Perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Holly Black, this enthralling fantasy adventure follows a teenage girl chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game between three heirs who will do anything for the crown.
Zahru has long dreamed of leaving the kingdom of Orkena and having the kinds of adventures she’s only ever heard about in stories. But as a lowly Whisperer, her power to commune with animals means that her place is serving in the royal stables until the day her magic runs dry.
All that changes when the ailing ruler invokes the Crossing: a death-defying race across the desert, in which the first of his heirs to finish—and take the life of a human sacrifice at the journey’s end—will ascend to the throne and be granted unparalleled abilities.
With all of the kingdom abuzz, Zahru leaps at the chance to change her fate if just for a night by sneaking into the palace for a taste of the revelry. But the minor indiscretion turns into a deadly mistake when she gets caught up in a feud between the heirs and is forced to become the Crossing’s human sacrifice. Zahru is left with only one hope for survival: somehow figuring out how to overcome the most dangerous people in the world.
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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:
“Can you see the girl crying? She’s not always easy to spot. She may have her head down, pretending to be on her phone, using her hair to cover her blotchy face.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Just two months ago (yes, just) I was tagged by the very wonderful Mani of Mani’s Book Corner to do the Mystery Blogger Award! Thanks so much for the tag, lovely 💞 And sorry it has only taken me two months to get around to doing it! Go on and check out + follow Mani’s blog if you haven’t done so already — you won’t regret it 😉
So, what’s the Mystery BlogGER award?
The Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; they do it with so much love and passion. The award was created by Okoto!
some rules…
Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award
Put the award logo/image on your blog.
List these rules!
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice.
Share a link to your best post(s).
3 things about me…
i’m 32 years old!
I know this isn’t particularly… interesting — age is nothing but a number after all — but I do get curious about the ages of those I interact with online, so I thought I’d throw that out there. Plus, I just turned 32 about ten days ago now, so that’s fun!
i love to bake things… but I rarely eat what i make!
You’re probably thinking that I must be an awful baker… But I’ve been told that my baked goods aren’t bad (not the best obviously but still homely and delicious)! I love the whole process of baking (I am one of those people that love to measure things out precisely otherwise I’m convinced it’ll be a disaster) but the time I finish baking, I just don’t feel like eating it anymore? Is it just me? LOL! It’s a good thing my friends/colleagues/family are always more than willing to eat what I make! 😂
I don’t have a favourite number or colour…
I used to say my favourite number was 4 because it was my favourite boy band member’s favourite. I usually say my favourite colour is black because I do love black and the majority of my wardrobe is black/grey, but it also really depends on my mood. I do love everything and anything pastel though — so if I had to pick I’d just say anything pastel 😂 I’ve been leaning towards pink/purple lately! I’ve said it before but I’m really bad at picking favourites 😅
mani’s questions:
What is the best book you’ve received as a gift?
It’s kind of sad to admit but… I really don’t receive books as gifts? The last time I received a book as a gift (without asking for it or winning a giveaway or anything like that) was actually… Christmas 2012! LOL so sad. It was my first Christmas in the UK and I was staying with my bestie who was visiting Bristol at the time with her hubs. We had a secret santa at his and one of his friends gifted me this gorgeous copy of Doctor Zhivago. Ashamed to admit that I haven’t read it yet… 🙃
Do you re-read, and if so which book was your latest re-read?
I hardly ever re-read. There are a few books that I have re-read over the years and well, that’s mostly Jane Austen (my comfort read!) 😂 But earlier this year I did decide to re-read the first two books of The Arc of a Scythe series before reading the third and final book immediately after.
tell us your favourite book quote
As I’ve mentioned about a million times by now, I struggle a lot with these “favourite” questions because I’m so indecisive! 😅 So, while this may not be my number one, the quote below is definitely up there in favourites. It is from one of my all-time favourite books The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, which I’ve also mentioned a million times on my blog 😂
“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside of you.”
Which were your favourite subjects in school?
With an answer that will surprise absolutely nobody: English/Humanities were my top favourite subjects! But I also really liked Computer Science, which was all the “back-end” related things to HTML, creating websites etc., and Environmental Science! Enviro sci ended up being a lot more practical with us doing lots of data gathering from the “field” (lol going to the river behind our school etc.) and my teacher was just grand!
As you know, if books are my first love, animals are a close second, so do you have any pets? Please feel free to share some cute photos!!!
