Let’s Talk Bookish: What Is A Good Ending?

January 30, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

I’m a bit tired today and of course I’m only writing this last minute… SO I’m sorry if I make zero sense and go around in circles 🙈

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 more information on January 2021 prompts & a list of past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks:

What is a good ending?

(SUGGESTED BY RIAN @ DOGS AND BOOKS)
Examples: What are some books that had “good” endings for you? What are some books that had “bad” endings? What do you think makes an ending of a story satisfying? Is there anything you always hate in an ending?

WHAT MAKES A SATISFYING ENDING?

This is a great question and one that I honestly haven’t given very much thought to before and the more I think about it now, the more factors come up for me to consider. Are we talking series enders or are standalone endings or first-book-in-a-series endings? I mean, endings are endings (lol) but what I’m “okay with” when it comes to a first-book ending is obviously going to be different compared to what I expect from a series ender! I also think that some genres come with certain ending expectations, the most obvious being romance. I pick up romances for the HEA otherwise what am I reading the genre for? (It’s definitely not the angsty drama! 😂 ).

Since I joined the book community and started to really think about what works for me, I’ve come to realise that I’m one of those readers who like endings that give me an obvious sense of resolution. It doesn’t have to be “perfectly packaged” where everything is hunky-dory and 100% but at least the main issues are resolved, no lingering questions exist, the characters find some kind of peace, but most of all it just fits the story we’ve experienced. This “need” of mine to have a neat ending has changed a bit over the last year as I’ve started to feel less unsatisfied with open-endings as long as they fit the story.

One thing that I tend to hate is when endings are super abrupt AND open-ended. While I don’t think open endings will ever be a favourite, I’ve started to make peace with them. Then there are other times when the author ends the story so abruptly, usually mid-scene or at a half-formed thought, and it just feels so unsatisfying. Just thinking about it has me clenching my fist in frustration because WHY 😂

Another factor that determines what a good ending is for me also depends on where the author takes the final book in a series or the final parts of a standalone. I really dislike it when plots and character ARCs suddenly take completely different and unexpected directions that totally change the vibe of the story and results in a lacklustre or underwhelming ending. I also really dislike it when dramatic and traumatic events are used for shock factor in an ending especially when it’s (imho) unnecessary but will keep the dramatic plot going in a sequel.

BOOKS WITH ENDINGS I ENJOYED

If you’re not new to this blog, you’ll know by now my memory is like a sieve and I can hardly remember what I did last week let alone the endings of the many books I’ve read. Also, thankfully, most of the books I read do have satisfying endings (at least for me), so these are just going to be a few of the ones I enjoyed from books I read from the last couple years. I’ve also linked them to my reviews if available otherwise they’re linked to Goodreads.

The House in the Cerulean Sea // With or Without You // The Black Kids // Nevernight // With the Fire on High // The Silence of Bones // Verity // Final Girls // The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

BOOKS WITH ENDINGS THAT … CLENCHES FIST

Some of these (or maybe even all of these) are unpopular opinions of well-loved books. A few of these had the abrupt open-ended endings that are so not my jam:

The Toll: I was so saddened by this finale because we spent so little time with the characters that made me love this series in the first place. We follow new perspectives and characters that I never felt attached to and ultimately, this finale ended up being so disappointing.
Normal People: I loved this book but I hated this abrupt open-ending. Why Rooney do this to me? 😭
At the Edge of the Haight: Another abrupt open-ending that left me with unresolved thoughts/feels.
Restless Slumber: This was the second book in the Forutna Sworn series and I was enjoying myself until the ending of this book tanked it for me. Just… Why? I was so angry! Lol 🙈
Descendant of the Crane: This ending… Oh, this ending was so… not on!

What do you think makes a good or bad ending? What is something you hate to see in an ending? What are some endings you loved and hated? I’m curious to know what you think about this topic!

First Lines Friday – 29 January

January 29, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are the rules:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

First lines:

“Don’t look down, I told myself. If you look down, you’re friggin’ screwed.
There I was, hanging from a second floor window of St Ambrose Hall in a denim miniskirt and my motorcycle boots.”

Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?

