Top 5 Saturday: Books with Beautiful Covers

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads26 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 with beautiful covers!

I think the only reason this prompt is so hard is because there are so many options and how do I narrow it down to just five books?! But I’m going to do my best by focusing on five upcoming releases with beautiful covers (that I haven’t featured in a post before–I’m looking at you my sexy space elf)!

The Kingdom of Back is so beautiful holy wow 😍

#WWWWednesday: 11 March

March 11, 2020March 15, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

Can someone please tell me how it’s only just Wednesday when it absolutely feels like it should already be Friday? Anyone? This week fully needs to be over please lol

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 Wednesday I’ve managed to read five books:

Magic Unleashed (Venators #1) by Devri Walls ★★★★☆
This was a fast-paced and action-packed fantasy full of all the supernatural creatures that your heart could ever desire! No, seriously. There are fae, werewolves, vampires, elves, witches/wizards, goblins, giants, shapeshifters and DRAGONS! I was surprised by how quickly I read this and by how much I enjoyed it! My blog tour review post will be up tonight!

The Deep by Alma Katsu ★★★½
I was expecting to be scared out of my wits reading this but thankfully it wasn’t as scary as I thought it’d be. It was also completely different to what I expected! Katsu’s writing is atmospheric and the mystery works its way under your skin. Her characters, however, confused me a bit. Still glad I gave this a read though–it was certainly different to anything I’ve read! My FFBC blog tour review is up tomorrow!

The Guy on the Right (The Underdogs #1) by Kate Stewart ★★★★½
I wrote an extremely gushing post about how much I loved this romcom. Theo and Laney and their love are absolute perfection *chefs kiss*. Their banter was spot on and I loved watching their friendship and romance grow. The pot gummy scenes might be one of my favourites of all time! Check out my review.

The Guy on the Left (The Underdogs #2) by Kate Stewart ★★★★★
I didn’t think I could love a hero more than I did Theo but I WAS WRONG. Who’d have thought it’d be Troy to win me over as well? Definitely shook me! This was a wonderful slow-burn redemption love story and ugh, it had me seriously feeling all the damn feels. It was SO GOOD! Review coming very soon.

Enemies with Benefits (Loveless Brothers #1) by Roxie Noir ★★★½
I’m glad I checked out this series because I love the family relationships and banter, but it wasn’t my favourite romcom (I think I’ve been seriously spoiled by the underdogs)! There’s no denying that the physical chemistry between the two was hella fire, but I wanted more of an emotional/personal connection with the characters. Review coming soon.

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [46]

March 8, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads25 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I spent a part of my Sunday morning finishing my tour read for The Deep. It wasn’t as spooky as I expected, which is always a pleasant surprise for an Ultimate Chicken™️ such as myself because that means I can read it without fear of my feet being grabbed by things once I step outside the safety zone that is my bed 🤣

Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

What are you currently reading?

Top 5 Saturday: Trilogies

March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads27 Comments

I’m surprised to learn that a lot of the series on my TBR and ‘need-to-finish’ lists are trilogies! I like trilogies. I think three books is a good number because it’s just long enough for those who like reading series but it’s also “short” enough for those who don’t like long series. Or simply for those who don’t have the patience to wait even longer for the next book to come out 😅 Lucky for me, almost all the series mentioned below are complete so there’s no waiting time between books and that’s really the most perfect scenario! I’m really looking forward to starting/finishing these series!

First up is the Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness. I still haven’t read anything by Ness although I have five of his books (including this full series) sitting on my physical shelf. I got really cool copies too!

I’ve been wanting to read more by Amie Kaufman and when I saw the covers for the Starbound Series I knew there was no way I would be passing these up. Totally cover judging here–they’re STUNNING!

Ah, The Kingkiller Chronicles. I don’t know whether I’m dreaming but THERE IS A COVER FOR BOOK THREE. Is it the actual? I don’t know. There’s still no official release date but there are 2020 whispers and if it happens I’ll be deceased (kidding… But I might actually pass out from shock LOL)!

