Tag: Thriller

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [07]

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We’re back with another Sundays In Bed With… meme, which dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning! This meme 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’ve spent this Sunday in bed with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I remember seeing this book on Kindle Unlimited a few years ago, but although it sounded interesting, I never got around to reading it. Then I joined bookstagram and saw this book receive so much hype, and as often happens, I felt a little wary about picking it up. I don’t think I would have picked this up yet if not for the buddy read I’ve joined for it. Unsurprisingly, I’m really enjoying it and have sped through it; mostly because I needed to get the reading done for our discussion of the first half tonight, but because it’s pretty easy to read. I’m a big fan of historical fictions, especially about WWII, the holocaust and the Nazi’s invasion and occupation of many countries in Europe. This is the first time I’ve read their occupation in France though so it’s been an interesting read. My mind boggles at how these people were so cruel, so fixated on their idea of purity and the need to cleanse society of millions of people just because of their ethnicity and religion. Obviously, it wasn’t just Jews that were targeted though. I’m thinking this one is going to at least be a 4-4.5 star read, but I have a feeling the really heart-wrenching stuff is coming up in the second half of the book. I can feel my tears gearing themselves up for release 😂

What book are you currently reading?

IG: @dinipandareads

In Indonesia, the holidays have already begun for everyone as Idul Fitri/Eid is coming up next week. Unfortunately though, my office is only closed on Wednesday & Thursday, and I’m taking Friday off, which means that it’s back to work for the next two days. Oh Monday, I really thought you were still a day away! There’s a lot of family visiting right now, and I’m gutted that they’re all relaxing and I have to think about getting up early for work. The long weekend honestly can’t come soon enough! June is going to be a very busy month but I’ve got two buddy reads planned (one of which is for The Nightingale) and I’m hoping to read a lot more ARCs, and to read more LGBTQIA+ reads for Pride month! Despite my ridiculous work schedule, I have a feeling June is going to be a really great reading month! But for now, here’s a wrap up of the posts I made this week:

My May Monthly Wrap Up!
ARC Review: The Women by S.E. Lynes
Friday Favorites: Classics
Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
#WWWWednesday: 29 May
Top Ten Tuesday: Books Released in the Last 10 Years
Review: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

How has your reading and blogging week been? Come let me know in the comments 🙂

May 2019 Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Friends, May is over and the only thing going through my mind is: how is it possible?! I have no idea where the days went in May. It was ridiculously busy at work and I took that week off for my best friends and my birthday. I can’t believe my birthday has come and gone already too and I’m another year older. I feel like this year is just flying by… Despite the work struggles and feeling more restless than ever this month, May was actually a pretty good month overall. For some reason I feel like I didn’t read much but when I checked on Goodreads, I saw I read 12 books. I also read one webcomic, but since it’s only the first season of the comic, I won’t officially add it to my tally. Here’s what I read by order of date:

  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★

The majority of these were e-books and I managed to read and review 4 ARCs. I’m honestly so behind on my NetGalley reads, and I feel so guilty about it, but I’m hoping to make up for it in June. I really need to get better organized because my head has been so all over the place lately, it’s a miracle I manage to get anything done at all! May was also AAPI month and I attempted to read more books by Asian authors; however, being a mood reader, I only managed to get three books in by AAPI authors. It did make me realize that although I do have quite a few books by Asian authors on my shelf, I tend to read the latest releases and other popular books because of FOMO. I need to make more of a conscious effort to read these other books, so I will be working on that throughout the rest of the year!

Of the books I read, I think Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was my favorite. While I only had two five star reads this month, the majority were 4.5 stars, so it made it quite difficult to choose, but Josh and Hazel was the lighthearted romantic comedy that I didn’t know I needed. These characters really lifted my mood and made me feel giddy with happiness and hope, and I know I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon! Thank you CLo for writing stories that sucker punch me in the feels and for writing characters that make me laugh uncontrollably!

As with May, there are quite a few books I’m looking forward to adding to my shelves in June. But all I’ll be doing until I manage to cut down my highly unmanageable giant of a TBR list by a lot. I’ll be posting about the books I’m most excited for, plus a list of all the books that I’ve acquired this month in the coming days!

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?
Come drop me a comment below 🙂

#WWWWednesday: 29 May 2019

Dini @ dinipandareadsLeave a comment

Friends, we’ve come to the end of yet another month. I realize this is what happens when each day and week ends, but my head’s spinning at the fact we’re already moving into JUNE. What have I done with all these months that have passed?! Damn. So it’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be talking about:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

In the last week I finished Final Girls by Riley Sager, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren and I Spy the Boy Next Door (ARC) by Samantha Armstrong (read my review). I absolutely ADORED Josh and Hazel–they were adorable and their story of friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite kinds. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book as fast as I did theirs. You can read my full review here. I’m so excited to read more Riley Sager because I really enjoyed Final Girls. The twists and that ending was completely different to what I expected to happen and it blew my mind (and everyone at that Starbucks on Sunday morning can attest to how shocked, as I started swearing out loud–oops)! 🤦🏻‍♀️ My review for this one will be coming soon.

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi. This is another one from my #APICelebrAsian list and I’m hoping that I can finish it soon, although it’s the kind of book that I don’t feel like rushing through right now. I’m loving the characters and their stories–I honestly just want to give Sam the biggest hug in the world, and then stick him in a room with Penny SO THEY CAN TALK. This was admittedly a cover buy because I couldn’t resist this gorgeous millennial cover, but I’m happy to say that I can enjoy the content as well. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m still pretty behind on reading my galleys, but I am determined to slowly make my way through them! I started The Women by S.E. Lynes and it’s been interesting so far, but I think because I can anticipate this one making me pretty anxious, I’m not racing to pick it up again.

What will you read next?

Besides the MANY MANY ARCs that I will be reading, I’m really looking forward to starting Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I won my first ever giveaway on Instagram at the end of April, and the book I requested was Crawdads. Y’all have no idea how happy I am that this book is finally in my hands! As I’m sure many of you know, the hype for this book has been unreal and even months after its release, it’s still getting hyped. So you know it’s bound to be a great read, right? I’ve heard some say that they really didn’t like it, but mostly because they’re not fans of historical fiction, so I think it’s safe to say that I won’t find myself relating to them because I love historical fiction!

What are you currently reading? Have you read any of these books?
Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [06]

Dini @ dinipandareads1 Comment

We’re back with another Sundays In Bed With… meme, which dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning! This meme 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!

This Sunday I finally finished reading Final Girls by Riley Sager! I’ve noticed for months now that Sager’s books have been quite hyped on bookstagram and so when I found this book in the store two weeks ago, I scooped it up immediately knowing it would be the perfect thrilling poolside read for my staycation. This was a perfectly fast paced thriller, although it admittedly took me longer than usual to finish this because I was also reading four other books at the same time for group reads and had deadlines… 😬 I’m so glad I took the time to finish it today. I had so many theories, especially about the main protagonist, Quincy. I was so sure she was a ‘baddy’ but I kept questioning myself throughout and Sager kept me guessing up until the very end. I didn’t expect the twists at all and I was actually appalled with the ending because it involved a character that I really liked and I was just totally shook. But in the absolute best way! I can’t wait to read something else by Sager–I think he’s potentially an autobuy author.

Have you read Final Girls? What are you currently reading?

I feel like a lot has been happening over the last week-and-a-half since my bestie came to visit me for my birthday. I can’t believe that May is now already four-days from being over and my birthday has already passed! (BOO 😭) I’ve always used my birthday as a kind of “mid-way” counter for my year, since technically we’re now half-way through the year. I missed quite a few blogging days over the last week, but I think I came back fairly strong with all the posts this week? Writing out all these reviews made me feel hella productive! 😂 Also feeling productive today because I finished sorting out my books to place in the new bright yellow Billy bookcase my parents got me for my birthday. I’m so pleased with how my shelves are looking right now! How are your May reads coming along? May has been a fairly weird and slow reading month for me as so much has been happening with life and work. I don’t think I’ve got through half of what I wanted to read, but life happens, so I’m not too mad about it! Just in case you missed it, here are the posts I’ve made this week:

ARC Review: I Spy the Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong
Friday Favorites: Diverse Books
Review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
ARC Review: Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea
#WWWWednesday: 22 May
Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Are Off Limits (to others, of course)

How has your reading and blogging week been?
Hope everyone is having a great weekend 🙂

ARC Review: Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

Goodreads: Some Choose Darkness
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish date: 28 May 2019
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Rating: ★★★★

A modern master of suspense, critically acclaimed author Charlie Donlea returns with a taut, gripping novel about the deadly secrets hiding in plain sight . . . 

The truth is easy to miss, even when it’s right in front of us. As a forensic reconstructionist, Rory Moore sheds light on cold-case homicides by piecing together crime scene details others fail to see. Cleaning out her late father’s law office a week after his burial, she receives a call that plunges her into a decades-old case come to life once more.

In the summer of 1979, five Chicago women went missing. The predator, nicknamed The Thief, left no bodies and no clues behind—until police received a package from a mysterious woman named Angela Mitchell, whose unorthodox investigation skills appear to have led to his identity. But before police could question her, Angela disappeared. Forty years later, The Thief is about to be paroled for Angela’s murder—the only crime the DA could pin on him. As a former client of her father’s, Rory becomes reluctantly involved with the killer—though he continues to insist he didn’t murder Angela. Now he wants Rory to do what her father once promised: prove that Angela is, in fact, still alive.

As Rory begins reconstructing Angela’s last days, another killer emerges from the shadows, replicating those long-ago murders. With every startling discovery she makes, Rory becomes more deeply entangled in the enigma of Angela Mitchell—and in The Thief’s tormented mind. Drawing connections between past and present is the only way to stop the nightmare, but even Rory can’t be prepared for the full, terrifying truth that is emerging

This was my first Charlie Donlea book and it had me questioning how on earth I was sleeping on his books before this. How is it that he wasn’t even on my radar?! Shook. But you can believe that I will be remedying this from now on because “Some Choose Darkness” was such a great read! It wasn’t that it was entirely unpredictable, but the suspense was kept high from the start, and the characters and storyline were engaging throughout. The story is told in alternating narratives, shifting from the past with Angela Mitchell and the present with Rory Moore, with some other character perspectives thrown in there at the start. Through Angela’s chapters we learn about how she discovered the identity of a serial killer known as The Thief in Chicago in 1979. With Rory’s chapters, we learn about how that past ties in with the present when her father passes away and his cases, one of which concerns The Thief who her father represented, gets passed on to her.

I really appreciated the fact that both Angela and Rory are characters on the spectrum and that being autistic was what really enabled Angela to discover the truth and what makes Rory so great at her job as a forensic reconstructor of cold cases. I can’t speak to the accuracy of how they’re portrayed, but I thought Donlea did a really good job of representing characters with autism and OCD. Reading Angela’s chapters often left me feeling itchy and restless and had my heart galloping so fast and I became so immersed in the mystery in Rory’s chapters. When it came to the “big reveal” of The Thief, Donlea kept me guessing until Angela’s most pressing discovery, when my jaw dropped in disbelief. I would have frozen cold and probably died if I had been in her shoes. I was so convinced it was someone else and the person it turned out to be wasn’t even on my radar to start with! The rest of the story was slightly predictable; I was able to easily guess about something significant to Rory’s character as I was reading, but that said, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story overall.

