Tag: Mini Review

#WWWWednesday: 24 February

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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:

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

Since last Wednesday I’ve finished three books. Two of the books were re-reads that I did following along with the audiobooks and I’m so glad that I did that!

Illuminae & Gemina (The Illuminae Files #1 and #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ★★★★★
These were my two re-reads and I absolutely LOVED them. I rated them both 4-stars the first time I read them (although I’m not sure why) but after reading along with the audiobook, I’ve bumped up both ratings to 5-stars. This series is *chefs kiss*. Maybe Gemina isn’t all that different in plot compared to Illuminae but did I care? Absofreakinglutely NOT! They were such fun reads and I loved the couples and the side characters. Seriously, if you love full cast audios and want something fun to read, definitely check these out! 😍 10/10 would recommend!

The Locker Room (The Brentwood Boys #1) by Meghan Quinn ★★★½
Legit sad that I didn’t love this one more especially when it started out strong for me. Knox was such a great hero and might be one of my new sports hero faves, and while Emory started off really fun and relatable, she became increasingly irritating as the story went on. And then that time-jump at the 80% mark happened and… NOPE. Nuppity nope. Just why? Super sad panda times. 🐼 Check out my review!

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#WWWWednesday: 17 February

Published on by dinipandareads5 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:

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

Since last Wednesday I’ve finished six books and I’m happy to say that I’ve written and posted a few of these reviews already! We’re ignoring the fact that I have weeks of “I’ll be posting my (mini-)reviews soon” that I still need to tackle but something is better than nothing, right?! More reviews to come 😉😂

Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney ★★★★☆
This was so different from what I usually read but I absolutely loved it. It was hilarious, it had a strong message and it’s a book that I really wish younger me had access to–although adult me still really appreciated it and I think so many readers of all ages can get something great out of the read. Check out my review!

Enjoy the View (Moose Springs #3) by Sarah Morgenthaler ★★★½
I was so looking forward to Easton’s story so I’m quite sad that this ended up being my least favourite of the series. Easton is still my kryptonite but our heroine really set my teeth on edge in this one! I tried to be understanding of her drive and the adventurous thrill but… Nope. Morgenthaler’s signature humour was still enjoyable though! 🤷🏻‍♀️ Check out my review!

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#WWWWednesday: 10 February

Published on by 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:

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

Since last Wednesday I’ve finished five books and basically I’ve finished an NA romance series, picked up the first book in the spin-off NA series and finished my buddy read for a contemporary romance. It’d be super accurate to say that my February is shaping up to (unintentionally) be a month of all the romance! Other than my two scheduled blog tour reads this month, I think I just might stick to the romance kick until the month ends but as a mood reader, it’s possible this could change on a whim. 😂

The Mistake (Off-Campus #2) by Elle Kennedy ★★★½
The Score (Off-Campus #3) by Elle Kennedy ★★★½
The Goal (Off-Campus #4) by Elle Kennedy ★★★½
The Chase (Briar U #1) by Elle Kennedy ★★★☆☆
I’m planning to write a series review for Off-Campus and I’m going to clump in The Chase in that review as well because I don’t think I’ll be continuing the Briar U series… While this series was a whole lot of fun banter, feisty heroines and smouldering heroes, I felt that the crazy college party and sex vibe of the story became too much in the end and the quality of the romances suffered for it. There were definitely great moments, I still rated the books 3+stars but the constant reminder that these players could get all the girls they wanted and that they frequently did prior to meeting their heroines became pretty gross and tiring in the end. 😅 Full series review to come soon!

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#WWWWednesday: 03 February

Published on by dinipandareads18 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:

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

Since last Wednesday I’ve finished five books and had my first DNF of 2021 (not included here). My goal this year is to continue DNFing books that aren’t doing it for me instead of letting my guilt push me to keep reading something that I’m really not enjoying, so I’m proud that I managed to put this goal into action so early on in the year! 😂

Deadly Dreams (Fortuna Sworn #4) by K.J. Sutton ★★★☆☆
After ending book two feeling mad let down, I didn’t have big hopes for this book but it was better. I really enjoyed certain aspects of it, such as how Fortuna’s trauma was dealt with (for the most part) but I’m kinda tired of the story cos it keeps going around in circles and I feel like we still get no answers. There were more “political fae games” in this story, which also meant a lot more brutality and murders, which did keep it ‘interesting’ (lol) but I’m truly over the love-triangle/square/whatever vibes. I will say that the ending surprised me and for that alone I will be continuing on with the series because my curiosity has been piqued! Will share a series review soon.

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#WWWWednesday: 27 January

Published on by dinipandareads7 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:

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

Since last week I’ve managed to read six books. If you can’t tell by the books I’m reading, I’m definitely in a romance mood. All but one of the books I read were scifi/fantasy romance and I think that mood might be sticking around for a bit longer cos I’m (mostly) enjoying myself with these books! 😂

At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman ★★¾
While this was not the fast-paced plot-driven story that I had expected, I am still glad that I read it. I thought Seligman did really well in connecting us to those who are a part of society that many don’t give the time of day to understand. It was a bummer then that I didn’t connect to the characters and that resulted in me not feeling anything about the story. Check out my review!

