Since this year, the last Sunday falls on the last day of the year, I thought I’d combine my usual Sundays in Bed With… My Weekly Wrap-Up post with my monthly wrap-up. Can you believe it’s already the end of 2023?
I honestly don’t know where this month went. It passed by in a blink of long days, endless nights, extremely emotional moments, but thankfully, also some fun reads and down time. The quieter office of the past two weeks were also much-needed and I’m low-key dreading going back to “business as usual” come January, lol. 😂 But we’ll be fine.
I hope everyone is doing okay and taking care of themselves during this time of the year. It’ll be a new year on this side of the world before it will be for most of you reading this (probably) so here’s a message incoming from the future:
Happy New Year! 🥳 I hope 2024 will be a year filled with joy, success, stability and peace. Sending all the hugs and much love your way! 💜
Hey friends, I hope the week is treating you right. We’re two sleeps away from a new year (at least on this side of the world anyway) and I was reminded by Jennifer @ My Book Joy about this fun book tag! ✨ I totally forgot that the Spotify Wrapped Book Tag existed but I think I did a pretty decent job at matching songs to books in 2022, so I thought I’d give it another go for 2023. I think my 2023 songs were a bit more challenging but I still had fun matching and think I did an okay job, lol. On that note, let’s get to it!
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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:
“The outward door’s locks tumbled for the first time in a year. I stood from my perch on the tower’s window seat and schooled my features into an expression of contentment, even as my heart thudded against my ribs. There could only be one reason the guards were unlocking that door instead of the inner one the maidservants used. The emperor had called for me. It’s about bloody time.”
Pride and Protest Publisher: Berkley Pub Date: 15 November 2022 Genre: Contemporary Romance, Retelling
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
Liza B–The Only DJ That Gives a Jam—wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at their corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly—but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head.
At first, Dorsey writes Liza Bennett off as an over-caffeinated woke weekend warrior. As the adopted Filipino son of a wealthy white family, he’s always felt a bit out of place, and knows a fraud when he sees one. But when Liza’s protest results in a viral meme, their lives are turned upside down and Dorsey comes to realize this irresistible revolutionist is the most real woman he’s ever met.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Family death (recounted), racism, microaggressions, classism, incarceration (briefly recounted), explicit sexual content
TL;DR:I’ve been looking forward to reading this ever since I first heard about it and I’m glad that I finally read it. While there were elements I wanted more of I found myself enjoying this a lot! I especially loved the chemistry between Dorsey and Liza and I ate their romance up. The angst, tension, the way the atmosphere in the room changed when they came into contact, their peak horniness—honestly, it was a fun sexual vibe! 🥵 The Bennett family was a mess in their usual way but I appreciated the inclusion of modern issues such as gentrification and the way the story was conveyed through alternating POVs and mixed media. Overall, this was a witty, funny, and entertaining P&P retelling and I can’t wait to read more by this author!
Friends, it’s the last Wednesday of 2023! Can you believe?!
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:
Since it’s Christmas, many of us will be away from our computer screens but I thought there was no better time to do the Christmas Songs Book Tag! My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas but I love the festive atmosphere and I admit to being a sucker for the tunes. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been listening to Christmas hits for the whole month and that’s not stopping today! 😍
Caro tagged me to do this one and if you haven’t yet, do check out her blog cos it’s wonderful. 💜 On that note, let’s just get to it. I plan to choose my answers from my 2023 reads as much as I possibly can!
I didn’t think it’d be so hard to choose but I think Lizzie and Rake take this title. They were just SO PERFECT and their romance was *chef’s kiss*. I love them! 🥹
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”: A book where a character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.)
I didn’t think I could find something holiday-themed for this answer but Ves was away from “home” for the holidays when he found himself in Piney Peaks!
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Your favourite “little” book (children’s book, short story, novella, etc.)
I was tempted to go with a novella but I decided to shine a spotlight on a middle-grade fantasy graphic novel instead. This was super cute and had a lovely message too!
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”: What book(s) do you hope Santa brings you this year?
As I said in a recent post, I’m my own Santa and here are a few titles I’m thinking of treating myself to:
Technically Yours by Denise Williams, The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert, Band Sinister by KJ Charles, Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian, Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”: Which book turned your nose red (made you cry)?
I’m an emotional reader so it doesn’t take much to make me cry but this book in particular had me ugly-crying in a big way! Woof, the emotions! 😭 Actually, no lie, this whole series had me crying rivers, lol.
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: Your favourite book/kind of book to read during the holidays
I live in the tropics but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my share of holiday romances! 😍
Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert, The Mistletoe Bet by Maren Moore, Main Street Dealmaker by Brighton Walsh, In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren, Walking in a Witchy Wonderland by Juliette Cross
“We Three Kings”: Your favourite trilogy
I did read a trilogy this year but only the one so that would be cheating. So I have to share my all-time favourite trilogy and that’s without question The Green Bone Sagaby Fonda Lee.
“Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow”: A character you would love to be snowed in with
Okay, I admit I’m cheating a bit with this one because I’m not picking one character I’m picking four. The four septuagenarians who are part of the Thursday Murder Club. There would be endless drinking and undoubtedly all the stories!
“Last Christmas”: A book that seriously let you down
This was one of my most anticipated releases for 2023. I’d been looking forward to it since I binged all five books in the series at the end of 2022. I wept with disappointment and blocked its existence from my mind, lol.
“White Christmas”: An upcoming release you’re dreaming about
I’ve got a very short 2024-releases list started on Goodreads now but from that list, Tia Williams’ next book is the one that I’m most desperately looking forward to. Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate the magnificence that is this cover, pls? 😍😭
That’s it for the Christmas Songs Book Tag! Do you like Christmas songs or are you over it all? 😂 If you want to do this tag and link back, I’d love to know your answers! Hope everyone has a good, relaxed day and a nice break!
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 my Sunday night in bed reading Song of Silver, Flame Like Night. I’ve been in a non-fantasy mood but I need to read it because I have the ARC of the second book to read by the first week of January! 😂 It took a couple of chapters for me to get into the story cos of my mood but I’m eager to get back to it now!
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.
Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Murder, multiple suicides (recounted), drug dealing (recounted, not in detail), dementia
TL;DR:Well, for a murder mystery, this was delightfully charming and cosy! I didn’t think it’d be so much fun following around four septuagenarians in a classy retirement village who are more than a little obsessed with murders but here we are. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron were wonderful characters and I loved learning more about each of them as the story progressed. There’s a host of side characters who were just as realistic and relatable, especially Chris and Donna, and colour me surprised by the reveals at the end cos I didn’t guess any of it right! 😂 Osman wove the many mysteries and storylines together so well and I can’t wait to continue with this series in the future.
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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:
“A read light blipped on the top left of the control board. Liza B. had a caller. “Hello and good evening. You are live with Liza B., the only DJ who gives a jam. Tell me what’s on your mind…””
dinipandareads 