I have been meaning to finish His Dark Materials for a while now. I enjoyed the first book but didn’t continue with the rest of the series because I wanted to find matching books. Anyone else do that? 😂

I loved The Bear and the Nightingale when I read it last year but I was waiting for the rest of the Winternight Trilogy to deliver (which obvi took forever). Planning to re-read and finish this year!

Down the TBR Hole – 15

March 7, 2020March 6, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

My guilt has kicked in and told me that I can’t keep avoiding another culling of my ridiculous TBR forever, so here I am. Back again with a list of books from my Goodreads TBR that is now a whopping 1,088 books (don’t judge me, I added a lot more books to my TBR since last week)! I thought I’d make it clear again that just because it’s on my Goodreads TBR doesn’t actually mean I own copies of the book (that’d be way ridiculous even for me)! Let’s see what we can get rid of today, eh?

Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Story that attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books we’ve saved on there. Here’s how it works:

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go

Verdict: Keep

#WWWWednesday: 04 March

March 4, 2020March 5, 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?

Since last Wednesday I’ve managed to finish four books and three of them were four blog tours!

Jack Janson and The Storm Caller by Andrew Marsh ★★★☆☆
I don’t normally read MG books but I am always keen to step outside my comfort zone. I read this for a blog tour and it ended up being more enjoyable than I anticipated! I can definitely see the younger audiences it’s aimed at really enjoying the story and connecting with the characters. It’s a good introduction to fantasy! Check out my full review.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Adapted & Illustrated by Fred Fordham ★★★★☆
This was a very quick read that I finished in a matter of a few hours. It’s a good adaptation of the classic and really brought the story to life. While the art style wasn’t my favourite kind, it very much suited the era of the book and gave it a ‘old school/classic comic feel’. Would definitely recommend it for those who would like to read the classic but don’t have much time. RTC

Havenfall (Havenfall #1) by Sara Holland ★★★½
This was my first book by Holland but I’m keen to check out her other books now. Due to the mystery element this was a much slower paced fantasy than I expected but it was still enjoyable. I kept second guessing who could be trusted, but I’m glad I got the villain right at least! I read and reviewed this as part of the FFBC Blog Tour! Check out my full review.

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai ★★★★★
This book was absolutely stunning. It was such an intimate telling of Vietnam’s history beyond the Vietnam War and from the unique perspective of a northern Vietnamese family. This story is filled with so much tragedy, suffering and heartbreak, but also so much love and hope. The Tran family’s resilience and ability to overcome hardship was inspiring and brought me to tears. I’m part of the blog tour for this book so my review will be coming up (sort of) soon!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [45]

March 1, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

I started The Mountains Sing on a whim last night as I felt that I needed to take a short break from my YA/fantasy reads before I continue with them in the coming weeks! I spent a good part of Sunday in bed reading the book. I’m learning so much about Vietnam from a perspective that I’ve not read from before. It’s funny because I actually know the author, she and her husband are good friends with my parents, so I think this makes it an even more personal read. It’s very hard (and is making me quite emotional) to read about the cruelties and injustices done but I think it’s certainly important to know.

With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart.

Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.

The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

What are you currently reading?

Top 5 Saturday: Books Inspired by Mythology

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

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.

#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!

Down the TBR Hole – 14

February 24, 2020February 25, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

My guilt has kicked in and told me that I can’t keep avoiding another culling of my ridiculous TBR forever, so here I am. Back again with a list of books from my Goodreads TBR that is now a whopping 1,072 books (don’t judge me, I added more books to my TBR since last week)! I thought I’d make it clear again that just because it’s on my Goodreads TBR doesn’t actually mean I own copies of the book (that’d be way ridiculous even for me)! Let’s see what we can get rid of today, eh?

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go

Verdict: Keep