#TopTenTuesday: It’s Summer! 🌻

Dini @ dinipandareads12 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 or Covers that Feel/Look Like Summer (You can interpret this in a number of ways. Maybe the covers or titles are obviously summer themed, but maybe the feeling the book gives you is all warm and summery. Maybe the book cover colors look summery or the story itself takes place in the summertime. Or maybe the titles you select are favourites that you re-read every summer when you were on break from school.)

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [192]

Dini @ dinipandareads8 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 curled up reading in bed with or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I’ll be spending my Sunday evening in bed reading Thorn by Intisar Khanani. I’m glad I’m finally reading this as it’s been on my TBR for ages, plus it’s also one of my 12 Book Challenge recommendations (from Julie)! I’m buddy-reading this with Leslie and we’re both enjoying it so far. It’s more slice-of-life than I expected but it’s a nice change of pace from my previous grimdark fantasy read, lol.

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#FirstLinesFriday: 2 June 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

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:

“It was a harrowing climb to the high school. Eight hundred and twenty-one steps. Mamoru had counted one time on his way up—no easy feat while focusing on not toppling off the side of a mountain.”

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Blog Tour Spotlight: The Alchemy of Moonlight by Dave Ferarro

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m shining a spotlight on The Alchemy of Moonlight by Dave Ferarro. The cover is definitely what caught my eye first—I love it!

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Alchemy of Moonlight
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Publication Date: 30 May 2023
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: LGBTQIA+, Black

📖 SYNOPSIS

When Emile’s aunt declares he must marry or be disowned for being gay—he runs away to hide as a servant in Count Montoni’s mansion. In their service, Emile tends to the family who all suffer a strange affliction on the full moon. And after overhearing suspicious family arguments, he finds a body on the estate, drawing the attention of a handsome doctor as well as the count’s charismatic nephew, Henri.

Before Emile can sort out his affections or unravel the growing Montoni family mystery, his identity is revealed and his aunt comes to collect him.

When she arrives, Count Montoni forces everyone to depart to the remote Udolpho Castle—where there are no witnesses and no chance for escape. There, Emile realizes that he will have to risk his life to find the love he deserves—and survive the Montoni family.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Mentions of dead bodies, dismemberment, blood, homophobia

📚 BUY A COPY

David Ferraro grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he was raised on a steady diet of comic books, horror movies and YA novels. He graduated with a B.A. in English and creative writing from St. Cloud State University, and currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his boyfriend and a very spoiled tortoise. He is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. His debut “The Alchemy of Moonlight” is set to be published from Page Street Kids in Spring 2023.

Author’s Socials
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Is The Alchemy of Moonlight on your TBR or does it sound like a book you want to read?

Monthly Wrap-Up: May 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

There are still two more days until May ends but I don’t think I’ll be finishing more books this month so I’m wrapping it up early.

May was my birthday month but honestly, everything was so low-key this month that I don’t even know where the days went. I know I basically took one full week off to do nothing but read and (mostly) game but as for the rest of the days, things have blended into one big blur of long and busy work days and little else. 😂 My life is so riveting! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that right now I’m pretty much obsessed with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which was released this month. Other than the game, I didn’t really splurge on books or treat myself to retail therapy—I mostly indulged in “me” time and I don’t regret it. I can’t believe I’m 35 though, lol.

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [191]

Dini @ dinipandareads9 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 curled up reading in bed with or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I’ll be spending my Sunday evening in bed reading The Burning God by R.F. Kuang. I’m a little behind on my buddy read because I haven’t been reading for the last… few days. I’m at 36% and everyone else is past 50% so… Much reading to catch up on! 😅

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#FirstLinesFriday: 26 May 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

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:

“Life is a boat,” Sister Nhã, the Catholic nun who had raised Phong, once told him. “When you depart from your first anchor—your mother’s womb—you will be pulled away by unexpected currents. If you can fill your boat with enough hope, enough self-belief, enough compassion, and enough curiosity, you will be ready to weather all the storms of life.”

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BBNYA Tour Spotlight: The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Happy Thursday, friends! I’m super excited to be shining a spotlight on one of my favourite fantasy/mythology reads: The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector. I first discovered this book when I signed up to read it for a tour in 2021 and was immediately wrecked by the story—the characters, the emotion, the angst—it all got me so good in the feels and I remember sobbing by the end of it. I was so excited and happy to see it get more recognition when it placed second in the 2022 BBNYA!

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.  If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website or Twitter. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

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