Category: Weekly Wrap Up

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [30]

Dini @ dinipandareads8 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I spent this Sunday in bed finishing up both Malamander and Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven!

Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy’s death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer — the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew — Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.

Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy’s death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer — the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew — Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.

What are you currently reading?

It’s been such a stressful Sunday, friends and I’m so over it. Although I haven’t been feeling the best over the last two days, the day started off well enough. I got a few hours of sleep, finished a couple of books, and I watched the adorable movie on Netflix called Klaus! I love a good animated film and this was no exception; it was touching, sweet and funny and I’m so glad it popped up on my suggestions today! It’s the well-imagined backstory of how Santa Claus came to be and I thought it was inventive and entertaining! I’ve possibly been feeling a little more emotional than usual lately but it definitely had me shedding a couple of sad-happy tears and I loved it! Would 100% recommend it if you’re looking for a cute holiday movie to watch, whether alone or with family!

Aside from that it was a relatively chilled out weekend until late this afternoon when there were some work things that came up and stressed me out big time. I’m leaving on a very short work trip tomorrow but it’s so disorganized, everything is feeling a little too last minute and chaotic for my tastes and it’s making me feel extremely anxious. I especially hate that it’s put a damper in my evening as I scramble to do last minute things that people request of me. I really should learn how to say no… That said, I’m going to put on How the Grinch Stole Christmas after this because that black heart is a mood right now 😅

Reading & Blogging Recap

I finished four books this week which isn’t bad considering how busy and stressful it was. I managed to read my first Nonfiction November read and I also finished my first successful week of the Triwizardathon! I had originally set out to read three books to complete the challenges, but in the end, I completed four prompts for the two challenges in my first task! The graphic novel that I listed in my Triwizard post wasn’t the one I ended up reading in the end, but it still counts towards completing the challenge. Not off to a bad start, if I do say so myself 😊

I’ve been doing pretty well on the blogging front as well, although I only posted one review and I’ve still got tons to write for books I read last month 🙈 Slowly, though, right? As usual, in case you missed any of my posts from this week, you can find them all listed below:

Top 5 Saturday: Books by Unread Authors!
Friday Favorites: Hyped Books!
First Lines Friday: 15 November
Review: The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
The Book Snob Tag!
Thursday Discussion: Books That Make Me Laugh Out Loud!
This or That Book Tag!
#WWWWednesday: 13 November
Triwizard Tournament Readathon: Task 1 Possibility Pile
#TopTenTuesday: Favorite Bookmarks!
Down the TBR Hole – 07
Goodreads Monday: 11 November

I’ve been listening to a lot of throwback tunes this week and it’s all thanks to discovering that there’s a musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album! I’m sharing the video that set me off on this jaunt down the 90s to early 00s music memory lane below. This is the cast of the musical singing one of my favorite songs off Morissette’s album: You Learn.

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [29]

Dini @ dinipandareads4 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I spent part of my day in bed with The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule and friends, this book has me feeling some type of way and I don’t even know… I can’t even begin to imagine what it would do to someone knowing that a person you consider(ed) a friend is a serial killer whose trail you’ve followed so closely from the start. It’s terrifying! How she writes about Ted Bundy is creepy AF because the person she knew seemed legit like a pretty freaking decent guy. Saying that about a guy like Ted Bundy makes me want to gag a little but… How he was presented at the start of this book made me think that. I have a feeling this book is going to be a helluva ride. Just in case you don’t know the book I’m talking about, you can read the synopsis below.

Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule’s The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy’s death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer — the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew — Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.

What are you currently reading?

It’s Sunday again (already) and surprise, surprise, I’m sad about it. Although my weekends have been relatively ‘chill’ recently, I usually do end up scheduling one or two activities that leave me feeling tired and productive enough to feel like I haven’t completely wasted my weekends away 😅 Yesterday I accompanied one of my close friends/colleagues to do one of her final prenatal check ups, followed up by lunch at what very quicly became one of our favorite places to eat for its delicious food and drinks! I had the tuna poké with a fresh summery fruit smoothie, and we rounded up our meal by sharing their delectable french toast. Friends, IT IS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS I CAN’T EVEN. My friend and I literally had dreams about eating that french toast again, which is why we decided to head back to get it again. You know when something invades your dreams it’s just really that good 🤤

Aside from that, I’m planning to try ‘Zero Gravity Float Therapy’ soon. One of my besties told me about it and she thought it might be something interesting for me to try out for my sleep and mental health related issues. I thought I’d booked my session for today but it turns out it’s actually next week 😅 So that was already a good start to my Sunday LOL I’m kind of glad that it’s next week though because it’s given me more time to get more comfortable with the idea of it. The thought of being enclosed in a small, dark space, surrounded by water and zero sound, kind of FREAKS ME THE F OUT… But apparently this therapy is pretty good and does things that normal therapy doesn’t! So… ehrm… I guess let’s do this?

