Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

November 14, 2021November 14, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads14 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 my Sunday night in bed with Hometown Troublemaker! This is the second book in Brighton Walsh’s Havenbrook series and it’s the third book I’ll be reading by this author in the span of two days so I guess you can say I’m a fan? 😊 These small-town romances are sweet, steamy and so much fun!

Aurora “Rory” Haven’s life is in shambles. Her ex-husband’s living with the woman he cheated with, her oldest daughter blames her for the divorce, and she’s broke. To make ends meet, she partners with the too-young, way too hot local contractor she has absolutely no business fantasizing about.

Nash King is working overtime so he can take over the family business. He doesn’t need the distraction of his best friend’s sister, but the hot-as-hell, pearl-clutching divorcée barrels her way into his everyday life. He’s managed to ignore his attraction to her for a decade. What’s another couple months?

The summer heat and forced proximity has tempers flaring…and their chemistry sizzling. But Havenbrook’s gossip mill is churning full-force, and the last thing Rory needs is everyone speculating over her crush on a man eight years her junior. Except crushing doesn’t have anything on what’s really going on…

What would happen if the townspeople found out paint wasn’t the only thing being stripped?

What are you currently reading?

#WWWWednesday: 10 November 2021

November 10, 2021December 5, 2021 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?

Post divider: What did you just finish reading?

Since last week I’ve managed to read a little and finished 3 books. It’s been difficult to focus on reads lately so I’ve been sticking with some romances and well, most of them didn’t ‘wow’ me but at least I’m reading something? That said, I haven’t written reviews for any of these books yet but I think I’ll write mini-reviews for them (soon)!

A Lesson in Thorns (Thornchapel #1) by Sierra Simone ★★☆☆☆
There was so much hype around this book and so I was curious enough to pick it up when it was on KU. Turns out it just wasn’t my cuppa. It did have a few interesting discussions on sex positivity, virginity as a social construct and the queer rep was great! Sadly, the kink wasn’t my thing but I was also just really bored… I didn’t connect with the characters at all, so I didn’t care about the mysterious manor and chapel, or the ritual they had to do! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Games We Play (One Night #1) by Dana Isaly ★★★★☆
This was another popular title I’ve seen a lot over the last few weeks and I’m glad I picked it up! Some of the kink was not for me but overall, it was undoubtedly steamy AF. 🥵 It’s a novella so obviously, I didn’t expect much in the way of character or plot dev but I really liked Quin and Jack and thought their chemistry was H-O-T. I also thought it was interesting that it was all through Jack’s POV! I can’t wait to continue the series and learn more about these men!

Follow by Tessa Bailey ★★★½
So, I think it was Nick who said “this book is horny” and well, yeah. That’s basically it 😂 Will Caruso is probably the filthiest hero I’ve ever had the pleasure to read and I mean, go off, sir! Tessa Bailey once again absolutely slays in delivering these filthy mouthed alpha heroes who want nothing more than to spoil their women in every. single. way. This is a book where sex is a big part of the plot so you definitely read it for the smut, though the characters weren’t awful and there was a really adorable doggo too! 😉

#WWWWednesday: 03 November 2021

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads13 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 managed to read five books. I don’t know why it feels like I haven’t been reading anything but I guess compared to how much time I’m spending on gaming, it really feels like nothing! 😂

Pighearted by Alex Perry ★★★½
This was a surprisingly humorous and adventurous tale about a young boy with a heart condition and his brother, the pig, who has the heart that’s built to save him. I laughed quite a lot reading this and ultimately, it’s a feel-good story about family and how far you’d go to save someone you love! Check out my review.

Intolerable (The Phoenix Club #3) by Darcy Burke ★★★½
Cass and Ruark were such a wonderful couple! There were defo some moments where I wanted to give Ruark a good ol’ shake but I shouldn’t have worried cos Cass was such a wonderful heroine! She’s lonely, kind-hearted and although she’s hopelessly in love with Ruark, she definitely knows what she’s worth and can fight her own battles. RTC!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

I’ve hit a bit of a reading bump this week and that’s mostly cos my focus has been on gaming, but I’ve also had quite a bit of trouble focusing lately! I’ve got two blog tours coming up though so I’m spending my Sunday night in bed with Creation by Bjørn Larssen. This is a novella that puts a humorous spin on Norse mythology (y’know, the beginning of it all) and I’m hoping it’ll be a fun and fast read!

In the beginning there was confusion.

Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly? Your brothers keep creating mosquitoes and celery and other, more threatening weapons. What can your ultimate answer be – the one that will make you THE All-Father and them, at best, the All-Those-Uncles-We-All-Have-But-Don’t-Talk-About?

“FML! The answer’s why I drink!” – Odin

Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, and Mrs Brown’s Boys.

What are you currently reading?

