I'm Dini (she/her) and I'm a thirty-something book lover based in Indonesia. I mostly read romance and SFF though I love to dabble in other genres but tend to stay away from horror and ghosty things because I'm The Ultimate Chicken™️. I'm always happy to meet other book lovers so feel free to chat with me!
Leslie and I are planning two group reads in the coming months! 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:
The murder of a marquis, an accidental kidnapping, an elite vampire death squad, and a beast stalking the French countryside? All in a day’s work for a member of the les Dames Dangereuses.
As the most enviable comtesse of the tonne, Charlotte de Brionne was almost satisfied with her wealth, power, and rather tepid marriage, until her murderous husband betrayed her.
Now she has seized the chance to make a more adventurous start with les Dames Dangereuses, an order of women spies in service to the French crown. But her latest assignment is rudely interrupted when she is kidnapped by a crossbow-wielding madman, who turns out to be not at all mad only rather surly and annoyingly handsome.
Lieutenant Antoine de Valle has no idea what to make of the exasperating, untrustworthy, and frustratingly beautiful woman he’s suddenly saddled with, but his honor demands he see Charlotte safely home. Especially since it’s his fault she accidentally witnesses his murder of a marquis, ends up on the wrong end of a brutal vampire death squad, and barely survives an encounter with the Beast of Gévaudan.
In fact, the more Antoine tries to keep Charlotte safe, the more trouble they find themselves in. And the harder it is for Antoine to remember his honor in the face of Charlotte’s dangerous charms.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Murder, blood
TL;DR:This was an action-packed supernatural/paranormal historical romance set in an alternate 1700s France where the blood plague runs rampant and vampires have taken over Paris. Despite being a little [too] instalust/love, I liked the romance between Charlotte and Antoine, and I found their dynamic, banter and chemistry to be fantastic. I didn’t know whether they would fight or give in to their feelings and tear each other’s clothes off, but I do know it kept me on my toes and eagerly anticipating what would happen next. If you like a lot of action and a bit of mystery with your slightly angsty and intense romances, I’d recommend it!
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 spent most of my day in bed catching up on my Katabasis reading. I can’t believe that we’re already done next week! This chunk that we just read was so intense and my brain was overwhelmed by what it had to process. There is so much to digest in this story! 😂
I do need help deciding what I want to read next though. I’m going to keep my non-fiction audiobook for my commute read, but I want a nighttime read and I can’t decide what to pick up. Has anyone read any of these books? Which would you choose to read? ⬇️
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton, The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso, The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles, Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner, Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi
What book are you spending your Sunday in bed with?
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:
Favourite Genre Recommendations
Prompts: What is your favourite genre(s) and what makes it your favourite? If someone wanted to try your favourite genre(s), what are five books that you would recommend to them and why those books specifically? Has your favourite genre changed over time?
Leslie and I are planning two group reads in the coming months! 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:
This week’s topic is:Literary/Bookish Candles I’d Make (Pick a book and assign it a fragrance or fragrance combo that would make a nice candle.) (Submitted by Heather @ The Frozen Library) — but clearly I’m going rogue!
Happy Monday, book pandas! I’m back with a tag today and it’s the Six in SixBook Tag! I’ve had this on my radar for a while after spotting it on Leyre @ Read You Leyre‘s page. I found it unique because it’s kind of like a “choose your own adventure” book tag but in this case, it’s “choose your own prompts from a list that the original creator has made or create your own”. Confused? I hope not! 🤣
Let’s get right to the details for this tag:
This tag was originally created by The Book Jotter. Here’s what Jo has to say about it:
The idea being that as the end of June approaches and we are then halfway through the year, let us share the books we have read in those first 6 months. In fact let’s share 6 books in 6 categories, or if time is of the essence then simply share just 6 books. Whatever combination works for you as long as it involves 6 books. Of course the same book can obviously feature in more than one category.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton, Enchantra by Kaylie Smith, Getting It On With Gargoyles by Hazel Mack, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Six authors I’m looking forward to reading more of…
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker, A Master of Djinn by P. Djéli Clark, The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Six books I was disappointed with
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith, A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson, A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee, Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley, Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim, Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Six books I read on my Kindle and then bought physical copies of…
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Six book covers I love (in 2025)
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim, Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree, The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang, The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, The Floating World by Axie Oh, Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Six books recently added to my wish list
When I Think of You by Myah Ariel, Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher, If Not for My Baby by Kate Golden, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Crimson Fortress by Akshaya Raman
That’s it for the Six in Six book tag! This was so much fun and I loved that we could choose the prompts ourselves. Not tagging anyone but feel free to link back if you do it so I can check out the prompts you chose and your answers!
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 spend the rest of my Sunday night finishing Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey. I got sent an ARC and I completely forgot about it until I got the publication day email (oops, so sorry)! 🫣 Since I’ve been feeling myself slip into a restless funky reading mood, I thought a romance would do the trick and it’s definitely an easy one-sitting read. It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up something by Bailey but I’ve had fun with this!
What book are you spending your Sunday in bed with?
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:
Following the Reader
Prompts: What makes you want to follow a bookish account on social media? What makes you want to follow a book blog? Are you very discerning, or do you follow back whoever follows you? Do you prefer or find it easier to engage with other readers on one platform over the other (i.e. blogs vs. bookstagram or booktok)?