Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

September 19, 2021September 19, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads10 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 time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I spent part of my Sunday finishing up The Duke of Diamonds by Emily Windsor. I’m still on that romance kick and have been diving (sorta) deep into the supernatural romances, so I decided to change things up and read a regency romance! This was a slow-burn romance but the hero/heroine are easy to like and the writing was so witty and it made me laugh quite a bit. Looking forward to reading the next in the series (which is on Kindle Unlimited, if you’re interested)! 😉

In the coldest flint, there is fire…
Casper Brook, the eighth Duke of Rothwell, has forever spurned frivolous pleasures, his restless emotions remaining buried beneath duty and command.
Yet when a titian-haired minx perches upon his ducal desk and claims to know the whereabouts of his one burning obsession, a game of wits and passion erupts…

Fire ignites from a spark…
Miss Evelyn Pearce possesses naught but a frail young sister and an ebony-black cat. Left destitute by her baronet father’s spendthrift ways, fate and talent hand her the opportunity to seek escape from the dangerous alleys of London town.
The cold Duke of Diamonds holds the key, and all Evelyn must do is resist his not-so-cold kiss…

A dance of flaming desire…
A passion forged on secrets can never be satisfied, but as guises fall and plots unravel, will the duke’s controlled façade shatter to reveal his searching heart within?

Regency romance with warmth and wit. This book contains sensual scenes.

What are you currently reading?

#FirstLinesFriday: 17 September 2021

September 17, 2021October 23, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads5 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:

“The devil had a name—Cristiano de la Rosa—but from this day forward, I would call him husband.”

Do you recognise the book these first lines come from?

Blog Tour Review: It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi

September 16, 2021September 15, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi.
Special thanks to HarperCollins Children’s Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: It All Comes Back to You
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Publication Date: 14 September 2021
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Coming-of-Age

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

After Kiran Noorani’s mom died, Kiran vowed to keep her dad and sister, Amira, close. Then out of the blue, Amira announces that she’s dating someone and might move cross-country with him. Kiran is thrown.

Deen Malik is thrilled that his older brother, Faisal, has found a great girlfriend, even if it’s getting serious quickly. Maybe now their parents’ focus will shift off Deen, who feels intense pressure to be the perfect son.

When Deen and Kiran come fact to face, they silently agree to keep their past a secret. Four years ago–before Amira and Faisal met–Kiran and Deen dated. But Deen ghosted Kiran with no explanation. Kiran will stop at nothing to find out what happened, and Deen will do anything, even if it means sabotaging his brother’s relationship, to keep her from reaching the truth. Though the chemistry between Kiran and Deen is undeniable, can either of them take down their walls?

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#WWWWednesday: 15 September 2021

September 16, 2021September 19, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

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:

What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?

Since last week, I’ve managed to finish nine books? This is in part thanks to the paranormal romance binge that I did in a little over a day! What can I say? I’m definitely in a romance binging mood!

The Dark Bite (Vampire Hunter Society #1) by Leia Stone ★★★½
Set in the same Magic City world of The Wolf Girl series (below), this spin-off focuses on vampire royalty, Luka and Aspen, the Vampire Hunter he mistakenly bonds with. This had lots of action and our hunter is definitely a kick-ass baddie with a stake, but I wish we got more character development and we got to see our H/H interact just a little more than they did. It’s a promising set up for the series though! RTC.

The Wolf Girl Series (1-4) by Leia Stone ★★★☆☆
This paranormal romance series was so easy to binge. This is a sub-genre that I don’t normally read but this had high entertainment value and it was so easy for me to just turn off my brain and get sucked into the supernatural creature world and of course, major drama! If you’re not into drama, this might not be for you. But if you’re looking for an action-packed series that doesn’t shy away from blood, violence or a slightly angsty but steamy werewolf romance, you might want to check this out! RTC.

Blog Tour Review: The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis

September 15, 2021September 13, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis.
Special thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: The Raven Heir (The Raven Heir #1)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Publication Date: 05 August 2021
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

A set of magical triplets, two warring dynasties, and a broken crown waiting for its rightful owner…

Deep within an enchanted forest lies a castle where a set of triplets and their sorceress mother have lived for years — safe from the decades-long war for the Raven Throne that rages in the kingdom beyond. Cordelia, one of the triplets, has the power to become any animal with just a thought, and she yearns to discover more about the world outside her castle.