I did think the ending was rushed and Rory’s actions didn’t make sense to me at all (personally, I thought it was completely out of her character), so that was a bit disappointing. To be honest, it was a little anticlimactic and very ‘easily done’. I also didn’t understand how the cold case Rory was initially involved in was relevant to the story. It did make a nice segue to a big part of Rory’s life and personal character, but mentions of it kept popping up throughout the story, and I never really understood why. Is Donlea going to continue Rory’s storyline as a forensic reconstructor? It would be interesting if he did and I’d definitely read a series with her in it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in reading? Keep your eyes open for when this book comes out on 28 May 2019.

#WWWWednesday: 22 May 2019

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

Is it really only Wednesday? It feels a little like it should be Friday already, but this is probably the side effect of having my holiday end on Monday, instead of at the weekend. It’s only been a day since I’ve come back to the office and the struggle is really real, y’all. All I wanna do is go back to that poolside bed and get sunbaked with a book in one hand and an iced coffee in the other. It’s times like these I really question why I don’t read for a living? Lol.

But before I drift off into my dream world, it’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be talking about:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

Since last week, I managed to finish reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, The Bride Test by Helen Hoang and Some Choose Darkness (e-ARC) by Charlie Donlea. I haven’t written my reviews for any of these yet, but hope to post one for Little Fires tomorrow (probably). I thoroughly enjoyed these reads though and they all received a 4/4.5 star rating from me! Little Fires Everywhere has been hyped a lot since last year and I was honestly scared to read it, but I’m so glad that my decision to take part in #APICelebrAsian / the #AsianReadathon pushed me to finally open it because I was impressed! I can’t wait to read more of her books and I’m so excited Little Fires is being made into a movie! The Bride Test was a fast, fun and super sexy read that I finished poolside while on holiday. Hoang won me over with The Kiss Quotient and she has done it again with The Bride Test! I loved the characters and the inclusiveness with characters on the spectrum. I loved the family relationships and the exploration of Asian (Vietnamese) culture and society. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a heart-fluttering feel-good read! My first finished ARC of the month, Some Choose Darkness was also my first Charlie Donlea read and it had me wondering how I hadn’t heard of him before because I loved it! While not entirely unpredictable, it still kept me on my toes and was fast-paced enough that I never felt bored. I devoured this and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! My full review for this will also (hopefully) be coming soon!

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Final Girls by Riley Sager. I have heard so much about his books on bookstagram over the last few months that I couldn’t resist buying this when I came across it at the bookstore last week. I started it by the pool last week, but put it down because of my buddy reads, but now that those are out of the way, I’m back on it! Because of my hectic schedule and staycation, as well as my inability to really plan reads, I’m still also reading The Wedding Planner (Whisper Woods #3) by Eve Devon and How to Find Love in A Bookshop by Veronica Henry. The pub date for The Wedding Planner has already come and gone (03 May), but I just can’t seem to get into the story. It’s honestly too confusing jumping in without knowing the backstory between the characters and pairings. I’m feeling iffy about this, but I’m going to speed read and push through because you know I hate to DNF! As for the bookshop, there’s definitely no rush and I’m going to take my time reading it and perhaps using it as a palate cleanser between the thrillers I’ll be reading!

What will you read next?

So. Many. ARCs. Ohmygoodness, I just crept onto NetGalley on my lunch break today and there are so many ARCs that I need to get to reading. Why is my ass so lazy and disorganized? Seriously. I send myself into a tailspin every single time I go on the site to check what books need to be read. But literally 90% of the books waiting for me are being/have been published in May! Here are some of the ones I have to read because the pub dates have already passed or are coming up quick: The Vanishing Season by Dotch Hutchinson (21 May), The Women by S.E. Lynes (HAPPY PUBDAY! 22 May), and I Spy The Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong (25 May). Welp. Why do I do this to myself again?

What are you currently reading? Have you read any of these? If you’ve done a WWW Wednesday post today, leave your link in the comments below 🙂

ARC Review: Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Goodreads: Little Darlings
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publish date: 30 April 2019
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Supernatural Thriller
Rating: ★★★½

“Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, and Aimee Molloy’s The Perfect Mother.

Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things. A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies. Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Oh wow, this one really took me ages to read! I think I kind of psyched myself out of reading it because it’s a supernatural thriller and the supernatural isn’t really my jam. I had no clue when I read the blurb that it would have these elements, I honestly thought it would be about a woman who was suffering from postpartum depression or something along those lines. I don’t really see this as a thriller but perhaps more of folk tale inspired slow burn mystery. That said, I don’t think my apprehension to read this affected how I felt about the story. I didn’t dislike it, but it did fill me with a lot of anxiety, though I enjoyed the uncertainty of not knowing what was real and what wasn’t.

The story is told in alternating perspectives between Lauren and Detective Sergeant Joanna Harper. Harper’s POV was pretty much standard police procedure and detective work, although there was a lot of personal conflict with her character. She felt pity for Lauren but also understood her situation as a mother, which led her to taking the leap and believing something that should’ve been completely ridiculous. Ultimately though it was for the wrong reasons and only added to make the situation worse.

Lauren’s anguish, depression and loneliness was palpable throughout the book. It left me feeling anxious about what would happen next, and sad for her character and what she was going through. My least favorite character in this novel was her husband, Patrick, who was honestly such a weak and spineless man; I wanted to push him off a cliff with how patronizing and selfish he was! To be honest though, since we only saw his character through Lauren’s eyes, I wasn’t sure whether he was really like that or if it what we saw was clouded by Lauren’s depression and mania.

Perhaps the reason why I didn’t absolutely love this story was because I don’t have children, and at this point in my life, I’m leaning towards not having any of my own. This story is fully about a mother’s love for her children and her willingness to do just about anything to get them back, and I couldn’t really connect with that anguish and desperation. While I’m not saying that it’s necessary to have children to understand the intensity of this novel and Lauren’s character, I think it definitely helps to connect with it.

I thought this was a fairly well-paced mystery, although certain parts in the middle really slowed it down for me and got boring. I liked how every chapter began with excerpts from various folk tales–it definitely added to the creepy supernatural vibe of the story. I will also admit that this was a lot less creepy than I thought, although many things to do with babies and the supernatural kind of freak me out in general 🙂 There ended up being quite a lot of elements in this story and at first I was wondering how Golding would tie it all together, especially when a new one was introduced so late in the book; but while the climax was slightly unrealistic, this was inspired by a folk tale so it fit with the overall story arc. One thing I will say is that this novel kept me guessing throughout and although I knew none of it could be real, I still couldn’t help but wondering “what if“. Overall, I’m impressed with how Melanie Golding packaged everything for a satisfying, if not slightly sad, conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the free copy in exchange for a free copy. This book was published on 30 April 2019.

April 2019 Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

IT’S MAY! I can’t believe we’re five months into the year already. I mean, where are the months flying to?! April has been a pretty decent month in terms of work, life and reading; actually it has been more than a decent reading month for me! I think I even shocked myself when I counted how many books I got through. In no particular order, here’s what I read:

  • ARC
    ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★★☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★½☆☆

So in total I read 17 books in April. I thought I was having a bit of a slow reading month but that definitely wasn’t the case! I read the majority of these as e-books and I realize that I often read much faster on my Kindle compared to when I’m reading a physical book. I’m also glad that I was able to get through 6 ARCs this month because my NetGalley TBR was getting a little ridiculous! My Goodreads Reading Challenge is currently at 60/75 books, so I think it’s about time I change my goal and bump it up to…90 books. If my year continues this way, I think 2019 will be a record making book year. Exciting times!

Out of all these books, my favorite(s) have to be The Dry and The Lost Man by Jane Harper. These were both such fantastic reads and I couldn’t possibly choose between them. I’m so glad that I finally picked up Jane Harper this month because she has made a place for herself on my favorite authors list and also my auto-buy authors list. I’d highly recommend picking her up up if you haven’t yet!

There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading in May and I’ve already posted about the books I’m most excited for. I just got an email today telling me that my Special Edition Owlcrate Finale box has just shipped today. AAAH 😃

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?

