Buddy Read Archives - Angel Reads

Buddy Read Picks With Ely | Part 3

Jun 24, 2021

If you didn’t know already Ely and I are buddy reading a book a month this year and then talking about them on each other’s blog. And while we are a little behind it’s time to share what we are planning to read for the next few months. You can check out part one and two now.

Angel: We have some pretty great reads already this year, how are you feeling about the next couple of months?

Ely: I think we’ve picked a great bunch of books for this whole year, and these three months are especially exciting, I think!

A: So let’s get into this, these are our buddy read for July, August and September!

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

A: Our July read is an interesting one and I’m still not sure how I’m going to feel about this book. Right away it caught my eye. While not my usual read, I’m excited. We both have arcs of this one – which makes me really excited because I can’t wait to dig in.

E: I actually read an excerpt of this one and was instantly like ‘yes, Angel and I need this. It’s not my usual type of book either, but it does have some chronic illness rep. The part that I read was just brilliant—it had me in stitches and I was desperate to know what was going to happen next.

A: That makes me even more excited to pick it up now. Like we said in our previous discussion on Get a Life, Chloe Brown we love disability rep in our books, especially chronic illness. I’ve also never read anything from Tia Williams and that makes me even more excited. Is the disability rep something you are most looking forward to as well?

E: Absolutely! But I’m always interested in dipping my toes a little more into contemporary romance. Which we’ve both talked about being hesitant and unsure about many, many times!

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

A: This has been on my tbr since I heard about it quite a few months ago. And it screamed at me. It just sounds fantastic and brilliant and I just want it now.

E: I’m pretty sure we found this on the same day and had a little freak out about how amazing it sounded. It honestly sounds like a fun romp, and we totally deserve that!

A: It doesn’t just sound like a fantastic book, but the world sounds fascinating, the characters sounds so good and it’s diverse – it’s everything that I want and need. I’m also a sucker for YA fantasy. What about you?

E: I honestly haven’t read a pirate book in a really long time but I am so ready for this one!

A: I think that is what makes me most excited about it as well. I rarely read pirate books and this just sounds too good.

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

A: Well I think you all expected to see another historical romance here on this list. And what better than Sarah MacLean’s new one. This one just sounds bloody fantastic. I’m seriously hanging for it right now.

E: Sarah MacLean is such a great writer to have on here as well. We’ve both enjoyed her books in the past as well so I think this will be a perfect read. It sounds so fabulous. What are you most excited about it? Other than it being a MacLean, of course!

A: It just sounds brilliant. I love historical romances when the female can bend rules and take the world by storm and that seems like that what’s going to happen here. Add to that it’s best friends sisters/brothers best friends romance and damn I’m in. What are you most excited about?

E: I just love a badass female too. I especially love the fact that the series is called Hell’s Belles—that makes it sound like some downright badassery is about to go on. I’m 100% here for it.

A: I think this is one of my most anticipated reads this year and I’m getting more and more hyped while writing this.

***

And there we go those are our buddy reads for the next few months. I’m so excited to see what both of us think of these in the end. Do you buddy read?

Have you read any of these yet? What did you think of them? Are you planning to read them? Let’s Chat!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert | Discussion with Ely

Jun 10, 2021

Welcome back to another buddy read discussion! I know it’s been a while since you’ve seen one of these discussions, but we are back and ready to go. This time Ely and I are going to be talking about Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert. You can check out our other buddy reads here on Angel Reads and on Earl Grey Books.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert

Pages: 373
Publish date: November 5th 2019
Publisher: Avon Books
ISBN: 9780062941206
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

Enjoy a drunken night out.
Ride a motorcycle.
Go camping.
Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

Get A Life, Chloe Brown:

Angel: I cannot tell you how excited I was when we decided to include this in our buddy read discussions. I needed a push to pick it up as it’s been on my tbr for a while now. I’ve talked about this before, but I don’t read many solely contemporary romances. If they are contemporary it normally has some sort of theme like an MC romance or sports romance.

So I was a little hesitant to pick Get a Life, Chloe Brown up, but I also had heard fantastic things about it. From both online and in person. And I had the best time reading it.

Ely: I mean, you know that I’ve never had particularly good luck with contemporary romances in the past but there’s definitely something about this one that sets it apart from the rest.

