Month: March 2021

#TopTenTuesday: I Liked It… But I Can’t Remember Much About It…

Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: Books I Really Liked but Can’t Remember Anything/Much About

Today’s topic is actually books with funny titles but I wasn’t feeling it so I’ve decided to go rogue and do prompt #374 (just for reference today’s prompt is somewhere in the 540s!) from 2018.

I go on about how my memory really fails me a lot and well, it’s true. Prior to writing reviews and having a book blog, I read a lot of popular titles that I remember loving at the time but that I cannot for the life of me remember much about now. There are books I read maybe 5-6 years ago? I mean, you’d think that since I loved them so much, enough to rate them 4-5 stars, I’d remember more about them right? So very wrong. 😂 I’d probably be able to tell you the gist of what happens and maybe even something of what I loved about the book but if you ask me about plot or character specifics, it’s very likely I’ll draw a blank! There are maybe one or two titles on here that I remember more bits about but I think if I were to pick any of these up again it might almost be like reading them for the first time (maybe, almost, likely)! On that note… Here are the books!

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#5OnMyTBR: Green Covers

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Hello Mondays, welcome back to #5OnMyTBR, a meme created by the wonderful E @ The Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. This bookish meme gets us to dig even further into our TBRs by simply posting about five books on our TBR! You can learn more about it here. You can find the full list of prompts (past and future) at the end of this post!

This week’s prompt is: Green Covers.

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Goodreads Monday – In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.*

*Sorry if a book has been featured twice. I need to make better note of which ones I’ve done already!

This week’s featured book is In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens. This is a YA historical fantasy that comes out mid-April 2021!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

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

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday in bed reading Lost in the Never Woods. I’m reading this for my spot on the blog tour next week and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve never read a Peter Pan fanfic or re-telling before so this already has that uniqueness going for it. I’m about 40% through now and I’m enjoying it but it’s definitely a lot creepier than I thought it’d be! 😂

When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town. Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods

What are you currently reading?

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Cover Reveal: Royal Spy by Heather Frost

Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

I was delighted when Heather Frost reached out to ask me to take part in the cover reveal for book two in her Fate of Eyrinthia series: Royal Spy!

If you pre-order a copy there’s also an exciting gift (an EXCLUSIVE scene from one of the characters POVs: The Decoy and The Bodyguard) that you can receive once you show proof of purchase. The form to enter for the pre-order gift is linked down below so don’t forget to check it out!

Goodreads: Royal Spy (Fate of Eyrinthia #2)
Publish Date: 20 May 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Romance

A DECOY recruited to be a spy.
A PRINCE compelled to become an assassin.
A SERJAH pressured by an unwanted crown.
A WORLD covered in shadows.

Mere months ago, Clare was just a kitchen maid. Now, she is a decoy for Princess Serene and a novice spy, caught in the royal family’s web of secrets. While journeying to Mortise to finalize the princess’s betrothal to Serjah Desfan, Clare lives for the stolen moments she has with Bennick, the bodyguard who is quickly claiming her heart. But when a notorious assassin is hired to kill her, Clare’s life and the alliance hang in the balance.

In Ryden, Grayson prepares to leave for Mortise with his brother, Liam. Their orders are to ignite a war between their enemies, and Grayson has been tasked with assassinating Princess Serene. It may cost his soul, but he is ready to comply, as long as he gets something in return: freedom for Mia, the girl he loves. But the more time he spends with his brother, the more he begins to wonder if Liam is what Grayson wishes he had the courage to be . . . a traitor. 

Desfan feels trapped. By his disapproving council, his impending marriage to a stranger, and the imminent arrival of enemy princes who may not want the peace they profess. When a dangerous drug threatens his people, Desfan jumps at the chance to rely on his swords instead of politics. But his investigation uncovers more than he bargained for—a plot that may destroy Mortise from within.

Eyrinthia hovers on the edge of war. Spies. Rebels. Traitors. All must choose a side.

