I'm Dini (she/her), a thirty-something book lover based in Indonesia. I mostly read fantasy and romance, but I love to dabble in other genres. I tend to stay away from horror and ghosty things though because I'm The Ultimate Chicken™️. I'm always happy to meet other book lovers so feel free to chat with me!
It’s funny how an event on the other side of the world has been able to consume my day, as if I really have any stake at all in what’s happening over there. All my friends and many colleagues have been ridiculously preoccupied by the elections, and we’re all waiting with bated breath to see what happens next. It’s been tough watching and it’s still going, but I’m with you all in spirit and really thinking of you, friends! If you need to be distracted, please reach out!
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?
It’s still been pretty slow going on the reading front and I think it’s because I’m so distracted by all the books that I want to read and can’t decide which comes first. Since last Wednesday I’ve finished four books and I’m happy to say that all of them were really enjoyable and it was a week of solid fours!
Love Offline by Olivia Spring ★★★★☆ I read this for a blog tour and it was a really fun story full of realistic characters and relatable experiences! The romance was heartwarming and the chemistry between our characters was undeniable. Definitely recommended for those who love a contemporary romance that’s sure to make you laugh and is full of quirky charm! Read my review
The Highland Laird (Lord of the Highlands #8) by Amy Jarecki ★★★★☆ I swooped in on this after reading Julie’s review and well, I’m definitely sold on Scottish historical romances 🤣 I mean, oof. This was such a wonderful romance! The H/H were both great characters and they stole my heart. Despite being total opposites they understand each other more than anyone else, and they truly bring out the best in each other. I adored their love. Review to come!
This week’s prompt shifts away from all-things-bookish-all-the-time and has us sharing more personal bits about ourselves so we can get to know each other better ☺️ While I definitely had to gear my brain up for the change in topic, I thought this was a fun prompt to do because it made me actually stop and think about the things that I enjoy doing aside from reading–although I’m not lying when I say that reading/books take up the vast majority of my time outside of work. 😂
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 or in the post announcing it. You can find the full list of prompts (past and future) at the end of this post!
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.
This week’s featured book is Human Acts by Han Kang. This is a historical fiction set in South Korea that was published in 2017 and has a 4.17 star rating on Goodreads with several thousand ratings and reviews.
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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
It’s Sunday evening and I spent the afternoon reading an ARC that I already finished, and since then I’ve been undecided on what to pick up next. I think I might be going withKingdom of the Wicked or The Crowns of Croswald. But it’s also highly probably that I’ll end up going in a completely different direction from fantasy and read some romance because my mood is a fickle beast right now, and I can only obey its whims. 😂
Welcome back to another Top 5 Saturday! Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂 This week’s topic is actually: vampires.
This topic was actually a tough one to answer because I honestly haven’t read that many books with vampires and neither is it usually what I gravitate towards. The same goes with other supernatural creatures too though, like werewolves. I’ve enjoyed the very few that I read (even Twilight all those years ago) but I don’t actively seek them out. I do still have a few books with vampires on my TBR though and I am looking forward to checking them out at some point, especially the ever popular Dracula! So without further ado…
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:
“She couldn’t remember the first book she had eaten.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for Love Offline by Olivia Spring. Thanks to Rachel for organising this tour, and to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Goodreads: Love Offline Release Date: 01 November 2019 Genre: Contemporary Romance Panda Rating:
Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?
Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread. So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.
Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he’s hiding something… Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?
Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way. Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.
I was looking for a fun and easy tag to do for today and then I remembered that Leah @ Leah’s Books recently tagged me to do The Hallotober Tag, and with Halloween just around the corner it’s the perfect time to do this! If y’all haven’t already, you should check out Leah’s blog! She’s not only sweet and wonderful, but she also writes some great reviews that have resulted in me adding even more books to my TBR on a regular basis. Plus, she’s like my bookish twin so it’s almost a guaranteed win for me if it’s a win for her! Thanks for the tag, Leah 🎃
THE Rules
Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post
Put the rules at the beginning or after introduction
Answer the 13 questions
Tag 13 people to do the tag
Delete Question 13, add a new number one question of your own
You are free to use the tag image somewhere in the post
LEAH’S QUESTIONS
What is your favourite horror novel or short story?
Seeing as how I don’t really read horror, I’m not sure that I have a favourite. I did read Rules for Vanishing last year though and it was hella scary but I would definitely recommend it! I’m honestly surprised that I managed to read it because it’s everything I would normally run away from, and that cover still gives me major creeps, but I’m so glad that I ticked it off my list! Check out my review.
what was the last halloween costume you wore?
Hmm… I think the last costume I wore was a mix-n-match panda costume (ha, surprise) that I pulled together at the last minute. It was when I was living in the UK, I was going to a Halloween party at a club with my then partner, and we only decided to go at the last minute. It was a proper messy night 😂
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FALL SNACK?
