Pondathan Update ft. A Blossoming Garden & Gen’s Side Quest

February 3, 2022February 2, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Hello, friends! Today I’m excited to share a short update on my Pondathon reading progress, Pompom’s updated character card and most importantly… Pompom’s blossoming garden! 😍

Want to know more about the Pondathon? Check out my announcement post!

For the first round of the Pondathon, I managed to complete all the objectives for Xiaolong’s Side Quest, including the bonus and secret achievement. This means that Pompom gets their first badge for their character card plus some exciting decorations for the garden. Yay! 😃

I’ve also started to fill up the garden. I surprisingly only got two flowers last month but I got a lot of planter boxes and garden beds, so at least I’ll be ready to add flowers to my garden as the year progresses 😄 I’m pretty happy with how it’s looking and y’know, I think Pompom is too!

Now that it’s February, there’s an exciting new side quest to tackle: Planting Saplings with Gen! The quest expires on 19 February 2022, 8:00PM NZT. _^[?]

*Click on the banner for more information about Gen’s side quest!*

The objective of the quest is to read a book by a Black author for Black History Month. If you read at least three books by Black authors, you’ll receive the Sleepy Sapling badge. You complete the Secret Achievement if you read a book by a Black author with one of the following themes: friendship, family, community, nature.

As I’m not one for fixed TBRs, here’s a big possibility pile from my existing shelves that I’m hoping to finally tackle this year:

Are you reading for the Pondathon? Did you complete Xialong’s side quest and will you help Gen with his side quest? If you are, what books are you planning to read for it?

#WWWWednesday: 02 February 2022

February 2, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads20 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 finished 4 books. Well, it was inevitable at the rate that I was reading last month that I’d slow down at some point and I’ve finally hit that point 😂

Blackout by Various Authors ★★★★★
I literally have nothing bad to say about this anthology. I loved the way the stories were interconnected and I enjoyed every minute of reading them. I only wish that they could’ve been longer because I didn’t want to move on at the end of each one! Highly recommended 😍

Monthly Wrap Up: January 2022

January 31, 2022December 6, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

A month of Epic reading…

Well, now that the first month of 2022 is over, I wonder just how quickly the rest of the year will pass by? If it’s anything like 2021, it’ll be a blink! 😂 This was a pretty quiet month on the life front.

I very quickly got a consultancy gig from Jan-May. It’s twice a week and not a lot but at least I have a little something!
We had one major trip this month and that was coming back to Jakarta from Bali. I love our Bali house (I miss our pool!) but ah, it feels so good to be back with my fur babies and my books! 😍
I’m still obsessed with T.Swift and if I continue to obsessively listen to her music throughout the year, I’m pretty sure she’ll take top spot on my Spotify wrap up (again).

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 30, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 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’ve found myself in a bit of a weird reading mood so I’m not sure what I’ll be reading this Sunday. I’ve got three books that I feel like I want to start reading but I’m not sure yet what will stick! The three books are a mix of MG Fantasy and Adult Contemporary: The Counterclockwise Heart, The Witch, The Sword and the Cursed Knights, and Convenience Store Woman.

What are you currently reading?

Blog Tour Review: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies

January 29, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Hello, hello friends! I’m so excited to be back with another blog tour hosted by @The Write Reads for The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies. Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers participating in this tour: here or click on the banner below! 😍

Special thanks to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cover artist: **James T. Egan** of Bookfly Design

Goodreads: The Thirteenth Hour (Cruel Gods #1)
Publish Date: 13 October 2021
Genre: Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

When the saints fail, the sinners step up.

Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.

Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.

To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.

For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.

GET YOUR COPY

CONTENT WARNINGS

Book Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

January 27, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

Goodreads: Clap When You Land
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Published: 05 May 2020
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance-and Papi’s secrets-the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Yahaira and Camino are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.

In a dual narrative novel in verse that brims with both grief and love, award-winning and bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

#WWWWednesday: 26 January 2022

January 26, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads34 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?

I’ve been going through books like a speed demon lately. Since last week I’ve read… a lot of books! More than I’ve ever read in a week but it does include graphic novels and mostly novellas! I also buddy read 3 books with Leslie @ Books Are the New Black, which have really moviated me to keep up the reading momentum this month! 😃

Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2) & Fated Blades (Kinsmen #3) by Ilona Andrews ★★★★☆
The Kinsmen world is amazing and I loved these books! So much action, so many amazing abilities, such wow world building and amazing romances! I want more 😍 I can definitely see IA becoming a fast fave for SF romance!

Blog Tour Spotlight: Frozen Hearts and Death Magic by Day Leitao

January 24, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for Frozen Hearts and Death Magic by Day Leitao.
Special thanks to Sparkly Wave and the author for providing an ARC 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: Frozen Hearts and Death Magic (Of Fire & Fae #1)
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Publication Date: 22 January 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

It all started with a kiss. A forbidden fae kiss.

Naia was raised in the shadow of her twin brother, the crown prince, who has iron magic much more powerful than hers. But Naia has wishes of her own.

They awaken when she finds a white fae almost dying in the woods. She only heard of them in stories; the dreaded race that razed cities to the ground, killed her grandparents, almost rid Aluria of humans—until they disappeared. Now, twenty years later, are they back? Is there another war coming? But the fae is evasive and secretive. He’s also alluring and fascinating, more beautiful than anyone she’s ever seen. And then it happens: she kisses him—and nothing will be the same again.

In another kingdom, Leah, a necromancer princess, has to find a husband in less than four days, during the Gathering, when royals from all over Aluria meet. Her family makes it very clear that she can pick any prince she wants—except one: Naia’s brother. And it turns out that he’s the one; the one who makes her heart beat faster.Meanwhile, war looms over the land. One of the kingdoms is amassing immense power. The White Fae might be returning. Amidst it all, Naia and her brother struggle with newfound magical powers, family secrets, and most of all, their own treacherous hearts.

GET YOUR COPY:

AMAZON

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

January 23, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday in bed with Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. I’m buddy reading this with Leslie but I’ve fallen a bit behind since we started yesterday because I picked up another book that sucked me in so quickly that I ended up bingeing all five books overnight? Oops! Acevedo’s book is in verse though so I have a feeling I’ll speed right through it!

What are you currently reading?

ARC Review: School of Love 1. Secrets of the Heart by BeKa, Maya

January 22, 2022January 17, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Special thanks to Europe Comics for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: School of Love 1. Secrets of the Heart
Publisher: Europe Comics
Published: 17 November 2021
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle-Grade Contemporary

Panda Rating:

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Linon and Garance are best friends with very different ideas about love. To get to the bottom of what all this romance stuff is really about, they decide to conduct an investigation into some of the older students at their middle school. Why are certain kids more popular than others? Why do some already have a “bad reputation” by the 8th grade? Why is everyone so obsessed with appearances? Along the way, the pair discover that, for best friends who are supposed to share everything, they’ve both been keeping some pretty big secrets of their own.

TL;DR: A cute coming-of-age graphic novel about two friends who just want to know a bit more about love. The friendship between Linon and Garance was so sweet and I loved their little investigative adventures to understand their classmates’ experiences with love and to understand what exactly love means to others. With a fun and contemporary art style and a sweet storyline, I would recommend this to readers of all ages but I know middle-grade me would’ve absolutely loved this!