Reading & Blogging Recap

I sadly haven’t read a lot this week and I think I’ve only managed to finish one book? November not off to the best start! A lot of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been trying to catch up on engaging on blogs and most of my nights after work have been spent writing and reading… Not to mention that I’ve been caught up in the Twitterverse a couple of times this last week… 🙃 Next thing I know it’s 2AM, I haven’t read, I’m not sleepy and I just spent the last 3 hours scrolling social media LMAO I know I’m not the only one this happens to, amirite?! But also, I spent a lot of time this week reading Wicked Saints. I’m so sad to say that it really didn’t blow me away like I was hoping it would. I was a little disappointed by it but I am looking forward to reading Ruthless Gods, the sequel, which I got an eARC of a few months back! You can check out my review listed down below 🙂

Like I said earlier, I’ve been trying to blog and engage a bit more this week. I haven’t been able to get back to the levels before mid-October threw me completely off my game, but I managed to knock out some tags and awards that I’ve been putting off for way too long. I love getting tagged and nominated for these things but I am undoubtedly the absolute worst when it comes to answering them 🤣🙃🤣 Please don’t stop tagging me though–I really do love it! 💜 I also started doing some of the weekly memes that I’ve missed over the last few weeks (Friday Favorites and Top 5 Saturday) and it felt good to get back into it! In case you missed them, you can check out the posts I’ve made this week down below!

Review: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan
Top 5 Saturday: Books with a Survival Theme!
Friday Favorites: Inspiring Characters
First Lines Friday: 08 November
Review: Under Locke by Mariana Zapata
Are You Ready for Sweater Weather: The Autumn Tag!
Real Neat Blog Award!
Review: Frankly In Love by David Yoon
#WWWWednesday: 06 November
#TopTenTuesday: Books Giving Me Those Autumn Vibes!
Down the TBR Hole – 06
Goodreads Monday: 04 November

A special music shout out to HAIM this week for their new song: Now I’m In It. Contrary to what it sounds like, this is actually about depression and falling back ‘in it’. These sisters are amazing and whenever I start listening to them I can’t stop!

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [28]

Dini @ dinipandareads4 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I would’ve liked to spend the day in bed with Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan. I’m about 100+ pages into the story and while I’ve found it interesting while reading it, it’s taking a bit more time than I anticipated to get into it. The one “complaint” that many have mentioned about this book are the names and I have to agree that it can be quite confusing/trying. I thought there would be a glossary for how to say the names but apparently not… To be honest, I find myself going over the names repeatedly trying to sound them out in my head which sidetracks me from the actual story 😂 I do like it so far though, but hopefully I’ll get more into it tonight! I have a feeling once the action really picks up I won’t be able to put it down! Let’s see if my gut proves right on this… I really hope I like it because I got granted the second book as an e-ARC last month! 🙈

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.
A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war. In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..

What are you currently reading?

Holy wow, it’s the first Sunday of November already! I feel like I’ve been sounding like a broken record every time I say this, but it’s absolutely true. I can’t believe the whole year has gone so quickly–where has the time all gone?! I can already feel all the October energy draining out of me and so I’m hoping that means I’ll be able to really settle into my routine from this week onwards. I’ve spent a portion of this weekend working (unfortunately) since the week had been frustrating with my brand new laptop breaking down (again) and pissing me right off. I regret moving on from my old laptop, which despite slowing down after 6 years of use, never actually gave me much trouble. Unlike this new one 🙄 I know it seems so trivial but I need a fast, functioning laptop for work as I design materials and the office laptops just can’t handle the design programs. *Le Super Sigh* but… not going to dwell on that. It is what it is, right?!

I went to watch Joker today and wow, friends. The movie doesn’t have the best ratings on Rotten Tomatoes but I still really enjoyed it! I thought Joaquin Phoenix gave such an incredible performance and (once again), I can’t imagine the impact getting into a role such as this would have on someone’s psyche. It was such a dark movie. But what can you expect when it’s a movie about how the Joker becomes the Joker? It was pretty heartbreaking? I mean, he’s definitely a psychopath but the system (and everyone in his life) really failed him and while I obviously don’t jam with all the killing, I really sympathized with his character. If you’re up for watching a movie that focuses more on character development and a little less on plot, and of course a story that’s psychologically dark, then I’d recommend it!

