We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is: Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time (submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books)
Hello friends, I hope the dreaded Monday is treating you well! I’m excited to be taking part in the Ultimate Blog Tour hosted by The Write Reads for The Thief of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron.
Special thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd. for providing a digital copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! Be sure to check out the other bloggers on tour! ⇣
The Thief of Farrowfell (The Thief of Farrowfell #1)
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: 4 May 2023
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(4 pandas)
Welcome to a fantasy world where edible magic is the hottest commodity, traded between those who can pay or – in the case of Jude Ripon, the youngest thief in Farrowfell – those who can steal it!
Twelve-year-old Jude Ripon has never been taken seriously by her family of magic-stealing masterminds. To them, she’s just the youngest, only good for keeping watch while they carry out daring heists.
Desperate to prove her worth, Jude decides to steal valuable magic from the fanciest house in town…
But Jude’s stolen prize was protected by a curse which threatens to wreak havoc on the family business.
While attempting to untangle the mess she’s made (and wondering why anyone would want to curse an honest thief trying to earn a living), Jude discovers just how far her family will go to stay at the top of the criminal world.
Suddenly, her quest to become a true Ripon isn’t straightforward any more…
Kidnapping (recounted), violence, blood (minor), consumption of magic likened to drug use/addiction
TL;DR: The Thief of Farrowfell is a solid first book in this new middle-grade fantasy series. With a unique magic system and compelling characters who will easily have you rooting for them, this is an action-packed adventure-filled novel that I think many young readers will find joy reading! While it does get somewhat dark and sinister at times, Jude is a great main character who keeps it real but also, continues to feel hope throughout the read that doesn’t let the story get bogged down. Despite the triumphs, I wouldn’t say this book has a happy ending exactly; however, it was a very hopeful one and I look forward to continuing the series and seeing where Jude’s story goes next.
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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 your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.
I’ll spend my Sunday night finishing The Thief of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron. I’m reading this MG fantasy for a blog tour (my spot is tomorrow!) and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. It’s an action-packed fantasy with an interesting magic concept. It’s a bit darker than I expected but I’m curious to see where this series will go. Also, I love the chapter illustrations so much! 😍
✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Suggested by: Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly
Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?
I feel like I just posted my March wrap-up so how is it already time to post my April wrap-up!? 🫣 I honestly don’t have much to say about how April was because I really didn’t do anything. Coming back from Japan was rough and of course, getting back to work was diving straight into the deep end with no time to slowly sink back in (I’m pretty sure my office doesn’t know how to do that, lol)! It was tough but we managed. From my trip to Japan, I think I’ve developed a minor obsession with Pop Mart—the toy company that makes the popular Labubu dolls. I didn’t think I’d be into Labubu but after getting one in Japan, I’m finding them oddly adorable and hard to resist, lol. I’ve also developed a fascination with Hirono figurines! Please indulge me as I share photos of my small toy collection. 🥹
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:
We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is: Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction) but I’m going rogue!
Special thanks to Jaqueline Snowe for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Sliding Home (Out of the Park #2)
Publication Date: 6 May 2025
Genre: Adult Contemporary Sports Romance
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
Two years ago, she pushed him away. Now, he’s back… and he’s not giving up.
Michelle Benning has no time for distractions—not when she’s juggling school, two jobs, and a past she refuses to look back on. Love? It’s never been part of her plan. So when Brooks Madsen, the rising baseball star she once almost let in, walks back into her life, she’s determined to keep him at arm’s length.
Brooks never understood why Michelle ran, but he’s never forgotten her. Their connection was real—fiery, intense, and impossible to ignore. And now that he’s back in town, he wants answers. But for every step closer he gets, Michelle puts up another wall.
She thinks she’s protecting herself. He knows she’s running. And when the past she’s been hiding from comes crashing back, Michelle has to decide: keep running… or finally let Brooks be the one person she trusts to stay.
Child abuse (recounted, minor detail), substance abuse/addiction (secondary character, mentioned), extortion/black mail, stalking, parent with dementia (on page, detailed)
TL;DR: Sliding Home is a great second-chance romance featuring two tough MCs who are easy to like and whom you almost immediately want to root for! Michelle and Brooks were great characters individually but together, their romance gave angst and a whole lot of (delightful) tension! I loved their “will-they-won’t-they” dance and found myself fully invested in their HEA. While this is very character driven, there was also a mini-suspenseful plot that made sense to the story, but I found the reasoning behind the third-act to be a bit frustrating, even if I did understand how it fit into their story. Overall, this had the character depth I feel I have been missing in a lot of the (indie) romances I read these days, and I loved it! If you’re looking for a non-sports heavy “sports romance”, a second-chance romance where the characters work to reach a good place, and plenty of open communicative moments, then I would recommend checking this out.
Read More » 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 your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.
I’ll be spending my Sunday night in bed with A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee. I’m a bit behind on starting this but it’s the next Owlcrate buddy read book for our little group! I actually have no idea what this is about other than it’s a dark academia? Might be a little outside of my comfort zone? I don’t know. Let’s see! 😂
Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m shining a spotlight on a new YA queer contemporary: Right Beside You by Tucker Shaw.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
Right Beside You
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
Genre: YA Queer Contemporary
Rep: Queer, LGBTQIA+, Chronic illness
In this fresh, speculative blend of queer romance and coming-of-age, Eddie meets Theo in present-day New York and Francis in a New York of the past… torn between eras and his heart, he must make a decision that will change his life forever.
High school has just ended and Eddie is at a loss for what’s next. He had a falling out with his best friend, and he never really related to the rest of his peers in the sleepy Colorado town he calls home. The future is bleak.
Until his ancient and eccentric great aunt Cookie asks him to care for her in New York City as she recuperates from an illness. Eddie leaps at the opportunity. Soon after he arrives at her tiny Greenwich Village apartment, homebound Cookie asks Eddie to use her vintage polaroid camera to snap pictures of her favorite places she can no longer visit. But something’s unusual about this camera. When he takes a photo, he’s launched back in time to an entirely different New York of the early 20th century.
As Eddie explores the underground queer life of the Roaring 20, he discovers new undercurrents of his own identity. Not to mention a dangerously handsome boy in scuffed boots and tattered stovepipe trousers who keeps popping up in his visions of the past.
But when Eddie begins to develop a crush on the mercurial Francis, a cute baker named Theo enters the picture—and he’s in the present. Caught between timelines and feelings, Eddie must make a decision about what he’s willing to his romantic fantasies of the past or a reality that might just be what he’s wanted all along.
HIV Epidemic in the US
Is Right Beside You on your TBR or does it sound like a book you’d want to read?
dinipandareads 