#WWWWednesday: 26 January 2022

January 26, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads34 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:

What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?

I’ve been going through books like a speed demon lately. Since last week I’ve read… a lot of books! More than I’ve ever read in a week but it does include graphic novels and mostly novellas! I also buddy read 3 books with Leslie @ Books Are the New Black, which have really moviated me to keep up the reading momentum this month! 😃

Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2) & Fated Blades (Kinsmen #3) by Ilona Andrews ★★★★☆
The Kinsmen world is amazing and I loved these books! So much action, so many amazing abilities, such wow world building and amazing romances! I want more 😍 I can definitely see IA becoming a fast fave for SF romance!

#TopTenTuesday: New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2021

January 25, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads62 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2021

If you’ve seen my yearly wrap up or read any of my ‘favourites’ posts for my 2021 reads, none of these authors (or books) will be a surprise. I didn’t really keep proper track of it but I’m pretty sure that the majority of the books I read last year were by new-to-me authors and I enjoyed a lot of them! Since the majority of my reads were romance I’ve grouped the authors into genres: first, everything else (including fantasy, mystery, contemporary) followed by romance. Also, this is a list of 15 authors because it was too hard to narrow it down more and this is actually already quite narrowed down! 😂

Blog Tour Spotlight: Frozen Hearts and Death Magic by Day Leitao

January 24, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for Frozen Hearts and Death Magic by Day Leitao.
Special thanks to Sparkly Wave and the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: Frozen Hearts and Death Magic (Of Fire & Fae #1)
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Publication Date: 22 January 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

It all started with a kiss. A forbidden fae kiss.

Naia was raised in the shadow of her twin brother, the crown prince, who has iron magic much more powerful than hers. But Naia has wishes of her own.

They awaken when she finds a white fae almost dying in the woods. She only heard of them in stories; the dreaded race that razed cities to the ground, killed her grandparents, almost rid Aluria of humans—until they disappeared. Now, twenty years later, are they back? Is there another war coming? But the fae is evasive and secretive. He’s also alluring and fascinating, more beautiful than anyone she’s ever seen. And then it happens: she kisses him—and nothing will be the same again.

In another kingdom, Leah, a necromancer princess, has to find a husband in less than four days, during the Gathering, when royals from all over Aluria meet. Her family makes it very clear that she can pick any prince she wants—except one: Naia’s brother. And it turns out that he’s the one; the one who makes her heart beat faster.Meanwhile, war looms over the land. One of the kingdoms is amassing immense power. The White Fae might be returning. Amidst it all, Naia and her brother struggle with newfound magical powers, family secrets, and most of all, their own treacherous hearts.

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 23, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 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 in bed with Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. I’m buddy reading this with Leslie but I’ve fallen a bit behind since we started yesterday because I picked up another book that sucked me in so quickly that I ended up bingeing all five books overnight? Oops! Acevedo’s book is in verse though so I have a feeling I’ll speed right through it!

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

What are you currently reading?

ARC Review: School of Love 1. Secrets of the Heart by BeKa, Maya

January 22, 2022January 17, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Special thanks to Europe Comics for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: School of Love 1. Secrets of the Heart
Publisher: Europe Comics
Published: 17 November 2021
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle-Grade Contemporary

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

Linon and Garance are best friends with very different ideas about love. To get to the bottom of what all this romance stuff is really about, they decide to conduct an investigation into some of the older students at their middle school. Why are certain kids more popular than others? Why do some already have a “bad reputation” by the 8th grade? Why is everyone so obsessed with appearances? Along the way, the pair discover that, for best friends who are supposed to share everything, they’ve both been keeping some pretty big secrets of their own.

TL;DR: A cute coming-of-age graphic novel about two friends who just want to know a bit more about love. The friendship between Linon and Garance was so sweet and I loved their little investigative adventures to understand their classmates’ experiences with love and to understand what exactly love means to others. With a fun and contemporary art style and a sweet storyline, I would recommend this to readers of all ages but I know middle-grade me would’ve absolutely loved this!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Bloggers Owe Their Readers and Vice Versa?

January 22, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for January 2022 prompts & a full list of the past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

DO BLOGGERS OWE THEIR READERS AND VICE VERSA?

(SUGGESTED BY RUKKY @ ETERNITY BOOKS)
Prompts: Do bloggers owe their readers anything? Do bloggers deserve anything from their readers? Do you think there’s a specific etiquette that bloggers/readers should follow when interacting? Do you as a blogger pressure yourself to provide certain things to your readers? Do you do certain things when you read a blog post?

Pondathon II: Participation & Sign up!

January 20, 2022January 17, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Hello, hello, friends! Today I’m coming at you with an announcement (and sign up) post for the Pondathon II reading challenge. Listen, I know I’m not the best at challenges/readathons but I like to try and add a little fun to my reading life every year. When I first heard about the Pondathon I was too intimidated to join but new year, new chances, right? It seems pretty low-key and thus, low-pressure, which is exactly how I like my challenges to be (lol)! So, if you’re anything like me and aren’t sure whether or not to join, I say, why not? You’re not alone! 😉

#WWWWednesday: 19 January 2022

January 19, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 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:

What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?

Since last Wednesday I’ve managed to finish eight books! It’s been a week of romances and graphic novels!

Dirty Hookup (Slayers Hockey #2) by Mira Lyn Kelly ★★★½
I got this freebie from the author so I thought I’d give it a try and I enjoyed it! It was a slightly angsty frenemies to lovers/second-chance romance and while some elements were a bit difficult to believe and I wish we got more interactions with their friends/family, I enjoyed George & Quinn’s banter and their chemistry was fire! RTC.

Blog Tour Review: Bound by Firelight by Dana Swift

January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for Bound by Firelight (Wickery #2) by Dana Swift.
Special thanks to Delacorte Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: Bound by Firelight (Wickery #2)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 18 January 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

After a magical eruption devastates the kingdom of Belwar, royal heir Adraa is falsely accused of masterminding the destruction and forced to stand trial in front of her people, who see her as a monster. Adraa’s punishment? Imprisonment in the Dome, an impenetrable, magic-infused fortress filled with Belwar’s nastiest criminals—many of whom Adraa put there herself. And they want her to pay.

Jatin, the royal heir to Naupure, has been Adraa’s betrothed, nemesis, and fellow masked vigilante… but now he’s just a boy waiting to ask her the biggest question of their lives. First, though, he’s going to have to do the impossible: break Adraa out of the Dome. And he won’t be able to do it without help from the unlikeliest of sources—a girl from his past with a secret that could put them all at risk.

Time is running out, and the horrors Adraa faces in the Dome are second only to the plot to destabilize and destroy their kingdoms. But Adraa and Jatin have saved the world once already… Now, can they save themselves?

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INDIEBOUND

#TopTenTuesday: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To

January 18, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads56 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To.

This week’s TTT list is probably one of the easiest for me to compile because there are so many books that were released last year that I wanted to read but didn’t get the chance to for one reason or another. The only difficult part was narrowing down which books to list here because there are definitely way more than ten! 😂 These titles have wormed their way to the top of my list and I’m hoping to read them sooner rather than later in 2022 (note to self: remember these words!)!