Reading & Blogging Recap

Although this week was a lot more chill compared to the previous weeks, I still only managed to finish two books during the week. I haven’t been doing much book reading this week but I have become obsessed with Webtoons. Some of these webtoons are damn amazing and whenever I discover a new one, I always get sucked right in and don’t stop reading until I find that I’ve devoured over 100 episodes in about two nights? Yeah, I definitely got sucked down the Webtoons Vortex this week and I have no regrets! Do any of you read Webtoons? Any favorites I should check out ASAP?

I think I’ve been doing better on the blogging front this week although I still ended up skipping two fo my weekly memes on Friday and Saturday. I was just not feeling inspired and knew I would struggle too much to write something so I just passed on them, but maybe I will catch up in the future! I’m still trying to get back into engaging more with other bloggers. Damn, that one week really sent me tripping huh? I’m sorry that I haven’t been as active with likes and comments on here as I was before. I don’t know what’s wrong with me–my brain just feels extra fried at the end of every work day and I don’t have the energy to spend more time behind the screen. I’ve definitely felt the loss to my blog though (and honestly I do feel a small part of me has fallen flat from not engaging) but I’m really trying my best to get back into the groove! For now, in case you missed any of my posts from this week, you can check them out below!

Review: Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas
November Possibility Pile
October Monthly Wrap Up
First Lines Friday: 01 November
Review: The Dugout (Brentwood Baseball #2) by Meghan Quinn
The Book Blogger Memory Tag
Review: Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
#WWWWednesday: 30 October
#TopTenTuesday: Spooky Books I’d Read If I Wasn’t A Chicken (Halloween Freebie)
Down the TBR Hole – 05
Goodreads Monday: 28 October

I’m leaving you with one of my favorite songs of the moment: Graveyard by Halsey. Serious girl crush.

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [27]

Dini @ dinipandareads8 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I spent the day in bed with Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. In typical fashion, I’ve managed to sign myself up for TOO MANY group reads this month and until now I haven’t read any of the reads that have been scheduled for discussion this weekend. I’m a mood reader but I’ve never had so much trouble with following through on group reads before 😅 I usually manage to put down whatever I feel like reading and pick up what I’m meant to be reading but that hasn’t been the case over the last few months.

BUT I DIGRESS. Last Time I Lied is one of the books that is meant to be discussed this weekend (i.e. today) and I’ve only just started it. I’ve only read one other Sager book and although it was much slower in pace than I anticipated, I still really enjoyed it. I’ve heard lots of great things about this book of his, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel and whether it’s truly as creepy and thrilling as people say.

Have you ever played two truths and a lie?

Emma has. Her first summer away from home, she learned how to play the game. And she learned how to lie.

Then three of her new friends went into the woods and never returned . . .

Now, years later, Emma has been asked to go back to the newly re-opened Camp Nightingale. She thinks she’s laying old ghosts to rest but really she’s returning to the scene of a crime.

Because Emma’s innocence might be the biggest lie of all…

What are you currently reading?

It’s Sunday and I can’t even. We’ve also come to the end of October, with just a few days to go until November comes around. The last two weeks have been… Insane? One week was a holiday and the second week was diving straight back into high-intensity work loads due to it being the regional meetings. I’m wondering if I’m feeling extra tired because of the fact that I went from a pretty lazy holiday straight into an intense week without even one day of easing into things in between. I think I’ve managed to stretch myself pretty thin with everything this October and I’m trying not to let the guilt I feel at not being at the top of my game get me down. I’m feeling like there’s a lot of change coming in the last few months of 2019 and definitely in 2020. I’m just hoping that they all end up being positive ones!

Did I mention that the days are only continuing to get hotter here?! I want to keep my AC on 24/7 because honestly the days are stifling. The humidity is only increasing and the intensity of the sun’s heat down here is mind-numbingly hot.

Reading & Blogging Recap

Unsurprisingly due to the hectic life schedule, I’ve fallen quite behind on books and blogging over the last two weeks and the break in my regular programming has really disrupted my flow and my ability to get back into things. I’ve managed to read a decent number of books though and have noticed that I’m still very much in the contemporary romance mood and I think that’s mostly because I really don’t have to concentrate on the stories and I can still follow along fine. I’ve tried picking up some other reads that require more concentration and I find I so easily lose my place as I get lost in my own thoughts. Hopefully things pick up in November though!