#WWWWednesday: 27 October 2021

October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads11 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 managed to finish 3 books since last week. NGL, my reading has pretty much been non-existent since I started a new game… 🙈

To Hate Adam Connor (Love & Hate #2) by Ella Maise ★★★½
I have mixed feelings about this book because even though I enjoyed it more than the first, I still had issues with the writing. It started off well but then towards the middle to the end the writing (especially the dialogue) became stilted and it kept taking me out of the story. That said, I absolutely adore Lucy and still loved her ride-or-die friendship with Olive, and Adam Connor… Well, he’s definitely quality DILF material! 😂 Their romance was steamy AF. RTC

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of the Secret Graden by Ivy Noelle Weir ★★★★☆
This story picks up right from where Kept from Cages leaves off and it was an absolutely thrilling and action-packed conclusion to the Ikiri duology. We reunite with the fantastic crew and experience more terrifying supernatural events, monsters and even zombies as we travel across continents in a race against time to stop Ikiri’s dark powers from spreading further. Check out my blog tour review!

Puck Shy (Carolina Comets #1) by Teagan Hunter ★★★½
Puck Shy is an entertaining rom-com and a promising start to a new sports romance series by this author! Teagan Hunter never fails to make me laugh and I found myself loving these quirky and awkward characters, and I loved their cheesy but ultimately sweet romance. Harper and Collin were so good together and I can’t wait to read more from this series! Check out my ARC review!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

October 24, 2021October 24, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Ah, another Sunday come and gone and I don’t want to go back to work tomorrow! I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday in bed with my ARC of Puck Shy by Teagan Hunter. You might’ve seen me reading a few of Hunter’s romcoms and they’re always a fun & steamy read! Hunter is now delving into the world of sports romance focusing on the NHL and this is the first in her new Carolina Comets series! I’m having fun with it so far 😊

I’m having the definition of a bad year.
Game Six loss costing my team the Cup? Check.
Getting arrested and ruining my image? Check.
Almost getting run over after my car breaks down? Oh, look—a hat trick.

My contract is up with the Carolina Comets this year, and I need to get it together if I want to stay with the team.

I need relaxation, not a relationship.
But when I’m scrolling on a dating app and stumble across the pretty girl who almost ran me over, I know I can’t let her walk away this time.
Harper is funny, smart, and doesn’t care about hockey.
I’m not supposed to be focusing on anything other than my career, yet I can’t get Harper off my mind.
I know I shouldn’t fall for her…but I think I already have.

PUCK SHY is a standalone hockey romantic comedy. It’s good, low angst fun with some hot hockey players.

What are you currently reading?

#WWWWednesday: 20 October 2021

October 21, 2021October 26, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads12 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’m still in a funky reading mood so I’m kind of surprised that I managed to finish seven books, though a few of them were novellas or quick romances:

Man in Charge Duet by Laurelin Paige ★★½
I thought this duet started out promising. While not really standing out, it wasn’t terribly written and there was some intense sexual tension between the H/h, although there wasn’t much depth to their character. But by the time we hit drama-land and got to book two, I only gave it 2-stars for the smut cos the rest was just a hot hot mess! 🙈

Given to Darkness (Ikiri Book 2) by Phil Williams ★★★★☆
This story picks up right from where Kept from Cages leaves off and it was an absolutely thrilling and action-packed conclusion to the Ikiri duology. We reunite with the fantastic crew and experience more terrifying supernatural events, monsters and even zombies as we travel across continents in a race against time to stop Ikiri’s dark powers from spreading further. Check out my review!

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp

October 17, 2021October 17, 2021 Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Since I finished a dark fantasy last night I’ve found myself in a bit of a restless reading mood and found it difficult to keep focused on any of the few reads I currently have going. The most I could focus on was Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and I’m still really enjoying it. The world building is exceptional and I’m loving so many of these characters! Does this mean I need to prepare for their eventual demise? 😭

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, a lesser god, and an immortal trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Theirs is a world in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city. A world transformed by BioChromatic magic, a power based on an essence known as breath. Using magic is arduous: breath can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

But the rewards are great: by using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be performed.

What are you currently reading?

#FirstLinesFriday: 15 October 2021

October 15, 2021October 23, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are the rules:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

First lines:

“There were great advantages to being unimportant.
True, by many people’s standards, Siri wasn’t “unimportant.” She was, after all, the daughter of a king. Fortunately, her father had four living children, and Siri—at seventeen years of age—was the youngest.”

Do you recognise the book these first lines come from?

#WWWWednesday: 13 October 2021

October 13, 2021October 13, 2021 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?

I’ve been in a bit of a funky reading mood since last week and found it difficult to really focus on a book for long. I went back and forth a lot until I managed to finish reading these four books:

Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park ★★★★☆
This was a super fast read and a very entertaining and relatable YA contemporary/coming-of-age story. Sunny is a teenager obsessed with social media due to being a mid-level influencer. I think many readers will be able to relate to her rocky relationship with social media! My first book by Park but certainly not my last. 📱 RTC

Hooked (Never After #1) by Emily McIntire ★★★☆☆
If you’re into dark romances with villainous heroes and innocent heroines with darker desires, this might be up your alley! It does get bloody and slightly gory but there are some great twists and turns to the story (although not entirely unpredictable). It’s not a Peter Pan retelling but I loved how elements of the original story were incorporated into this. Also, pretty steamy! 🔥 RTC