Angel Reads

16 Jul

Book Review: The Anti-Hero by Sara Cate

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The Anti-Hero (The Goode Brothers #1) by Sara Cate

Pages: 380
Publish date: July 14, 2023
Publisher: –
ASIN: B0C28VD15F
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

I’ve been good long enough. As the eldest son of Austin’s most prominent preacher, I’ve lived my life on the virtuous side. No scandals. Flawless image. Clean reputation. That’s the way it must be if I’m going to take his place someday. But everything changes when I find out my father is a VIP member of a local kink club. A liar. A cheater. A hypocrite.

Now, I’m done being righteous. And when the club owner’s jaded girlfriend comes to me with a proposal, I can’t resist. Sage is nothing like the women I’ve dated before. Pink hair, tattoos, piercings. I know it’ll burn my father’s reputation to the ground when she and I are seen together. But our fake dating scheme isn’t enough. We need videos— dirty videos.

The more we film these scenes, the more I like it. She wants me to degrade her, hurt her, violate her. And God help me, I want it too. But it’s hardly fake anymore, and before long I don’t recognize the Goode man I used to be.

The Anti-Hero:

Thank you to Sara Cate and The Author Agency for an earc of The Anti-Hero. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Please check trigger and content warnings before hopping into The Anti-Hero by Sara Cate.

I was nervous going into The Anti-Hero by Sara Cate. I have loved some Sara Cate and then didn’t really feel some others. But this one caught my eye, and you know what? As soon as I started it, I didn’t want to put it down. It’s jumped to the top of my Sara Cate list.

What do you do when two people are thrown together and both their lives are turned on their heads? You make sex tapes and pop them online for everyone to see, ruining your and your family’s reputation. Adam Goode has grown up in the church. He doesn’t know much else. But when everything he once knew, isn’t what he believed, he feels lost.

Adam wanted to be so much like this father. He wanted him to respect him, to be proud of him. But he isn’t the man that Adam thought he was. He is the opposite. And he not only hurt his family, but he hurt Adam in a way that he doesn’t know how to recover from. Then he runs into Sage and she is the opposite of everything he thought he wanted in a partner. Both are hurt by those they thought loved them, and a plan is put into place to ruin everything.

Photo by Diego Lozano on Unsplash

Let me start with how much I loved Adam Goode. There was something right from the start that just worked with him. He has gone through a lot of trauma and he doesn’t even realise it. Adam has to find himself again after everything happens with his father and that takes a toll on him. It was heartbreaking but also beautiful seeing him find himself again. He has been so closed off most of his life, he has lived it in such a certain way. His growth was kinda amazing and I haven’t seen it much with male characters before.

Sage is such a fantastic female protagonist. I knew from the start that I was going to like her, but I didn’t know how much. I don’t even know exactly why I liked her so much. She just captured me. Her character growth like Adam is really well done. The reader is able to see her change throughout the story. Before the book even starts Sage has gone through some stuff and it’s already shaped her. But meeting Adam, and learning to love him, takes her on a journey. Sage is strong and capable and she says all the right of stuff! Some of her lines hit!

There was a lot of healing in The Anti-Hero. It has a lot of emotional abuse that both Adam and Sage experience and it’s tough going. There is a lot of gaslighting and this takes a toll on both our characters. As I said both Adam and Sage have some fantastic character growth and it really is explored through all the heartbreak and events they go through. Adam has to navigate a new life, and Sage has to figure out what she wants. There are a lot of scenes between Adam and his father that are very hard to read. His father hurts him in so many different ways, but I think the emotional side is the big one. I liked that we get to see both our main characters vulnerable. It added so much depth and power to the book.

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

I loved the revenge aspect of The Anti-Hero. While it’s been done before. The impact that it had was much greater. Adam didn’t want to ruin his whole family. But he felt that it was the only way for anyone. to listen to them. For Sage, I felt that is more about freedom for her than it being revenge on her ex. Honestly, he just left and there wasn’t a whole lot to do with him, except for one scene. But gosh this revenge was hot! I wished we got to see a little bit more of them filming and the viral aspect of it all. But that wasn’t a massive deal for it.

And of course, what starts as a revenge pact, turns into something more. The reader does get to see them two fall in love. While at times it did feel a little insta-lovey, it took them both a while to admit their feelings. But I felt that fit in with the book. They both had a lot to sort through emotionally and if they just jumped into a relationship, it would have not let them grow. I liked how they both pushed each other. Pushed each other to love the other, be better people. And to simply believe in themselves. There is a small use of the miscommunication trope. It’s not a massive deal, more like ‘I don’t believe I am good enough for you.’

In true Sara Cate fashion, this book is sexy and hot. I mean they are making dirty videos for revenge and oohh it was good. There is a few content warnings here so just double-check before you delve into this book, especially in relation to the smutty scenes.

