Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.
But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.
It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.
Unsurprisingly with everything going on right now it has been more than a little difficult to focus on reading*, but apparently middle grade books are really working for me! I still remember the first time I read Harry Potter when I was 9 and this book gave me thoseexact same feelings. This was such a wonderful adventure and I’m really excited to continue it in the upcoming books!
*Also I apologise in advance if this ends up being a windy-non-sensical review because aside from finding it difficult to focus on reading, my brain’s also not having it with writing reviews ๐
Goodreads: Words in Deep Blue Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 30 August 2016 Genre: YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Panda Rating:
This is a love story. It’s the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets. It’s the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea Now, she’s back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal and looking for the future in the books people love, and the words they leave behind
So wow, I really wasn’t ready for my feels to be completely shattered reading this book. I was a quietly blubbering hot mess by the time I reached the end! I’m not even sure what I can say other than I absolutely loved it. This one reached right into my heart and gave it a big ‘ole squeeze and basically screamed at me to FEEL THINGS.
The first rule of book club: You don’t talk about book club.
Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. Heโs recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, itโs the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes heโs let his pride and fear get the better of him.
Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.
Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.
I’ve had this one sitting on my shelf for quite a while now and have been excited to read it ever since I first heard about it. There’s a lot of hype around this book and while I did have some issues with it, overall I’m glad to say that this second-chance romance lived up to the hype for me!
Goodreads: Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) Publish date: 01 April 2020 Publisher: NetGalley Connect Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance Panda Rating:
2 Frenemies. 1 Disastrous prank.
Ryder Ever since she sat next to me in class and gave me death eyes, Willa Sutterโs been on my shit list. Why she hates me, I don’t know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I donโt need in my tidy life. Sheโs the next generation of womenโs soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. Sheโs a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass whoโs turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I’ll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on topโฆAnd if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word.
Willa Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor Iโve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence. Iโve battled men before, but with Ryder, it’s war. Iโll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if itโs the last thing I do, then Iโll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet.
Holy slow burn and sexual tension, batman! *phew* I’m a big fan of slow burn romances especially when they’re done right and this one does not disappoint! I loved that this gave me so much more depth than I expected from a romcom! There was so much to both characters and oh mans, Ryder the lumbersexual is absolute PER-FEC-TION! I know I’m gushing but he made my heart all melty and my feelings all gooey and yep, I’m crushing hard on him and if you read this book, you’ll definitely get why!
Liese brings rep to her romance with Ryder, a character who lost his hearing after contracting bacterial meningitis as a college freshman. I’ve already mentioned how much I loved his character but really, his arc was so well done. He’s a bear of a man but with the softest and sweetest heart just looking to find his way back to “normal” after losing his hearing. I can’t even imagine how devastating it would be to lose your hearing because of an illness. In a way his hearing loss does define a big part of his life, but it’s not just who he is and the author did a wonderful job of showing his many sides. And as if I wasn’t already fully in love with him 30% through the book, the author had to have him reading JANE AUSTEN and that’s me 100% gone!
I was on the fence about how I felt for Willa. She’s physically strong as an athlete, she’s incredibly hardworking, and her love for her mother was so heartwarming. But Willa does literally everything to avoid opening up and being honest about her life with people she’s afraid to get close to. Her fear of confronting serious issues, while understandable, also became a bit too much for me at a certain point. I want to say that Ryder deserved better and for a good chunk of the story I did think that. In reality though they were perfect for each other because his patience, understanding and ability to be vulnerable with her was exactly what she needed to balance out and do the same. And as much as he balanced her, Willa’s acceptance of him as he is with no hesitation, disability or no, was exactly what he needed to feel normal. There were some pretty emotionally raw scenes that had me tearing up! Also, if it isn’t obvious by now, the chemistry between these two was absolute FIRE! It’s a (really) slow burn, but the way the connection builds between Ryder and Willa is SO good and it’s SO worth the wait! I’d put this at a 4/5 on the steamy scale.
One of the best things in this book was the family relationships. I loved the Bergman family and how they ribbed each other but how they were so openly affectionate and caring with each other. They’re a beautiful family and I can’t wait to follow the stories of the other Bergman brothers as the series continues!
Overall, this was a surprisingly deep romcom that had me laughing, squealing, swooning and cheering for both characters as they fought for a wonderful heart-stopping love. Also, I really liked that this came with a playlist for the book and songs per chapter. I enjoyed listening to some of them while reading! I can’t wait to continue with this series and I’m looking forward to checking out the other books the author has written. I’d highly recommend it!
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.The book is out 01 April 2020! Have you read Only When It’s Us or is it on your TBR?
I’m back with another blog tour and this time it’s for the beautifully written The Mountains Sing by Que Mai Phan Ngyuen.
Special thanks to Kelly at Algonquin Books for asking me to be part of this blog tour!
Goodreads: The Mountains Sing Publisher: Algonquin Books Release Date: 17 March 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Cultural
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
With the epic sweep of Min Jin Leeโsย Pachinkoย or Yaa Gyasiโsย Homegoingย and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratnerโsย In the Shadow of the Banyan,ย The Mountains Singย tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trแบงn family, set against the backdrop of the Viแปt Nam War. Trแบงn Diแปu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hร Nแปi, her young granddaughter, Hฦฐฦกng, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hแป Chรญ Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart.
Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Viแปt Nam,ย The Mountains Singย brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.
The Mountains Singย is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyแป n Phan Quแบฟ Maiโs first novel in English.