I do have two floofs! Their names are Tripper and Cookie. We adopted them when we were living in Cambodia in 2010 and they’ve been with the family ever since. They’re actually pretty well traveled doggos and have moved with us to the Philippines and now to Indonesia, where they live with my parents in Jakarta. Leaving them to go to do my Masters in the UK was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do — pretty sure I cried more over leaving them than my parents/siblings (I can’t even say I’m joking lol) 😂 They’re no longer young but they’ll forever be my fur babies 💞 These aren’t the best photos of them but for some reason I can’t find other photos of them right now 🙃
my five questions to you
If you were forced to choose, would you eat only sweet or only savoury foods for the rest of your life? 😈
What type of content tends to inspire you and your blog content (or your instagram)?
If you could gift a person of your choice a book that holds a lot of meaning to you, which person would you give this book to and what book would it be?
You wake up one morning to find yourself in the world of the last book you read. Where are you and would you survive the day?
(partly inspired by Mani’s last question!) What fictional creature/animal would you like to have as a pet/animal friend?
I’M TAGGING:
Please feel free to ignore this post and the tag if tags aren’t your thing! No pressure at all and if you’re not tagged but want to do it, go for gold!Don’t forget to link back so I can see your answers too 😍
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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:
“All good stories start with bad decisions.“
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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:
“As seems to be the custom, bad news comes with the afternoon mail: the news that his granddaughter was rejected from her top-choice college, then a call to jury duty. Today, though, it is much worse.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
I was nominated by Veronika @ Wordy and Whimsical for the Liebster Award just last month and this just might be the fastest I’ve ever done an award/tag because usually they’re bookmarked for months to a year *nervously glancing at the long list of tags/awards that I still need to do*! A big thank you for the tag, Veronika 💜
The Rules
Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award
Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you
Give 11 random facts about yourself
Nominate 11 blogs and notify them of their nomination
Give these blogs 11 questions to answer
Veronika’s Questions
If you could be put into any bookish universe, what would you choose?
I finished reading about Nevermoor in the Trials of Morrigan Crow a few weeks ago now and wow, I’d love to be put into this bookish universe! It’s magical and weird, and it’s also a little scary. It’s almost our world but a little twisted because Saint Nick and the Snow Queen are real and have yearly battles, dragons are a thing, slightly intimidating talking giant cats magnificats also exist. It’s wild and I’d love to experience the technology and magic in this world!
Are there any genres you wouldn’t read?
I don’t think there are any genres I “wouldn’t” read per se but if I had to ditch a genre it would be horror. I do read it but it’s basically like once in a blue moon? I am the Ultimate Chicken™️ but also a masochist who likes to torture myself by reading things I know will scare me to high holy hell 🤣
What’s your favourite winter read?
Winter isn’t really a thing for me seeing as I live in the tropics but I wish it was! I can definitely picture myself reading comforting reads while cozied up under my doona during the winter. I’ve actually made a list before which you can check out here!
Did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?
English/Humanities was one of my favourite, if not my favourite, classes throughout all my school years and I do remember enjoying quite a few of the compulsory readings! …Sadly, my memory is really failing me and I can’t for the life of me remember more than these three titles: Wuthering Heights, The Sun Also Rises, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
What’s your most disliked popular book?
Hmm… That’s a good question although I tend to like a lot of the popular books? 😂 I think one book that is very popular is One Hundred Years of Solitude and wow, I did not jam with that book at all! 🙃 I’ve never struggled so hard to get through a book before and I was so disappointed because I wanted to love this book so much! Maybe I’m just not smart enough for it? 🤷🏻♀️
What is your least favourite thing about blogging? (Or the most difficult thing?)
Probably my least favourite thing about blogging is how time consuming it can be sometimes! 🙈 I’m really bad with planning ahead so I usually blog during my work breaks or after work ends, but I always end up taking so much longer than anticipated to actually finish a post! This is probably due to the fact that I’m always so distractible and always seem to be doing a million things at once though…
What’s your favourite book series of all time?
This is always my least favourite question to answer because can I really only pick one? Impossible! So I’m just going to leave you with some covers of the first books in some of my favourite series. These aren’t the favouritest of the favourites but I’m sharing as they come to me lol
(images linked to Goodreads pages)
What book has made you truly angry?
This is a tough one and I’m not really sure how to answer it… But honestly the first book that came to mind was Hot Dog Girl. It has such an adorable cover (I’m such a cover judger) and such a fun sounding premise about summer, growing up and love. I’d heard some good things about it before I bought it so I was excited… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me angry all over again because I was so disappointed with the MC and how she handled EVERYTHING. I mean, I got so angry I couldn’t write a review for it 😂
What’s a bookish trope you wish you wouldn’t have to see anymore?
Love triangles. I know people say when done right it’s really good but just no. It’s not my jam and it won’t be my jam. My feels can’t handle all the angst that usually comes with these triangles and someone always ends up hurt in a love triangle and who needs that anyway?! So it can definitely go bye-bye and I wouldn’t be mad 😂
What’s your most underrated favoUrite novel?
