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BRN #29: Merry Christmas!

~ Angela ~ Leave a comment

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Merry Christmas everyone!

This is a wonderful time of year although I know for some it can be stressful, heartbreaking, or lonely. Books can be a true magic in their ability to portal us to other worlds, other lives, an infinite realm of What If’s. They can be a companion relied upon to never abandon or alter. Whether this time of year is one of pure joy and celebration, or a time of memories that try to haunt and restrain, I hope and pray there is a book in your life that you can cling to and help guide you through this season into the New Year. Of course, a book can only do so much for the rest is up to you. Think on those characters you so love and draw strength from them, pull it into this life and let it hold your head up and your steps steady. Christmas is a holiday of hope, of the greatest hope, and I pray it will touch your heart this year and forever more. Never let anyone or anything steal your hope.

Merry Christmas candle Continue reading →

BRN #28: Fiction vs Reality

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

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Fiction vs Reality: how to balance the real world with fantastical expectations

Reading from a young age can not only make you smarter, expand your vocabulary, enhance your ability to empathize, and widen your world-view, but it can also lead to smashed dreams. SIGH. What do I mean by this? Oh surely as a fellow book lover you know. What I mean is that since I was a wee little child I’ve read books filled with grand adventure and destiny. I’m not the most whimsical person but even I had a small part of myself that hoped I’d get into Hogwarts, hoped the back of the next wardrobe would take me into Narnia, hoped that when I turned the magical age of 16 I’d discover magical powers, meet my soulmate, and save the world, hope that…well, you get the idea haha. Suffice it to say that I’m in my mid-twenties and I’ve yet to have anything nearly as exciting happen in my real life. Continue reading →

Top Ten Anticipated Books for 2019

~ Angela ~ 8 Comments

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It’s a new year and what better way to welcome it into our hearts than by scouring the news for the fantastic book releases 2019 will bring! It took some effort to keep this list to an even 10 but I finally managed it! Not all the cover art has been released yet but the descriptions have me excited! (Note: this list does not include 2019 ARCs already reviewed on my blog)  Continue reading →

Top Ten Books Read in 2018

~ Angela ~ Leave a comment

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I’ve been lucky enough this year to read a great number of books so trying to choose only ten favorites was incredibly difficult. But at last here we are. The year 2018 has come to an end and to reflect briefly on those months that have passed I’ve come up with my traditional list of the top ten books I read & reviewed this year along with some honorable mentions (because it really was too difficult to choose only ten!) all listed in alphabetical order. I say books I read as opposed to books released in 2018 because honestly then creating these yearly lists wouldn’t be as fun or hard. Let me know if you enjoyed any of these as well! What are some of your top books you read this year?  Continue reading →

Bookish Naughty List Tag

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

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Melanie (@MNBernard Books) did this tag last year and it sounded like fun so I thought I’d give it a go. I would’ve posted it way sooner but I thought I’d just hold onto it for Christmas 😜 Be sure to check out Melanie’s blog, it’s always full of great reviews and interesting discussion posts! (Note: She’s taking a break from blogging in general to focus on her writing career but definitely check her out!) Continue reading →

BRN #27: Long Time Reader, First Time Clubber

~ Angela ~ 9 Comments

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So I’ve been reading books since I was a kid, I loved them before I could even walk, basically I’m your run of the mill bookworm. But I’ve oddly enough never joined a book club before. I didn’t even do Battle of the Books in school despite always scoring high for most books/pages read in class. I guess it was simply never something that really appealed to me? The most I do or have ever done is deliver an avalanche of my emotions and thoughts about whatever I’m reading lately to a friend who is politely (or sometimes genuinely lol) entertained by it. But now that’s changed… *cue dramatic music* (haha I’m kidding). Continue reading →

BRN #25: Reading Indie Books

~ Angela ~ 8 Comments

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Indie Books: hidden gems or not worth the time?

I’ve always been open to reading books from any publisher, from the Big Five to the self-pub. In fact when I first began this blog over three years ago and was first contacted by self-published authors to read/review their book I didn’t think about them being self-published at all (it was still a relatively new thing back then anyways so I wasn’t aware they’d be different from traditional books) I simply was bowled over that someone wanted my opinion and asked for it directly. Continue reading →

BRN #24: Bookish Eating Habits

~ Angela ~ Leave a comment

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They say reading feeds your brain (and soul) but I’ve been thinking about it lately and this really is a funnily accurate statement. Books are truly like food for the brain! Yes I mean that in the sense that you absorb information from them, you learn from them, you widen your world view via them, etc. But in an almost comical way they can also reflect our eating habits…sorta. 😜  Continue reading →

The (Birthday) Cake Book Tag

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

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Sofii @A Book. A Thought. did this fun tag for her birthday and, well, I just couldn’t resist doing it for mine as well 😄 I’m now 24 and finding that simply impossible (I think reading YA has kept my mind young?? Or I’ve simply been stuck in denial that I could possibly continue aging past 17 until I had at least saved the world or something like every YA protagonist ever haha 😂) Technically my birthday was earlier this week but I like to stick to my MWF posting schedule soooo….today is close enough!)  Continue reading →