Category: ARC

Blog Tour Review: Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Immortal Dark (Immortal Dark Trilogy #1)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 3 September 2024
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: Black

Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Parental abuse, blood drinking, death, gore, murder, sexual content, adult language, suicide ideation, and violence, kidnapping

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: Immortal Dark was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases and I’m thrilled to say that Tigest Girma did not let me down. She slayed with this stunning debut! While I’m not a dark academia girlie, I loved exploring the vast history of Uxlay University and the complex relationship between dranaics (vampires) and actis (humans). The writing is lush, the world-building richly detailed, and the characters delightfully wicked, complicated and so very morally grey. Despite the pacing being on the slower side, it allowed me to completely immerse myself in the gothic setting and by the time the action kicked off in the latter half, I was fully invested and wowzer, I did not see some of those surprises coming! Girma leaves readers with a double whammy that has me aching to get my hands on the next book immediately. I feel like this is going to be a hit!

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Blog Tour Review: Are You Nobody Too? by Tina Cane

Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Are You Nobody Too? by Tina Cane. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Make Me A World (Random House Children’s) for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Are You Nobody Too?
Publisher: Make Me A World
Publication Date: 27 August 2024
Genre: Contemporary Middle Grade
Rep: Chinese, Asian, Adoption

Rating:

(3 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

After years of discomfort as the only Chinese student at her private middle school, Emily transfers to Chinatown’s I.S. 23 for 8th Grade and ends up feeling more disconnected than ever. In this coming-of-age novel-in-verse, will Emily be able to find her way or will she lose herself completely?After a year of distance-learning, Emily Sofer finds her world turned upside she has to leave the only school she’s ever known to attend a public school in Chinatown. For the first time, Emily isn’t the only Chinese student around…but looking like everyone else doesn’t mean that understanding them will be easy–especially with an intimidating group of cool girls Emily calls The Five.When Emily discovers that her adoptive parents have been keeping a secret, she feels even more uncertain about who she is. A chance discovery of Emily Dickinson’s poetry helps her finally feel seen… but can the words of a writer from 200 years ago help her open up again, and find common ground with the Five?

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Racism, bullying, pandemic, microaggressions, mentions of miscarriage (in the past)

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: This was a unique middle-grade contemporary told in verse. The author had a unique way of expressing the main character’s experiences during and after the pandemic. It touches upon evergreen themes such as coming-of-age, identity and belonging. Emily was an interesting main character—she’s very much a teenager—and I think many young readers whether they’re middle schoolers or just starting high school.

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ARC Mini Review: A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Night at the Tropicana
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Pub Date: 20 September 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Cuba in the 1930s is the backdrop for a vibrant short story about the rhythms of the heart and the twists of fate that echo through time by the New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana.

Havana, 1939: It’s opening night at the famed Tropicana nightclub. Cuban American college student Natalie Trainer, on vacation from Miami, is watching from the sidelines—as usual. Then comes an invitation to dance from a handsome stranger named Antonio. Normally cautious and reserved, Natalie somehow finds herself saying yes. A tiny thrill of rebellion, of taking a chance, and Natalie’s in heaven. Will her first step into this unfamiliar realm set a new course for her life, or only tonight?

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Blog Tour Review: We Are Big Time by Hena Khan

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on We Are Big Time by Hena Khan and illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui! Special thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

We Are Big Time
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 6 August 2024
Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult Graphic Novel
Rep: Muslim, Pakistani, Ghanian, Somalian, Malaysian, Asian, African

Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

SWISH! Cheer courtside for a Muslim teen as she joins an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team and learns that she’s much more than a score. This energetic graphic novel is inspired by a true story!

Aliya is new to Wisconsin, and everything feels different than Florida. The Islamic school is bigger, the city is colder, and her new basketball team is…well, they stink.

Aliya’s still excited to have teammates (although the team’s captain, Noura, isn’t really Aliya’s biggest fan), and their new coach really understands basketball (even if she doesn’t know much about being Muslim). This season should be a blast…if they could just start to win. As they strengthen their skills on the court, Aliya and the Peace Academy team discover that it takes more than talent to be great–it’s teamwork and self-confidence that defines true success.

For fans of The Crossover and Roller Girl, this graphic novel goes big with humor and heart as it explores culture and perceptions, fitting in and standing out, and finding yourself, both on and off the court.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Islamophobia, microaggressions, racism, anxiety

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: I knew I was going to enjoy We Are Big Time but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. There is so much to appreciate about this graphic novel and the wholesome, heartwarming story it tells about finding your place and believing in yourself. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a diverse coming-of-age sports-centred story about the underdogs! These girls will win your heart and the art will have you feeling like you’re sitting courtside cheering the Peace team on as they play their best game.

