Friday Favourites: Romances

February 15, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads13 Comments

Welcome back to another Friday Favourites, dear friends! Last year this weekly meme was hosted by the wonderful Kibby @ Something of the Book! However, this year Kibby has passed the torch on to Lorraine @ Geeky Galaxy. This week’s topic is: favourite romances.

Well it certainly is the week for romance, isn’t it? I’m actually having a hard time choosing my favourite romances because if you haven’t noticed, I’m a sucker for the stuff and go through my fair share every year (of romance books, not actual romances lol). So how am I meant to pick out my favourites and keep it to a Top 5 list?! It’s a tough one… But after some thought here are five romances that I will always recommend:

Pride and Prejudice will forever and always be my favourite and I cannot recommend it enough. After reading it I’d also recommend immediately watching one of the two adaptations, both of which are amazing but I’m partial to the 2005 version because Matthew Macfadyen (don’t @ me)!

Give me any book set in Alaska and I’m guaranteed to fall in love with it. Hah, kidding. Maybe. Don’t ask me why but I have a low-key thing for Alaska so that was already a bonus for The Simple Wild. However, throw in some great characters, real growth and a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking storyline and well, I’m sold. I became so invested in Calla and Jonah’s relationship. Jonah had me swooning big time!

I love the diversity that Hoang brings to romance–not only in having Asian MCs but also in writing about characters on the spectrum. It’s refreshing to read romances with characters who look like you and who come from cultural backgrounds similar to yours. The Bride Test has a mix of unique characters, an interesting plot and a good dose of steam, too.

I loved Josh and Lucy, but Josh was the shining star for me in The Hating Game. I loved his character so much. It might not be for readers who don’t like angst because well, this one was seriously full of it, but oh it was so, so much fun!

If you want a romcom with wonderfully fun characters who’re sure to give you a good laugh, then look no further than Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating! I love CLo and would recommend them to anyone but Josh and Hazel have a special place in my heart. I have a huge girl crush on Hazel — she’s such a fun-loving character and so full of life! Their chemistry is perfection and I love their love 😍

That’s it for my favourite romances! What are some of your favourites that you think I should read ASAP? I’m always on the lookout for recs!

#WWWWednesday: 12 February

February 12, 2020February 12, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads17 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 five books and that’s mostly thanks to my binge reading the rest of the Texting series by Teagan Hunter over the weekend. I may just have discovered a new favourite romance author!

To Kill A Mocking Girl (Bookbinding Mystery #1) by Harper Kincaid ★★★★★
This was my first ever cosy mystery and it had me strongly questioning WHY I hadn’t picked up these types of books before. It had so many things that I love in a book–supportive close-knit communities, a loveable family dynamics, entertaining MCs, a budding swoon-worthy romance, doggos, and an intriguing mystery! I adored this book and I’m gutted it’s not even out yet (and won’t be until May 2020) because I’m already looking forward to the rest of this series. This was Kincaid’s debut mystery too, although she does write romances so I’m tempted to check them out. My full review will be out closer to the pub date!

Nils: The Tree of Life by Jerome Hamon ★★★☆☆
While the illustrations blew me away (seriously gorgeous art work!) the storyline of Nils was weak and I often found myself confused with what was happening, especially towards the climax. The story felt disjointed at times, jumping too quickly from one fast-paced scene to another, without proper explanations and that was a bit of a let down. Can’t recommend the illustrations more though! If this illustrator put out a book of just their drawings I’d so be down to read it. Check out my full review.

Texting Series by Teagan Hunter ★★★★☆ (average)
I was looking for a lighthearted romcom and this series ticked all the boxes! It’s been a while since I’ve laughed so much reading a romance and I loved every minute of it. The titles are pun-tastic and the cheese is strong in pretty much all of the books but the geeky humor, swoon worthy heros and super sassy heroines make for some deliciously fun (not to mention steamy) times! Check out my full series review.

#TopTenTuesday: Romancing my TBR!

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads30 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: a love freebie!

Is it merely a coincidence that I am in a romance mood when it’s Valentine’s Day this week? Absolutely. I’ve never been big on the ‘holiday’ and not because I’m single–I just feel like it’s an unnecessary way to spend more money (lol ok grinch) but of course I’m happy to receive chocolates from friends and colleagues (I’m not kidding anyone about having a secret or not-so-secret admirer lmao)! 😉 This past weekend I binged a new favourite romcom series and now my heart is ready for more laughs and loving feels. Since this is a love freebie, I’m going to share ten contemporary romances that I’m going to try and read this week (kidding! …maybe).*

*Sorry I’m boring and not sharing cool favourites or recs lists! 🤣

Goodreads Monday – The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

It’s the first Goodreads Monday of 2020, friends! 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.