Blog Tour Review: The Little Swiss Ski Chalet by Julie Caplin

January 28, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for The Little Swiss Ski Chalet by Julie Caplin. Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Be sure to click on the banner below to check out the other bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: The Little Swiss Ski Chalet
Release Date: 30 January 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

It’s time to pack your bags and head to the breathtaking, snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps for velvety hot chocolates, delicious cheeses and a gorgeous love story…

Food technician Minna has always believed that chocolate will solve everything – and it’s just what she needs when her latest relationship mishap goes viral! So with her bags packed and a new determination to sort her life out, Minna decides to drown her sorrows with the best hot chocolate in the world at her godmother’s cosy Swiss chalet. Chocolate: yes. Romance: no. Until she has a run in on an Alpine train with a mysterious but oh-so-gorgeous stranger…

BUY NOW: Amazon (UK) | Amazon (US)

#WWWWednesday: 27 January

January 27, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads7 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 week I’ve managed to read six books. If you can’t tell by the books I’m reading, I’m definitely in a romance mood. All but one of the books I read were scifi/fantasy romance and I think that mood might be sticking around for a bit longer cos I’m (mostly) enjoying myself with these books! 😂

At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman ★★¾
While this was not the fast-paced plot-driven story that I had expected, I am still glad that I read it. I thought Seligman did really well in connecting us to those who are a part of society that many don’t give the time of day to understand. It was a bummer then that I didn’t connect to the characters and that resulted in me not feeling anything about the story. Check out my review!

#TopTenTuesday: New-to-Me-Authors from 2020…

January 26, 2021August 12, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads24 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 Read in 2020 (if you didn’t read 10 new authors, that’s fine! Just do what you can)

I thought this was gonna be hard because my memory fails me but I took a quick look at my 2020 reading challenge and had to give myself a smack upside the head because the majority of the books I read last year were by new to me authors. 😂 If you’ve seen my December monthly wrap up and my 2020 yearly wrap up none of these titles will come as a surprise because I’ve mentioned some of them quite a few times (*cough* House in the Cerulean Sea *cough*), but all of these books and authors deserve to be read so I won’t stop gushing about them! Also, I’m mentioning 15 authors because there were so many new and amazing discoveries! 😍

#5OnMyTBR: Challenging Reads

January 26, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Hello Mondays, welcome back to #5OnMyTBR, a meme created by the wonderful E @ The Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. This bookish meme gets us to dig even further into our TBRs by simply posting about five books on our TBR! You can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. You can find the full list of prompts (past and future) at the end of this post!

This week’s prompt is: Challenging Reads.

Goodreads Monday – A Short History of Falling: Everything I Observed About Love Whilst Dying by Joe Hammond

January 25, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.*

*Sorry if a book has been featured twice. I need to make better note of which ones I’ve done already!

This week’s featured book is A Short History of Falling: Everything I Observed About Love Whilst Dying by Joe Hammond. This is non-fiction that was published in 2019.

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 24, 2021June 23, 2021 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 spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I’ve done zero reading this Sunday. I finished three sci-fi romances this weekend and now I’m not sure what I’m in the mood to pick up. I think (just maybe) I’m on a bit of a romance kick but I’m also keen for fantasy, so I might pick up a romantasy (romance fantasy). Maybe… Fortuna Sworn? I think I’ll give it a try and see if it’s my jam but if not, I’m also tempted to try A Deal with the Elf King (available on Kindle Unlimited, by the way!).

Fortuna Sworn is the last of her kind.
Her brother disappeared two years ago, leaving her with no family or species to speak of. She hides among humans, spending her days working at a bar and her nights searching for him. The bleak pattern goes on and on… until she catches the eye of a powerful faerie. He makes no attempt to hide that he desires Fortuna. And in exchange for her, he offers something irresistible. So Fortuna reluctantly leaves her safe existence behind to step back into a world of creatures and power. It soon becomes clear that she may not have bargained with her heart, but her very life. TRIGGER WARNING: This novel contains scenes or themes of toxic relationships and slavery.

The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.
Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella’s village to be their Human Queen. To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town’s only healer.
That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives… for her. Everything Luella had thought she’d known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save. The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another… but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.

What are you currently reading?

Blog Tour Review: At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman

January 24, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Special thanks to Algonquin Books for inviting me to be on the blog tour and for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: At the Edge of the Haight
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Release Date: 19 January 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

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Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, has made a family of sorts in the dangerous spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She knows whom to trust, where to eat, when to move locations, and how to take care of her dog. It’s the only home she has. When she unwittingly witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy and is seen by the perpetrator, her relatively stable life is upended. Suddenly, everyone from the police to the dead boys’ parents want to talk to Maddy about what she saw. As adults pressure her to give up her secrets and reunite with her own family before she meets a similar fate, Maddy must decide whether she wants to stay lost or be found. Against the backdrop of a radically changing San Francisco, a city which embraces a booming tech economy while struggling to maintain its culture of tolerance, At the Edge of the Haight follows the lives of those who depend on makeshift homes and communities.

