Tag: reading

WWW Wednesday | 6/4/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Hi everyone! Kids are on summer break – yay! But my son is still getting over a cough. We had the laziest day on Sunday so all I did was read. Now it’s Wednesday and I have a doctor’s appointment. I have been packing for my South Korea trip which happens on Sunday. Just a few more errands to take care of before then and then I’ll be on vacay. I’m excited to go to somewhere new!

What are you currently reading?

The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – I haven’t gotten far because I’m reading the hardcover and I need daylight for that (but I read mostly at night). