ARC Review: Crave Thy Neighbor by Teagan Hunter

April 8, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Thanks to the author for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

🥳 HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!! 🥳

Goodreads: Crave Thy Neighbor (Roommate Romps #3)
Publication Date: 08 April 2021
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:

Don’t fall for your roommate…especially when it’s only temporary.

Nolan Brooks is off limits.
Sure, he’s insanely attractive and funny and I might have almost gone home with him one night to relieve a little stress.
Big deal.

It was all just a momentary lapse in judgment…just like the kiss we shared.

He’s my temporary roommate while I wait for my new apartment to be ready. That’s it.
He’s doesn’t do relationships, and he doesn’t do attachments.

So what if I have a crush on him? We’ll only be there for two months.
Surely I can survive that long.

BUY NOW: Amazon (US) | AMAZON (UK)

I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in North Carolina with my US Marine husband and 9-year-old dog. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.

Writing is my passion, and this is just the beginning of my journey.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter | Reader Group

TL;DR: I honestly loved Maya and Nolan and their romance was super fun and definitely steamy! Seriously, their chemistry was just so fire! 🔥 Just like in her previous books, Hunter never fails to make me laugh with her sarcastic/dry humour. I also really loved the frequent cameos the previous two couples made in this books—it was so great to see them all again and to see how much they’re thriving 😍 I can’t wait for more Roommate Romps!

Blog Tour Review: Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

April 7, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price.
Special thanks to Netgalley and HarperTeen for providing an ARC 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: Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: 06 April 2021
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction, Retelling

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

BUY NOW: Amazon (US/IN T ) | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Indigo | Indiebound

March 2021 Monthly Wrap Up!

April 2, 2021January 2, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads25 Comments

March was a bit of an off month for me. I don’t know what it was exactly but the days passed by in a bit of a tired blur. Work got decently busy and it got pretty intense as I tried to cram the work I normally do over a five-day week into a three-day week—oh, the joys of being a part-timer! Well, at least it’s better to be overly busy than to be bored to tears, right?

Other than work things have been pretty much the ‘same old’ on the personal life front, meaning absolutely nothing new has happened! If I’m not busy working, I’m busy helping mum take care of the house and doing all the “adulting things”. In general I’ve been tired and then tired of being tired. 😫

In gaming, I’ve continued to “beef up” my AC island. I thought I’d put out my Dream Address already but with the Sanrio + designer updates that happened mid-March, I’ve put that off again as I randomly decided to change up 90% of my villagers and more of my island. Will it ever be finished? At this rate, who really knows! 😂 I’m still having fun with this game though and I can’t believe it’s already been one year since it was released!

As I’ve mentioned in about 90% of the posts I made this month, I really feel like I didn’t get any reading done, even though I read 19 books. Is it because I wasn’t very good at keeping track on Goodreads this month? Or maybe it’s because I haven’t actually been reviewing what I’ve read, save for the ARCs and blog tour reads? It could very much be the latter—I honestly have about ten million reviews that I still need to write and despite saying that I’m gonna do more mini-reviews I still have yet to do any. 🤣

I think on average my reads this month were about 3-3.5 stars? Not bad but I do think the “lower” ratings have more to do with my fickle mood than the books themselves. I did DNF one book and have plenty more that I started but haven’t got around to finishing yet (but I will). Hands down, my favourite read this month was Jade City by Fonda Lee. I’m so glad that I did a buddy read with Jess and finally ticked this off my TBR. If you’re still sleeping on this one, don’t! Because it is 100% worth all the hype you hear about it. Jess and I are continuing with Jade War this weekend and I’m super excited because I’ve missed all the characters. NO PEAK FOR LIFE, BAYBEE! 💚

This month was also a bit shoddy for blogging. I did my usual weekly memes but even then not very consistently. The worst is that I drastically cut down on the blog hopping because I’ve just been so tired. And I know it’s okay because we’re allowed our off moments/days/weeks, but my blog has suffered because of it and just thinking about it sets off a ‘tired cycle’ in my head and I don’t want to—LOL. Still, I’m sorry for the lack of engagement but I really hope to do better next month!

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Breathing Underwater by Sarah Allen

April 1, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

I’m so excited to be back with a blog tour with Xpresso Tours for Breathing Underwater by Sarah Allen. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Also, don’t forget to enter the GIVEWAY (US/CAN) at the end of my post!

Goodreads: Breathing Underwater
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publish Date: 31 March 2021
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

Olivia is on the road trip of her dreams, with her trusty camera and her big sister Ruth by her side. Three years ago, before their family moved from California to Tennessee, Olivia and Ruth buried a time capsule on their favorite beach. Now, they’re taking an RV back across the country to uncover the memories they left behind. But Ruth’s depression has been getting worse, so Olivia has created a plan to help her remember how life used to be: a makeshift scavenger hunt across the country, like pirates hunting for treasure, taking pictures and making memories along the way.

All she wants is to take the picture that makes her sister smile. But what if things can never go back to how they used to be? What if they never find the treasure they’re seeking? Through all the questions, loving her sister, not changing her, is all Olivia can do—and maybe it’s enough.

BUY NOW: Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

March 24, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

I’m so excited to be back with a blog tour with Xpresso Tours for one of my most anticipated 2021 releases: Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the other bloggers on tour!
Also, don’t forget to enter the GIVEWAY (US/CAN) at the end of my post!

Goodreads: Lost in the Never Woods
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: 23 March 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

_{(3.5 pandas)}

When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.