A: There were a few things that stood out to me about this book from the start. First and probably the most important to me was the disability rep. Both Ely and I thrive for books especially romance ones that have disability representation. And this had it and it wasn’t hiding or shoving it aside either.

The second is the ‘Rebel without a cause’ nature of the male protagonist and love interest. Was that what caught your interest as well?

E: Oh absolutely. I think it was especially because Chloe lives with chronic illness, specifically chronic pain and fatigue that really caught me since we both have experiences with those too. What did you think of the rep now that we’ve read it?

A: I loved it so much. As you said both of us have chronic illness and pain and man did I feel it. I felt the isolation, the fear and everything else that comes with having a disability. Also, I loved how it was explored and I felt everything that Chloe was feeling from the start. I loved that Chloe was shown pushing herself a little – and not in a bad way. She wanted to do it in her time and her time alone.

In saying this I do wish it was explored just a little more as something as simple as going to a doctor’s appointment.

E: I completely agree. It actually made me really think about my own approach to being chronically ill and disabled and kind of convinced me that it’s time that I start pushing myself a little more and to not let myself get so bogged down in things. It is a little unrealistic that she went this entire time without a doctor’s appointment. I’ve got at least one a week at this point, even if it’s just a telehealth appointment and I’ve had most of my conditions for years!

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

A: And while this may seem like a small thing for people, for something with a disability its part of our lives. But’s not a major deal, because everything else was really well done. While we are talking about Chloe and as I said earlier I felt that I was really about to connect with her. She was an easy protagonist to get along with. I understood what she was going through and that made for such an easy read. What did you think of Chloe?

E: It’s a huge part of our lives! I really liked Chloe, even in the few moments where she was kind of rude or being a bit of an idiot. There is something deeply likable about her. Maybe that has something to do with the disability angle.

What about Red? How did you feel about him?

A: It actually took me a little while to start like Red. I don’t know exactly why though. Maybe because of the strong barriers he puts up. As soon as he and Chloe start to flirt and connect it goes. Red was fun and entertaining. I adored the way that he treated Chloe. He didn’t treat her like she was a baby or that she was helpless, but he also learnt her limits.

I also love that we get to see him grown throughout the novel. The reader does get to see him change as the walls start to break down. We see him become stronger. I think he also had this great combo of having these ‘bad boy’ vibes but also being very sweet. What did you think of him?

E: I love the way he treated Chloe too. I did literally send you a message talking about how much I wanted my own Red. I just thought he was really sweet, and I loved that he was a painter.

Also, I do feel like we still never really got to see the whole of him. I do have to say that I think a lot of things are kind of brushed over in here like they’re mentioned and made to seem important but they don’t go too far. Did you feel that too?

A: Oh absolutely! I think that is one of my concerns with the book. We learn all these things especially about Red, but then I feel nothing comes from it. Red had a pretty abusive relationship. And while we get one conversation, we don’t get to see him deal with it. It’s briefly spoken about, but not enough especially since the relationship that he and Chloe and getting into it.

Another thing that I felt that Get a Life, Chloe Brown lacked was a support system. I feel that we don’t get to see enough of Chloe’s sisters. Or Red’s friends. We only really get to see Red and Chloe together and then that is it. Did you feel the same?

Photo by Scott Goodwill on Unsplash

E: That’s exactly how I felt! I feel like we had such a dramatic prologue as well but then we don’t really hear about it until quite a way through the book, we’re kind of left wondering what happened. Looking back at it now, I feel like there isn’t so much of a plot as an exploration of a relationship. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Oh, Chloe has no support. There are mentions of it, but I feel like her family are always these like distant characters who we’re aware of but never really get to see. I mean, we get to see Red’s mum, what once?

A: That was the next thing that I was going to say. I felt that there weren’t many things going on. And it’s not a bad thing. I didn’t feel bored per se – but like I was waiting for something more to happen.

We know she doesn’t any friends, and that she lost a lot of people after her health issues. I did get a sense that her family was pretty good with everything. But then we never see them. Which I felt strange about as the series is about the sisters. I think so, I don’t even remember her name.

And while I didn’t love these things, I thought that the romance was fantastic and they were absolutely adorable together. How about you?