One thing that I need to start working on in the coming week or at least at the weekend, is writing all the reviews I haven’t written for the books that I’ve read. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling extra lazy but I haven’t really been pushing myself to write the reviews down for the books right after I finish reading it when things are still fresh in my mind. As a result, I’m finding that I’m already forgetting why I loved or didn’t love a book. So these might all end up being mini-reviews! I’m trying not to feel guilty about it as there’s really no obligation (they’re not ARCs) for me to write these reviews, right? But I’ve really enjoyed writing reviews ever since starting my blog, so I think I’m just going through a funky phase where routine is disrupted and things feel a little bit in limbo? Anyway, before I digress even further and blather on about nothing, check out the posts I made this week below.

Friday Favorites: Magic Wielders
First Lines Friday: 24 October
eARC Graphic Novel Review: The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes & DJ Kirkland
Review: Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
eARC Review: On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga #1) by Andrew Petersen
WWWWednesday: 23 October
#TopTenTuesday: Fantasy Book Title Generator!
Goodreads Monday: 21 October
Down the TBR Hole – 04
Cover Reveal: His Royal Highness by R.S. Grey

I’d like to give a special shout out this week to Leelynn who recently featured me on her blog and I’m seriously still shook that there are bloggers out there who want to share more about me! I never in my wildest thoughts would’ve expected anything like this to happen when I started my book blog this year. Leelynn is one of my favorite bloggers and she is so incredibly supportive of everyone in the community! She is such a force of positivity and I’m so lucky to have met her through blogging and to be able to now call her my friend. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly urge you to check out her fun and amazing blog posts and give her a follow! I’m planning to share the blogger spotlight post on my blog in the coming week as well, not to toot my own horn or anything but to share Leelynn’s work and amazing thoughtfulness for featuring me on her blog! So much love 🧡💙💜

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [26]

Dini @ dinipandareads9 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday I spent the day in bed with Faker by Sarah Smith. When I heard about this romance earlier in the year, I was super excited to get my hands on it because it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance, plus I’m always keen to see more diverse characters in this genre (the female MC is half Filipina). Have you heard of this one before?

Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men.
From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she’s tough as nails–the complete opposite of her easy-going real self. One thing she doesn’t have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie’s friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can’t stop staring at his Thor-like biceps… When Emmie and Tate are forced to work together on a charity construction project, things get…heated.
Emmie’s beginning to see that beneath Tate’s chiseled exterior lies a soft heart, but it will take more than a few kind words to erase the past and convince her that what they have is real.

What are you currently reading?

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S SUNDAY. HOW?! I’ve literally spent this weekend tucked up in bed because I’ve been whacked by the red wave out of the blue and I’ve been suffering from more pain than usual. I’ve been feeling so nauseated and dehydrated since Saturday despite drinking almost 2L of water a day, and this tropical heat isn’t helping at all! 🙁Why must we suffer so?! ANYWAY. That’s probably TMI so we’re moving on from this uneventful weekend news 😅

In other news, my bestie who I haven’t seen in four years is arriving tonight and will be staying with me in my shoebox flat for a week! Our friendship is the kind where we can pick up where we left off and I’m so glad that she’ll be visiting me because not only am I really looking forward to the time off I’ll be taking, but I think we both could really use some BFF time. This will mean that I’ll be pretty MIA on the blogosphere for a week or so, but I’m going to try to post as much as possible (and maybe even schedule some posts in advance?)!

Reading & Blogging Recap

I’ve been basically reading non-stop since Friday and managed to finish two books this weekend. If it isn’t obvious from my weekly check-ins and reviews, I’ve been on a little bit of a contemporary romance kick lately! There are books I feel like I “should” be reading right now but all my heart really seems to want is some romance 🤣Mariana Zapata style romance in particular–oh, those epic slow burns are just so damn good! Safe to say that I have been bingeing her books this week and despite them usually being over 650 pages on average, I always finish them in one night because I just CAN’T STOP READING! Aren’t those kinds of books the best? 😊

It’s been a week friends but WordPress is telling me that I’m on a 55-day posting streak so, woo me! But seeing as next week is gonna be hectic I’ll probably end up breaking this streak 😕 Hopefully not but we’ll see. I noticed that I’ve really not been posting reviews lately–I’ve been reading so much but just haven’t felt motivated to write reviews? EEK. I have quite a few to catch up on but I will get back to it. Also, I just wanted to apologize that I’ve been so MIA with engaging with all your wonderful posts. I’ve been feeling a cave-ish lately and have been trying to push out of that mindset, but it’s been a struggle, friends… Thank you all for not deserting me and continuing to engage with me on my blog though! Mad appreciation and love to you all 💜For now, here’s a wrap up of all the posts I did this week, in case you missed them:

Top 5 Saturday: Books that Cast A Spell On Me!
#Blogtober: Witchy YA
Friday Favorites: Childhood Favorites (Pt. II)
First Lines Friday: 11 October
Review: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
The Netgalley Book Tag!
#Blogtober: Reading Challenge Update
eARC Review: My Life as Marlee by Victoria Anders
WWWWednesday: 09 October
#TopTenTuesday: Falling in Love with Book Characters!
eARC Graphic Novel Review: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu
Down the TBR Hole – 03
Goodreads Monday: 07 October

I’m leaving you with one of the tracks that has been on constant repeat for me this week. YEBBA’s voice is MAGIC. Not only does her sultry tone suck you in but her range and power is incredible! And honestly I’m just a sucker for Mark Ronson 💚

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [25]

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

I stayed up well into Sunday morning (the sun was out and the neighborhood coming to life) in order to finish reading The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata and then managed to catch a few hours of zzz’s before finishing getting up to finish The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked. For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own…shell. The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all–or mostly all–excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

What are you currently reading?

This last week was ridiculously busy. Mum was over and left Saturday morning at the butt crack of dawn and I drove her to the airport and then I came home and fell asleep for way too long. Oops? After that I went out to the cinema for the first time in ages and watched Abominable with my bestie. It was ADORABLE! I had no clue what it was about other than it looked cute and exactly what I needed! I loved that it was set in Asia (China) because it’s still so rare to see diverse mainstream movies, especially cartoons. DreamWorks definitely delivered all the cuteness and laughs that I was looking for and I left the theater feeling giggly and buoyant!

This week was (unsurprisingly) super busy with lots of family things because mum was around. We also had some old family friends visiting, which meant more late nights with dinners and socializing after work. It left me completely drained of energy at the end of every night, so I think I really needed a weekend doing as little as possible. I just realized that October is going to be a really busy month with next week being the only one I have to myself until the end of the month. I have some besties coming to visit me for a little over a week and I’m planning to take a few days off from work to spend time with them. After that the office is having the second round of annual meetings and then the month will be over. I’m finding it ridiculous how quickly time is flying!

Reading & Blogging Recap

It was a pretty meh week on the reading and blogging front. Most nights I would normally spend reading was spent out socializing and when we got home, it was spent chatting with mum. It’s moments like these that I miss living closer to my parents (even though only live a short flight over). As it usually is with mothers and daughters, it got a bit rocky sometimes (especially with mum staying over with me in my tiny flat), but it was nice having her around even if it meant I was reading less. The only books I managed to finish this week are the ones I mentioned above. I’m still going on with House of Salt and Sorrows but I haven’t read anymore since Friday night because it’s a lot spookier than I expected and now I’m alone at home and not sure if I can tuck my chicken away and continue reading at night? I’ll bring the book to work and see if I can finish it over my lunch breaks in the coming week!

Despite how hectic the week was I’m impressed that I still managed to post every day, even if it was only one post per day, this week though! Here’s a quick recap of what I posted, in case you missed it:

Top 5 Saturday: Books with the Scariest Covers!
Friday Favorites: Favorite Characters That Other People Hate!
First Lines Friday: 04 October
Summer Bucket List Book Tag!
September Monthly Wrap Up!
WWWWednesday: 02 October
Review: Two Weeks Notice by Whitney G
#TopTenTuesday: Books with Numbers in the Title!
Down the TBR Hole – 02
Goodreads Monday: 30 September

I’m leaving you with one of my favorite (if not my favorite) tracks from TS’s latest album, Lover. I’m still obsessed with this album and it’s kept me company in the background as I read all day today!

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [24]

Dini @ dinipandareads4 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

It’s the last Sunday of September! I’m gonna say it again because my brain is still like WHAT, but I can’t believe we’re already walking into the tenth month of the year. 2019 is flying!
I’ve been out and about today and have been thinking about what book I want to move forward with now. I (finally) finished Priory on Thursday and I was determined to read some romance this weekend, and thanks to staying up reading ’til the early hours of Saturday, I finished not one but TWO books! It just felt so good to read something that I knew would end soon? Haha

I also started House of Salt and Sorrows because mum has been staying with me but now that she’s gone until tomorrow, I don’t know if I want to keep reading it because I’M CHICKEN AF 😂 I’m sure y’all have heard by now how much I can’t handle the ghosty stuff, right? I’m really hesitating, which means I don’t know what I want to read now? I think I might pick up another ARC since I have two that need reading before the end of October, and I don’t want to add anymore to my backlist ARC list, so the following two books might be my main contenders:

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.

