Tag: New to me Authors

Blog Tour Review: Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Hi friends, I’m excited to be back for another blog tour today and this time it’s for an adorable new graphic novel! I’m here to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa.

Thanks to First Second Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Forgive-Me-Not
Publisher: First Second Books
Publication Date: 14 April 2026
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: LGBTQIA+, Queer

Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

A queer “enemies to lovers” journey of a lost princess and a changeling who was made to take the heir’s place as part of a fey scheme.

Aisling is many things to many people: princess, heir to the throne, teenage daughter of two loving parents… She’s also about to learn a lot more about herself: changeling. Fey creature. Hunted. Feared. Loved?

Forgive-Me-Not is the name given to the true princess — the lost teenage biological daughter to the king and queen, who’s grown up in the chaotic and untrustworthy realm of Faerie. When Forgive-Me-Not breaks into Aisling’s room the night before their 18 th birthday looking for revenge, the two embark on a long and arduous journey. And what starts as a confrontational and adversarial pairing grows into a bond of mutual understanding, friendship, and maybe something more…

📚 BUY A COPY
⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Kidnapping, torture (recounted), blood, murder, mild violence

TL;DR: Oh my, what an adorable feel-great graphic novel! This had the cheesiest ending but it still had me giggling and feeling a buoyant giddiness that left a big smile on my face long after I’d finished reading. This is a timeless fairytale where princess meets knight and they fall in love, but with a changeling twist and a sapphic bent that I loved.

The artwork was fantastic and complemented the story really well. I loved the contrast between the brighter spring palette human world and the darker autumnal palette of the faerie world. I think this contrast was also reflected well in the personalities between Aisling and Not. I loved the art style so much, with clean lines, intense colours, and very emotive character expressions and actions! There were some chibi-adjacent illustrations that I found adorable, and I particularly loved how the expressions in those scenes were conveyed too.

Read More »

Blog Tour Review: The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

Hi friends, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a tour (not since September 2025!), so I’m excited to be back with a blog tour review today! I’m here to share my thoughts (and a few favourite quotes) as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray.

Thanks to Requited for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Wicked Sea (The Wicked Sea #1)
Publisher: Requited
Publication Date: 7 April 2026
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Rep: LGBTQIA+, Pansexual

Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

In this dark and sultry romantasy a mermaid battles hatred—and lust—for the wretched warlock who saved her life.

Mermaid Zephyra of the Syl dreams of freedom. On the run from a dangerous captor and years of abuse, she’s shed her tail, grown legs, and hidden herself on land in the merrow-loathing kingdom of Mortia, left to steal and barter on the dirty streets. But her freedom is short-lived when she’s caught and sentenced to death by the brutal warlock, Arion Stone.

Arion is as beautiful as he is cold and deadly, only interested in punishing the merrow he views as evil. He has grown as strong as any warlock might, but at great personal cost…which can only be remedied by the heart of the God of Death, lost to a fabled kingdom beneath the ocean’s treacherous depths.

So Arion offers Zephyra a deal she can’t refuse; help him find the mystical heart, and he’ll spare her life. With no other options, Zephyra agrees, entangling their souls and forbidden desires in a magical bargain until death do they part. But Zephyra’s past is catching up to her, and the enemy she fled seeks vengeance. If Zephyra and Arion can’t learn to fight together–and trust each other–there are worse things awaiting them than just death.

Of course, in the wicked sea, everyone has secrets, and no one should be trusted.
For fans of: Enemies-to-lovers, Magic Sensual Bonds, Winged Romantic Lead, Forced Proximity

📚 BUY A COPY
⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Imprisonment, graphic descriptions of torture, gore, dismemberment, blood, violence, death, and murder

TL;DR: The Wicked Sea is a fun fantasy romance featuring killer mermaids and warlocks, a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, and a thrilling race against time across this world, trailed by powerful and deadly enemies. Don’t let this (beautiful) pastel cover fool you—this story gets dark and very gory, and covers fairly tough topics, so I would recommend checking content/trigger warnings beforehand. While there were elements I wish had been done better to deliver a stronger story, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! If you’re a fan of Quicksilver and Phantasma, chances are you’ll like this too.