E: I definitely wasn’t bored. I love their romance and while reading it I didn’t really think about the other stuff too much, I was just happy with how adorable and lovely the whole thing was.

A: Exactly! I smiled so much while reading it that is for sure. I love books that make me feel like that. Plus add to that good disability rep and we have a winner. I know I have already ordered the next 2 books at work because I can’t wait to read the other sisters stories. You have ordered them in as well right?

Photo by Anastasiia Pyvovarova on Unsplash

E: I ordered them immediately after finishing this one. It seems like they might arrive tomorrow. I really have no idea what their stories hold for us!

A: I sadly won’t be able to get mine till after lockdown. But it’s okay. I think that is what makes me most excited It’s all open and I cannot wait to dig in.

Well, thank you for joining me again. This was definitely a hit for both of us. Our next buddy read is Lore which I’m really excited about, and then One Last Stop.

And there we go. Have you read Get A Life, Chloe Brown yet? What did you think of it? Are you planning to? Let’s Chat!

Never Seduce a Scoundrel | Discussion with Ely

Feb 28, 2021

Welcome to Ely and Mine’s second buddy read of the year discussion. Today we are talking about Never Seduce a Scoundrel (School For Heiresses #1) by Sabrina Jeffries. This is the first book in the series and one that both of us were very excited about it. You can check out last months discussion on The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski on Ely’s blog.

Never Seduce a Scoundrel (School For Heiresses #1) by Sabrina Jeffries

Pages: 376
Publish date: March 1st 2006
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN: 9781416516088
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

“Be careful, Amelia — you know how reckless you can be!” — Mrs Charlotte Harris, headmistress

Lady Amelia Plume has many admirers — it’s too bad they’re all fortune hunters and fops who can’t provide the exotic adventures she seeks.

But the ballrooms of Mayfair have become much more appealing since the arrival of Major Lucas Winter, an American with a dark past and a dangerous air. Lucas is brash, arrogant — and scandalously tempting.

Every thrilling kiss sparks a hotter desire, yet Amelia suspects that Lucas has a hidden motive in wooing her. And she intends to discover it, by any means necessary.

Never Seduce a Scoundrel:

Angel: I would just like to say first off that, I adored Never Seduce a Scoundrel so much. It’s one of my favourite Sabrina Jeffries books that I’ve read and I fell in love with it right away. I know you felt very similar to me?

Ely: Absolutely. I think this might be my favourite Sabrina Jeffries so far for a multitude of reasons. I don’t even know where to begin with this one.

And I suppose we should talk about how many Jeffries we’ve read in the past. This was my fourth of hers as I’m trying to read them in order, but I think you’ve read a few more?

A: I have! This is the seventh one I’ve read from her. Like you, I’ve read the Royal Brotherhood trio, and then I’ve also read the 3 books that are currently out in the Duke Dynasty. And I’ve loved every single one. But this is very high on my favourites list.

Never Seduce a Scoundrel follows Lady Amelia Plume as she tries to find herself a husband, but none have caught her eye. Then comes Major Lucas Winter, an American who isn’t all he seems. I felt the tension between these two from the start and it got me hooked. And it wasn’t just the romance that I loved, but the characters themselves. What did you think of Amelia?

E: I loved Amelia. She’s such a witty and fun character. I adore how she pretty much immediately works out just what Lucas is doing and is determined to basically stop him from getting what he wants… What did you think of her?

A: I adored her as well. She was just a fun character to read and get to know. Like you, she did not let Lucus get away with anything and basically turned everything on its head for him. That just made for even more excellent banter. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. Lucas was an interesting character that was for sure. There were times where I wanted to hate him for his reasons to get close to Amelia, but she broke his walls so quickly and turned him basically to mush. Even though he didn’t want to admit it. What did you think of him?

E: I loved that about him—he’s all I’m a big surly, American soldier and I’m only here to do my job and then Amelia looks at him and he becomes a softie. Those are honestly my favourite type of romance heroes.

I think we have to mention the dear Charlotte Harris as well, don’t we? What did you think of her and her letters to and from cousin Michael?

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

A: YES!!! I think that is what I loved most about Never Seduce a Scoundrel, they basically turned each other inside out and it was just fantastic to see.

