Goodreads Monday – All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

It’s the first Goodreads Monday of 2020, friends! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.

This week’s book is All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. This book was released in 2016 but I saw a lot of hype for it on bookstagram last year. This contemporary fiction has a 4.07 star average with 79.7k+ ratings and 11.5k+ reviews.

Top 5 Saturday: Books Inspired by Mythology

February 29, 2020March 2, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

We’re back with another Top 5 Saturday! I might’ve missed last week’s topic but I will come back to it at some point 🙂 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: books inspired by mythology!

I have to be honest and say that while I know of many of the popular myths, specifically Greek and Norse, I don’t really know them in great detail. But Mythology is a topic that has always sparked my interest and I’m always up for getting my hands on more books inspired by myths! I have quite a few on my TBR that I’m hoping to read sometime in the… near future? *so many books, so little time*

I adore these Big Ideas Simply Explained books! I randomly found The Mythology Book when I was actually looking for The Literature Book but the shiny gold cover held me captive. Obviously, I left the bookstore with it in tow! This is a ‘coffee table’ book that I’d happily flip through over time.

First Lines Friday – 28 February

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads15 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:

“Raithe’s first impulse was to pray. Curse, cry, scream, pray–people did such things in their last minutes of life. But praying struck Raithe as absurd given that his problem was the angry god twenty feet away.”

Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?

#WWWWednesday: 26 February

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads15 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?

Unlike last week when I set a new personal reading record, I haven’t read much since last Wednesday and only managed to finish two books. The past week has been pretty stressful with my move and I’ve had some busy evenings this week.

Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab ★★★★★
Didn’t think I’d love Vengeful more than Vicious but there we have it! This series is amazing and it’s everything I never knew I wanted in a sci-fi fantasy book. I love the concept of ExtraOrdinaries and some of their abilities are so killer (maybe literally). Check out my full review.

Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) by Rin Chupeco ★★★★☆
Although I had some issues with the writing and world building (in that there was a lot to take in) I ended up really enjoying this read! I loved the concept and the alternate history modern world where fairytales and Carly Rae Jepsen all exist in the same reality. I also loved the found family vibes of the Bandersnatches and after a twisty ending, I’m keen to see what happens next! My FFBC blog tour review post will be up TOMORROW!

#TopTenTuesday: Characters I’d Follow on Social Media!

February 25, 2020July 18, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads49 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: characters I’d follow on social media! This fun and creative prompt was submitted by Tilly @thebiblioshelf

Wow, this is such a great prompt–following my favourites on social media is something that I would’ve have even thought of but that doesn’t mean that a few names didn’t immediately pop into my head! I loved a lot of these characters because they had me laughing endlessly with their witty banter and cheeky humour. I think following any of them on social media would be so much fun!

Goodreads Monday – A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian

February 24, 2020March 22, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

This week’s book is A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian. I haven’t heard much about this book on the blogosphere/book community but Algonquin approached me to read/review it and it sounds so good, I immediately said yes! This contemporary fiction has a 4.04 star average with 518 ratings and 161 reviews.

Top 5 Saturday: Books about Spies

February 22, 2020February 21, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

Well, I definitely came up blank when I saw this prompt because books about spies aren’t necessarily the highest on my list? I mean, I like the idea of spy books but I just don’t normally read them. Though thanks to Goodreads I’ve discovered that I have a few spy books waiting to be read!

I’ve had The Alice Network sitting on my TBR cart for a really long time. I love historical fiction and I’ve heard some really great things about this book. I feel like I have to gear myself up to read it though so I can be emotionally prepared 😂

I haven’t read much YA historical fiction but I’ve heard a lot about how great Code Name Verity is! Just reading the synopsis has me so very intrigued and I’m looking forward to picking it up eventually.

I feel like Ken Follett is so underrated lol I’ve only read one of his series in full (The Century Trilogy) but I could not put them down. All three were almost 1,000 pages long and I sped through them like I’ve never done before. I think it took me just a little over one week to finish the series! So I’m excited to try Eye of the Needle to see if all of Follett’s books are as good!

I actually forgot about this book but I remember it first coming on my radar because it got made into a movie Jennifer Lawrence and the trailer looked interesting but I never did end up watching the movie. When I realised it Red Sparrow was a book first I added it to my TBR. It sounds intense!

