Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [244]

Dini @ dinipandareads5 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 your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!

I’m spending Sunday night in bed with The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence. I’m taking my time with this one as there’s a lot of information to process at the start (it’s also a chonkster with tiny text). However, I’m enjoying it a lot! I’m listening along with the audiobook at times and I love the narrator—she captures characters so well!

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#FirstLinesFriday: 2 August 2024

Dini @ dinipandareads9 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:

“Peter suspected the project was doomed.
It had not been a good idea to begin with. Surely he could have found another way to satisfy his half sister’s desire for a rapier—one that did not involve dressing her in boy’s clothes and smuggling her into a fencing parlor on Bond Street.”

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Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2024

Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

I just got around to posting my June wrap-up and it’s now time for July’s! This month had more going on than June but the latter half slowed down considerably. My brother’s wedding reception took place at the start of the month and that was lovely. I wrote a bit about it in this post if you want to see some pictures from the day! 🌻 Unfortunately, after that I got knocked out by a severe throat infection for a week. I couldn’t swallow for days and it took much longer than anticipated for me to bounce back. I’m doing okay now though and for the rest of the month, I’ve just been focusing on getting through the work days and restarting my Animal Crossing game play! 💜

On the gaming front, I’ve also been loving Potion Permit, an open-ended cosy fantasy RPG where you play a chemist from the big city stationed in a small countryside town. There are tons of quests, ingredients to collect, areas to explore, potions to brew, and friends to make. It’s got Stardew Valley style pixel graphics and a similar game play (also to Harvest Moon/SoS). I’ve been playing it on Switch and taking my sweet time with it cos I don’t want it to end! 😂

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#TopTenTuesday: Don’t “B” A Letdown!

Dini @ dinipandareads56 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is actually Books I Wish Had More/Less [Insert Your Concept Here] In Them (for example: more/less romance, more/less world building, less info dumping, more/fewer pages, more character development, fewer characters, fewer descriptions, more suspense, etc.)

But I’m going rogue!

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Blog Tour Review: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Such Charming Liars
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 30 July 2024
Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Domestic abuse (recounted in minor detail), gun violence, poisoning (of food), murder

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: I thoroughly enjoyed Such Charming Liars. It was gripping, entertaining and easy to breeze through in one sitting. The characters were easy to empathise with and the mystery had me eager to keep the pages turning. Some of these twists genuinely surprised me and it was so much fun! I would definitely recommend it if you’ve enjoyed McManus’ previous works or are looking to give her mysteries a try!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [243]

Dini @ dinipandareads17 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 your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!

I’m spending Sunday night in bed with The Girl With No Reflection. I’m excited about starting this tonight! I think it’s a standalone and if I’m not mistaken, it’s also the author’s debut. It has an intriguing premise and I hope it’ll be as good as it sounds! 😃

📖 SYNOPSIS

A young woman chosen as the crown prince’s bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband—but her world is shaken when she discovers the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries—in this lush fantasy debut perfect for fans of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and Violet Made of Thorns.

Princess Ying Yue believed in love…once upon a time.

Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.

Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.

This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of.

But there is darkness in this new world, too.

It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

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Blog Tour Review: Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses by Katrina Emmel

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses by Katrina Emmel. Thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Delacorte Romance for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Publication Date: 23 July 2024
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

A swoon-worthy YA rivals-to-lovers romance between a Nebraskan cowboy and California girl, thrust together on the Oregon Trail.

Anything’s possible under a prairie sky…

Riley Thomas is feeling stuck—she’s moved from California to Nebraska, she’s on a weeklong Oregon Trail family bonding excursion, and her luggage is lost. There’s no one her age on the trip except a tall, dark and irksome cowboy who wrongly assumes she has zero ability to handle the great outdoors. She can’t wait for this misery to end—even though going “home” isn’t even possible anymore.

Lone wolf Colton Walker loves the simpler life of the plains and his family’s tourism business that helps protect them. He’s a stand-up guy—not a love ‘em and leave ‘em type like his rival, Jake. And he knows better than to take his chances with a prairie princess like Riley.

But Riley’s got more sense than Colton thinks–and he’s not nearly as inflexible as he seems. And under a wide prairie sky of puffy clouds and bright stars, everything comes into focus–including a cowboy’s heart.

Katrina Emmel’s Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses will take you on a sweeping journey across the American prairie… once you love a boy in a Stetson, you’ll never be the same.

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses was a fun contemporary YA featuring a sweet summer romance with relatable teenage characters who were easy to empathise with and like. It also made me want to go and experience an Oregon Trail summer experience and bask in Nebraska’s natural trails! Overall, it was a fun and easy read and an enjoyable debut!

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Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2024

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Yep, I know it’s the end of July and I’m only just getting my June wrap-up posted now. I honestly can’t even remember what I did in June other than work. Outside of work, I was facing a lot of stress and anxiety due to family drama that did not put me in a good place mentally. Other than that, it really was an uneventful month… I think… Cos I literally, honestly, can’t remember much of it now! 😂

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ARC Review: Do Me A Favor by Cathy Yardley

Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

Special thanks to the author for providing me a digital ARC of this book via the publisher on NetGalley!

Do Me A Favor
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: 25 June 2024
Genre: Adult Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Willa Lieu-Endicott moved from California to the Pacific Northwest to start over. Since her husband’s death, she’s been struggling to get back her old career as a cookbook ghostwriter. Unfortunately, her latest project—ghostwriting for a viral cooking sensation known more for his washboard abs than his meals—has her stuck.

Until she meets her new neighbor.

Hudson Daws, the handyman next door, lives on a farm with his parents and two adult children. He’s the opposite of everything she’s ever known. His happily chaotic life includes biker barbecues, an escape artist dog, and adorably menacing goats. He’s also got a sinfully sexy smile and a rumbling bass voice that makes her shiver. He inspires her.

From their first meeting, the two fall into an escalating cycle of favors, paybacks…and attraction, even though Willa’s trying to keep her distance.

They both have their own pasts to deal with. Now, they just have to figure out if they have a future.

A delectable rom-com about a widowed cookbook writer and a divorced handyman who find that it’s never too late for a fresh start.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Parental estrangement and abandonment; death of spouse (off-page); chronic illness – type 1 diabetes (secondary character); brief mention of infidelity; drug use; sex on page

TL;DR: Do Me A Favor was a sweet, wholesome and sexy romance featuring older protagonists who just needed a bit of a push to love themselves first. This was a really enjoyable romance to devour (and I didn’t put it down until I finished it)! It gave me great comfort to read and I would recommend it to those who love a soft love story that balances the romance and character growth beautifully, plus a HEA for characters who couldn’t be more deserving of one.

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