Photo by Aleksandr Popov on Unsplash

I am also super excited to read the rest of the brother’s stories. We know a little bit about them, we know the titles and a few words about them. But I am so ready. I already know that they are going to be as heartbreaking and smutty as this one.

Overall, The Anti-Hero is a challenging read. But it’s also beautiful, heartwarming and smutty as hell. It explores the power our families could have over us. And sometimes we need to step away to find ourselves. This story explores what someone does with their family and their faith betrayed them. How they pick up those pieces and put themselves back together in a different way. The Anti-Hero also explores the romance between Adam and Sage and how they push each other to be even better. If you are looking got a very sexy and smutty book that also has a depth of characters and a plot that keeps you wanting more, then The Anti-Hero by Sara Cate might be for you.

Have you read any books from Sara Cate? Which is your favourite? Are you planning on reading The Anti-Hero? What has been a book that you have loved so far this already? Let’s chat!

13 Jul

A Slower Reading Month | June Wrap Up

Posted by angelreads Monthly Wrap Up 1 Comment

This should have gone up a little while ago, but life just keeps on getting in the way. And it isn’t just blogging that has become a bit slower, but my reading as well. I only read 16 books this month, which is on the lower side for me. And quite a few of these books were smaller as well. Work is busy, I had BABE at the start of the month and there is a bit going on. So I haven’t had much time to read or blog. But I am here with my June wrap-up.

Today I’m sharing the books that I read this June. It was a mixed month of reading. But I did do quite a few rereads. Not only did I have a slow reading month because of life, but June is normally the month I go into my slump and it happened again, so I did a lot of reading to bring me out. And I think I’m getting there. Because I have read a lot more in the last week.

So let’s get right into it. Here is the mixed bag of books that I read in my slower month of June. And, as always these are in no order.

Mile High (Windy City, #1) by Liz Tomforde – 4 Stars. | Temptation (The Mate Games, #4) by K. Loraine and Meg Anne. – 3.5 Stars. | A Soul to Keep (Duskwalker Brides, #1) by Opal Reyne – 4 Stars. Reread | Queen Takes Knights (Their Vampire Queen, #1) by Joely Sue Burkhart. – 3.5 Stars. Reread.

Queen Takes King (Their Vampire Queen, #2) by Joely Sue Burkhart – 3.5 Stars. Reread | Boys of Brayshaw High. (Brayshaw, #1) by Meagan Brandy – 4 Stars. | Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood. #1) by J.R. Ward – 3 Stars. Reread | Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #2) by J.R. Ward – 3.5 Stars. Reread.

Trouble at Brayshaw High (Brayshaw, #2) by Meagan Brandy. – 4 Stars. | Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw, #3) by Meagan Brandy – 4 Stars. | Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood. #3) by J.R. Ward – 4 Stars. Reread. | Thief (Sweet Little Sinners #1). by Cassie Mint – 3.5 Stars.

Hacker (Sweet Little Sinners #2) by Cassie Mint – 3.5 Stars. | Honey Trap (Sweet Little Sinners. #3) by Cassie Mint – 3.5 Stars. | Blade (Sweet Little Sinners #4) by Cassie Mint – 3.5 Stars. | Reckless (Chestnut Springs. #4) by Elsie Silver – 4.5 Stars.

And there we go. Those are the books that I read this June. And while it was a slower month for me, I know a lot of people read less, which is so good. Because you are reading. I want to read a get to a few more books this month but let’s see.

Nevertheless, what books did you read this June? Have you read anything on my list? What did you think of them? So, let’s chat!

11 Jul

Most Anticipated Books Releasing In The Second Half of 2023

Posted by angelreads Top Ten Tuesday 9 Comments

This week I’m sharing my most anticipated books releasing during the second half of 2023. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

It’s freebie week this week and I decided to pick a topic that I missed a few weeks ago and share with you some of my most anticipated books releasing during the second half of the year.

I can’t believe that it’s already July! Where has this year gone? I’ve had a pretty good reading year so far, and there are so many books that I am looking forward to reading in the second half of the year. There are also so many books releasing during the second half of 2023 that I cannot wait to read. And this is a great post to get at least some of them down.

So let’s get into it. Here are some of my most anticipated books releasing during the second half of 2023 that I cannot wait to read. As always these are in no real order.

Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros. | Better Hate than Never (The Wilmot Sisters, #2) by Chloe Liese. | Hopeless. (Chestnut Springs. #5) by Elsie Silver. | Madame (Salacious Players Club, #6) by Sara Cate.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (Bright Falls, #3) by Ashley Herring Blake. | Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2) by Hannah Grace. | Pucking Wild. (Jacksonville Rays. #2) by Emily Rath. | Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1) by Lauren Asher.

Hunt on Dark Waters (Crimson Sails, #1) by Katee Robert. | The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #6) by Rick Riordan.

And there we go. Those are some of my most anticipated reads for the second half of 2023. I’m so excited about all of these, and I don’t know what I want to read first. Nevertheless, what are excited to read? Are any of the books on my list on yours? So, let’s chat!