PRE-ORDER LINKS: Amazon

ENTER TO RECEIVE THE PRE-ORDER GIFT ➡️ here!

Read the first book Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia #1) today! Available on Kindle Unlimited. You can also check out my review for book one.

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Books I Want To Read But Don’t Want to Read Tag

Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

I was tagged by the lovely Michaela @ Journey Into Books to do the ‘Books I Want To Read’ tag and look at me–doing a tag within a month of being tagged! 🤣 Thanks for the tag, lovely! Check out her blog for great reviews and other fun bookish content ❤️

The basic idea of this tag (from the original creator) is: basically all those books where you really like the idea of reading the book / you do WANT to read the book, but the actual process of reading it seems daunting or unappealing! Why do I feel like I’m gonna struggle with this even though this sounds like a fun and interesting tag?! LOL 😂

The Rules:

  • Link back to the original tag (this post, and Jami!)
  • Complete the questions with books you want to have read but don’t want to read
  • Tag some people at the end to do the tag next

1: A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it

Layla by Colleen Hoover. I’ve heard some wildly mixed reviews for this book but I’ve also seen it EVERYWHERE. That said, I think I can apply a lot of Hoover’s books for this prompt–not that I don’t want to read them but there are so many and honestly, I don’t really want to either? 🤣

2: A book thats really long

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Not only is this one chonkster of a book, I also have very negative associations with this book because I picked it up during The Worst Slump Ever™️. I got really close to finishing it but then I stopped reading for 3 months (see: worst slump ever) and now I get weird iffy vibes when I think about picking it up again. I want to finish it cos I’m so close to the end but also… It’s so chonky? And I don’t remember what’s happened last and… Hmm. 🤔

3: A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long

There are… Quite a number of books that I’ve been contemplating removing off the shelf lately but for this I’m going with Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. This was gifted to me by a family friend and I mean, it’s one of those “classics” that I do want to read because it’s a “classic” but at the same time I don’t think I actually have any interest in it anymore?

4: A book that is ‘required’ reading (eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ve actually attempted to read this one or two times (albeit without much enthusiasm) but I was never really able to get into it? I want to read it because it’s such a classic but also… I don’t know when (if ever) I’ll pick it up!

5: A book that intimidates you

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Confession time: I’ve never watched any of the adaptations because I’m convinced I want to read the book first but every time I look at this chonky beast of a book I wilt a little bit inside at the thought of making my way through it. I feel like it’s a book that’ll take not only my full concentration but also a good long while to read. I have a feeling it’ll be worth it(?) but it’s also very scary 😂 I guess time will tell if I’ll ever pick it up!

6: A book that you think might be slow

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke. This was honestly purely a cover buy but then I Goodreads’d it and it sounded really interesting. I don’t know why (maybe it’s the epic size of the thing but) I have a feeling that this might be on the slower side of reads. I do want to read it but also, I don’t know when that day might ever come! 😅

7: A book you need to be in the right mood for

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. I do have an interest in reading this book especially because everyone and their mum seems to have read it. I tend to struggle a lot with staying focused on non-fiction though so I definitely have to be in the perfect mood to read this!

8: A book you’re unsure if you will like

Um… Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I really don’t know why I feel this way but I just have a feeling that I might not like it and that’s why I keep putting off the many opportunities I’ve had to read it. I know it’s an incredibly well loved story so I’m not sure what about it makes me feel this way but I’m leaning towards maybe not reading it? (pls don’t hate me) 😂

And that’s a wrap, friends! That was fun (and I did have a time making up my mind lol)! I won’t be tagging anyone specifically but everyone is welcome to do the tag if you want! If you decide to do the tag don’t forget to link back so I can check out your post! 😃

Blog Tour Review: Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar

Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

Special thanks to Algonquin Books for inviting me to be on the blog tour and for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: Silence Is a Sense
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Release Date: 16 March 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

A young woman sits in her apartment in an unnamed English city, absorbed in watching the small dramas of her assorted neighbors through their windows across the way. Traumatized into muteness after a long, devastating trip from war-torn Syria to the UK, she believes that she wants to sink deeper into isolation, moving between memories of her absent boyfriend and family and her homeland, dreams, and reality. At the same time, she begins writing for a magazine under the pseudonym “the Voiceless,” trying to explain the refugee experience without sensationalizing it—or revealing anything about herself.

