Angel Reads

03 Jan

A Slow End to the Year | December Wrap Up

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The last few months have been a little busier than usual for me. I started my full-time bookselling job late November/early December and blogging just pushed aside a little bit. That also means my reading has also slowed down.

I only managed to read 15 books this December. And that is maybe half of what I usually read in a month. In saying that. I did have a fantastic reading month and adored most of what I read. I did mostly read Naili Singh and Julia Quinn and I don’t care all too much. Because it was fantastic. Now let’s get into it.

Bridgertons #2 – #6 by Julia Quinn: I read The Duke and I a little while ago and then ended up buying the rest of the series. You can read my discussion with Ely and hear all our thoughts and feeling about it. I wanted to read the rest of the series before the show came out and December was a perfect time. While I didn’t finish the series, I read what I thought I had to. And I loved them all. I think book 2 has to be my favourite so far because of Anthony. I plan to finish the last two this month.

Psy-Changeling #7-#10 by Nalini Singh: I also contained my Psy-Changeling read in December and had such a fantastic time. They are brilliant and I can’t believe it took me this long to pick this series up. I can’t wait to read more. I also can’t wait to read more from Nalini and I hope that I can do that soon as well. And I finally read book 10, the one I have been waiting for the whole series – and it was fantastic. You can read my review of the first four books for more.

Truth or Dare by Danielle Allen: I picked this one up because so many people that I follow have loved it. And while I didn’t love it as much as other. I still really enjoyed it. The romance was sweet and sexy. The characters were fantastic and it was a great read. This was a great read for December.

Grading Curves by Naima Simone: I had seen this floating around in the romance community a little and when I saw that I could get it in KU, I picked it up. I normally don’t read many novellas and I think that was my issue with this whole book. While I enjoyed reading it at the time I did want more. I felt that I wasn’t able to see the connection between the characters and the romance. I was left hanging for me.

Loving Man by Bailey West: While I was hunting for some new books to read this one popped up and I had to give it a go. And I loved reading it. The romance was adorable and made me melt. I loved both of the protagonists and I just had a good time reading the book.

Dead Man Walking (The Fallen Men #6) by Giana Darling: I had been waiting for this since I finished the last book in the series and man I wasn’t ready for it. While the series started off somewhat light, as the books went on things got much darker. And Dead Man Walking is dark. Dead Man Walking explores the notion of darkness and light, of good and bad. And the grey in between. If you like you dark and even sadistic romances, then this one is for you. Full Review.

Sweetest Taboo #1-#2 by Naima Simone: This is another series that has been on my tbr for some time. I heard about it a few years ago and I hadn’t picked it up until recently. While I didn’t love these two books, I didn’t dislike them either. I think I was expecting something a little different. I wish there was more focus on the characters and their interactions together. There was a lot of time jumps. Even just a couple of weeks and I feel that we lost something. But I still enjoyed reading it.

And those were my reads in December. What did you read last month? Did we read anything the same? Have you read anything that I have? Let’s Chat!

01 Jan

Book Review: Dead Man Walking by Giana Darling

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Dead Man Walking (The Fallen Men #6) by Giana Darling

Pages: 542
Publish date: 27 December 2020
Publisher: –
ASIN: B08RDSGPV1
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

A killer.
A criminal.
A psychopath.
The Irish enforcer for The Fallen Men MC is everything good girls are taught to stay away from.
Only, I found myself inexorably drawn into his dark gravitational pull. I wanted to know what it would be like to walk beside the human personification of Death and hold his hand, feel his kiss, and maybe even earn his undying love.
But Priest McKenna is older, cold as ice, and notoriously unfeeling.
So what are the odds that a dead man walking would come to life for little, insignificant me?
When a serial killer begins to target the women of Entrance, BC, and The Fallen suffers another terrible blow, Priest resolves to hunt down the killer himself.
And when the murderer sets his eyes on me?
My very own psychopath steps between me and certain death, thrusting us into an intimacy I prayed we would never recover from.

Dead Man Walking:

I received an earc of Dead Man Walking by Giana Darling for review in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have a lot of feelings about this book, and even now nearly a week after I’ve finished it. I’m still not sure how I feel. I haven’t read many dark romances. My experience of reading this band of romance is very small. So I don’t have much to compare it to. This isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s dark, questionable and something I would not want to happen in real life. But it’s also intriguing, damning and sexy. It’s a great addition to this series and adds another layer to all the characters.

As soon as I heard that this was going to be Priests and Bea’s book I was super excited and intrigued. They are such different characters and before this book, we didn’t know too much about them. Priest is very closed off and we only get a few little things about him here and there. And Bea, we might have seen her grow up, but she was a side character for a lot of it. Dead Man Walking follows their journey. The ups and downs. The rough patches. And both of them going through a hell of a lot. At first, they don’t seem like a good pair, but as the novel goes on. It makes sense.

Photo by Tamas Munkacsi on Unsplash

Priest is a very interesting character. As soon as he was introduced in the series, he caught my eye. And as it went on I wanted to know more about him. Priest likes to kill. He does it and will do it again. And that makes him such a hard character to love. He has had a hard life and it’s turned him into someone that doesn’t feel and when he does it’s mostly angry. But because of all this, it makes him intriguing and I just wanted to keep on reading Dead Man Walking. The reader can see Priest come to not only understand himself, the man that he has become, but those around him too. Priest isn’t for everyone, and there are times where I had to pull myself back as well, but I still wanted to know more.