The Shadow of the Wind. I’ve mentioned this book countless times already but it’s so true! More people need to know about this book and read it! It blew me away with its beautiful writing and enchantingly haunted story. It’s not what I’d typically read but a friend highly recommended it and I’m so glad that I listened because wow. This book deserves so much more recognition than it gets!
Which character would you like to swap lives with? And for how long?
Hmm… Another tough question! The first character that came to mind was actually Emika Chen fromWarcross. I think I’d love to swap lives with her for a little while so that I can experience the insanity that is Warcross, but also to experience “our world” where that kind of technological development is possible. I think it would terrify me initially but I don’t know if I’d ever want to leave? (And yes, I’m totally ignoring the fact that some bat shit crazy went down in that book LOL)
11 Fun Facts About Me
I lived in my “home” country (where my passport is from) for the first time when I was 25 years old.
I have lived in seven countries – Bangladesh, Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, UK, Indonesia.
I have a minor obsession with Alaska, New Orleans and Edinburgh.
I share a birthday with Sam Smith (19 May) 😍
I used to be part of the varsity swim and tennis teams in high school!
My favourite musicals are RENT, Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton — but I’ve only seen Phantom of the Opera live (at least 3 times).
I’m a major fan girl of Lin-Manuel Miranda 🥰
We weren’t allowed to have a dog when I was growing up because when our doggo died when I was 9, I ended up crying every day for one month and my parents couldn’t handle it 😂
I am not ashamed to admit that I do quite enjoy country music 🤣 Maybe the artists I like are more “pop” country but I love Sam Hunt, Maddie & Tae, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, and Lady Antebellum to name a few!
I cannot survive a day without at least two cups of coffee but always before 3pm! I’ve cut down on my caffeine consumption by a lot (I used to drink at least 5 cups when I was at uni LOL)!
I love to bake (especially pies and cookies) but my creations always come out looking just a tad wonky — I wish I had the skills to make my goods look… good? 😂
What’s your favourite comfort genre?
What are three of your most anticipated releases for the rest of 2020 (June-December)?
What genre would you like to read more of?
What’s a book you think everyone should read (or at least try reading)?
What’s re-telling would you like to see more of? (i.e. Robin Hood? Beauty and the Beast?)
If you were to receive an ARC in the mail tomorrow, what book would you like to receive?
If you could live anywhere in the world (outside of where you live) for one/two years, where would you live?
What is your “ultimate goal” for your blog (if you have one!)?
If you could pick someone to write and perform a song about an important moment in your life, who would you choose?
If you could make your own “found family” group, which characters would you include (let’s say up to five characters)?
Spill the tea — what extremely hyped book do you think is entirely overrated?
I’M TAGGING:
A few lovelies here but if tags aren’t your thing then please don’t feel pressured to do this! It’s all good 🙂
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done some tags so I thought I’d get around to answering one that I was tagged in fairly recently by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black! Thanks for the tag, lovely 🥰 If you haven’t checked out her blog, I strongly suggest you head on over there because her content is great!
If it isn’t obvious from the title, this is a tag that lets you readers get to know me a little better! So if you’re not keen on doing that (which is totally okay), you should probably leave now 🤣 Without further ado… Let’s get to it!
Nominate 5+ bloggers you’d like to know more about, to do this tag
Why did you start blogging? & Why have you kept blogging?
Being very honest, the main reason I started blogging was because I wanted to get (e)ARCs and I thought having a blog was one of the only ways to do that. 😅 When I started I’d already had my bookstagram running for a few months, and I was really focused on that more than my blog, but that’s completely changed now since I’m rarely on there.
I’ve kept blogging because it was so much more rewarding than I anticipated. I used to have a personal blog that I kept for almost 10 years but I stopped because I didn’t feel inspired anymore. Being part of the book community, sharing my thoughts, and having people actually read and relate to them has been so rewarding, but most importantly it’s meeting so many like-minded people that has kept me motivated with blogging! (And I really hope that doesn’t change any time soon!)
What is your favorite type of blog post to write?
I really enjoy writing the weekly meme posts which is what a lot of my blog contains on top of the reviews I write. #5OnMyTBR, Top Ten Tuesday, #WWWWednesday, First Line Fridays and Top 5 Saturdays are so fun to do and even though I’m horrible at choosing/making decisions about favourites, I’ve come to really love making these lists! I think since I blog on top of a full-time job these meme posts are just what appeal to me most because I still have to think but not as hard compared to if I were to write more discussion posts 😂
What are your top three favorite blog posts you wrote?
It’s so hard to pick favourites — I’m rubbish at that! So I’ve just chosen three random posts that I really enjoyed making!