Goodreads: What the Other Three Don’t Know Publish date: 03 March 2020 Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, LGBTQ+ Panda Rating:
Will I still be loved if I show people who I really am? Four high school seniors. Four secrets about to be told.
If Indie had it her way, she would never choose to river raft with three other high school seniors, mostly strangers to each other, from her journalism class.
A loner, a jock, an outsider, an Instagram influencer. At first they canโt see anything that they have in common. As the trip unfolds, the unpredictable river forces them to rely on each other. Social masks start to fall as, one-by-one, each teen reveals a deep secret the other three donโt know.
One is harboring immense grief and unwilling to forgive after the death of a loved one. One is dealing with a new disability and an uncertain future. One is fearful of the repercussions of coming out. One is hiding behind a carefully curated โperfectโ image on Instagram.
Before they get to the end of Hells Canyon, theyโll know the truth about each other and, more importantly, learn something new about themselves.
I requested this book because of the strong Breakfast Club vibes that I got from the synopsis but I was a little underwhelmed by the story. I really appreciated the author’s note at the start but I found it difficult to connect with the characters and I wasn’t all too sure about how I felt about the writing style.
It started with a lie. A night of blurred lines between a teacher and a student. I wasnโt her student, yet it was the single most defining night of my life.
Iโve never been the man she thinks I am. Most people have no idea about the life Iโve lived or the words that ring true when it comes to meโstill waters run deep. But youโd be hard-pressed to find a coed on the TGU campus who knows otherwiseโฆbecause Iโve never corrected them.
The clock is ticking down, itโs Fourth and Inches with the ball inside the one-yard line and the focus is on me, The Guy on the Left. Iโve never felt like a football god, inside Iโmโฆjust Troy.
Itโs time to set the record straight. For my son, Iโll find the strength. In her eyes, Iโm determined to gain redemption. I will have them both, even if I have to take my eye off the ball.
YOU GUYS!!! I didn’t think I could love a character in The Underdogs series more than Theo… BUT I WAS WRONG!!! And who would’ve thought it’d be TROY to win me over?! Ugh, mY HEART, Kate Stewart!
Hello, friends! I’m back with another The Fantastic Flying Book Club blog tour today and this time it’s for The Deep! Every time I get picked to be part of any FFBC blog tour I die a little bit inside out of pure happiness because it’s always such a privilege ๐ฅฐ Huge thanks to FFBC for organising these amazing tours and to the authors as well for making the eARCs available to us.
Be sure to click on the banner above to see the other bloggers on tour! ๐
The Deep Publisher: Transworld Digital Release date: 10 March 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery/Thriller
Panda Rating:
Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.
This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.
Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .
I’m back with another @WriteReads blog tour and this time it’s for the supernatural fantasy series: Venators! The thing I love most about being part of these awesome tours with the gang is that I discover so many new books that I really enjoy! So super huge thanks goes to Dave for organising these tours and thanks to the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: Magic Unleashed (Venators #1) Published: October 2016 Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural Panda Rating:
Six years ago, Grey Malteer was attacked by creatures he thought couldnโt possibly exist. They repeated a word, calling him a name heโd never heard beforeโฆVenator. Since then, his life has been a hellhole of secrecyโhiding old pain alongside strange new abilities.
Rune Jenkins has an itch, as she calls it, but itโs more than that. It’s an anger that builds up like the inside of a boiler whenever sheโs around anything remotely supernatural. The pressure is growing steadily worse and she canโt understand why. All she knows isโher control is slipping.
By order of an unknown council Grey and Rune are pulled through a portal in the St. Louis arch, landing them in an alternate dimension where creatures of myth and legend exist. A realm that calls them, Venators.
Made up of centuries old fae, vampires, werewolves, elves and succubi the councilโs corrupt nature becomes obvious as they seek to wield the newly returned Venators as weapons. Wedged in an impossible position, Grey and Rune must decide their fateโdo they go against the councilโs wishes and help the innocents of this unforgiving land, or face the possibility of execution by the council.
Strike One – My mother named me Theodore after her favorite chipmunk. Not cool, Mom. Iโve spent most of my life answering to Teddy, because I couldnโt make Theo work. Except for here. College. The place where all bets are off, and Iโve managed to redeem myself.
Thereโs only one problem, my new roommate, Troy, is football royalty and looks like he stepped off the set of an Abercrombie shoot. Doesnโt matter, I cook a mean breakfast for his panty parade, and we get along well. And anyway, this year I got the girl. And sheโs perfect. Thatโs right. Theodore Houseman, former band geek, now marching band rock star has finally landed the girl of his dreams. Everything is perfect.
That is, until Troy takes a good look at her. Iโm not going down without a fight. As a matter of fact, Iโm not going down at all. As glorious as these days may be for my all-star roommate, Laney is my end game. I may not know much about play strategy, but Iโve been the good guy my whole life. Iโve been listening and I know exactly what women want. Framed in a picture standing next to me, Troy may seem like Mr. Perfect, but heโs underestimating the guy on the right.
Spoiler alert: In this story, the underdog is going to win.
Brace yourselves for another gushing review friends because I LOVED EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE of this book! The itch to read this has steadily built since last week, so I finally caved and of course I have zero regrets. There were a few moments towards the end that frustrated me and made me angry because wow, talk about being very intense and out of character, but I can’t honestly say that it affected my overall enjoyment of this book. I literally devoured this in the span of a few hours and it was by far the best way to spend a Sunday cozied up under the covers while the rain poured steadily outside!
dinipandareads 