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Blog Tour Review: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Such Charming Liars
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 30 July 2024
Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Domestic abuse (recounted in minor detail), gun violence, poisoning (of food), murder

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: I thoroughly enjoyed Such Charming Liars. It was gripping, entertaining and easy to breeze through in one sitting. The characters were easy to empathise with and the mystery had me eager to keep the pages turning. Some of these twists genuinely surprised me and it was so much fun! I would definitely recommend it if you’ve enjoyed McManus’ previous works or are looking to give her mysteries a try!

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Blog Tour Review: Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses by Katrina Emmel

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses by Katrina Emmel. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Delacorte Romance for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Publication Date: 23 July 2024
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

A swoon-worthy YA rivals-to-lovers romance between a Nebraskan cowboy and California girl, thrust together on the Oregon Trail.

Anything’s possible under a prairie sky…

Riley Thomas is feeling stuck—she’s moved from California to Nebraska, she’s on a weeklong Oregon Trail family bonding excursion, and her luggage is lost. There’s no one her age on the trip except a tall, dark and irksome cowboy who wrongly assumes she has zero ability to handle the great outdoors. She can’t wait for this misery to end—even though going “home” isn’t even possible anymore.

Lone wolf Colton Walker loves the simpler life of the plains and his family’s tourism business that helps protect them. He’s a stand-up guy—not a love ‘em and leave ‘em type like his rival, Jake. And he knows better than to take his chances with a prairie princess like Riley.

But Riley’s got more sense than Colton thinks–and he’s not nearly as inflexible as he seems. And under a wide prairie sky of puffy clouds and bright stars, everything comes into focus–including a cowboy’s heart.

Katrina Emmel’s Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses will take you on a sweeping journey across the American prairie… once you love a boy in a Stetson, you’ll never be the same.

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses was a fun contemporary YA featuring a sweet summer romance with relatable teenage characters who were easy to empathise with and like. It also made me want to go and experience an Oregon Trail summer experience and bask in Nebraska’s natural trails! Overall, it was a fun and easy read and an enjoyable debut!

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ARC Review: Do Me A Favor by Cathy Yardley

Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

Special thanks to the author for providing me a digital ARC of this book via the publisher on NetGalley!

Do Me A Favor
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: 25 June 2024
Genre: Adult Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Willa Lieu-Endicott moved from California to the Pacific Northwest to start over. Since her husband’s death, she’s been struggling to get back her old career as a cookbook ghostwriter. Unfortunately, her latest project—ghostwriting for a viral cooking sensation known more for his washboard abs than his meals—has her stuck.

Until she meets her new neighbor.

Hudson Daws, the handyman next door, lives on a farm with his parents and two adult children. He’s the opposite of everything she’s ever known. His happily chaotic life includes biker barbecues, an escape artist dog, and adorably menacing goats. He’s also got a sinfully sexy smile and a rumbling bass voice that makes her shiver. He inspires her.

From their first meeting, the two fall into an escalating cycle of favors, paybacks…and attraction, even though Willa’s trying to keep her distance.

They both have their own pasts to deal with. Now, they just have to figure out if they have a future.

A delectable rom-com about a widowed cookbook writer and a divorced handyman who find that it’s never too late for a fresh start.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Parental estrangement and abandonment; death of spouse (off-page); chronic illness – type 1 diabetes (secondary character); brief mention of infidelity; drug use; sex on page

TL;DR: Do Me A Favor was a sweet, wholesome and sexy romance featuring older protagonists who just needed a bit of a push to love themselves first. This was a really enjoyable romance to devour (and I didn’t put it down until I finished it)! It gave me great comfort to read and I would recommend it to those who love a soft love story that balances the romance and character growth beautifully, plus a HEA for characters who couldn’t be more deserving of one.

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Blog Tour Review: The Secret of the Fang by Michelle Lam

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on The Secret of the Fang (Meesh the Bad Demon #2) by Michelle Lam. You can check out my review for the first book in this graphic novel series here.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Secret of the Fang (Meesh the Bad Demon #2)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 23 July 2024
Genre: Middle-Grade Graphic Novel

Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Meesh the Bad Demon is no stranger to saving the world—but she never thought she’d have to do it twice! Can she defeat the darkness once and for all in this sequel of epic proportions?

When Meesh banded together with Fairy Princess Nouna to save the underworld, she never expected she’d have to… do it again someday. Though, as Meesh grows into her newly discovered destiny as the Guardian of the world, she figured there would be a few minor rescues, maybe some crime-fighting here or there.

