Book Review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

July 9, 2026 Dini @ dinipandareads1 Comment

Wild Dark Shore
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pub Date: 4 March 2025
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery/Climate Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.75 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS

Blood, detailed description of wounds, adult/minor relationship, infidelity, deaths of loved ones (spouse, partner, sibling), suicide (on page, recounted), suicide ideation, grief, drowning (of a child, recounted), severe climate anxiety, wildfire (recounted), attempted murder, imprisonment, physical abuse, grooming

TL;DR: This book took me completely by surprise. Although it has a relatively ‘violent’ beginning, it is a slow burn. There are so many secrets and somewhat poor communication (or just choosing not to communicate really), but let me say the payoff was worth the journey. I found this to be such a beautiful character driven story that is about so many things—parenthood, motherhood, coming-of-age, love, climate change, a bone deep appreciation of mother nature, biodiversity, and the planet we inhabit. There are definitely parts where you have to suspend your disbelief, but I was fully into it and found that those parts didn’t bother me at all. If you’re willing to be patient and allow yourself to sink into the bones of this story, I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Book Review: A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman

November 10, 2025November 16, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

A Man Called Ove
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: 15 July 2024
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, bullying, deadly bus accident (recounted), pregnancy loss (recounted),

TL;DR: Oh my days, what can I say about this book that everyone else hasn’t already? I’m extremely late to the Ove party, but I’m more than thrilled to be joining the ranks of readers who fell in love with this book—as well as those who got seriously emotional while reading it. This is a story about loss, love, loneliness, friendship and family, and it’s undoubtedly a massive tearjerker! If you’re an emotional reader like me, I’d caution you to not read it in public because it’s liable to make you cry (big ugly tears) unless, of course, you don’t mind being a hot mess in front of everyone, lol. Ove is a wonderfully grumpy and messy character written with so much heart and complexity and while I was unsure at first, this curmudgeonly old man completely won me over in the end. All the stars!

Book Review: The Storied of Life A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

November 7, 2024November 2, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Publisher: Abacus
Pub Date: 1 April 2014
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

A.J. Fikry, the grumpy owner of Island Books, is going through a hard time: his bookshop is failing, he has lost his beloved wife, and a prized rare first edition has been stolen.

But one day A.J. finds two-year-old Maya sitting on the bookshop floor, with a note attached to her asking the owner to look after her. His life – and Maya’s – is changed forever.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Character experiences multiple absence seizures (on the page), cancer (brain) resulting in aphasia, car accident (on the page, minor details) resulting in the death of a side character, death of a spouse as a result of a car accident (recounted), suicide (off-page), alcoholism, child abandonment, infidelity, suicide ideation, miscarriages (recounted)

TL;DR: I was looking for a book that would make me cry and well, this definitely got the job done! 😅 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is every bit as wonderful as everyone told me it would be and I’m so happy that I’ve finally read it! I definitely understand why it’s so well-loved by many. There’s something about Zevin’s storytelling that’s so compelling, emotional and human—flaws and all. I would recommend this to those who enjoy a character-driven slice-of-life story that takes place over part of a lifetime, and for those who love a book about books!

ARC Mini Review: A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton

August 12, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Night at the Tropicana
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Pub Date: 20 September 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Cuba in the 1930s is the backdrop for a vibrant short story about the rhythms of the heart and the twists of fate that echo through time by the New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana.

Havana, 1939: It’s opening night at the famed Tropicana nightclub. Cuban American college student Natalie Trainer, on vacation from Miami, is watching from the sidelines—as usual. Then comes an invitation to dance from a handsome stranger named Antonio. Normally cautious and reserved, Natalie somehow finds herself saying yes. A tiny thrill of rebellion, of taking a chance, and Natalie’s in heaven. Will her first step into this unfamiliar realm set a new course for her life, or only tonight?

Book Review: The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

April 1, 2024March 31, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
Publisher: Random House UK
Pub Date: 1 June 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Life is short.

