Blog Tour Review: Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley

April 18, 2022April 17, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

Hello, friends! It’s my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley and I’m excited to share my review and favourite quotes with you today!

Thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: Sofi and the Bone Song
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: 19 April 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

In this gorgeous, queer standalone fantasy, a young musician sets out to expose her rival for illegal use of magic only to discover the deception goes deeper than she could have imagined—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens!

Music runs in Sofi’s blood.
Her father is a Musik, one of only five musicians in the country licensed to compose and perform original songs. In the kingdom of Aell, where winter is endless and magic is accessible to all, there are strict anti-magic laws ensuring music remains the last untouched art.

Sofi has spent her entire life training to inherit her father’s title. But on the day of the auditions, she is presented with unexpected competition in the form of Lara, a girl who has never before played the lute. Yet somehow, to Sofi’s horror, Lara puts on a performance that thoroughly enchants the judges.
Almost like magic.

The same day Lara wins the title of Musik, Sofi’s father dies, and a grieving Sofi sets out to prove Lara is using illegal magic in her performances. But the more time she spends with Lara, the more Sofi begins to doubt everything she knows about her family, her music, and the girl she thought was her enemy.

As Sofi works to reclaim her rightful place as a Musik, she is forced to face the dark secrets of her past and the magic she was trained to avoid—all while trying not to fall for the girl who stole her future.

GRAB A COPY:

AMAZON

B&N

book depository

indigo

indiebound

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

April 17, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads15 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’ll be spending Sunday night in bed with We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal. This is the final book in the Sands of Arawiya duology and I’m buddy reading it with Leslie and Julie! 💜 It’s still early days in the book cos I keep getting distracted by other things (🤣) but I can already tell it’s gonna hit me in my feels with all the angst!

What are you currently reading?

Book Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

April 16, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Goodreads: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Published: 23 July 2019
Genre: Adult Historical Fantasy

Panda Rating:

^{(4.5 pandas)}

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag: April 2022

April 15, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

It’s hard to believe that we’re already over a quarter of the way through 2022—the year feels like it has just begun and I can’t even process how quickly time goes! 😂 But I digress… I’ve seen a couple of bloggers do this tag and I’m a little late as it’s already mid-April (somehow?!) but it looked like fun so I thought I’d do it anyway!

This original tag was created by Roisin @ Roisin’s Reading over on BookTube. Check out her OG video below!

On that note, let’s get this tag started:

How many books have you read so far?

According to Goodreads, I’ve read 84/150 books this year putting me 42 books ahead of schedule! 🥳 I’ve never had such a fab start to the reading year before and I’m hoping I can keep up this momentum for the rest of 2022!

Have you already found a book you think might be a 2022 favourite?
If not, what was your favourite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?

I have a surprising number of 5-star reads already this year but I can definitely already pick out two that will for sure be in my top five(!): Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree!

i literally had no words to review this

my review

Any 1-star books / least favourite book of the year?

I have one 1-star book this year: Now and Then by Brenda Rothert. I apparently purchased this NA Romance back in 2016 although I have no recollection of doing so and I found it on my Kindle when I was cataloguing my ebooks at the start of this year. I read it for a reading challenge prompt and it’s safe to say that it really didn’t work for me!

Most read genre so far?

It’ll surprise absolutely no one that my most read genre so far is contemporary romance. This has been the case since mid-2021 and these romances have really kept my reading momentum going. Give me all the romances, please! 😍

A book that surprised you?

This series was making rounds on romance booktwt and after seeing these covers I had zero expectations going into it. So I was more than a little surprised by how much I loved The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby! Like holy granola, these covers are literally the worst (sorry not sorry) BUT the story? So forking good!

A book that’s come out in 2022 already that you want to read but haven’t yet?

Oh, there are so many to choose from! Here are five (mostly romance) titles I’m really keen to read: Electric Idol by Katee Robert, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake, I’m So Not Over You by Kosoko Jackson, Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood and Gallant by V.E. Schwab!

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at

One of my goals this year is to cut down on my backlist and according to my tracker, almost 60% of the books I’ve read this year are from my backlist so… WOO! 🥳 I’m really happy that I’m reading more of the books that I’ve already owned pre-2021/22. Let’s hope I can keep that up! 🤣

One goal you made that you need to focus on

Every year I make the goal to read more non-fiction… This year my goal is to read at least four non-fiction books and so far I’ve read none. Ha! I know it’s still early days but I hope I can at least get one read before mid-year? 🙃

New to you Bloggers*/Booktubers/Bookstagrammers/Booktokers for 2022 you recommend?