But before long, her new friend Chai’s family is forced out of their home by an evil force who threatens to destroy all of fox-kind if they dare stay. Meesh suspects the same masked villain she faced before is behind all of this, but will she be able to stop them before it’s too late?

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Xenophobia, forced displacement, violence, kidnapping/captivity

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: The Secret of the Fang is book two in the middle-grade fantasy graphic novel series about a young demon who wants to succeed at doing good. I enjoyed this continuation of the story from book one and what the secret was about. While the story reaches a well-rounded ending, I do hope that we get to return to this world for more adventures with Meesh and her wonderful group of friends!

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Blog Tour Review: The Second Son by Adrienne Tooley

Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on the conclusion to the Betrayal Prophecies fantasy duology: The Second Son by Adrienne Tooley.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Second Son (Betrayal Prophecies #2)
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Publication Date: 16 July 2024
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Queer

Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

An epic clash of deities explores the two facets of pain—rage versus sadness—in this rousing followup to The Third Daughter, a dark crown fantasy duology with a sweeping sapphic romance.

The centuries-old prophecy has been fulfilled at last: the New Maiden has returned to Velle. Unfortunately, so has a malicious demi-god, whose elusive prophet is intent on converting the New Maiden’s followers. The Second Son is a vengeful, angry deity, whose psalm resonates with the disenfranchised.

With Elodie on the throne and Sabine in her own unique position of power, it should be easy enough to track down the culprit. Yet even as they’re falling in love, both girls are keeping dangerous secrets from each other. While the cult of the Second Son threatens to overthrow not only the Church of the New Maiden but also Velle’s monarchy, Elodie and Sabine must navigate impossible odds to dismantle the root of his power, all while their lives hang in the balance.

A must-read for fans of the BookTok sensations Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, Night of the Witch by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis, and These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Descriptions of anxiety and depression, depictions of self-harm, parental death (off-page), parental neglect, physical abuse at the hand of a parent, religious trauma

📚 BUY A COPY

✨Note: As this is the review for part two of a duology, there may be spoilers for book one.✨

TL;DR: Objectively, I think this was a well written story. It has an engaging plot, complex characters, and compelling relationships. While I wouldn’t say anything surprised me as I saw the twists and reveals coming from a mile away, I appreciate how Tooley formed her story around the chosen themes. The way she weaves emotion into faith was unique and I think the way it was written allows readers flexibility in how they interpret the story. Ultimately, I think The Second Son is a great conclusion to a dark-tinged fantasy duology.

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Blog Tour Review: Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on the fantasy debut: Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Foul Days (The Witch’s Compendium of Monsters #1)
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 25 June 2024
Genre: Adult Fantasy

📖 SYNOPSIS

The Witcher meets Naomi Novik in this fast-paced fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, from an assured new voice in genre.

As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice taming rusalkas, fighting kikimoras, and brewing lycanthrope repellent. There’s only one monster Kosara can’t defeat: her ex the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. She’s defied him one too many times, and now he’s hunting her. Betrayed to him by someone close to her, Kosara’s only hope is to trade her shadow―the source of her powers―for illegal passage across the Wall to Belograd, where monsters can’t follow.

Life in Belograd should be sweet, but Kosara soon develops a fast-acting version of the deadly wasting sickness that stalks shadowless witches―and only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To trace her shadow, she’ll have to team up with the suspiciously honorable detective investigating the death of the smuggler who brought her across the Wall.

Even worse than working with the cops is that all the clues point in a single direction: one of the Zmey’s monsters has found a crack in the Wall, and Kosara’s magic is now in the Zmey’s hands.

The clock is ticking, the hunt is on, and Kosara’s priorities should be clear―but is she the hunter or the hunted? And in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the man―the Monster―she’s never been able to escape alone?

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Blood, traumatic deaths (recounted), gun violence, gore, murder, abusive relationship (physical and psychological) (recounted), imprisonment, drugging

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: I’m not sure what I expected going into this but it wasn’t what I got and I absolutely mean that in the best way! Foul Days is dark and full of monsters but the “horror” aspect is light enough that those who are scared of dark and scary things (it’s me) can read it in bed alone at night. It’s heavy in Slavic lore and it’s action-packed from start to finish. I loved Kosara and her acerbic nature. She’s crabby and witty but vulnerable enough for us to see past that exterior to the damaged young woman she still carries inside. Her banter with Asen was A+ and their “copper vs. charlatan” dynamic was one of my favourite parts of this story. I was so pleasantly surprised by this fantasy debut and I’m already itching to get my hands on the second book (*please bless me, Tor gods*)!

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