Blog Tour Review: The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni

September 11, 2025September 10, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Hi friends, I’m back for another blog tour today! I’m excited to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni.

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 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 Lies of Habren Faire
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 9 September 2025
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: LGBTQIA+, disability

Rating:

^{(4 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

An irresistible dark fae romantasy, inspired by Welsh mythology and perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Faebound, Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince.

Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies.

But this is not her story.

For Sabrina Parry, the world is tough, cruel and practical. With her father in prison, her aims in life are 1. hold onto her job, 2. hold her tongue and 3. set up her sister Ceridwen with a man rich enough to look after her. Ceridwen is lovely, romantic, timid – everything that Sabrina isn’t. But then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods leaving only an iron ring behind and Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but decaying world of fairies and monsters of old. And when an annoyingly handsome fairy prince offers her a dangerous deal, Sabrina is forced to put her own freedom at risk to save her sister.

📚 BUY A COPY

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Imprisonment, blood, gore, dismemberment, violence, death

TL;DR: This is for those who enjoy complex, morally grey, and somewhat unlikeable MCs that will make you work to appreciate them. It’s for those who enjoy the intertwining of real history with mythological faerie tales and folklore and magic. And it’s for those who enjoy reading about sibling bonds, a taste of a hate-to-love romance, and a coming-of-age story about a bitter, tired, and scared young woman who longs to live as big a life as she possibly can. I feel like Habren has become one of my favourite YA FMCs and I think she’s going to stick around in my head for a while! Overall, I found The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire a surprisingly touching and heartwarming story, even if at first, I was a bit uncertain about it. I would recommend this to those who enjoyed stories like The Cruel Prince, and darkly whimsical faerie tales centering family and friendship, such as those by Emily Lloyd-Jones (The Bone Houses, The Drowned Woods).

Blog Tour Review: Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery by Kacy Ritter

July 14, 2025July 13, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Hi friends, I’m back for another blog tour today! I’m excited to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery by Kacy Ritter.

Thanks to Storytide 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!}

Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery
Publisher: Storytide
Publication Date: 15 July 2025
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Mystery
Rep: Biracial, Black

Rating:

^{(3.5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Half-siren Elvira Vance doesn’t trust outsiders. Especially not the human detective who’s been hired to investigate the disappearances of a chupacabra and the crown for the Marfa Monster Festival. While humans are convinced the monster skipped town with the crown, Elvira knows there’s more to the story. As the daughter of Vince Vance—founder of Vince Vance’s Vintage Trailer Park Inn for Monsters—Elvira cares too much about her home to let this mystery go unsolved.

With her two best friends, Elvira collects clues and investigates humans, banshees, vampires, and ghosts. But when more creatures start disappearing and antimonster attitudes rise, Elvira realizes that her friends could be in real danger.

Now time is running out, and Elvira must use her siren powers and sleuthing skills to solve this mystery—or lose everything she loves.

📚 BUY A COPY

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Racism, discrimination from police

TL;DR: Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery is an adventure-filled Scooby-Doo and the Gang style middle-grade fantasy mystery that I think many young readers will enjoy. The hijinks that ensue may be over-the-top at times, but the story is action-packed as we follow Elvira and her group of friends as they try to the solve the mystery of who’s hurting monsters in the place she calls home. Tough topics that mirror our reality were addressed well by the author in an approachable and easy-to-digest way that wouldn’t be overwhelming for young readers. My only qualm is certain situations relating to the MC’s actions that I wish had been addressed differently, but otherwise, this was a fun romp of a read that’s not only perfect for the spooky season but also summer-time reading!

Blog Tour Review: Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones

June 23, 2025June 22, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Hi friends, I’m back for another blog tour today! I’m excited to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends 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!}

Arcana: The Lost Heirs
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: 24 June 2025
Genre: New Adult Graphic Novel

Rating:

^{(4 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Debut author/illustrator Sam Prentice-Jones explores fighting against your destiny and reconciling the actions of your ancestors in Arcana: The Lost Heirs, a tarot-inspired fantasy graphic novel for young adults.

James, Daphne, Koko, and Sonny have all grown up surrounded by magic in the Arcana, an organization of witches that protects the magical world, run by the mysterious and secretive Majors. Eli Jones, however, didn’t even know other witches existed… until he stumbled into James. As James introduces Eli to the world of the Arcana, he finds the family he never had, and a blossoming romance with James.

The five new friends soon realize that sinister things are afoot and everything may not be what it seems at the Arcana. When the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Major’s rise to power, they discover that they’re at the center of a curse – one they’ve just unwittingly set into motion. As the friends search for answers, they’ll have to confront the cursed legacy that links them in hopes of freeing their futures.

📚 BUY A COPY

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Death of parent, generational trauma

Arcana: The Lost Heirs is a great start to a new graphic novel series! It’s witchy, mysterious, and had a great found-family vibe going on. The art style and colour palette matched the story perfectly and I loved how different colours were used for varying characters but also emotions, moods, and events! It set the scenes apart quite well and helped to project a strong atmosphere for the story.