Blog Tour Review: The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

Hi friends, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a tour (not since September 2025!), so I’m excited to be back with a blog tour review today! I’m here to share my thoughts (and a few favourite quotes) as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray.

Thanks to Requited for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

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

The Wicked Sea (The Wicked Sea #1)
Publisher: Requited
Publication Date: 7 April 2026
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Rep: LGBTQIA+, Pansexual

Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

In this dark and sultry romantasy a mermaid battles hatred—and lust—for the wretched warlock who saved her life.

Mermaid Zephyra of the Syl dreams of freedom. On the run from a dangerous captor and years of abuse, she’s shed her tail, grown legs, and hidden herself on land in the merrow-loathing kingdom of Mortia, left to steal and barter on the dirty streets. But her freedom is short-lived when she’s caught and sentenced to death by the brutal warlock, Arion Stone.

Arion is as beautiful as he is cold and deadly, only interested in punishing the merrow he views as evil. He has grown as strong as any warlock might, but at great personal cost…which can only be remedied by the heart of the God of Death, lost to a fabled kingdom beneath the ocean’s treacherous depths.

So Arion offers Zephyra a deal she can’t refuse; help him find the mystical heart, and he’ll spare her life. With no other options, Zephyra agrees, entangling their souls and forbidden desires in a magical bargain until death do they part. But Zephyra’s past is catching up to her, and the enemy she fled seeks vengeance. If Zephyra and Arion can’t learn to fight together–and trust each other–there are worse things awaiting them than just death.

Of course, in the wicked sea, everyone has secrets, and no one should be trusted.
For fans of: Enemies-to-lovers, Magic Sensual Bonds, Winged Romantic Lead, Forced Proximity

📚 BUY A COPY
⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Imprisonment, graphic descriptions of torture, gore, dismemberment, blood, violence, death, and murder

TL;DR: The Wicked Sea is a fun fantasy romance featuring killer mermaids and warlocks, a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, and a thrilling race against time across this world, trailed by powerful and deadly enemies. Don’t let this (beautiful) pastel cover fool you—this story gets dark and very gory, and covers fairly tough topics, so I would recommend checking content/trigger warnings beforehand. While there were elements I wish had been done better to deliver a stronger story, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! If you’re a fan of Quicksilver and Phantasma, chances are you’ll like this too.

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [323]

Dini @ dinipandareads10 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’ve spent much of my Sunday in bed reading an ARC of The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray. It’s been a while since I’ve willingly picked up an adult romantasy because a lot of them feel very copy-paste these days. While I can’t say that this anything new or different—and I was honestly a bit worried after reading the prologue—I’ve enjoyed it more as I’ve read on. The character dynamic really gives Quicksilver and Phantasma, while the plot tries to fit in a lot more which does and doesn’t work. Sometimes the decisions or (lack of) logic makes me a bit mad, but I’m surprisingly enjoying it overall? 🤣

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

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Novels in Verse

Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

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:

Novels in Verse

Prompts: Have you read any novels in verse? Do you think novels in verse can be more emotionally powerful compared to regular prose, or do you think novels in verse are more difficult to connect with? What kind of stories do you think work best in verse (i.e. coming-of-age, grief, romance, historical fiction, etc.)? What are your favourite novels in verse?

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March 2026 Community Posts!

Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

Happy Thursday, book pandas! March has come and gone in a blink and so it’s time to share some of my favourite posts from across the book community this month. Despite not being a very jam packed month, I didn’t wind up doing much blog hopping because I wound up spending more time gaming. Oops? 😬 I hope you’re able to find some new blogs to follow, posts to enjoy, and maybe even books to add to your TBR! ✨📖 Happy Reading! 📖✨

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#TopTenTuesday: Buzzwords and Phrases

Dini @ dinipandareads42 Comments

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

This week’s topic is: Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book (These words or phrases can be in the title, synopsis, marketing materials, reviews, author blurbs, etc. and immediately pique your interest or immediately make you say “NOPE”. Examples include: fae, forbidden romance, morally grey characters, unreliable narrator, found family, magical worlds, love triangle, marriage of convenience, dark academia, stranded, dragons, dual points of view, starting over, etc.)

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Book Review: A Tempest of Ravens by E.A. Bard

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

A Tempest of Ravens (The Noble Exiles #1)
Publisher: Bard Songs Publishing
Pub Date: 24 October 2025
Genre: Historical Fantasy Romance

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Outlander meets One Dark Window in this sweeping and visceral historical romantasy.

SCOTLAND 1651. THE KINGDOM IS ABLAZE WITH WAR AND WITCHES’ PYRES.

Maeve MacDonnell has spent years being haunted by croaking ravens, terrifying visions, and uncanny abilities she can’t explain. She’d give anything to be free of them—or to finally control them.

After the superstitious local villagers force her out of town, an alluring stranger named Eamon comes to her aid. As their connection deepens, he encourages her to embrace her abilities. And as her power grows, so does their undeniable chemistry.

When they’re ambushed by the invading English army—who are hell-bent on conquering Scotland and turning every witch to ash—Maeve and Eamon flee to the last Scottish-held castle.

Thrust into a brutal web of deceit, and besieged by enemies on all sides, Maeve must rely on her chaotic magic to survive. It could be the key to saving the kingdom and everyone she loves—but only if she can harness it in time.

Inspired by real events and perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig and Diana Gabaldon, this atmospheric historical romantasy is the first book in the Noble Exiles series.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS

On-page violence, sexual assault (non-consensual kissing & touching), attempted kidnapping, torture, war themes, blood, PTSD, emotional abuse, misogyny, bigotry

TL;DR: Lately, I’ve been struggling to find a read that piques and keeps my interest past the first few pages, so I was very excited when I started A Tempest of Ravens and it did just that. While there were enjoyable moments as the story progressed—particularly the historical context and atmosphere—the uneven pacing, repetitiveness, and a lack of connection to the characters, left me wanting more. I really thought I would love this more than I did, however, I still think it’s a solid debut and I’m curious to see where Maeve’s story goes next. If you’re more into historical fiction with a little bit of witchcraft and magic thrown into the mix, and a mild romantic subplot, you might enjoy this one!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [322]

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 reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.

I’ve got two books on at the minute and both are buddy reads but I think I’ll spend the rest of my Sunday (after gaming!) in bed reading A Drop of Corruption, which is my buddy read with Charlotte and she is way ahead of me! It’s getting even more intriguing now though and I’m curious to see what happens next. I love these characters, especially Din and Ana—the banter is fantastic and often has me cackling out loud! 🤭

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

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Right Book, Right Time?

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

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:

Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In

Suggested by: Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe
Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

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Mini Book Review: Gaveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Graveyard Shift
Publisher: Wildfire
Pub Date: 24 September 2024
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The bestselling author of international BookTok sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story of a group of misfits who meet in the local cemetery each night to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.

Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realise he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks — and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.

Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M.L. Rio’s inimitable style.

“What must it feel like, she wondered, for the first time and much too late, to be so desperate for rest that you’d let a doctor[…]drop her experimental poison in your eyes?”

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