Where did May go? I don’t know 😂 Honestly, I’m thinking back on this month and I can’t really recall much of what happened. It was obviously birthday month (also, shoutout to fellow bday baby, Leslie!) but as usual, it was a low-key affair. I treated myself to some goodies including four new Switch games, plus the 10th Anniversary Edition of Song of Achilles and the 5th Anniversary Edition of Circe.
One set that I was highly looking forward to arriving this month was the Bergman Brothers set from Illumicrate. I received it and the art is stunning, as I expected, but I was disappointed to see that the sprayed edges were not in book order. From their website and other people posting their sets, the edges should align with the order of the books, which makes sense, so I’m pretty bummed my set is like this. I know it’s not a life-altering issue and I normally wouldn’t raise anything but considering the set’s price (+ international shipping fees) I did send an email asking about it. I’m not really expecting them to do anything but I don’t know, I guess I was just really disappointed… 🥺
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 think I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday night in bed finishing Voyage of the Damned. The last few chapters were absolutely wild and I was literally screaming at the book in shock. 😂 Listen, we all know how bad I am at guessing “whodunit” and seeing things that are coming but this was a ride! The reveals? I’M SHOOKETH. But also, this has been a lot funnier but also darker than I expected (in good ways)!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Check out the May 2024 Topics if you want to join in the bookish discussion fun.
This week’s topic is actually a Freebie so I’m doing the topic from two weeks ago:
How did you pick your blog’s name?
[Suggested by: Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe] Prompts: How did you pick your book blog’s name? Have you ever changed it? Have you ever thought about changing it? What are some of your favourite book blog names?
The Kiss Countdown Publisher: Penguin Pub Date: 4 April 2024 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
Discover the sizzling new fake-dating romance, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game — Three. Two. One…Romance?
Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to be evicted. The last thing she needed was to run into her ex and his new girlfriend at her favourite coffee shop. Panicked, Amerie pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met. He plays along – for a price.
Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a plan: for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent’s doting partner. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house.
What Amerie doesn’t plan for is Vincent’s gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he’s exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she’ll settle for the safe life – or shoot for the stars.
TL;DR:I was pleasantly surprised by The Kiss Countdown and think it’s a great romance debut. This fake dating romance was a slow burn and honestly, the story felt like a warm hug with relatable characters and wonderful heartwarming family moments. I loved Mimi and Vincent together and how this also had a strong focus on friendship and character growth.
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:
Let’s disregard the fact that it’s already May and that we’re almost at the halfway mark of 2024, okay? The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag is one that I’ve done for the past two years and I always look forward to it, so I’m not going to let my lack of organization stop me from doing this now—sorry, not sorry. 😂
I’ve just remembered that Caro @BookCheshireCat tagged me to do this back in April but I only recalled it today as I was looking for a nice and easy tag to kick my week off.
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 think I’ll be spending my Sunday night in bed with The Midnight Bride. I read the first book in this romantasy series yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by it, especially since the author’s other works I’ve read have leaned toward erotica. I’m hoping this continues to expand on the world-building and I can’t wait to meet this couple!
Hello, friends. ✨ Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for The Magic Paintbrush by Kat Zhang! Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it.
Thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
The Magic Paintbrush Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Publication Date: 21 May 2024 Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy Rep: Chinese, Asian American
Panda Rating: (3.5 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
In this highly illustrated series launch, Amy, a Chinese American girl picks up an ancient paintbrush and unwittingly unleashes the power to make her art real—and sometimes dangerous. Perfect for fantasy readers who love Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Pearl series.
“Gorgeous and gripping, The Magic Paintbrush swoops readers off on rip-roaring fantasy adventure that unfurls like a magnificent scroll…Brimming with imagination and heart…” Soman Chainani, author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series
Amy has always loved art, but lately her drawings have been less than impressive. There’s no passion, nopersonality, no…magic. Until Amy visits her Lao Lao, her grandmother, and finds an ancient paintbrush that brings anything Amy creates to life!
Now her creation Luna has taken over her bedroom and is running through the streets of Flushing, Queens. What an international adventure filled with an ancient Chinese legend, a greedy adversary and ghastly beasts!
Award-winning author Kat Zhang teams up with Eric Darnell, the writer and director of the Madagascar series and the Chief Creative Officer of Baobab Studios, to create a captivating highly-illustrated middle grade series debut about finding your own path, the power of imagination, and the strength of family.
TL;DR:The Magic Paintbrush is an action-packed, adventure-filled, Chinese mythology-inspired middle-grade fantasy with wonderful illustrations to accompany a fun and creative story! Amy was a relatable main character who was easy to root for and I loved her relationship with her Lao Lao and Luna—who is unquestionably my favourite character in this book. The story doesn’t dive too deep into character development and neither does it go too hard with its themes, but I think that is also what would make this a great pick for young readers who simply want an enjoyable and entertaining fantasy story. Overall, while this wasn’t my favourite as an adult reader of MG, it was still a terrific read that I would recommend to the young readers in my life.
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:
dinipandareads 