Tag: 2022 Reading Challenge

Book Review: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

Goodreads: These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 17 November 2020
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

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Monthly Wrap Up: February 2022

Dini @ dinipandareads39 Comments

Another month has come and gone and honestly, good riddance to February! 🙊

Hmm… I think it’s safe to say that February was kind of a shite month? Personally, things are much better now than they were mid-month. Globally, things definitely turned to shite towards the end of the month and my heart feels so heavy, especially with regards to what’s happening in Ukraine. Every day more and more people show their disrespecting asses with their whole gd chest on that freaking bird app and this month it has just been more tiring than usual. 😮‍💨

But on a more positive note… Here are a few good things that happened this month:

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Book Review: The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Goodreads: The Deep
Publisher: Saga Press
Published: 05 November 2019
Genre: Adult SFF

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting.

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Pondathan Update ft. A Blossoming Garden & Gen’s Side Quest

Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Hello, friends! Today I’m excited to share a short update on my Pondathon reading progress, Pompom’s updated character card and most importantly… Pompom’s blossoming garden! 😍

Want to know more about the Pondathon? Check out my announcement post!

For the first round of the Pondathon, I managed to complete all the objectives for Xiaolong’s Side Quest, including the bonus and secret achievement. This means that Pompom gets their first badge for their character card plus some exciting decorations for the garden. Yay! 😃

I’ve also started to fill up the garden. I surprisingly only got two flowers last month but I got a lot of planter boxes and garden beds, so at least I’ll be ready to add flowers to my garden as the year progresses 😄 I’m pretty happy with how it’s looking and y’know, I think Pompom is too!

Now that it’s February, there’s an exciting new side quest to tackle: Planting Saplings with Gen! The quest expires on 19 February 2022, 8:00PM NZT. [?]

Click on the banner for more information about Gen’s side quest!

The objective of the quest is to read a book by a Black author for Black History Month. If you read at least three books by Black authors, you’ll receive the Sleepy Sapling badge. You complete the Secret Achievement if you read a book by a Black author with one of the following themes: friendship, family, community, nature.

As I’m not one for fixed TBRs, here’s a big possibility pile from my existing shelves that I’m hoping to finally tackle this year:

Are you reading for the Pondathon? Did you complete Xialong’s side quest and will you help Gen with his side quest? If you are, what books are you planning to read for it?

Monthly Wrap Up: January 2022

Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

A month of Epic reading…

Well, now that the first month of 2022 is over, I wonder just how quickly the rest of the year will pass by? If it’s anything like 2021, it’ll be a blink! 😂 This was a pretty quiet month on the life front.

  • I very quickly got a consultancy gig from Jan-May. It’s twice a week and not a lot but at least I have a little something!
  • We had one major trip this month and that was coming back to Jakarta from Bali. I love our Bali house (I miss our pool!) but ah, it feels so good to be back with my fur babies and my books! 😍
  • I’m still obsessed with T.Swift and if I continue to obsessively listen to her music throughout the year, I’m pretty sure she’ll take top spot on my Spotify wrap up (again).
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Pondathon II: Participation & Sign up!

Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Hello, hello, friends! Today I’m coming at you with an announcement (and sign up) post for the Pondathon II reading challenge. Listen, I know I’m not the best at challenges/readathons but I like to try and add a little fun to my reading life every year. When I first heard about the Pondathon I was too intimidated to join but new year, new chances, right? It seems pretty low-key and thus, low-pressure, which is exactly how I like my challenges to be (lol)! So, if you’re anything like me and aren’t sure whether or not to join, I say, why not? You’re not alone! 😉

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