herself.

I felt the same about Daniel. There were times where I really enjoyed getting to know him, but then he did some things throughout the novel that just didn’t sit well with me. Daniel like Birdie has gone through a lot. Things are revealed as the novel goes on and Birdie and Daniel get to know one another. I really liked that Daniel had a positive outlook on everything that he did. Well, he had his own demons her really tried to help those around him.

One thing that I think that Jenn Bennett does so well, is create characters that are, honest, real and have flaws. And she did it again in Serious Moonlight. It makes reading her books, feel more real. Meaning, I don’t have to imagine these characters, these worlds. They just fit.

The romance in Serious Moonlight was really interesting and different from what I’ve read from Jenn Bennett. Birdie and Daniel had met before the start of the novel, and it wasn’t the most graceful goodbye. So when they have to work together, everything gets a little awkward. But it was kind of cute. I loved how innocent Birdie was and how Daniel loved playing upon that. But not in a bad way, he just pushed her out of her comfort zone a little – and that made both of them grow. There were parts throughout their relationship that I didn’t love. But it was out weight by how adorable they were together.

Michał Parzuchowski

The theme of family was a big part of this novel. Both Birdie and Daniel have different family lifestyles and it was great seeing these two come together. Birdie mostly grew up with a very strict and protective grandmother. While Daniel’s family is more outgoing, after some events his mother becomes very protective of him.

I don’t think that Jenn Bennett gets enough love, this is the third novel of hers that I have read and I’ve loved. Like I said before Jenn Bennett knows how to write real and honest characters. They have their faults, but they are also so compelling and I want to cheer for them. Both Daniel and Birdie have been through a lot before the novel start, and the reader gets to see them go on a journey and grow.

Overall, I really enjoyed Serious Moonlight. It’s a great combination of mystery and contemporary that captures real characters. With writing that is easy to read, the characters float off the page. Jenn Bennett is able to create a story that is easy to follow and to fall in love with. Daniel and Birdie were fantastic characters that really stood out for me. If you haven’t had the chance of reading a Jenn Bennett, then I think you should get on it.

02 Apr

In A Little Slump | March Wrap Up

Posted by angelreads Monthly Wrap Up 1 Comment

I knew I was going into this reading slump, I could feel it. I never really plan what books I am going to read each month, most of the time, I read whatever I am feeling like. If there is a new release or a review book that I need to read that is really the only certainty. But my reading in March was just slow for me. I was really busy with work, life was a little crazy, and I just didn’t know what to read.

But anyway, I ended up reading 7 books in March, and I only loved about 2 of them. So I was having a pretty bad month even with the books that I was reading. Anyway, here are the books that I read in March.

Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3) by Susan Stoker: I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn’t get into it. I liked the concept of the novel. But I felt that the characters were all one dimensional and I didn’t feel like they had substance. I could feel the connection between Arrow and Morgan a little, but it just all went way to fast. Everything just feels flat to me. I also have no idea what I kept on reading.

Lover at Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11) by J.R. Ward: I thought I had read this one, but I hadn’t. In saying that I really wanted to love this one. As soon as these characters were introduced, I need to know their story. But I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I was really disappointed that this one wasn’t a story solely about Qhuinn and Blay. I think they both deserved that. Nevertheless, the parts that were about Qhuinn and Blay were really good. I loved getting to know them ever more and loved seeing them together – finally.

Mac (Desert Sinners MC, #1) by Rachel Lyn Adams: I didn’t hate this one, I didn’t. But I also didn’t like it. There were some parts of this book that didn’t really sit with me. I have read some really good motorcycle club books over the past couple of years, I’ve also read some pretty bad ones. And Mac sits in the middle. There were some parts that I really enjoyed and other parts turned me off. Nevertheless, I might continue this series in the future, but I am not sure.

Brick (Cooper Construction #1) by Jen Davis: Like with motorcycle club books, I’ve also read a range of ‘gang’ books. And this one has to be one my less favourite. I am not even sure why I kept on reading. It wasn’t for me at all. I just didn’t like the protagonists, the characters, the plot. Nothing really.

Extra Credit: Three Ivy Years Novellas (The Ivy Years #6) by Sarina Bowen: I had already read two of these Novella’s before, but I decided to re-read them both and read the newest edition from Sarina Bowen. And can I just say that I adored it so much? Yesterday would have to be my favourite of the three. It was fantastic seeing John and Graham again.

Eyes on Me by Rachel Harris: Was a fantastic read. It’s a lighthearted romance novel that explores friendship, new romances, but also looks at grief and learning to overcome it. The writing was easy to read and the romance was just adorable. Rachel Harris has a knack for writing very real characters and she does it yet again in Eyes on Me. Read my full review.

Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally: It was a little bittersweet reading the final book in this series as I have been reading it for some time now. But Coming up For Air was a great way to finish it all off. It explores coming of age, being a teen and looking into the future. You will laugh, you will smile and you might even cry. Maggie and Levi are adorable together, but also have fantastic character arcs of their own. If you are looking for a cute, quick read, then this one if for you. You can check out my full review now.

And that is it! While march was a downer, April is already looking up for me. What did you read in March? What was your favourite and less favourite read? Let’s Chat!