Category: General Books

Book Review: Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Goodreads: Gallant
Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 01 March 2022
Genre: Young Adult Gothic Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him? 

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#WWWWednesday: 27 April 2022

Dini @ dinipandareads24 Comments

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:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

Since last week I’ve managed to finish five books. It’s been a pretty great reading week with a good mix of genres and ratings. I’m so behind on my reviews (yikes!) but I’m hoping to get caught up soon.

We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal ★★★★★
I buddy read this with Leslie & Julie and this had us feeling all the feels. Oof, why is the romance between Nasir and Zafira not talked about more often? Holy wow, it was so angsty, so swoony and ugh, I love them so much? 🥹 I still need to write my review but far out this was an amazing conclusion to the duology!

(ARC) Tanked (Eastside Brewery #3) by Mia Hopkins ★★★½
I’ve been keen to read Angel’s story and it didn’t disappoint. It was sweet, swoony and steamy and I loved how the stories are brought together for a great conclusion to the series. Check out my review!

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#TopTenTuesday: Diamond Birthstone Colour Covers!

Dini @ dinipandareads38 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week is actually a freebie and so I decided to do a topic that I don’t think I’ve done before: Books with [Diamond Birthstone Colour] On the Cover (Pick a thing (a color, an item, a place, an animal, a scripty font, a sexy person, etc.) and share covers that have that thing on the cover.)

Since this week’s topic is somewhat of a cover “freebie” I decided to combine The Birthstone Book Covers series created by one of my favourite bloggers and perhaps my closest blogger friend, Leslie @Books are the New Black. This is a series she created at the start of the year and so far, I haven’t had the chance to jump on it, until now! This series was born out of Leslie’s curiosity about birthstone colours and it’s a fun way to show different book covers/titles corresponding to that month’s birthstone colour.

April’s birthstone is the diamond and I could’ve kept it simple for myself and stuck to white covers but for some reason whenever I think of a diamond I think of shades of silver/grey? So I tried to find cover colours that I thought matched that shade and ngl, it was a bit of a struggle! 😂 They’re not perfect matches but I did come up with a list of ten and it’s a mix of books I’ve read and books on my TBR. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

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ARC Review: Burning Up by Tara Wyatt

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Special thanks to the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Burning Up (The Prescotts #6)
Publication Date: 26 April 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

We have to burn to rise from the ashes.

Nearly two years after her divorce, Felicity Hawthorne is ready to date again. At least, she thinks she would be, if the idea of dating wasn’t so freaking terrifying. But then she wins a date with sexy, swoony firefighter Noah Prescott at a charity bachelor auction, and everything changes.

FDNY captain Noah isn’t looking for a relationship. Since losing his father as a teenager, he’s spent the past twenty years shouldering heavy responsibilities, and he knows he doesn’t have the time or energy to be anyone’s boyfriend. But one date with sweet, charming Felicity has him wanting things he shouldn’t want.

Which is why Noah suggests Felicity practice her budding dating skills with him. He wants more of her, and practice dates are as close as he can come to having her in his life without hurting her. But then dating practice turns into practice of another kind—the kind that involves moans and sighs and orgasms—and Noah knows he’s going to fall. Hard.

GET A COPY:

AMAZON
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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

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 time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday night in bed with My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth. This is an ARC I’m buddy reading with Leslie and Julie as we all have a copy. I’m excited for a fun/light YA contemporary with a bit of romance!

FUN FACT: this author also writes fantasy under a different name and is better known for her very famous recent release The Atlas Six! 👀

What are you currently reading?

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ARC Review: Tanked by Mia Hopkins

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Special thanks to Little Stone Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Tanked (Eastside Brewery #3)
Publisher: Little Stone Press
Publication Date: 26 April 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

A fighter without a purpose. A crusader with nothing to lose. Can she trust him with her heart, or is he just another lost cause?

Angel
By day, I do all the grunt work at my family’s struggling L.A. brewery. By night, I blow off steam at an underground fight club. I never thought the pandemic would bring Deanna Delgado back into my life—the woman who ghosted me three years ago after one unforgettable night. But the brewery needs a miracle to survive. And that miracle could cost me the only person who’s ever had faith in me.