Read More »

Mini Book Review: Gaveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

Graveyard Shift
Publisher: Wildfire
Pub Date: 24 September 2024
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The bestselling author of international BookTok sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story of a group of misfits who meet in the local cemetery each night to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.

Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realise he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks — and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.

Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M.L. Rio’s inimitable style.

“What must it feel like, she wondered, for the first time and much too late, to be so desperate for rest that you’d let a doctor[…]drop her experimental poison in your eyes?”

Read More »

Book Review: Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Before I Let Go (Skyland #1)
Publisher: Forever
Pub Date: 15 November 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.

It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.

Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It’s hot. It’s illicit. It’s all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?

Award-winning and bestselling “powerhouse” author Kennedy Ryan is at her absolute best in this compelling, scorching novel about hope and healing, and what it truly means to love for a lifetime (USA Today).

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

From the author’s note: Stillbirth, loss of loved one (past/off-page), discussion of complicated grief, depression, and passive suicidal ideation (no attempt).

TL;DR: I’m writing these thoughts down well after I finished reading this because my feelings were so heightened after this experience, I wanted to let my thoughts marinate a little bit. I want to start by saying that what everyone says about this book is 100% correct. It is beautifully written, heartbreaking and an intensely emotional journey that I found myself getting swept up and away in. Kennedy Ryan is out here destroying feelings left, right and centre, and she does a fantastic job of it! I read this book with Leslie, who didn’t like this as much as I did, and despite loving it myself, I can understand why it won’t be for everyone. Please do check content/trigger warnings because this covers a very traumatic experience and the ways our protagonists deal with what happened can be triggering for some.

Read More »

Book Review: What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pub Date: 4 April 2017
Genre: Literary Fiction, Short Stories

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

A dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home.

In “Who Will Greet You at Home,” a National Magazine Award finalist for The New Yorker, A woman desperate for a child weaves one out of hair, with unsettling results. In “Wild,” a disastrous night out shifts a teenager and her Nigerian cousin onto uneasy common ground. In “The Future Looks Good,” three generations of women are haunted by the ghosts of war, while in “Light,” a father struggles to protect and empower the daughter he loves. And in the title story, in a world ravaged by flood and riven by class, experts have discovered how to “fix the equation of a person” – with rippling, unforeseen repercussions.

Evocative, playful, subversive, and incredibly human, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky heralds the arrival of a prodigious talent with a remarkable career ahead of her.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Domestic abuse, child abuse, trauma, violence

TL;DR: What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky is a fantastic collection of short stories. These stories are about mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, lovers, friends, and enemies. It’s about the people you love, hate, admire, fear, envy, and respect. They touch upon resilience, grief, hope, and joy, but most of all, these are stories about women and girls with fire in their bellies and who refused to be stamped out. No matter whether they’re set in the past, present, future or other reality, these stories are so utterly human and realistic. The author doesn’t treat you to abstract pretensions, but gives these stories to you straight, and I love this collection more for it. Light is by far my favourite, but The Future Looks Good and Windfalls are fantastic as well. Overall, this was a beautifully written and well connected short story collection that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!

Read More »

Book Review: The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy #1)
Publisher: Orbit
Pub Date: 17 May 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Blood, gore, death of a parent, genocide, torture, kidnapping

TL;DR: I adored The Stardust Thief immensely! I was reeled in almost immediately as this world that felt like a grand oasis in the midst of an endless desert unfolded before us. This story was refreshing, fast-paced, and action-packed as our characters make their way across the desert. I loved getting stories within a story, the jinn magic, and the characters too! I’ve always been interested in the tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights, which I found brutal, captivating, and magical, and I think Abdullah captures that feeling and authenticity in these pages as well. This was a lush debut with delightful twists and turns, and I can’t wait to continue the series cos I’m dying to know what happens next.