But one day, the world comes to her, when the eldest of the triplets becomes the newest heir to the throne. Knowing that being named heir means certain death, Cordelia’s mother hid the truth about which child is the eldest when she hid them in the forest. When her family is captured, it’s up to Cordelia to use her powers to keep her siblings hidden and discover the truth about the Raven Heir — before it’s too late.

A thrilling new fantasy full of magic, adventure, and the power of family.

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#TopTenTuesday: Easy as 1, 2, 3!

September 14, 2021August 12, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: Books with Numbers in the Title.

Well, this is a pretty straightforward prompt and I’ve decided to keep it simple this week. I’ll be listing books with numbers from one to ten, and I’ve read all except two* that are still on my TBR. I rated most of these 4-5 stars with one or two 3/3.5 stars, so they’re all titles that I’ve enjoyed a lot! Here we go 😉

ARC Review: With You Forever by Chloe Liese

September 13, 2021September 12, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Special thanks to the author for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: With You Forever (Bergman Brothers #4)
Publication date: 14 September 2021
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

Axel
Rooney Sullivan is sunshine incarnate. Warm, bright, always smiling, she’s everything I’m not and the last person I have any business desiring. Desperate to hide a hopeless attraction, I’ve done everything possible to keep my distance…until a charades game gone wrong brought that to a grinding halt.

Since then, steering clear of Rooney has been impossible. In a matter of months, she’s kissed me speechless, commandeered my art career, and infiltrated not only my dreams but my home. The woman who was once avoidable has become the last thing I needed: temptingly within reach.

Rooney
Axel Bergman is a gorgeous grump who doesn’t have the time of day for me. Thankfully, I’ve kept my crush under wraps…well, until I kissed him. Charades got away from me, okay? It was an accident! I haven’t seen him since, which is for the best. My life is a mess, and the last thing I need is to embarrass myself further with the man who avoids me like that’s his job rather than painting modern masterpieces.

It seems the universe, however, has a different plan. When Axel and I unexpectedly find our paths—and problems—converging, a marriage of convenience proves the perfect solution. At least, until I’m facing my most serious problem yet: a once-loveless marriage of convenience that’s inconveniently become a love match, after all.

THIS BOOK IS OUT IN TWO DAYS!
PRE-ORDER NOW:

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

September 12, 2021September 13, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

I spent my Sunday in bed with The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis. I’m part of the blog tour for this MG fantasy so I’ll be sharing my full thoughts on it next week and my Top 5 Reasons for why you should read it. It was a fast-paced and adventure filled MG full of magic, shape shifting, and squabbling siblings and I enjoyed it!

Deep within an enchanted forest lies a castle where a set of triplets and their sorceress mother have lived for years — safe from the decades-long war for the Raven Throne that rages in the kingdom beyond. Cordelia, one of the triplets, has the power to become any animal with just a thought, and she yearns to discover more about the world outside her castle.

But one day, the world comes to her, when the eldest of the triplets becomes the newest heir to the throne. Knowing that being named heir means certain death, Cordelia’s mother hid the truth about which child is the eldest when she hid them in the forest. When her family is captured, it’s up to Cordelia to use her powers to keep her siblings hidden and discover the truth about the Raven Heir — before it’s too late.

A thrilling new fantasy full of magic, adventure, and the power of family.

What are you currently reading?

Top 5 Saturday: Hyped Books

September 11, 2021September 11, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Welcome back to another Top 5 Saturday! Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂 This week’s topic is actually: Hyped Books.

There are so many hyped books so this list really could be endless. While I’m always eager to know what the hyped books are, I’m also quite wary of them because I’m intimidated by the hype and I’m always worried that I won’t end up liking the book half as much as everyone else! Though I do get caught up in the hype and I quite often cave in and pre-order or buy the book not long after its been released, they usually end up sitting on my physical/kindle shelves for… A long time before they actually get read. I know you know what I’m talking about, right?! Here are some more “recent” hyped books that I’ve been telling myself to read but have still not picked up!

These Violent Delights

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.

#FirstLinesFriday: 10 September 2021

September 11, 2021October 23, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

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:

“For a time Vidya had not had a mother or a brother, she only had the idea of a mother and a brother: they were imaginary but real in the same way god was. For a time she had not a mother but an aunt and not a brother but two cousins who lived with her in the one room flat she shared with her father.”