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!
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 the rest of my night in bed continuing to read A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark. I’ve only read a novella by Clark years ago and I completely forgot how humorous his writing can be. At 30%, I’m enjoying this steampunk mystery set in an alternate Egypt (and world) where magic exists. At times all the world-building can get a bit overwhelming and the pace has been a bit up-and-down, but I’m curious to know what’ll happen next!
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:
Book Hype
Suggested by: Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog Prompts: Has the hype ever ruined a book for you? Has the hype ever made a book better for you? Do you like lesser-known reads, and finding a gem of a book that no one’s heard of? Or do you prefer to read the more popular, mainstream books? Where are the majority of the books you read, in terms of popularity?
This week’s topic is:Books I’d Like to Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog)
Another month has come and gone so it’s time to share one of my favourite posts that I make at the end of every month: the community posts! This is a collection of some of the posts that I read from bloggers across the book community over the past month. I didn’t spend a lot of time on the blogosphere in June and so most of the posts mentioned this month are discussions and reviews. I hope you’ll take the time to visit some of these pages and show them the love they deserve! ✨📖 Happy reading, friends! 📖✨
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 the rest of my Sunday in bed reading finishing Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws. It’s kind of fun and silly but I’m also aware that it won’t be for everyone, especially if you do not want to be reading about surrogacy in a ‘lighthearted’ romance. I’ve enjoyed the slow-burn though!
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:
⚔️ Duologies vs Trilogies ⚔️
Prompts: Do you prefer duologies or trilogies, and why? What are the pros and cons of having two books vs. three books in a series? What are some of your favourite duologies and/or trilogies? Do you think there are benefits to these shorter series, compared to ones with 4+ books, or are fewer books limiting?
I can’t believe June has already come and gone, and with it goes the last holiday I have before the end of the year. 🤭 We held the annual Bali family summer holiday mid-June to celebrate my nan’s 94th birthday and this year we also had family photos (*shudder*). My sister flew down from Japan, and the rest of family flew in from where we’re spread out globally. These years, family holidays feel less and less like a ‘holiday’ due to overly hectic schedules and trying to pack everything into a 1-2 week period, but it’s always lovely to see everyone. Even though I came back feeling the need for a holiday from my holiday, it was also nice to get a break from work!
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:
Special thanks to HarperCollins for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
Embrace the Serpent Publisher: HarperCollins Publication Date: 24 June 2025 Genre: YA Romance Fantasy
Panda Rating: (3 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
In this sweeping romantic fantasy, a dangerous deal binds a young jeweler’s apprentice to the mysterious Serpent King in a marriage of convenience, thrusting her into a deadly game between the cunning, fearsome ruler and his rebellious huntsman. Perfect for fans of The Wrath & the Dawn and Once Upon a Broken Heart!
The Serpent King has come to find his bride, and with his arrival festivities sweep through the city. Inside and outside the Rose Palace await women from across the six kingdoms determined to become his new bride-to-be—all except for eighteen-year-old Saphira.
After escaping life as a palace ward under the cruel djinn Lady Incarnadine, Saphira now works as the apprentice to the unscrupulous jewelsmith Galen. Out of fear of being discovered, she hides her rare gift for harnessing the magic in gemstones and lets Galen take credit for her craft.
But when Galen makes a boast that ruffles the court, Lady Incarnadine punishes him with an impossible task—one that threatens to drag Saphira back into Incarnadine’s grasp. Desperate to avoid this fate, Saphira strikes a dangerous deal with Rane, the enigmatic huntsman sent by the Serpent King to find the best jewelsmith in the empire.
Rane promises that if Saphira crafts a mysterious piece for his master, the Serpent King will grant her a new identity and freedom. But when their plans go awry and the only way out is to marry the Serpent King, Saphira becomes entangled in the dangerous affairs of kingdoms and empires—caught between the cunning, handsome Rane and her cold, serpentine husband.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Death of a parent (off page, recounted), violence, war themes, blood, poisoning
TL;DR: Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high but I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t end up loving this more. I rarely say this, but I think Embrace the Serpent could’ve benefitted from being a duology for more detailed world-building, better exploration of the magic system, and deeper character arcs/relationship development. That said, I think it was a fairly solid YA romance fantasy with a unique magic system, and interesting settings and characters. I would recommend this for fantasy readers who aren’t looking for in-depth world-building and magic exploration, but enjoy being reeled in with a simple and unique system, plus those who love an innocently sweet romance with fairly decent stakes.
dinipandareads 