Book Review: Of Owls and Oolong by Shari L. Tapscott

July 16, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareadsLeave a comment

Owls and Oolong (Owls, Tea Shops, and Other Magical Nuisances #1)
Pub Date: 22 August 2025
Genre: Cosy Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(3.75 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

The author of A Vampire’s Guide to Gardening and Obsidian Queen brings you a lighthearted fantasy full of humor and romance, set in a cozy contemporary fae town. Welcome to Moss Hollow.

There are three things you need to know about my great aunt—she’s eccentric, she’s rich, and she’s dead. No, make that four things. She also named me as the sole beneficiary of her fortune. There are, however, a few stipulations.

1. I must move into her cottage in Moss Hollow, Vermont—a magical community that values tradition and tourists.
2. I must keep her beloved tea shop open and running for at least three years.
3. I must take care of her tiny owl, a prickly creature by the name of Rowan. He’s moody, opinionated, and he used to be a mage.

He doesn’t like me, he doesn’t like my dog, and he really doesn’t like the handsome fae councilman who starts hanging around as soon as I arrive in town.

But for a small fortune, Rowan and I are going to learn to coexist long enough for me to figure out how to turn him back into his normal self with my “cute and worthless” pixie magic—preferably before he ruins my dating life or drives me insane.

Owls, Tea Shops, and Other Magical Nuisances is a rom-com style contemporary fantasy. The perfect lighthearted escape, this story is sure to delight readers who enjoy cozy magic and humor.

The books in this series feature smoldering-but-sweet, closed-door romance. (Passionate kisses and some innuendo, but no spicy scenes.)

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS

Death of a loved one (off-page, recounted)

TL;DR: This was really cute and cosy — perfect for those who want a funny, low-angst, charming, and whimsical fantasy read with a touch of romance! I can’t say that I was a big fan of the main love interest, but it’s clear that we’re veering into some kind of love-triangle territory here and to be honest, I’m not totally here for it because I know who I want the FMC to choose. 🤣 This has great small-town vibes, even though I wished that we got to explore the history a bit more. Hopefully, we’ll get that as the series continues and Kit settles in. Overall though, this was a quick and easy read, plus I really enjoyed the audiobook!

#WWWWednesday: 15 July 2026

July 15, 2026July 15, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?

#TopTenTuesday: Reading New-to-Me Authors

July 14, 2026July 14, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads45 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is: Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors (Share books from your to-read list that are written by authors you’ve never read before.)

Fantasy with Friends: Fast Food Brando Sando?

July 13, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Happy Monday, book pandas! 🐼 I’ve been eyeing the Fantasy with Friends discussion meme for a while now—it looked like so much fun and I’ve enjoyed reading many blogger posts since Briana and Krysta started up the meme earlier this year. I’ve always wanted to join but wasn’t sure if I’d really have much to say, but today I’ve finally decided to participate after seeing the topic was about Brando Sando. I don’t know if I’ll have much of substance to say (even though I’ll probably ramble on, lol), but the topic also didn’t feel so intimidating to my brain! 🤭

But first, what is Fantasy with Friends?

Fantasy with Friends: A Discussion Meme Hosted by Pages Unbound

Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works. The schedule for the year is posted on the Pages Unbound page, so feel free to get a head start!

How can you participate?

Check the schedule on Pages Unbound for upcoming prompts, and write a post on your own blog answering the question!
Come back to Pages Unbound on the scheduled day and leave the link to your post in the comments of our post. You can also tag us on Twitter or Bluesky (@pagesunbound). We just need to know about the post in order to link back to you!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [333]

July 12, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday night in bed with A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross. It’s the second book in her Elements of Cadence duology, and I’m excited to dive back in as Chris and I continue this buddy read! I have a feeling this finale is going to be fairly angsty and painful, lol. 🫣

What book do you have in bed with you this Sunday?

Let’s Talk Bookish: Participating in Discussion Posts

July 11, 2026July 12, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

I’m so sorry I’m late with post this week—I totally dropped the ball and forgot what date it was. I will be better prepared next month! 🫣

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Participating in Discussion Posts

Prompts: How do you prepare your posts when you’re writing a discussion post—do you have an outline or do you usually start writing in advance and work on it slowly over time? Do you prefer to have many prompts (like LTB), or do you prefer one question that you can take in whichever direction you prefer (like Fantasy with Friends by Unbound Pages)? Do you think weekly discussions are better, or quarterly discussions (like Literary Inbox by 24yabookblog)?

First Lines Friday: 10 July 2026

July 10, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Happy Friday, book pandas! I’ve decided to start posting for First Lines Friday again since I now have more free Fridays. I can’t believe the last time that I did this Friday meme was back in 2021—time sure does fly. 🤭 On that note, I’m going to dive straight in.

Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are the rules:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

First lines:

“Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith. Valentine Michael Smith was as real as taxes but he was a race of one.”

Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?

Book Review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

July 9, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Wild Dark Shore
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pub Date: 4 March 2025
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery/Climate Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.75 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS

Blood, detailed description of wounds, adult/minor relationship, infidelity, deaths of loved ones (spouse, partner, sibling), suicide (on page, recounted), suicide ideation, grief, drowning (of a child, recounted), severe climate anxiety, wildfire (recounted), attempted murder, imprisonment, physical abuse, grooming

TL;DR: This book took me completely by surprise. Although it has a relatively ‘violent’ beginning, it is a slow burn. There are so many secrets and somewhat poor communication (or just choosing not to communicate really), but let me say the payoff was worth the journey. I found this to be such a beautiful character driven story that is about so many things—parenthood, motherhood, coming-of-age, love, climate change, a bone deep appreciation of mother nature, biodiversity, and the planet we inhabit. There are definitely parts where you have to suspend your disbelief, but I was fully into it and found that those parts didn’t bother me at all. If you’re willing to be patient and allow yourself to sink into the bones of this story, I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

#WWWWednesday: 8 July 2026

July 8, 2026July 8, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?

#TopTenTuesday: “S” Coming Up!

July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads49 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is: Book Titles That Include the Word “[insert word of your choice here]” (Pick a word and share ten book titles that include that word!)