Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [46]

March 8, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads25 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 been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

I spent a part of my Sunday morning finishing my tour read for The Deep. It wasn’t as spooky as I expected, which is always a pleasant surprise for an Ultimate Chicken™️ such as myself because that means I can read it without fear of my feet being grabbed by things once I step outside the safety zone that is my bed 🤣

Someone, or something, is haunting the Titanic.

This is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the ship from the moment they set sail: mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths. Now suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone during the four days of the liner’s illustrious maiden voyage, a number of the passengers – including millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, the maid Annie Hebbley and Mark Fletcher – are convinced that something sinister is going on . . . And then, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later and the world is at war. And a survivor of that fateful night, Annie, is working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. Plagued by the demons of her doomed first and near fatal journey across the Atlantic, Annie comes across an unconscious soldier she recognises while doing her rounds. It is the young man Mark. And she is convinced that he did not – could not – have survived the sinking of the Titanic . . .

What are you currently reading?

February Monthly Wrap Up!

March 5, 2020March 4, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

February was a month 🤯 My health issues continued to plague me but after seemingly endless rounds of medication, I’m starting to finally feel semi-human again. I’ve just felt constantly drained of energy the whole time but I had to push through especially since I also moved houses and did the majority of the cleaning and packing myself. I really need to start taking on Marie Kondo habits into my life and minimise (next time)! But I digress… Despite all the craziness this month I managed to read 22 books, mostly thanks to the crazy romance reading challenge I set for myself during Valentine’s week.

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [45]

March 1, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

I started The Mountains Sing on a whim last night as I felt that I needed to take a short break from my YA/fantasy reads before I continue with them in the coming weeks! I spent a good part of Sunday in bed reading the book. I’m learning so much about Vietnam from a perspective that I’ve not read from before. It’s funny because I actually know the author, she and her husband are good friends with my parents, so I think this makes it an even more personal read. It’s very hard (and is making me quite emotional) to read about the cruelties and injustices done but I think it’s certainly important to know.

With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart.

Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.

The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

What are you currently reading?

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [44]

February 23, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 Comments

I’ve spent this Sunday wishing I were in bed reading Wicked As You Wish! I’m at about 35% and things have escalated very quickly. I had a prediction about one of the characters and the reveal just happened in the part I’m at. Although I “called it” I still found myself a little shocked but I also felt sorry for our MC. It already wasn’t the best way to learn about it and it’s a pretty big your-life-will-never-be-the-same kind of revelation! Looking forward to what happens next…

Tala Warnock has little use for magic – as a descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine, she negates spells, often by accident. But her family’s old ties to the country of Avalon (frozen, bespelled, and unreachable for almost 12 years) soon finds them guarding its last prince from those who would use his kingdom’s magic for insidious ends. And with the rise of dangerous spelltech in the Royal States of America; the appearance of the firebird, Avalon’s deadliest weapon, at her doorstep; and the re-emergence of the Snow Queen, powerful but long thought dead, who wants nothing more than to take the firebird’s magic for her own – Tala’s life is about to get even more complicated….

What are you currently reading?

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [43]

February 16, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

I’m spending the rest of this Sunday in bed with Love Lettering. I’ve been excited to read this one ever since I first heard about it. The synopsis makes it sound like a heart-melting, warm and feel-good romance, and I can’t wait to dive into it. Plus, there’s something about this cover that’s just so cute. I love it!

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing beautiful custom journals for New York City’s elite. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Like the time she sat across from Reid Sutherland and his gorgeous fiancée, and knew their upcoming marriage was doomed to fail. Weaving a secret word into their wedding program was a little unprofessional, but she was sure no one else would spot it. She hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid . . .

A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out—before he leaves New York for good—how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline, a fractured friendship, and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other about their lives, work, and regrets, both try to ignore the fact that their unlikely connection is growing deeper. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late

What are you currently reading?

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [42]

February 9, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

I’ve spent the majority of today reading the Texting Series by Teagan Hunter and as of now I’m on the fourth book Text Me Baby One More Time. I’ve got mixed feelings because of the male MC. He was introduced in book one and what he did was beyond gross so I don’t know how I feel reading his HEA? I’m curious about the female MC though so let’s see if I make it through this one… This series has been so much fun to read though and it’s given me all the light-hearted geek humour and laughs that I needed this weekend!