Gradually, as the boundaries of her world expand—as she ventures to the neighborhood corner store, to a gathering at a nearby mosque, and to the bookstore and laundromat, and as an anti-Muslim hate crime shatters the members of a nearby mosque—she has to make a choice: Will she remain a voiceless observer, or become an active participant in her own life and in a community that, despite her best efforts, is quickly becoming her own?

TL;DR: March 15 marked ten years since the start of the Syrian war. Millions of people have been become refugees and internally displaced and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives. These are numbers that are so LARGE that it’s impossible to comprehend. What is it like for people to literally watch their nation crumble right before their eyes? To have to choose between leaving and living or staying and (very possibly) dying? As stated in an interview, through this book, AlAmmar set out to ‘dispel the abstractions’ of the literal crumbling of a nation and to ground the magnitude of such devastation and loss through a personal narrative and she does an INCREDIBLE job. Poetically written, thought-provoking and emotionally explosive, this isn’t an easy read at all but my gosh is it absolutely worth it! This will undoubtedly be one of the most impactful books I read in 2021 and I highly recommend it.

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#WWWWednesday: 17 March

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:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

Wow, it really doesn’t feel like I’ve read a lot since last week but apparently I’ve managed to finish five books? Surprise to me! LOL. It might not help that I haven’t actually marked these as read on Goodreads and neither have I properly reviewed them either. Oopsies, one thing a time though… 🤣

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells ★★★★☆
Repeatedly chants: I love Murderbot! Because I really really do and I would read all the books with Murderbot as the protagonist. This one was slightly less exciting than book one but we got to dive a bit more into Murderbot’s psyche and we also get to meet ART, who I also loved! 😂 Buddy reading this series with Leslie and we’re both loving it and can’t wait to continue! Series RTC.

Namesake (Fable #2) by Adrienne Young ★★★★☆
Namesake was a really satisfying conclusion to the Fable duology. The story picks up immediately where book one ends and it’s full of pirate-y goodness, many more high-seas adventures, and delicious deceptions and twists! This second book is less focused on world building and character development, but it has a very fast-paced plot that leaves little time to dwell on it. Check out my review!

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#TopTenTuesday: Spring Possibility Pile!

Dini @ dinipandareads30 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: Books On My Spring 2021 TBR.

Oh, how wonderful would it be to experience spring… 🤔 I miss having four seasons, but I digress! If you’re not new to my blog you know by now that I don’t do TBRs, rather I try to stick with possibility piles (and even then they don’t go 90% of the time lol)! That said, it’s always fun to think of the books that I want to read soon, and actually, a few of these are blog tour reads, buddy reads, and ARCs so I *will* be reading them soon enough! Needless to say, I’m super excited for all of these titles 😍 And on that note, here are the reads I’m hoping to pick up in the coming month(s):

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#5OnMyTBR: Mythology

Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

Hello Mondays, welcome back to #5OnMyTBR, a meme created by the wonderful E @ The Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. This bookish meme gets us to dig even further into our TBRs by simply posting about five books on our TBR! You can learn more about it here. You can find the full list of prompts (past and future) at the end of this post!

This week’s prompt is: Mythology.

I struggled to find books for this prompt today for some reason. I’m sure I have quite a few on my list since I love books based on mythology but I’ve completely blanked on it? 😂 I tried to come up with ones that were based on non-greek or norse mythology but those take up the bulk of my ‘mythology’ TBR but I’m glad that I found at least three books based on other mythology. Without further ado… Let’s get to it!

LOVELY WAR

It’s 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She’s a shy and talented pianist; he’s a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it’s immediate and deep–and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who’s played Carnegie Hall, he’s a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that’s before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who’s already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers’ fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

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