Fall isn’t a thing in the tropics, but I also can’t remember indulging in any particular ‘fall snacks’ when I lived in Australia or the UK. I will say that my favourite fall treat is a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I mean, the drink itself is quite rich and could be considered a snack, right? It’s my favourite! I wish they had it year round LOL
do you carve pumpkins?
My last memory of carving pumpkins was also probably the first time I ever carved pumpkins… In Kindergarten 😂 It’s funny how I don’t remember so much but I do recall that memory well. It was definitely a fun time!
Do you prefer horror movies or stories?
Being The Ultimate(st of) Chicken(s), I would say neither. But if I had to force myself I’d probably choose a horror story. My imagination might run wild but at least I can try to control it? 😅
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE HALLOWEEN MEMORY?
Hmm… I don’t know if I really have a favourite memory. When I think of Halloween I always think of those fun times when I was still in school and used to go trick-or-treating around my neighbourhood in the Philippines. It was a surprisingly big thing! I always loved dressing up and coming home with lots of candy and seeing how crazy people went with decorations and costumes! 🍭
DO YOU PREFER TO GIVE OUT CANDY OR GET CANDY?
I mean, who’s gonna say they don’t prefer to get candy?! LOL kidding… 👀 I mean, obviously, I love to get candy but I also enjoy giving them out because I know the joy of receiving it!
DO YOU DECORATE FOR HALLOWEEN OR FALL?
I don’t! Like I said, it’s not really a big holiday here in Asia and although we did use to decorate when I was a kid, the most decorative Halloween props that I have now are fake fall leaves, a black pumpkin and a cute ceramic ghost + sign that says Happy Halloween! 🎃 I also only have these props because of bookstagram 😂
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE URBAN LEGEND? IF SO, WHAT IS IT?
Wow, I’m gonna be really boring (again) here and say that I don’t? I mean… Not really? That stuff scares the crap out of me and I tend to stay away from listening to them as much as possible. That said, I wasn’t immune to hearing about them, and although they’re not favourites, the most popular ones I heard about growing up were: Bloody Mary, Hanako, and the Candy Man. I shudder at the thought of them.
WOULD YOU RATHER SPEND THE NIGHT IN A GRAVE YARD OR A HAUNTED HOUSE?
Again, why would I wanna be doing either of those things?! 🙃 I mean, hard pass for sure, but if I was forced to choose, I would mos def go grave yard over a haunted house. At least a grave yard is open space, right? I also don’t think that they’re half as scary as haunted houses, although that doesn’t mean I’d want to be hanging around one for shits and giggles! 😂
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SPOOKY MOVIE?
Well… Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmasare spooky and they are favourites! 👻
Who is your favourite character from a horror movie or book?
Um… I’m actually drawing a blank for this one… 😅 I’m sorry, I can’t think of anyone because I can’t think of a book or movie!
WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ALWAYS PUT YOU IN THE AUTUMN/HALLOWEEN MOOD?
While I don’t read the traditional horror or scary books, I do like a book that can set a good creepy and mysterious atmosphere that send chills down your spine and the hairs on the back of your neck prickle. The kind of books that make me want to burrow even deeper under my duvet to keep me safe from all the scary! Those definitely put me in the Halloween mood!
~I tag whoever wants to do this!~
MY QUESTIONS
What book would you recommend to someone who doesn’t normally read spooky/scary books?
What is your favorite horror novel or short story?
What was the last Halloween costume you wore?
What is your favorite fall snack?
Do you carve pumpkins?
Do you prefer horror movies or stories?
What is your favorite Halloween memory?
Do you prefer to give out candy or get candy?
Do you decorate for Halloween or fall?
Do you have a favorite urban legend? If so what is it?
Would you rather spend a night in a grave yard or a haunted house?
What is your favorite spooky movie?
Who is your favorite character from a horror movie or book?
I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for Inside Voices by Sarah Davis. Thanks to Rachel for organising this tour, and to the author for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.
Be sure to click on the banner below to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Goodreads: Inside Voices Publisher: Darkstroke Books Release Date: 23 June 2020 Genre: New Adult Contemporary Fiction Panda Rating:
The mind is a strange beast…extraordinary, unpredictable, protective.
Penny Osborn’s mind is no exception. In High School, Penny witnessed a massacre and lost her father to the same killers. She had seen it unfold before it happened, in a premonition, but could not prevent it. A college research project at the edge of the Arctic is her chance for a new beginning. Struggling with PTSD, Penny’s therapy includes running, dogs, and guitars. Yet her fresh start is plagued by new premonitions, dark and foreboding, that coincide with a rising number of murders in the community. Her visions are vague, offering little to identify the killer.
When confronted with an orphaned polar bear cub, Penny risks everything to save its life. The deepening mystery of the murdered women, coupled with the exhaustive duties of caring for the small cub, draw her closer to her friend, Noah, and further from her sister.
Fearful for the serial killer’s next target, Penny discovers where her physical abilities can help her. Will letting go of the past lead to healing? And can she stop the murders?
dinipandareads 