I love you, he said.
Forever, he said.
Turns out, he lied.

When he leaves me high and dry after a cross-country move, I push him out of my life as much as I can, which is hard to do when the guy who broke your heart also happens to be the most famous dude in town.

After a disastrous year, he’s aiming to rehab his reputation, and I just so happen to be aiming for a promotion at the paper. So, we strike a deal, and it’s a win-win all around. Besides, what’s the harm in a few dates to charity galas anyway?

He’s arrogant, a total jerk. There’s no way I’ll fall for him…again.
I used to love him. Now I hate him…I think.

What are you currently reading?

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [41]

February 2, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

I’ve spent this Sunday in bed with The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz. I’ve been reading it on and off throughout the whole day as my health is still not so great. I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about it initially but I think I’m enjoying it now. I’m participating in my first blog tour hosted by FFBC for this book on 09 February and I’m quite excited to have a spot on it, so be on the look out for my review + favourite quotes!

Caledon Holt is the Kingdom of Renovia’s deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in brawn or brains, which is why he’s the Guild’s most dangerous member and the Queen’s one and only assassin. He’s also bound to the Queen by an impossible vow–to find the missing Deian Scrolls, the fount of all magical history and knowledge, stolen years ago by a nefarious sect called the Aphrasians.

Shadow has been training all her life to follow in the footsteps of her mother and aunts–to become skilled enough to join the ranks of the Guild. Though magic has been forbidden since the Aphrasian uprising, Shadow has been learning to control her powers in secret, hoping that one day she’ll become an assassin as feared and revered as Caledon Holt.

When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they’re forced to team up as assassin and apprentice to hunt down a new sinister threat to Renovia. But as Cal and Shadow grow closer, they’ll uncover a shocking web of lies and secrets that may destroy everything they hold dear. With war on the horizon and true love at risk, they’ll stop at nothing to protect each other and their kingdom in this stunning first novel in the Queen’s Secret series.

What are you currently reading?

January Monthly Wrap Up!

February 1, 2020February 2, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a monthly wrap up (I didn’t do one for December) but here we are once again! The first month of a new year has come and gone already. If you’ve been following my blog (or Twitter!) this month you’ll know that my year hasn’t started off on a very high note. I’ve been facing a lot of health issues and it has impacted not only my work life but my every day activities such as reading/blogging. I didn’t think I was going to read more than 10 books this month but I finished off on an even 12 books and I’m quite happy with that progress 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [40]

January 26, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

I’ve spent this Sunday in bed with the last few chapters of Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim! I’ve been wanting to read this one since it came out last year but of course I kept putting it off only to add more books to my growing physical collection. But that’s a story we all already know 🙃 I’m so glad that I’ve finally read this because although it’s not a perfect book, I’ve found myself really enjoying it! I find myself oddly invested in the love 😂 but also, the unique spin of magic and fashion! I’m a little gutted that I didn’t double check the release date of the sequel though and will now be tortured waiting until July…

A gifted tailor in disguise.
Three legendary dresses.
The competition if a lifetime.

On the fringes if the Great Spice Road, Maia Tamarin works as a seamstress in the shop of her father, once a tailor of renown. She dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for us to marry well.

When a royal messenger summons her ailing father to court, Maia poses as his son and travels to the Summer Palace in his place. She know she her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to save her family from ruin and achieve her dream of becoming the imperial tailor. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

The competition is cutthroat, and Maia’s job is further complicated by the unwelcome attention of the court enchanter, Edan, who seems to see straight through her disguise. But nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three gowns so dangerously beautiful, it will take a quest to the ends of the earth to complete them…

What are you currently reading?

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [39]

January 19, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Today I so badly wished that I was in the comfort of my bed in my flat in Bali instead of spending hours flying while incredibly sick. I *finally* managed to finish my re-read of Thunderhead (Arc of Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman and finally started on The Toll on the last leg of my journey. I’m *loving* the detail on this cover — I just noticed the jewels on someone’s robe!? 😱

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.