This week’s book is The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson. Is it a surprise that I was surprised to find this book on my Goodreads TBR considering it is now 1,064 books long? I didn’t even know this book existed until it came up as my random pick for today’s post 😂 But apparently I shelved it in October 2018. It has a 3.65 average with 14.8k+ ratings and 2.4k+ reviews.

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [42]

February 9, 2020December 4, 2022 Dini @ dinipandareads4 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’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?

Top 5 Saturday: Mental Illness Rep

February 8, 2020February 9, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

We’re back with another Top 5 Saturday! I might’ve missed last week’s topic but I will come back to it at some point 🙂 Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂

This week’s topic is: mental illness. I have so many books with mental illness rep on my TBR and it’s so hard to just pick five. I think these are the ones that I’d like to read as soon as possible though, plus they’re all already on my physical/Kindle shelves! I also just realised all of my picks are YA?

I’ve only read one book by John Green although of course I’ve heard plenty of rave reviews about his books, this one included. I’ve heard that the mental health rep is very well done!

Friday Favourites: Non-Human Characters

February 7, 2020February 9, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Can you believe that for a couple of minutes I actually sat staring at this prompt thinking that I have no idea what to write about? Pfft. These drowsy meds are really getting to my head because WHO AM I KIDDING? Of course I have favourite non-human characters and in fact I have plenty of them! But for the sake of brevity, I’ll be sticking to a top five for this post? I’m not sure it’s all that fair to say ‘top five’ but these are also in no particular order!

Mr. Kindly

This list would be an incomplete fail of a list without Mr. Kindly in it. How can I not love this not-cat and his sharp, witty and sarcastic comments? Let’s not forget his dry humour that had me in giggling fits all throughout the Nevernight Chronicles. Plus, who actually wouldn’t love to have a not-cat shadow companion that eats all your fears? I mean, sign me up, please!

#WWWWednesday: 05 February

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

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?

Despite still being sick and ordered on bed rest by the doctor, I haven’t been able to read very much since last Wednesday and only managed to finish three books (one e-ARC and blog tour book)!

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead ★★★★★
This was a book I was expecting to be five stars and I’m so glad I was right. This was an incredible read. I hadn’t read anything by Colson Whitehead until this book but I’m very eager to read his previous and future books now. He writes so simply but with words that cause such a big impact. I found myself tearing up constantly while reading about the Nickel Boys and their mistreatment. I know that these things have happened in the past and in some countries still continue to happen, but gosh, my heart. It makes me feel so sick to think about what these children go through. It’s a tough and painful read, but so worth it! Review coming soon.

Let’s Get Textual (Texting #1) by Teagan Hunter ★★★★★
This was the much needed light read I needed after finishing my previous read. This was a fun, fast and absolutely hilarious romantic comedy with two loveable and nerdy MCs that I was constantly rooting for! Zach is now also my latest fictional man crush because yeah, who doesn’t love a hot nerd with fantastic nerd humor?! Check out my full review.

(e-ARC) The Queen’s Assassin (Queen’s Secret #1) by Melissa de la Cruz ★★★☆☆
I was lucky enough to be chosen as part of The Fantastic Flying Book Club (FFBC) blog tour for The Queen’s Assassin and it’s my first of quite a few that I’ll be joining this year! I just finished this book today with time to spare to prepare my blog post for Saturday–so be on the look out for that post coming up soon! 😉

#TopTenTuesday: Five-Star Predictions on my TBR!

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads49 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: books on my TBR I predict will be five star reads!

I’ve just been thinking about the books I’ve been reading lately and… I’m kind of shook to realise that I haven’t really been giving out a whole lot of 5★ ratings to my reads lately. It’s funny because prior to joining the book community I’m pretty sure that the majority of my ratings were 4★s or 5★s… It makes me wonder whether I’ve not become more critical of the books I read or am I just not as easy to please as I was before? These thoughts actually made me realise how difficult this week’s TTT prompt is for me. It took some stewing over my want-to-read list but I think I’m happy with these predictions…

Goodreads Monday – Educated by Tara Westover

February 3, 2020February 3, 2020 Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

This week’s book is Educated by Tara Westover. This book was all over bookstagram and the book community has hyped it up extremely. Plus I absolutely love this cover (another illustrated cover but it’s also the small details that I love)! 😍 It has a very high 4.48 average with 535k+ ratings and 52k+ reviews.