Goodreads Monday – Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads14 Comments

Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a hot minute since I did one of these but I’m excited to shine a spotlight on and talk a little bit about this book, which is coincidentally going to be released tomorrow (22/02/22)! Stunning. 😍

This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.*

*Sorry if a book has been featured twice. I need to make better note of which ones I’ve done already!

This week’s featured book is Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. This is an upcoming release (as I mentioned above, it’s out tomorrow!) and it’s a “novel of high fantasy and low stakes”. It’s only got a few ratings on Goodreads so far but it seems well-loved!

#WWWWednesday: 16 February 2022

February 16, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads15 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 Wednesday, I’ve managed to read six books and all of them were reads I really enjoyed!

Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti ★★★½
A fast-paced, action-packed and wonderfully diverse sci-fi graphic novel! Check out my review!

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna ★★★★☆
This was another buddy read with Leslie 💜 Though this was slow to start, once the action picked up we both sped through this read! I definitely get the hype.

#WWWWednesday: 09 February 2022

February 9, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads28 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?

It’s been a pretty good reading week if you see the numbers (11 books) but I only enjoyed less than half of them… I surprisingly read 3 audiobooks while painting and I realise that’s something I’d definitely love to continue doing! 😊

The Dark Side Series (Books 1-4) by Kristy Cunning ★★¾
This was not the series I thought it’d be and I was disappointed! It started off strong but this could’ve easily been a 2-novella series because a lot of it was filler, the explanations nonsensical and I got bored. The series more than lost its spark for me by the end!

The Deep by Rivers Solomon ★★★★½
My first audiobook of 2022 and it was wow! Daveed Diggs’ narration was *chefs kiss*! Check out my review!

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 😍

#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!

Pondathon II: Participation & Sign up!

January 20, 2022January 17, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Hello, hello, friends! Today I’m coming at you with an announcement (and sign up) post for the Pondathon II reading challenge. Listen, I know I’m not the best at challenges/readathons but I like to try and add a little fun to my reading life every year. When I first heard about the Pondathon I was too intimidated to join but new year, new chances, right? It seems pretty low-key and thus, low-pressure, which is exactly how I like my challenges to be (lol)! So, if you’re anything like me and aren’t sure whether or not to join, I say, why not? You’re not alone! 😉

#WWWWednesday: 19 January 2022

January 19, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads21 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 Wednesday I’ve managed to finish eight books! It’s been a week of romances and graphic novels!

Dirty Hookup (Slayers Hockey #2) by Mira Lyn Kelly ★★★½
I got this freebie from the author so I thought I’d give it a try and I enjoyed it! It was a slightly angsty frenemies to lovers/second-chance romance and while some elements were a bit difficult to believe and I wish we got more interactions with their friends/family, I enjoyed George & Quinn’s banter and their chemistry was fire! RTC.

#TopTenTuesday: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To

January 18, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads56 Comments

So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To.

This week’s TTT list is probably one of the easiest for me to compile because there are so many books that were released last year that I wanted to read but didn’t get the chance to for one reason or another. The only difficult part was narrowing down which books to list here because there are definitely way more than ten! 😂 These titles have wormed their way to the top of my list and I’m hoping to read them sooner rather than later in 2022 (note to self: remember these words!)!

#WWWWednesday: 12 January 2022

January 12, 2022August 11, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads27 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?

We’re halfway through the month of January (can you believe?) and since last week’s check-in, I’ve managed to read seven books. I’m surprisingly reading a lot of graphic novels but I ain’t mad about it cos I enjoyed them all! 🥰 This was mostly winning, save for one that ended up being the first 1-star rating I’ve given in a while… 👀

The Wedding Setup: A Short Story by Sonali Dev ★★★★½
This short story made me upset that I hadn’t yet read anything else by Dev but I plan to rectify that right away. I loved the writing, the cultural references, the way Dev explored loss/grief, mother-daughter relationships and intercultural relationships. The romance had me swooning (Emmitt was 😍) and I had such a fantastic time reading this! Check out my review.