I loved Charlotte so much. And I cannot wait to read more about her and her letters to cousin Michael. I’ve got all the books in the series and read all the synopsis so I kind of know what is coming. And that makes me so excited.

While we have briefly talked about the romance in this one. What were some of your favourite things about Amelia and Lucas?

E: My favourite bit about the whole Charlotte thing is how it feels sort of the Lady Whistledown bits in the Bridgertons series or other books that do that sort of interjection bits. I think they tell you even more about the story and I really enjoy that.

And I love that they’re both playing each other, but neither of them knows really what’s happening and why the other one is acting the way they are. I think it makes for a really interesting dynamic between the two of them.

A: Yes! That connection is absolutely spot on. And yes I think it’s a great way to let the readers know things without the protagonist having to tell us or it being jarring to the reader. It was done fantastically here.

Have to agree for sure. I loved seeing the back of fourth both of them pulling and then pushing. But also not knowing what is happening, like you said it creates a fantastic dynamic between the two and the banter is fantastic. The plot for this one is really interesting at times I didn’t know where it was going to go and I loved that. What did you think of it?

E: I think it has one of the most interesting plots that I’ve read in a while. Sabrina always managed to take tropes and storylines that we see in historical romance and somehow turn it on its head.

Historical romances are usually pretty fun and light and that’s why I enjoy them so much. I know you feel the same way—we both used them as pick-me-ups all the time when we’re not feeling the best or if we’re in a slump. What I like about this one is that it has that fun, light tone about it but it also deals with some pretty heavy topics.

This might sound weird to anyone not aware of the genre, but I liked that this made reference to real historical events. I feel like HR doesn’t often do that. Sometimes we get real historical figures showing up or events that made a big impact or that are relevant to the story—i.e. the marriage act/suffragette movement in Evie Dunmore’s books and so forth, but the event in here is not one that a lot of people know about. How did you feel about that?

Photo by Jonas Jaeken on Unsplash

A: Romance in general is my escape, but historical romance is the perfect read when I just want to have a fantastic time reading. Don’t get me wrong I’ve read some pretty emotional historical romances, but they don’t tear me into a million pieces – which I like.

No, I absolutely agree with you. I love history – a lot. So when I read a historical romance that makes me want to learn more – yes, please! And then when it includes an event. I think that is why I’ve really enjoyed reading Beverly Jenkins. And Sabrina really takes it another step in Never Seduce a Scoundrel. One of the main concepts on this series is the School For Heiress, and while it wasn’t featured really in this one. I enjoyed seeing some of it through Charlotte and Amelia’s relationship. What did you think of it?

E: I was a little sad that we didn’t actually get to see the school yet—I think there is going to be an incredible dynamic with the friendships between the girls and the romances. I believe book four takes place in the school? I just love the ideas of the girls all getting involved in one another’s lives and hopefully, we’ll get some really lovely friendships between them all too.

I’m also really excited to see Charlotte in her element. I think she’s a great character already and I’m excited to see her shine. How about you?

A: I think that is what I missed most in this one. Friendship. I felt that there wasn’t anyone there for Amelia except for Charlotte – who I love. But I feel that is what this book lacked. A good friend for Amelia and not just Charlotte who for the most part is her guardian. Do you agree with this?

Oh and have to agree with you about Charlotte, I am so excited.

Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash

E: Amelia really doesn’t have anyone but Charlotte until Lucas steps up. For all her talk of love and protection of her family, they really aren’t there for her. They are absent for most of the book and even when they are there, they’re wrapped up in their own world. I just hate it when families are like this, as you well know.

A: It is really strange that is for sure. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. They obviously came back when she was in need, but I still felt no connection between them. Like as much as Amelia talks about them, I didn’t feel the love.

Enough about that, what was one of your favourite things about Never Seduce a Scoundrel to finish this up? I adored the banter between Amelia and Lucas and how they grew close without really trying.

E: I think she really loved them, but I don’t know that they really cared about her to the same degree.

The banter is definitely amazing, but I think that real-life moment in history is really what hit it out of the park for me. It just made it feel that much more real and added a greater depth to it.

A: Well thank you for chatting with me. I hope you all enjoyed reading our chat about Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries. Have you read anything from her yet? Have you read this series? Stay tuned for next month’s discussion on Ely’s blog!