#FirstLinesFriday: 10 November 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads6 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:

“When throwing knives across a crowded tavern in the Thief Kingdom, you were one of two things: an excellent marksman with everything to gain, or a poor marksman with nothing to lose.
Whether you were the former or the latter, you were most certainly a fool.
Niya Bassette happened to admire foolishness.”

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Book Review: Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1)
Publisher: NYLA
Pub Date: 2 December 2013
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

his is a short novel, about 60,000 words.

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is…different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, “normal” is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night…Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Violence, gore, blood, explosion, disappearance of a parent, animal death

2023 is apparently my year of reading Ilona Andrews and I’m not mad about it at all. They have a pretty formulaic way of storytelling that I thankfully really enjoy and it also means I know exactly what I’m getting. Clean Sweep didn’t disappoint and I can’t wait to continue on with the rest of the series!

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Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Dini @ dinipandareads14 Comments

Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #1)
Publisher: Transworld Digital
Pub Date: 14 September 2023
Genre: Fantasy Romance

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

From the creator of a viral TikTok series about the sunshine assistant to the evil villain and their unexpected romance comes the most hotly-anticipated romantic fantasy book of the the year!

Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, level-headed assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things in General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

ASSISTANT

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer-naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain-and his entire nefarious empire-out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work… and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find…

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Violence, gore, blood, attempted sexual assault/harrassment (recounted), parental abandonment, family death (recounted), attempted murder, torture, kidnapping, imprisonment/captivity

TL;DR: From start to finish, Assistant to the Villain was an entertaining read. It was amusing, witty, and simple, and I honestly didn’t take it very seriously. This book didn’t try to be more than it was, which is a simple story with silly characters and a slightly meandering plot, but that made it all the more enjoyable to me. It was the perfect no thoughts mostly vibes read that I was in the perfect mood for, and I think that that’s key to enjoying this story. You need to just vibe and go with it to see where it takes you!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [208]

Dini @ dinipandareads13 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 curled up reading in bed with or which book you wish you had time to read today!

At this point, I’m kind of stuck on what to read. I’ve not been reading books with much substance this past week but I’ve enjoyed those erotic romance journeys. But I’m not sure if I want to continue on it. I tried picking up a paranormal romance and a fantasy romance but they didn’t click. Here are some titles I’m thinking about maybe trying next:

Song of the Forever Rains, Her Big City Neighbor, The Karma Map, Thornhedge, One Dark Window
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Book Review: My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

Dini @ dinipandareads14 Comments

My Roommate is a Vampire
Publisher: Berkley
Pub Date: 29 August 2023
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

True love is at stake in this charming, debut romantic comedy.

Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it’s a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she’s desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch—only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price.

Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn’t look half bad shirtless, on the rare occasions they’re both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren’t there earlier, Frederick has to come clean…

Cassie’s sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her.

TL;DR: My Roommate is a Vampire was a funny and entertaining romance. This was a romcom that had plenty of romance and comedy with an additional paranormal twist in its modern-day setting! Cassie and Frederick were an endearingly awkward and cute vampire and human duo who were simply trying to figure out how to share the same space without giving in to the burning attraction they felt for each other knowing what a bad idea it would be to give in. Ultimately, this was a story that didn’t seem to take itself too seriously and I think if you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud read with cute feel-good moments, plus a couple of steamy ones too, then I would recommend this!

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#FirstLinesFriday: 3 November 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads4 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:

“Elizabeth Navenby was known for three things: needlework, talking to the dead, and an ill temper at the best of times.
These were not the best of times. Seasickness had taken rough shears to the edges of that temper.”

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Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2023

Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

As expected for the last few months of every year, October passed in a blur. I blinked and it was time for my two-week holiday with besties, then I blinked again and the holiday was over, I back to work feeling like I never had a break to begin with and it’s now November. How? I had a great time on my holiday that passed by too quickly and it was such a busy (but fun!) time that I felt like I needed a holiday post-holiday… I feel so spoiled saying that but it’s true, lol! 😂 I’m sharing three pictures here but you can find more in my Sunday post.

This holiday wasn’t all I did this month but the rest of it was just hectic work days and all of that regular jazz. So the holiday was my main highlight but TS also released her version of my favourite album of hers, 1989. I’ve been *thriving*. If you’re a fan, what’s your favourite re-recording and vault track?! I loved Wonderland’s re-recording and my favourite vault track has to be Say Don’t Go… And Is It Over Now? cos you can’t make me choose one! 🤭

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