#WWWWednesday: 01 May 2019

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Happy first of the month, book lovers! It seems that there’s a lot to look forward to in the month of May. Work is going to be hectic this month but I’m also taking a week off to celebrate my birthday with my bestie who’s coming up from Brisbane to join me in Bali! It’s gonna be a week of awesome hangs, reading pool/beachside, exploring what Bali has to offer, and of course, eating. Also, we’re five months into the year already — can you believe it?!

On that note, iIt’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be talking about:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

Pride by Ibi Zoboi. I finished this book in the nick of time for it to be counted as my last April read! I’m a little bit on the fence about it because while I really enjoyed how Zoboi took this classic and made it into such a culturally vibrant modern tale, I wasn’t too keen on Zuri Benitez or Darius Darcy, the two MCs. Pride & Prejudice is one of my all-time favorites and while all the ‘boxes’ were basically ticked, I also felt that maybe the story could’ve done without some of them because not all elements added to this story. Still mulling over my review for this one, and I’ll hopefully post it soon!

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading three books. Little Darlings by Melanie Goldman, Mixed Signals by Mia Heintzman, and Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come by Jessica Pan. Yes, I’m still reading Little Darlings. I can’t bring myself to pick it up at night and this week has been so busy with work and after work dinners and outings that I haven’t had much time to read. I hope to finish it by the weekend though! 🤞🏽 The other two are also ARCs because I want to cut my NetGalley reads down by just a little bit; my list on there has grown alarmingly fast and I’ve banned myself from requesting new reads until I read and review a few more! Mixed Signals is a cute little rom com that I’m reading alongside Little Darlings to keep myself happy, and Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come is a non-fiction about the author’s experience as an introvert living the extrovert life for a year. As an socially anxious introvert, this book really appealed to me and I’ve enjoyed what little I’ve read so far!

What will you read next?

Next up are two buddy reads that I’ve committed myself to with my bestie and an IG group. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover. I’m hoping to read Good Omens before the show comes out this month!

What are you currently reading? Have you done a WWW Wednesday too? Leave your link in the comments!

First Impression Friday & Friday 56 w/ Little Darlings (ARC)

Dini @ dinipandareads1 Comment

There’s a brand new meme hosted by JW Martin called First Impression Friday! It sounded like a fun way to reflect on a new book, so I thought I’d play along! Here’s what it’s about:

First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther.Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end. Did you think you’d love and ended up hating it? Or did you think you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you exactly right?

I started Little Darlings (ARC) by Melanie Golding during my lunch break today and by the time lunch ended I got to about 5%. I won’t be continuing this tonight as I’ll be waiting for the sun to guide me through what I feel will be a fairly dark and creepy read! I’ve probably mentioned this a few times by now but supernatural thrillers are not my thing. I have an insanely wild imagination that gets away with me, so I like to stay away from things that I know will easily induce nightmares. However, when I requested this on NetGalley, I didn’t actually realize it had supernatural elements (otherwise I would’ve stayed far away, duh). My first impression: there’s a sinister air that hangs over the story from the beginning. I feel that Lauren Tranter might give me anxiety but also frustrate me, her thoughts so far remind me a little bit of a the mother’s nightmares from The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent. I think I will end up giving this read a ★★★½☆☆ but I could end up surprising myself and really love it by the end. Anything can happen!

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda @Freda’s Voice, with the rules as followed:

– Grab a book, any book.
– Turn to page 56 or 56% on your eReader/book.
– Find any sentence (or a few, just don’t spoil it) that grab you.
– Post it.
– Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It’s that simple

Doctor Summer followed Patrick into the corridor. As the door to the therapy room was closed and locked behind them by the nurse, the doctor peered at each boy in turn, giving them a little squeeze.

56%, Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

What are you currently reading? Have you done a First Impression Friday or The Friday 56 post? Leave a link in the comments and let’s chat books 🙂