Bea was this fantastic mix of sweet and dark. I really enjoyed this side of a female character. We don’t often see it, especially in MC romances. But the reader can see a side of Bea that is dark and dangerous even. But then there is this sweet side that shines through. She is the sunshine in their group and I loved that. And as Dead Man Walking goes on and things intensify Bea grows and the reader can see her both stand-up for herself and for Priest.

The romance had its ups and downs for me. I think that there was so much chemistry between Bea and Priest that it jumped off the page. I liked seeing them become comfortable with one another and break those walls downs. Priest walls were built over many years and even being part of The Fallen Men didn’t break those. But Bea slowly but surely picked at them and broke it down little piece, by little piece. Like I said before I don’t read many dark romances, and their romance was not conventional. There were a few times that I have to pull myself out and just take a break. But I didn’t hate it either.

Photo by Valerie Elash on Unsplash

The plot for Dead Man Walking was so intriguing and interesting. Like the rest of the book, it was dark and dangerous and kept me hooked. It was so interesting and at first, I didn’t know what to think of it. But as the book went on everything fell into place and just made sense. Dead Man Walking was intense. There were so many moments that were fast-paced and kept ongoing. I have found that a lot in MC books and I think it’s a fantastic mark of it.

Giana Darling did such a fantastic job in Dead Man Walking. She had two very different characters and she was able to make them both interesting, intriguing and real. The MC world in books isn’t always. There is a fine like and this dabbled in the dark side.

Photo by Max Muselmann on Unsplash

Overall, I have a lot of feelings about Dead Man Walking by Giana Darling. This book isn’t for the faint-hearted. Well, none of this series is. But while the series started off somewhat light, as the books went on things got much darker. And Dead Man Walking is dark. Priest is not an easy protagonist to get along with. He isn’t someone that you can fall in love with immediately or at all really. But that made for such an interesting combination, with Bea. Dead Man Walking explores the notion of darkness and light, of good and bad. And the grey in between. If you like you dark and even sadistic romances, then this one is for you.

Have you read Dead Man Walking by Giana Darling yet? What did you think? Have you read any of The Fallen Men Books. You can check out my review of the first four books in the series as well as Inked in Lies for more.

29 Dec

The 2020 Releases That I Loved Reading

Posted by angelreads Top Ten Tuesday 6 Comments

This week I’m sharing my favourite 2020 releases that I read. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

Today it’s time to share my favourite books in 2020. That will be for another post. Now, this isn’t my favourite books that I read for the whole year, but these are my favourite books that were published in 2020. I can’t believe that this year is nearly over. It’s been a strange one that is for sure.

I’ve read a lot of different books this year, but most of it has been romance, which also means that most of this list is romance. In saying that there are some amazing YA’s that have also made this list. Enough of this lets’ get into it. Like always these are in no order.

Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros: There should be no surprise that this has made my list. I have just adored everything Rebecca Yarros writes and I feel in love with this one from the start. It explores the notion of guilt and grief, as well as a fresh start. Camden and Willow were perfect protagonists that each had their own story. Rebecca Yarros knows how to tear me apart and she did again. You can check out my full review.

Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare: I mean this had to make this list. How couldn’t it? I adored the characters, the world and everything in between. Cassandra really made this one stand out in her shadowhunter world and I can’t wait for more. Depending on how the rest of the series goes, it could turn into my favourite series

A Rogue of One’s Own (A League of Extraordinary Women #2) by Evie Dunmore: I adored the first book in this series and I couldn’t wait to read book two and I loved it just as much. It was fantastic getting to see more of the characters that we were introduced to in the first book. The writing was fantastic, the characters were great and I had a blast reading it. You can check out my discussion with Ely to see more.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: No one should be surprised that this had made my list of my favourite 2020 releases. This is not only one of my favourite books I read this year, but one of my favourite books ever. It’s about love, that isn’t just about blood family or falling in love. It’s about believing in yourself and those that do love you. This enchanting story is exceptional and breathtaking. Full Review.

Who Wants to Marry a Duke (Duke Dynasty #3) by Sabrina Jeffries: I managed to read the whole current series this year and I think this was my favourite of them all. It was such a wonderful reading experience and has everything that I look for in a historical romance. Full Review.

The Reality of Everything (Flight & Glory #5) by Rebecca Yarros: I mean, I couldn’t help myself. It had to make the list. I cried, I laughed and I smiled. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and written exceptionally well. It’s the perfect way to end this series and wrap up all those ends that we wanted to know. It explores grief, family, and friendship. It looks at moving, falling in love, and remembering. Full Review.

Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) by Chloe Liese: I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. But I feel in love with the characters and their families. It’s emotional and heartbreaking at times, but it’s uplifting, funny and made me smile a whole lot. I love that we get to see the female lead as the athlete and disability is so present throughout the novel. You can check out my full review now.

Always Only You (Bergman Brothers #2) by Chloe Liese: I couldn’t pick between the two and they both had to make it. It’s a fun, beautiful and charming sports romance that explores the ups and downs of falling in love. Ren and Frankie were amazing and I can’t wait to see more of them in future books. The disability rep in this one was also fantastic.

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales: This is another one that I was expecting to love as much as I did. But It was a blast to read it and it’s one that I keep on recommending at work. Plus its #LoveOzYA – so just pick it up.

And that is it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday and the last one of 2020. What are some of your favourite 2020 books? Do we share any that is the same? Let’s chat!