As judge Hillary Jordan says, “This book pulled me deep into a world I knew little about, bringing the struggles of its young, homeless inhabitants—the kind of people we avoid eye contact with on the street—to vivid, poignant life. The novel demands that you take a close look. If you knew, could you still ignore, fear, or condemn them? And knowing, how can you ever forget?”

Let’s Talk Bookish: Why I Blog

January 23, 2021August 27, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

Now without further ado… The topic asks:

Why do you blog?

(SUGGESTED BY RUKKY @ ETERNITY BOOKS)
Examples: When did you first start blogging and why? What keeps you motivated to continue? Have you ever thought about not blogging anymore? What would make you go on a hiatus for forever? Do you have any specific plans for your blog this year, and if so, what are they?

Starting on a new adventure

Blogging is an activity that I’ve done for a long time. I kept a personal blog for roughly 6-7 years and I was a consistent blogger until about 2016, when my life went a little topsy turvy, and I stopped writing due to a lack of inspiration and because my life got really boring and I had nothing to say. 😂

I decided to start this book blog at the end of 2018, although I only started posting around February 2019, at the encouragement of my friends. I was pretty hesitant about it because I was worried about losing motivation (yes, before I even started!) and I questioned whether I’d even have anything to say that was worth reading. At the time, I was much more active on bookstagram but it was also because of bookstagram, and learning about ARCs and the book community that made me realise starting a book blog was something I could actually do.

Truth Time:

Let’s be honest, I started blogging because I wanted access to ARCs and while that did happen, there were still plenty of barriers that I faced as an international blogger though that’s a post for a different day! 😅 I was also curious about this magical book community that I’d only dipped my toes into through bookstagram. I honestly don’t know how I never realised the community existed pre-2018, and looking back, I don’t know how I even found books to read in the first place. 😂 As dramatic as it may sound, starting this blog has added so much positivity to my life, and so while I started it because of the enticing ARCs, I’ve stayed on because of the community and how fulfilling blogging has been.

Keeping On

Having this blog has reminded me why I loved blogging in the first place. Creating and owning a space where I can just be my nerdy book-loving self while gushing about all the fantasy, romance and fictional lives that I read about, with other people who feel exactly the same, has added so much joy to my life. I know a lot of you can relate when I say that I don’t really have bookish people IRL, and so having this platform where I can engage without fear of being judged for reading romance or young adult/middle grade books as a 30-something woman, has been wonderfully freeing! This blog has also helped me deal with my anxiety and depression by giving me something to look forward to every day, and all of that is what makes me want to keep posting.

Engaging with the book community on here has also really changed how and what I read, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a reader because of it. I’m more intentional with what I choose to pick up, especially when it comes to diversifying the books I read, but also in stepping out of my comfort zone more often. I’m thinking a lot more and being more critical about what I consume and I love how it’s also impacted how I think and act IRL.

Doubts and Other Negative Thoughts

There are definitely days when I question what I’m doing running a book blog. The doubts about whether I have anything to say that’s worth reading still persists sometimes, especially because most of what I post isn’t “original creative content”. I do a lot of weekly memes mixed with reviews, and while I know it shouldn’t matter because this is my blog and if I’m happy with it that’s okay, but I have a tendency to self-sabotage through these kinds of comparisons with other more successful blogs. 😂

That said, it’s still fairly ‘early days’ for me and I’ll just be celebrating my two year blogiversary this February, so I haven’t given serious thought to not blogging anymore. I still really love doing it and there are only a few reasons I foresee that would lead to me going on a permanent hiatus, which would be because I lose interest in books ☠️, I become too busy to post regularly, or if I for some reason no longer feel welcome in the community.

Grow, baby, grow!

I’m not really much of a “goals” and planning ahead person (lol welp), although I’m trying to do better with that this year. I do know that I hope to keep blogging for at least the next 3 years but I do want to take it one-year at a time because who really knows what’s around the corner! If anything, my goals for blogging this year include:

Continuing to regularly churn out content (daily, if possible)
Growing my blog to 800 followers
Trying new types of posts such as a ‘family reviews’ series (my dad just bought a bunch of NF over the holidays and my sister said she wants to read more, so if I can convince them to share their thoughts on a book–this might be a once-in-a-blue-moon situation–I thought it might be fun!)
Also trying: buddy read reviews, blogger spotlights, and author interviews.

And that’s a wrap! Why did you start a book blog? Have you always blogged or is blogging new to you? What would make you go on a permanent hiatus? Do you have any big blog plans this year?