I don’t think I’ve discovered new booktubers/bookstagrammers/booktokers in 2022 but I have discovered new bloggers, so I added us to this prompt! 😉 There are honestly too many to name them all but here are a few new-to-me bloggers whose posts I’ve really enjoyed reading this year:

And that’s a wrap on my first quarter of reading in 2022! How has your year of reading been? Any new favourites? New bloggers to follow? I’d love your recs!

Blog signature that reads: Let's Chat! xoxo, Dini

Blog Tour Review: An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

April 14, 2022April 20, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Hello, friends! It’s my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan and I’m excited to share my review and journal spread with you today!

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: An Arrow to the Moon
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 12 April 2022
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Magical Realism

Panda Rating:

^{_{(3.5 pandas)}}

Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology in this magical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Astonishing Color of After

Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.

Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.

As Hunter and Luna navigate their families’ enmity and secrets, everything around them begins to fall apart. All they can depend on is their love…but time is running out, and fate will have its way.

GET YOUR COPY:

AMAZON

B&N

book depository

indigo

indiebound

#WWWWednesday: 13 April 2022

April 13, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads19 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?

Wow, since last week I’ve managed to read one book. I know I’ve spent more time with friends and gaming since I came to Bali, but I also didn’t realise I was barely reading! 🙈 Maybe I also didn’t realise it because I was reading something I was just doing it uncharacteristically (for me) slowly!

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ★★★★½

I buddy read GoJaS with Leslie and I’m glad that I can finally knock it off my TBR. It was a bit of a rocky start (for both of us) but we ended up really enjoying it! The world-building was lush, the mythology was fantastic, the characters were compelling, and THE ROMANCE. OML talk about angsty but absolutely EPIC—it truly had me in a chokehold! It was swoontastic, heartbreaking and so forking good. 😮‍💨 I’ll be posting a gushing semi-coherent review soonish, lol!

#TopTenTuesday: New-to-Me Authors On My TBR

April 12, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads53 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week is actually a freebie and so I decided to do a topic that I don’t think I’ve done before: Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To (Submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse)!

There are so many books and not enough time for me to read them all so I have *plenty* of authors to choose from for this week’s topic! I would stick to one genre but instead, I’ve decided to include authors from all the genres as there are truly so many that I haven’t read but can’t wait to read from maybe even this year! There’s absolutely no order to this list but these are the first ten that came to mind. 🤣

Romance Mini-Reviews: Kiss and Don’t Tell, The Last Eligible Billionaire & A Deal with the Devil

April 11, 2022January 2, 2023 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

I’ve got quite a backlog of reviews that I want to share on my blog but with the number I’ve got going, it’ll take me forever to get many of them up so today I’m sharing mini-reviews for three romances that I’ve read in the last month! If you’re interested in reading any of these, all of them are available on Kindle Unlimited (at least for Amazon UK) if you have a subscription. 😊

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

April 10, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

I’ll be spending Sunday night in bed with Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I’ve had this book on my TBR for ages and I’m finally picking it up thanks to Leslie as we’re currently buddy reading it! It’s a bit of a slow start but I already love the mythology aspect of it so much!

What are you currently reading?

Blog Tour Spotlight: The Tiltersmith by Amy Herrick

April 9, 2022April 9, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

I’m excited to be shining a spotlight on The Tiltersmith by Amy Herrick today! This middle-grade story combines science and folklore to spin a page-turning, action-packed story of friendship, love, teamwork, and environmental stewardship. It sounds like a pretty unique read and certainly like nothing that I’ve read before especially for this age range, and I’m excited to read it at some point! Plus, how great is this cover?!

Myths and monsters collide with climate chaos in a thrilling fantasy adventure

“Vacillating between scientific reasoning and lore from worldwide cultures, the descriptions of beautiful legends of seasons and the sobering study of climate change are so rich.”—Kirkus Reviews

Special thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for having me on tour and for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: The Tiltersmith
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: 06 April 2022
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Spring has arrived in Brooklyn, New York, but winter refuses to let go. Sleet, snow, and even a tornado batter the city. Mr. Ross, the science teacher, believes climate change is the cause, but classmates Edward, Feenix, Danton, and Brigit suspect older, magical forces are at work. When a peculiar character calling himself Superintendent Tiltersmith appears with a keen interest in the foursome, their suspicions are confirmed, and they’re swept up in a battle of wits and courage.

The friends must protect a set of mysterious tools belonging to the Lady of Spring. If they can free her from her underground prison, winter will end. But if the Tiltersmith steals the tools, he will keep the Lady in his power and upset the balance of nature forever.

Perfect for readers of Madeleine L’Engle and Susan Cooper, The Tiltersmith returns to the world of Amy Herrick’s acclaimed Time Fetch in a timely, exciting stand-alone adventure.

buy a copy