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#WWWWednesday: 20 January

Published on by dinipandareads11 Comments

I know technically it’s 21 January and I’m a bit late but we’re rolling with it!

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:

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

Since last week, I’ve read 7 books but I’m not counting three of them because I didn’t count them on my Goodreads. As I mentioned in my weekly wrap up I picked up a reverse harem bully romance and it was one of those experiences where I was horrified and confused but also still curious so I kept “reading”. In reality I was just skimming as fast as possible to see what happens but it was honestly one helluva journey and I don’t even know what to think 😂

Girl on the Ferris Wheel by Julie Halpern & Len Vlahos ★★★☆☆
The Girl on the Ferris Wheel was a realistic YA contemporary about high school life, first love, culture and family. It also has good representation for anxiety and depression through the lens of a young adult. I felt the story was written for the younger end of the YA range though and I found it difficult to really connect to the characters. Check out my blog tour review!

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#WWWWednesday: 13 January

Published on by dinipandareads25 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:

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

Since last week, I’ve managed to read 5 books. It was a bit of a mixed bag with mostly so-so reads and one big win, so at least there’s that!

Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston ★★★☆☆
I was disappointed that I didn’t love this more but I went into it expecting something completely different. This is a light fantasy fairytale that was a little whimsical, with writing on the younger side of YA, but it was a lot spookier than I expected! Sadly, I didn’t really connect with the characters and inconsistencies in the story/characters kept jarring me out of the zone. Not bad, but not a fave. RTC!

The Crowns of Croswald (The Crowns of Croswald #1) by D.E. Night ★★☆☆☆ (or 1.5 idk)
I FINISHED IT. I FINALLY FINISHED IT! And I wept with relief when I did. 😂 Wow, this is one of those books that sounded like it’d be amazing but it ended up being so very, very not for me! There were some interesting world elements but I simply couldn’t get into it and did not care. This took me two months to finish and I honestly wish I had DNF’ed it. Check out my full review.

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#WWWWednesday: 06 January

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Welcome, welcome to the first WWW Wednesday of 2021!

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:

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

Since the last time I did one of these posts I’ve managed to read 5 books (I think?), although none of them were the ones that I was reading in my previous post and all of those are still being “currently read”. 😅

The Little Swiss Ski Chalet ★★★½
Caplin made me question why I’d yet to go to Switzerland and why it wasn’t higher up on my bucket list. She masterfully brought the setting of each location so vividly to life, and not to mention how she so enthusiastically writes about food in this book made me ridiculously hungry (and eager to bake)! Sadly, I wish the characters were better developed as I didn’t feel connected to them and it made the romance fall a bit flat for me. RTC.

Keepers of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger ★★★★☆
I’d heard so much about this series and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It’s action-packed and Messenger introduces us to an interesting magical world full of vegetarian elves and a unique magical system. I loved Sophie and her journey and can’t wait to read more. Potentially a new favourite MG fantasy! RTC.

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#WWWWednesday: 30 December

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WHOA, IT’S THE LAST WWWWEDNESDAY FOR 2020! Shooketh.

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:

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

Since last week I managed to finish four books but I also decided to DNF one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now, I’m quite proud that I’m actually DNFing books this year. It’s been so hard for me to do but baby steps… We’re getting there! But also… I still have to write reviews for all of these. *le super sigh* Yay for reading lots but the struggle to review is so real! 🙃

Subversive (Clandestine Magic #1) by Colleen Crowley ★★★★☆
I was immediately intrigued by this dystopian society where males reign supreme in every aspect especially to do with magic. There were many layers to the plot(s) and it covers so many issues but the author does a fantastic job of bringing it all together: we’re advocating for women’s rights, subverting the male dominated magical system, hiding government secrets and all while getting a deliciously slow-burning enemies-to-lovers romance! Plus the characters were so easy to root for! I can’t wait to read on. Will likely do a series review for this? RTC.

Spellmaker (Spellbreaker Duology #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg ★★★★☆
This was an action-packed and ultimately satisfying conclusion to Holmberg’s latest historical fantasy duology. It was so rejoin Elsie and Bacchus as they try to beat the villain at their own game. There was more magic, murder, and mystery, and I was 100% here for it. This book is out in March 2021 so my review will be posted closer to pub day! RTC.

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#WWWWednesday: 23 December

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IT’S THE SECOND TO LAST WWWWEDNESDAY FOR 2020!!! WHAT?!

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:

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

Since last week I managed to finish five books:

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston ★★★★★
Love love love. I wrote a pretty gushing review about this. I had a feeling I’d enjoy it when I read the blurb but I didn’t expect it to love it as much as I did. Alston creates a fantastic supernatural world in parallel to our real world, and this was fast-paced and action-packed and had a wonderful heroine! Check out my full blog tour review.

Special Delivery (Always Satisfied #5) by Lauren Blakely ★★☆☆☆
There were two stories in this book and I found both a little meh. The first one had strong insta-love feels and then the accidental pregnancy trope was thrown in at the end. It was so convenient and it was a no for me. The second story was a ‘forbidden’ sister’s best friend to lovers romance and while the chemistry was a bit stronger there, I still didn’t connect with the characters. In both stories our H/H came across as much younger than their age and it was just… “eh” 🤷🏻‍♀️ Guess you can’t win ’em all!

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