But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there’s Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?
Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?

Former Little League champion Kimitake “Clyde” Koba finds strength in the belief that he is the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe as he struggles to escape the ghost of his brother and his alcoholic father.

Born on Yom Kippur, teen prodigy Raphael Dweck has been told his whole life that he has a special purpose in God’s plan. The only problem is, he can’t shake off his doubts, his urges, or the trail of trouble and ruin that follow in his wake.

A decade later, Raphael and ‘Marilyn’ find each other wandering the plastic-bright streets of Hollywood and set out to make a documentary about the transmigration of souls. But when the roleplaying goes too far, they find themselves past the point of no return in their quest to prove who and what they are to their families, God, the world, and themselves.

Which do you think I should read next?
What are you currently reading?

Much the same as last week, I pretty much did nothing this weekend. As I mentioned above, mum flew over from Jakarta and has been staying with me. It was her birthday on Wednesday and us kids got her an iPad Mini that she’s been wanting for ages so that she could download an app to watch her Korean dramas on 😂 Since she unwrapped it, the iPad has been GLUED to her hands and she’s been staying up pretty late despite having early mornings, and getting headaches from staring at the screen for too long. She’s so cute?

Today saw me moving a little bit more, i.e. I left my house! I met my cousin for brunch at one of my favorite spots! I decided to try a different meal today and unfortunately, that was a hella regrettable decision 😭 Sometimes it pays to not stray from what you already know is good! Also, for the first time in a very long time, I’m not exactly dreading that Monday is around the corner. It’s a good feeling and I’m hoping that the anxiety that has taken up residence inside me lately continues to loosen its grip. Little by little, day by day. Progress!

Reading & Blogging Recap

This weekend alone I managed to finish THREE books, so I’m pretty chuffed. To be fair, I was already 65% through one and it was an easy Middle Grade read too, while the other two were fast and easy contemporaries to satisfy my need for something fluffy after finishing Priory! I’m legit SO PROUD OF MYSELF for finishing this book before September ended. It was seriously a journey. I was 80% convinced that I might’ve DNF’d this book (okay, I don’t DNF but I would’ve put it on indefinite hold) when I started it, but I’m glad I kept on. I need to write my review before every thought I had about the book disappears from my head but I’m still not sure how to review it?! I’m hoping that my discussion with my buddy readers will help me figure it out! 🙃

I’m still working on catching up on my blog hopping and responding to comments! I’ve been doing okay with keeping up with the comments in the last week, but the day(s) after catching up always see me scrambling to catch up AGAIN! *So I’m Sorry if I only respond to your comments 3-4 days after you write them!* Other than that it’s been a pretty decent blogging week; I’ve been blogging fairly consistently lately and thanks to WordPress who’ve been sending me reminders whenever I post, I know that I’m now on a 41-day streak! 🙌🏽 It helps that I’ve also added one more weekly post to my schedule. This actually makes me feel so productive 😊 On that note, you can find a list of all the posts I made this week, in case you missed it:

Review: Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
Top 5 Saturday: Books with Maps!
eARC Review: The Stopover by T L Swan
Friday Favorites: WORDS!
First Lines Friday: 27 September
Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver
I Dare You Tag
eARC Review: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Review: Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab
WWWWednesday: 25 September
#TopTenTuesday: Books On My Autumn Possibility Pile!
Down the TBR Hole – 01
Goodreads Monday: 23 September

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [23]

Dini @ dinipandareads16 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

IT’S SUNDAY. THIS SUCKS.
Okay, I’m trying not to get too upset that it’s Sunday. I’ve been procrastinating MANY THINGS outside of reading in the last week and it’s all catching up to me now! DO NOT FREAK OUT is my mantra at the moment and well, it’s not really working. But I digress… This Sunday I spent half the day in bed with The Priory of the Orange Tree and I’m making slow but steady progress. I’ve finally got the characters and storylines straight and I’m highly anticipating when it all comes together because I feel that shit hitting the fan is imminent! I think my problem so far has been that while I’m enjoying it, when I put it down to do other things I don’t feel the urgent need to pick it up again. This is a group read over on Twitter though and I’m so thankful for people like Sammie and Leelynn for keeping me extremely motivated! I’m about 40% of the way through… So maybe there’s hope that I can finish this before the end of September?!

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

What are you currently reading?