Read More »

Book Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy #1)
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pub Date: 1 May 1995
Genre: High/Epic Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father’s gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him sectetly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz’s blood runs the magic Skill–and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Ableism, misogyny, adult-minor relationship discussed, parental abandonment, domestic abuse, child abuse & neglect, suicide & attempted suicide, suicidal ideation, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, infertility (mentioned), physical injuries, death of a father, death of a husband, murder & attempted murder, poisoning, torture, whipping, war themes, graphic animal death including multiple deaths of pet dogs, animal cruelty & abuse, hunting, animal attack (mentioned)

Fair warning: I might’ve written an essay about this book because I loved it so much? I could’ve kept gushing but I tried for a bit of control, lol.

TL;DR: TL;DR: What if I said just read this (right now!) because every wonderful thing you have heard about it is incredibly true, as I have just experienced it for myself? Can I just leave my tl;dr at that? 😂 I’m really kind of tempted to because there’s nothing I can say about this book that other people haven’t already—after all, their words of praise is what convinced me to start reading it. The moment I picked this up I could already feel how this was the beginning of an epic journey. The more I immersed myself in this world and became invested in the characters’ lives, the more I wanted to stay in these pages because the storytelling is exceptional. This might not be a fast-paced read, but it is an action-packed, intense, and heartfelt journey, and I can’t wait to continue the series. I’ve found another new favourite!

Read More »

Book Review: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Heated Rivalry (Game Changers #2)
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 14 January 2025
Genre: Cosy Fantasy / Magical Realism

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him – except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs, suicide, parent with alzheimers, death of parents mentioned (father in the present, mother in the past)

Yes yes, I’ve joined the hype train. While I may not have seen the screen adaptation yet, I’m so glad that the hype surrounding this book convinced me to finally pick this up after having it on my TBR for three years. It’s loved for a reason and I now understand it!

TL;DR: Heated Rivalry was a great tension-filled, angsty, and swoony MM sports romance. Shane and Ilya have such great chemistry—there’s a tension created by enmity and attraction from the very moment they meet each other and I loved the opposition of their characters. Shane and Ilya are fantastic characters and I loved watching their feelings grow and their romance develop over the years. I loved how we see the evolution of their connection and how much their character arcs do change over the years. Reid does a fantastic job bringing these characters to life and by the end, my heart felt like it was being squeeze with all the feelings I felt for them. This queer sports romance is the perfect one-sit binge and if you love the enemies-to-lovers trope (or even if you have yet to be convinced), stay seated for this because it’s probably one of the best books this trope has to offer—no lie!

Read More »

Book Review: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Water Moon
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 14 January 2025
Genre: Cosy Fantasy / Magical Realism

Panda Rating:

(3.75 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Abortion (mentioned), blood, death of a parent (recounted), murder & physical assault (mentioned)

TL;DR: Water Moon was a whimsical and magical read that evoked such vivid imagery that was strongly reminiscent of Ghibli movies. For what’s considered a cosy healing fiction fantasy, I thought this was fast-paced and action-packed. There were gorgeous moments that filled you with just as much awe and wonder that our MMC felt seeing this other-world unfold before him, but also heart-pounding moments being chased by soulless and sharp-taloned entities who were ready to rip our characters to shreds. The romance relies heavily on the “fated” trope, which was conveniently used to excuse away the instant love connection that forms between Hana and Kei in a matter of days. I can’t say that I was a fan, but Water Moon is one of the rare exception where the whimsy of the world-building was captivating enough for me to still be able to enjoy the overall story despite not enjoying the romance or feeling overly invested in the characters. If you’re looking for a cosy fantasy with some grittier elements set in a magnificently whimsical and magical world, I would recommend checking this out!

Read More »

Book Review: The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-Ran

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

The Midnight Shift
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pub Date: 14 August 2025 (Original: 11 June 2021)
Genre: Paranormal Mystery

Panda Rating:

(3 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Death, suicide, dementia, blood, drug abuse, debt, murder

TL;DR: I loved the premise The Midnight Shift more than I did the execution. I don’t actually have that much to say about the book—it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me in the way that I thought it could’ve. It’s an interesting take on a vampire story and one that I don’t recall having read before, but overall, I felt so little emotional connection to the story, that it just fell flat-ish.

Read More »