BUY NOW: Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Blog Tour Review: Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar

March 18, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

Special thanks to Algonquin Books for inviting me to be on the blog tour and for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: Silence Is a Sense
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Release Date: 16 March 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(5 pandas)}

A young woman sits in her apartment in an unnamed English city, absorbed in watching the small dramas of her assorted neighbors through their windows across the way. Traumatized into muteness after a long, devastating trip from war-torn Syria to the UK, she believes that she wants to sink deeper into isolation, moving between memories of her absent boyfriend and family and her homeland, dreams, and reality. At the same time, she begins writing for a magazine under the pseudonym “the Voiceless,” trying to explain the refugee experience without sensationalizing it—or revealing anything about herself.

Gradually, as the boundaries of her world expand—as she ventures to the neighborhood corner store, to a gathering at a nearby mosque, and to the bookstore and laundromat, and as an anti-Muslim hate crime shatters the members of a nearby mosque—she has to make a choice: Will she remain a voiceless observer, or become an active participant in her own life and in a community that, despite her best efforts, is quickly becoming her own?

TL;DR: March 15 marked ten years since the start of the Syrian war. Millions of people have been become refugees and internally displaced and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives. These are numbers that are so LARGE that it’s impossible to comprehend. What is it like for people to literally watch their nation crumble right before their eyes? To have to choose between leaving and living or staying and (very possibly) dying? As stated in an interview, through this book, AlAmmar set out to ‘dispel the abstractions’ of the literal crumbling of a nation and to ground the magnitude of such devastation and loss through a personal narrative and she does an INCREDIBLE job. Poetically written, thought-provoking and emotionally explosive, this isn’t an easy read at all but my gosh is it absolutely worth it! This will undoubtedly be one of the most impactful books I read in 2021 and I highly recommend it.

ARC Review: Namesake by Adrienne Young

March 15, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St Martin’s Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Check out my review for Fable (Fable #1)!

Goodreads: Namesake (Fable #2)
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: 16 March 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

Trader. Fighter. Survivor.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems. As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

TL;DR: Overall, a very satisfying and neatly wrapped up conclusion to this duology. If you love stories full of action, a strong female lead, a cast of morally grey characters that you also can’t help but root for (mostly), and a setting in which the sea comes to life off the pages, I would highly recommend checking out these books! Also, major cover appreciation to this set of covers because they’re STUNNING!

ARC Review: Happy Singles Day by Ann Marie Walker

March 10, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: Happy Singles Day
Publisher: SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca
Publication Date: 19 January 2021
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(2.5 pandas)}

As a Certified Professional Organizer, everything in Paige Parker’s world is as it should be. Perfect apartment, perfect office, perfect life. And now, the perfect vacation planned to honor Singles Day. After all, what’s better than celebrating her pride in being single? Because who needs a man anyway? They have zero taste in quality television, leave the toilet seat up, and sleep with your best friend. No thanks. Her life is fine just the way it is.

As the owner of a now-dormant bed & breakfast, Lucas Croft’s life is simple and quiet. It’s only him and his five-year-old daughter, which is just the way he likes it. Because who needs a woman anyway? They nag you to clean up your stuff, want the toilet seat put down, and expect the dishes to be done the same day the meal is cooked. No thanks. His life is fine just the way it is.

But when Paige books a room that Lucas’ well-intentioned sister listed without his knowledge, their two worlds collide. If they can survive the week together, they just might discover exactly what they’ve both been missing.

TL;DR: The cover is what first caught my eye and the synopsis sounded interesting so I was really looking forward to reading it! This was an easy-to-read romance that had some funny and silly moments but ultimately it’s not a romance that stands out for me and is somewhat forgettable. Also, if you’re not into reading steamy scenes, you’re in the clear for this one as it’s very light on the steaminess with fade-to-black scenes.

ARC Review: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

March 8, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: The Last Secret You’ll Ever Keep
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: 16 March 2021
Genre: Young Adult Thriller/Mystery

Panda Rating:

_{(3 pandas)}

Four days…
Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.
Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

TL;DR: An intense young adult thriller told through alternating timelines that often had cold chills running up my spine throughout the read. This book has a very unreliable narrator that honestly confused me a fair bit because I really had no idea what was happening at times–the confusion and daze that engulfed Terra was palpable! While the story really reeled me in from the beginning, it kind of lost me in the middle and I felt the resolution of the mystery was a little underwhelming. Overall, I liked how the author explored aspects of trauma and healing but sadly found the execution lacking.

ARC Review: Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

March 4, 2021June 23, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley and 47North for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spellmaker (Spellbreaker Duology #2)
Publisher: 47North
Publication Date: 09 March 2021
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Romance

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

England, 1895. An unsolved series of magician murders and opus thefts isn’t a puzzle to Elsie Camden. But to reveal a master spellcaster as the culprit means incriminating herself as an unregistered spellbreaker. When Elsie refuses to join forces with the charming assassin, her secret is exposed, she’s thrown in jail, and the murderer disappears. But Elsie’s hope hasn’t vanished.

Through a twist of luck, the elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey helps Elsie join the lawful, but with a caveat: they must marry to prove their cover story. Forced beneath a magical tutor while her bond with Bacchus grows, Elsie seeks to thwart the plans of England’s most devious criminal—if she can find them.

With hundreds of stolen spells at their disposal, the villain has a plan—and it involves seducing Elsie to the dark side. But even now that her secret is out, Elsie must be careful how she uses the new abilities she’s discovering, or she may play right into the criminal’s hands.

*Note: There might be minor spoilers for book one if you haven’t read it yet!*

TL;DR: Spellmaker was an action-packed sequel to Spellbreaker and a satisfying conclusion to this historical fantasy duology with a little bit of mystery and romance. I was a little worried when I got to the 80% mark and felt that a lot still had to be resolved, and although I thought the climax was a little too simplistic for the build-up, I was still enthralled by the story and characters, and ultimately thought the conclusion was done well.