My review for Nevernight (Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff is probably one of my favourite because I mean, I was proper freaking out about how much I loved the book, but there was also a lot of artwork and reaction GIFs that I included, plus it was my first time writing a review in this way and it was just so fun! 🤣
What are some of your favorite things to do to relax?
Well, reading obviously! But I also really love gaming (although that’s not always super relaxing when you’re in battle or on a quest haha). Another thing that really relaxes me is colouring — it’s just so soothing not having to think about anything except what colour I’ll choose next. I also love to throw on my favourite playlists while doing other things (like colouring) or sometimes simply doing nothing but lying back and listening to the song lyrics (while singing along off-key)!
What are three of your favorite things?
My family & friends (who are basically my family!) 💞
Animals (especially doggos, pandas, and elephants)
Food (especially Japanese, Mexican and Chinese)! 🤤
What are your proudest blogging moments?
As of 20 May 2020!
One of the blogging goals that I set for 2020 was to reach 500 followers and I actually reached that goal yesterday! 😭 I’m pretty shook (understatement) because I didn’t even think getting 100 followers would even be in the realm of possibility for me and my little blog! I’m so thankful for this community, for all the people who follow me, for the new friends I’ve made… It’s beyond anything I ever expected when I started this and (sorry if I’m starting to sound like a broken record but) I’m so grateful for all of it! 🥰
What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
It’s a bit sad but I honestly don’t have many hobbies outside of blogging (and reading)! Um… I do love singing and I’m part of a small community choir here. I also really love to bake — pies and cookies are my absolute favourites to make 😍 If this counts as a hobby, I also love colouring 🤣 One time I got a bunch of colouring books from my friends and I was the happiest little panda 🐼 Sometimes it’s the simple things, right?!
Describe your personality in three words
I really dislike answering these kinds of questions because I always have a hard time coming up with answers! If I had to say… Loyal, Compassionate, and Stubborn (AF) 😆
What are your top three pet peeves?
I wouldn’t necessarily say these are my “top three” but… they’re pretty high up on the list!
People holding very loud and personal conversations in public. Must you really? 🤦🏻♀️
People who walk very very slowly in the middle of the walkway/sidewalk — and to make it even worse, those who don’t move even when you say “excuse me”! 🙄
People who are rude to workers. That’s vague but when I say workers I also mean waiters, cleaners/helpers, etc. Okay, this one is definitely in my top three (maybe even top two!) because I can’t stand those who treat people like trash just because they feel they’re better than them. Reality check: you’re really not. This is the toxic environment that I’m leaving and I couldn’t be happier! 😤
What’s something your followers don’t know about you?
Hmm… Hard to choose because I feel like there’s a lot that my followers don’t know about me 😁 But I’m going with the most random thing I can think of (that a lot of people in my real life probably don’t even know about me): I used to teach hip hop dance and break dancing with a friend when I was in high school. When I was in boarding school in Australia, I started an after-school dance club with a friend that counted towards my extracurricular credits! It was heaps of fun 😊
And that’s it folks! I hope you enjoyed reading those little tidbits about me — not very interesting but hey, that’s me 🤷🏻♀️ This was a lot of fun to answer so thanks again for tagging me, Leslie!
I’m Tagging:
Again, no pressure if tags aren’t your thing 😊 Even if you’re not tagged and want to do this, go for gold! Don’t forget to link back so I can read your answers and learn more about you too! 🥰
I wasn’t tagged to do this post so of course I’m going to be doing it before all the ones I’m actually tagged in! 🙃 I saw Kirsty @ Caffeinated Fae post this on her blog today and it looked like a fun and short tag to do and since my mind is clearly not gunning for the “heavier” stuff right now I thought why not do it!? So here I am and here we go…
What do you like about buying new books?
Does “everything” count as an answer? Well, except for parting with my money… 💸 But no really, I love the new book smell, I love adding an anticipated read to my shelves, I love discovering a new book that I’ve never heard of before. I love walking out of the story with new worlds full of delicious possibilities waiting to be discovered!
Hello, friends! I’m back with another The Fantastic Flying Book Club blog tour today and this time it’s for Havenfall! Best believe I was shook when I got picked to be part of this tour because I thought I stood no chance in hell 😂 It was a great squealing moment! Thanks to FFBC for organising these tours and for the author for making the eARC available to us. Be sure to click on the blog tour banner above to check out the other bloggers on the tour! 😊
Havenfall (Havenfall #1) Publisher: Bloomsbury YA Release date: 03 March 2020 Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Panda Rating:
A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it–at any cost.
Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds–each with their own magic–together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.
For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.
But this summer, the impossible happens–a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she’s letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie–no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . .
An unforgettable alternative history fairytale series from the author of The Bone Witch trilogy about found family, modern day magic, and finding the place you belong.
Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.
Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spellbreaker, someone who negates magic.
Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.
dinipandareads 