No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as she is about to learn, it’s not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor’s orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins here.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Cancer, child death (recounted), war, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, death of loved ones

TL;DR: For some reason, I feel like this is an underrated book… It’s one of those reads that’ll pull on your heartstrings. It’s simple but beautifully written and packs quite an emotional punch. It’ll make you appreciate life and wonder at death, it’ll make you cry but it’ll also make you laugh and feel joy. It’s heartbreaking at the end—after all, it is set in a hospital and tells the story of two terminally ill people who form an unlikely friendship that spans their combined lifetime of 100 years. While the ending may be predictable and the story didn’t wow me with wild plot twists and turns, it did leave me with a sense of peace and gratitude.

Book Review: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

January 9, 2023September 1, 2023 Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

Convenience Store Woman
Publisher: Granta Books
Pub Date (Original): 27 July 2016
Genre: Translated Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

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📖 SYNOPSIS

Meet Keiko.

Keiko is 36 years old. She’s never had a boyfriend, and she’s been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years.

Keiko’s family wishes she’d get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won’t get married.

But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she’s not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store…

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Ableism, misogyny

TL;DR: I think I’m coming in with a slightly unpopular opinion here but I know I’m one of very few who didn’t fall in love with this book. Convenience Store Woman ended up being just okay for me and I was slightly disappointed because I think I was expecting more. Keiko is an interesting character who does stand out after having read this book and while I agreed with the social commentary, I don’t think this will stick with me in the long run. Still, this was a well-written and engaging novella and I’m not mad that I gave it a try—I’m only sad that I didn’t love it as much as everyone else seemed to!

Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

December 10, 2022January 5, 2023 Dini @ dinipandareads24 Comments

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Pub Date: 5 July 2022
Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

In this exhilarating novel two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Childhood cancer, suicide (graphic, on-page), student-teacher relationship, abuse, sexism, racism, parental death, car accident, workplace shooting

ARC Review: Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine (Illustration)

February 28, 2022March 1, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Special thanks to Oni Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Chef’s Kiss
Publisher: Oni Press
Published: 12 April 2022
Genre: Graphic Novel

Panda Rating:

_{(5 pandas)}

Watch things start to really heat up in the kitchen in this sweet, queer, new adult graphic novel!

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right?

When Ben begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the other super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, and when he starts ditching his old college friends and his old writing job plans, his career path starts to become much less clear.

TL;DR: This was an absolute treat to read and I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a wonderfully illustrated graphic novel about new beginnings and finding your way in the world, with wonderful characters and great friendships that are sure to make you smile!

Book Review: How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

February 5, 2022August 13, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Goodreads: How to Walk Away
Publisher: Pan
Published: 09 August 2018
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance

Panda Rating:

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Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

ARC Review: A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian

December 5, 2021December 1, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Special thanks to Algonquin Books for the gifted ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: A People’s History of Heaven
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 19 March 2019
Genre: Literary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

Heaven is a thirty-year-old slum hidden between brand-new, high-rise apartment buildings and technology incubators in contemporary Bangalore. In this tight-knit community, five girls on the cusp of womanhood-a politically driven graffiti artist; a transgender Christian convert; a blind girl who loves to dance; and the queer daughter of a hijabi union leader-forge an unbreakable bond.

When the local government threatens to demolish their tin shacks in order to build a shopping mall, the girls and their mothers refuse to be erased. Together they wage war on the bulldozers sent to bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that wishes that families like them would remain hidden forever.

Elegant, poetic, and vibrant, A People’s History of Heaven takes a clear-eyed look at adversity and geography and dazzles in its depiction of love and female friendship.

TL;DR: A People’s History of Heaven is a beautifully crafted literary debut full of so much heart! With her lyrical prose and vivid descriptions of everyday life, it was as if Mathangi Subramanian reached through the pages of this novel and pulled me right into Heaven itself. This is a story about the strong and proud women that live in Heaven—the grandmothers, the mothers, and the daughters, who do whatever it takes to survive the hardships of not only living in a slum but being part of an oppressive patriarchal society that was not designed for women and girls to succeed.