🎄 HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! 🎄
Leslie and I are planning a group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl starting in January 2026! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!
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?
Since last week I’ve managed to finish 2 books. It’s been a slow reading week, friends and I’m guessing that we’re not going to end off December with the bang we wanted but alas, that’s life, lol.
Heated Rivalry (Game Changers #2) by Rachel Reid ★★★★★
If you’ve been online in the book community, you might’ve seen the hype around Heated Rivalry thanks to the adaptation being wildly popular. It took this hype for me to finally read this book after having it on my TBR for three years and I’m so glad I finally read it. Yes, I’m getting on the hype train cos this was top-tier true enemies-to-lovers. Shane and Ilya stole my heart and I loved the progression of their romance. While it was definitely high-heat (lots and lots of steam), they also had a beautiful emotional journey. The yearning was off the charts and their chemistry was scorching hot! This was a super fun, sexy, emotional journey and I loved every minute of it.
Crier’s War (Crier’s War #1) by Nina Varela ★★☆☆☆
After thinking about it some more, I think I’ll be rounding this down. Unfortunately, this Owlcrate book did not work for me! There was so much potential only for the plot to be non-existent, the characters lacking in agency and personality, and the romance to be a complete miss. I felt so many of the elements introduced were underutilized and while I was okay with the slow-burn in the beginning, the second half was more of the same and let to nowhere. I was very disappointed—although I will say I’m in the minority because it’s got a 4.0 rating avg on Goodreads and that’s pretty remarkable)!
My reading mood continues to be fickle. I’ve put Death in the Spires on pause for now after picking up a few new reads over the course of the week… I do want to come back to it eventually though!
- Royal Assassin ⇢ 60% ⇢ I’ve made a considerably dent with this over the weekend and I intend to keep going! I definitely want to finish this before the year ends and I think I’m on track!
- Blood Over Bright Haven ⇢ 34% ⇢ I didn’t really intend to pick this up and I’m still not sure whether I will continue because while I’m enjoying it a lot, the magic system (and the explanation of it) is currently overwhelming my brain. 😅 I want to properly sink into it but I’m too all over the place to do it right now, so I might put on pause until I feel more settled? We’ll see!
- Someone You Can Build A Nest In ⇢ 14% ⇢ This was another unintended pick up. Shesheshen is such an interesting MC and I’m curious… Let’s see if I continue!
- The Wedding ⇢ 5% ⇢ This was a very random pick but I need an ‘event’ to fulfill a reading challenge prompt. Not sure if I’ll stick to this one cos it’s not grabbing me but it’s early days…
- A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping ⇢ 1% ⇢ I’m meant to be reading this with Leslie right now for our last BR of the year, but I’m way behind! This will be my travel companion though so I think (and hope!) I’ll be able to make a decent dent on the 4.5 hour plane ride.
I got sent the eARC of Canterbary’s latest just a few days before the pub date, so I didn’t get the chance to read it yet. But I think I’ll prioritize that next and whatever else my mood calls for!
Join our big group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl in January 2026!
Even before we finished the seventh book in September, we already knew we wanted to do a bigger re-read of the series in the lead up to the eighth book coming out in 2026! We also figured this would be really fun reading in a bigger group, so that’s what we’re doing! We’ll start in January and read roughly 1 book per month to prepare for the release of the next book later in the year! We’re hosting it on Instagram so leave a comment below or message me (@dinipandareads) or Leslie (@booksarethenewblack11) over there if you’d like to join.
🧨 GET EXCITED, CRAWLERS! 🧨
What are you currently reading? I hope you’re enjoying whatever book you’ve picked up, friends!
dinipandareads 
I’m currently reading Confessions of a Trash Droid by Michael Cheney. It’s very funny. About 6 in the series. Good job they are in KU
In the last week I read 🥁
1 A Cowboy Holiday by Lane Hayes.
2 Jules Cassidy PI by Suzanne Brockmann.
3 Duke for Hire by Nicola Davidson.
4 Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson.
Next will be next Trash Droid book I think
Gill
LikeLike
MERRY CHRISTMAS DINI❤️ I hope you enjoy the holidays and are able to relax and be with your loved ones.
I feel the same way about these last days of December, but I believe you’ll be able to finish Royal Assassin. Every year, I say I’ll try some holiday romances and I never do, but I’ve heard good things about The Nightmare Before Kissmas.
Have fun celebrating these days!
LikeLike
So, Heated Rivalry is a show based on a book? I’ve seen lots of mention of it lately. I’m a huge NHL hockey fan, but I have never read/seen any hockey romance. It’s cool to see it getting more people interested in the sport (and maybe getting more people interested in reading too!)
LikeLike