Deanna
My family calls me an idealistic do-gooder, but I see a better, brighter future for my community. My biggest problem? I’ve just lost the job I love. To ease my pain, I’ve hooked up with Angel Rosas, the filthy-sweet one-night stand who’s somehow dropped back into my life. There’s so much more to Angel than he lets on. Is he the man I can trust with my body and my heart? Or is he just another lost cause?

GRAB A COPY:

AMAZON US
AMAZON UK
AMAZON AU
B&N
APPLE
KOBO
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Let’s Talk Bookish: To Annotate or Not to Annotate…

Dini @ dinipandareads25 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! If you want to join, check out the April 2022 prompts and May 2022 prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

TO ANNOTATE OR NOT TO ANNOTATE…

(SUGGESTED BY ARIA @ BOOK NOOK BITS)
Prompts: …that is the question*. Do you like annotating books? If so, how do you annotate them? Is there a difference for you between ebooks, physical books, and audiobooks? If you’ve ever had to annotate books in school, does this affect your willingness to annotate the books you read for fun? What are some downsides to annotating books in your opinion?

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Romance Mini-Reviews: Talia Hibbert Edition

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

I’m back with more mini(-ish) reviews and today it’s for two Talia Hibbert books that I’ve read in 2022 but still haven’t reviewed. Talia Hibbert is one of my auto-buy romance authors—she brings the swoon and the steam and while I’ve read one or two of her books that didn’t entirely sweep me away, for the most part, her romances have been winners! Without further ado, let’s get to it.

WORK FOR IT BY TALIA HIBBERT

Goodreads: Work for It (Just For Him #4)
Publisher: Nixon House
Publication Date: 03 September 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

For men like us, trust doesn’t come easy.

In this village, I’m an outcast: Griffin Everett, the scowling giant who prefers plants to people. Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who’s everything I’m not: sharp-tongued, sophisticated, beautiful. Free. For a few precious moments in a dark alleyway, he’s also mine, hot and sweet under the stars… until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.

When the prettiest man I’ve ever hated shows up at my job the next day, I’m not sure if I want to strangle him or drag him into bed. Actually—I think I want both. But Keynes isn’t here for the likes of me: he makes that painfully clear. With everyone else at work, he’s all gorgeous, glittering charm—but when I get too close, he turns vicious.

And yet, I can’t stay away. Because there’s something about this ice king that sets me on fire, a secret vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.

The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me. 

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#WWWWednesday: 20 April 2022

Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

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:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

Since last week I’ve managed to finish four books. While one of them didn’t work for me, two were enjoyable and fun reads and one was a clear favourite for me!

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan ★★★½
I initially rated this 4 stars but brought it down cos even though there was a lot that I loved, the more I thought about it, the more the ending disappoints me. It was still a great read though and if you love Pan’s beautiful writing I’d still recommend it! Check out my review

Josh and Gemma Make A Baby by Sarah Ready ★★½
While this had a lot of elements I tend to love in romances, the execution was lacking and I ended up being sorely disappointed especially because as the story progressed, the “heroine” became increasingly unlikeable and I couldn’t find anything redeeming about her by the end.

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#TopTenTuesday: Gimme All the Sprayed Edges!

Dini @ dinipandareads66 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week is actually a freebie and so I decided to do a topic that I don’t think I’ve done before: Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own but I wasn’t really vibing with the topic so I decided to put a spin and look at Beautiful Books I’d Love to Own!

Over the last year or so I’ve slowed down on purchasing any old physical book and have taken as many opportunities as I can to get my hands on beautiful special edition books! I’m definitely lucky to be able to afford these special editions when international shipping charges are often heartbreakingly high but I work hard to indulge in my love for books so, why not?! But I digress… I don’t know about you but I’m not just a sucker for gorgeous book covers but I’m wild for all the stunning sprayed edges, too! 😍

Here are a few that I would *love* to get my hands on plus the shops that they come from, y’know, just in case you feel like indulging too! 😉

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