John Le Carré’s books kind of intimidate me because I always feel like it’ll go flying over my head 😂 But I was intrigued when I found out The Tailor of Panama was based on a book bbecause I knew it was made into a movie with Pierce Brosnan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Geoffrey Rush forever ago. Heavily political books aren’t really my jam at all… but I’d read this one! It sounds really good.

Upcoming Schedule:

02 Feb 2020: Dystopian books
08 Feb 2020: Mental Illness
15 Feb 2020: Books about Mermaids
22 Feb 2020: Books about spies
29 Feb 2020: Books inspired by mythology

Do you like reading books about spies? Let me know below if you have any favourites or recommendations!

First Lines Friday – 21 February

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020 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:

“Wren had learned early on that trouble comes in all sorts of packages. Even vanilla ones with rose petal frosting.“

Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?

The Sunshine Blogger Award III

February 20, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

Hello, friends! It’s been a bit of a stressful week so I thought I’d take it ‘easy’ with a fun post. It’s been a long while since I’ve done an award or tagged post and I’ve got an embarrassing number of them that I need to get to. I should really plan this better (but also what’s new?)!

Several months ago I was nominated by Kathryn @ Metaphors and Miscellanea for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I love reading her insightful reviews and other entertaining posts, such as when she’s spilling the tea on hot bookish topics. If you’re not following Kathryn yet, I would suggest getting on it now!

#WWWWednesday: 19 February

February 19, 2020February 19, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads25 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?

So remember how last week I challenged myself to read all those romances? Well, I didn’t manage to read ten but I did get through eight! Although the majority of romances I read were on my possibility pile, I did stray and pick up a dystopian romance series on a whim (hmm). Plus I read two other books so in total I’ve read 10 books since last Wednesday (who am I even). As always, you can check out my mini-mini reviews below!

Kingshold (The Wildfire Cycle #1) by D.P. Woolliscroft ★★★★☆
This is a fantasy that’s not to be missed! There’s great world building, the writing is infused with humour and is easy to follow despite there being so many characters. Everything came together seamlessly and nothing felt forced. My blog tour review will be posted on Saturday!

A Pizza My Heart (Slice #1) by Teagan Hunter ★★★☆☆
Y’all know how much I loved Hunter’s ‘Texting’ series because I can’t stop gushing about it, so I was a little disappointed with my lack of feels for A Pizza My Heart. It wasn’t bad, but it was missing the cheeky sass and spark I’d come to expect from her writing! Check out my mini review.

I Knead You Tonight (Slice #2) by Teagan Hunter ★★★★☆
The sass and banter came back in the second book of this series and I was living for it! I didn’t particularly care for both characters when they’re intro’d in book one, but I grew to love them so much in this book! They’re both such strong characters and it was super a satisfying read. Check out my mini review.

That Secret Crush (Getting Lucky #3) by Meghan Quinn ★★★★½
I’d been waiting for this release since finishing book two and it really didn’t disappoint. I didn’t think much of Reid before but I loved his no-filter character and Eve was his perfect match! I loved their love 😍 All I know is that I can’t wait for the last book now. I needed it yesterday! Check out my full review.

Well Met (Well Met #1) by Jen DeLuca ★★★★★
All the swoons for me when I was reading this book! I was definitely kicking myself for not reading it sooner. Who knew that a Ren Faire romance is what I needed in my life? I adored Emily and Simon so much and I really enjoyed their character development! 💞 Check out my full review.

The Rain Trilogy by B.B. Easton ★★★☆☆ (average)
With book one I knew this book wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t with the super insta-love but I also couldn’t stop reading it until and I can’t explain why. It did get *marginally* better as the story progressed and the ending was satisfying but I still don’t think I’d recommend it… Review coming soon.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn ★★★★★
I fell hard and fast for Meg & Reid and their love story. This book gave me all the feels and I had a much deeper connection to the story and characters than I expected to when going into it. It’s a wonderful read that I know I’ll be recommending, especially to you romance lovers out there! Review coming soon.

Friends with the Monsters by Albany Walker ★★★½ – ★★★★☆?
So… I’ve never read a Reverse Harem romance before but one TTT post led to Goodreads to Amazon searches through books I’ve never even thought of reading before and I ended up on this. The cover is what really caught my eye coz it’s just really cool and dark? I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was a dark read with monsters, supernaturals and magic. Plus the heroine was vicious. Obviously it goes without saying there was a lot of sex. Not sure if I’ll continue reading Reverse Harem romances but it was definitely interesting! Review (maybe) coming soon.