I pretty much did ZILCH this weekend? Like, nothing. The best thing about it has been lazing in bed. I didn’t sleep in but I also didn’t get out of bed until close to lunchtime on all weekend. Yes, I’m really a panda at heart (sleeping, eating and rolling around is my jam) 😂 I spent Saturday trying to get motivated to take bookstagram pictures. I’ve been feeling very uninspired lately and it’s not coz I don’t enjoy being part of the booksta community anymore, it’s just completely due to my mental health which hasn’t been in the best state lately. I honestly don’t even know how I spent my day yesterday coz even though I read (I also finished a reread of The Hating Game), I didn’t make that much progress with Priory? Anyway, I did make it out of the house today! Although I made grand plans at 2AM about how to spend my Sunday, I ended up lazing in bed again! I went out to get coffee and to do a bit of grocerysnack shopping though!

I have a presentation that I’ve been avoiding all week last week, and until now I’ve done the bare minimum for it, and I have to present it to my boss tomorrow. WHY AM I SO GOOD AT AVOIDING IMPORTANT SHIT?! 😭 It’s an afternoon meeting so I still have time to work on it in the morning (this is me avoiding again!) but I really thought I’d get some work done today. Instead, I’ve been catching up on blogs, doing a bit of reading and thinking about doing more reading. Le super sigh. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Reading & Blogging Recap

Being stuck on Priory means that I’ve only managed to finish two books this week: Fake Date and The Hating Game. You can find my review for Fake Date in the list below, but I still need to review The Hating Game! It was a re-read and I completely loved it all over again. It needs to be known that: I LOVE JOSH 4 EVA. Like, he’s my number one and I’m obsessed with him. He’s… I need a Josh. In my life. All that banter! All that tension! *swoon*

Other than that it’s been a pretty decent blogging week. I’ve finally caught up on the majority of comments and posts of blogs I’m subscribed to! My inbox is once again super clean and I definitely feel accomplished (if not for the fact that I did all this while avoiding the one thing that I shouldn’t be avoiding today! We can’t all be perfect though, amiright?! 😅I’m now off to make some dinner and to continue reading Priory and on that note, check out a recap of my posts this week, in case you missed any:

Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Top 5 Saturday: Over 500 pages!
Friday Favorites: Autumn Reads
First Lines Friday: 20 September
Bookish Thoughts: Why I Love My Kindle
Review: Fake Date (Dating #2) by Monica Murphy
WWWWednesday: 18 September
Review: The Ingredients of Us by Jennifer Good
#TopTenTuesday: Things to Eat/Drink/Listen to While Reading/Blogging!
Review: Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff
Goodreads Monday: 16 September

I’m also leaving you with this song that was stuck in my head for the majority of the day. I haven’t listened to Death Cab for Cutie in ages but … You really can’t go wrong with this classic!

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [22]

Dini @ dinipandareads15 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

Today finally saw me leaving the house after not even unlocking my front door yesterday? Yes, it was that kind of Saturday. BUT today I was really thinking about the book that I should be reading because I need to stop putting it off for my group read: The Orange of the Priory Tree by Samantha Shannon. Honestly? I think I’m really letting the INSANE thickness of the book get to me because every time I look at it, I am filled with dread at the thought of picking it up? I’ll be taking it to bed with me tonight though, after I write this post. I will. Really. I promise!

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

What are you currently reading?

How is it already Sunday evening?! I’m really gutted the weekend is already over and I dread the thought of going back to work tomorrow. I think that might be a sign that it’s time to look for something different soon? I know a lot of my dread has to do with my mental health and how I just feel consistently drained every day, even if I don’t do much, and it’s such a struggle to get out of bed every morning… But this weekend has been pretty low-key. I literally spent Saturday inside and sprawled on my couch. I finished Godsgrave on Saturday morning (5:30am to be exact!) and ugh, this series has absolutely SLAIN me. I am equal parts terrified and excited to pick up Darkdawn. How will this series end and most importantly: will my feels be ready for even MORE slaying!? Stay tuned, folks. I decided I needed a palate cleanser before starting on Priory, so…I ended up finishing two contemporary romances 😬 Despite the extremely minimal movement, my Saturday was pretty productive?

Sunday saw me spending the whole day outside. I helped my friend set up her ‘stall’ at a pop-up art market (check out her work because she’s amazing)! After working hard hammering tacks into a board and setting up, it was a pretty chill day full of coffee, people watching, smiling at strangers (lol not creepily), watching artists paint, and listening to some fantastic chilled tunes. It’s days like today that make me glad I push myself out of my ‘comfort zone’ of staying home all day. Even though I didn’t talk to a lot of people, it was still me getting out of the house!

Reading & Blogging Recap

I think I had a decent good reading and blogging week? I managed to finish five books this week, although one was a very short graphic novel, but I think five is pretty much be average for me! Obviously my favorite read this week was Godsgrave, and I’ll be posting my review tomorrow, so stay tuned 😍I’m really hoping to get into Priory when I pick it up in bed tonight. I am already falling behind on the group read, I’m just very intimidated by this book and I’m quite worried I won’t like it. BUT I don’t want to psyche myself out of reading it before I even properly try, so I’ll just say that I hope to be pleasantly surprised! On that note, check out a recap of my posts this week, in case you missed any:

Top 5 Saturday: Books Set in Space
Friday Favorites: Unfinished Series! (I felt so attacked… lol)
First Lines Friday: 13 September
Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
ARC Graphic Novel Review: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do… But You Could’ve Done Better by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
‘Lover’ Book Tag!
Review: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
#WWWWednesday: 11 September
ARC Review: The Love Solution by Ashley Croft
#TopTenTuesday: Avoiding Books On My TBR!
Graphic Novel Review: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrator)
Goodreads Monday: 09 September

Also, I leave you with this gem of a song that I can’t get out of my head. Sabrina Claudio’s voice is luscious. I feel like I could drown in it. Her music is so chilled and a little sensual (her voice tho), but so so nice to relax to. It was definitely my vibe today. Have a fabulous and relaxed Sunday, friends!

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend and I hope your week ahead is WONDERFUL! Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [21]

Dini @ dinipandareads10 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This Sunday, I’ve been spending much of time wishing that I was actually in bed reading The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss. I read this book last year and it quickly escalated to the top of my favorites list. I plan to finally read Wise Man’s Fear this month as part of #SequelSeptember so I’m giving myself a refresher by re-reading the first book. With all that’s been going on this weekend with family visiting, driving up to my parent’s home town and participating in some ceremonies, I’ve had little to no concentration to spare, so it’s been hard getting into it. I’m hoping to dive into it fully over the next few days though. Already my love for Kote/Kvothe is coming back to life and I can’t wait to reacquaint myself with him and all the other characters in this story! If you like epic fantasies, I would definitely recommend it.

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

What are you currently reading?

Oohhhmygoodness. This weekend has been killer hectic and I’m both so relieved it’s Sunday but also dreading that tomorrow is already Monday because with how my body is feeling so damn exhausted right now, I can hardly fathom waking up early! My parents and sister visited me this weekend and we took a trip up to my parent’s hometown (which is about 3-hours through long uphill, downhill and winding roads North of Bali’s capital). We stayed in this beautiful villa with gorgeous pool/sea views and the Australian owners had about eight cats, five dogs and a parakeet. The cats roamed freely and one particular fella took a keen liking to my family, so he followed us around everywhere! Of course I brought along a few books (my latest haul!) with me to take some snaps when I could!

TWLOHA represent

While the stay was nice and relaxing, this time I was the one driving us there and back and it’s surprising how much driving can really take a toll out of you 😅 I don’t know what’s more tiring–winding sloping roads or endlessly straight roads? Either way, it’s definitely taken a toll an🖤d I’m now typing this up my mind shrouded in a tired fog. Sorry for rambling more than usual and for saying anything that might not make any sense! Haha

Reading & Blogging Recap

With family around it’s been a slow reading week. I managed to finish four books this week, all of which I’ve written reviews for except for the one I just finished reading Friday evening. My reviews for the books can be found below! I know I’ve already raved on about it endlessly this week on every platform I’m on, but I’m pretty sure I found a new favorite in Nevernight and I can’t wait to continue this series. Knowing that once I started I’d want to be disturbed as little as possible, I didn’t bother trying to start it this weekend, although the audiobook is just waiting for me to press play! Despite how busy I’ve been, I think I’ve done fairly well in keeping up with my blogging schedule! Almost missed a post or two but managed to post them right on time (at the very last minute 😅). I’m sad that I haven’t been able to engage as much as I wanted to this week but I’m hoping to catch up in the coming week! Now that my family has gone back to Jakarta, I can hop into bed early and get my reading on in peace before sleep drags me under and I CAN’T WAIT! On that note, here’s a recap of my posts from this week, in case you missed any:

Top 5 Saturday: Summer Romance Reads on my TBR!
Blog Tour Book Review: A Different Time by Michael K. Hill
Friday Favorites: Side Characters!
First Lines Friday: 06 September
The Blogger Recognition Award!
Review: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff
#WWWWednesday: 04 September
#TopTenTuesday: Books I Enjoyed Outside My Comfort Zone!
Review: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
Goodreads Monday: 02 September

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat 🙂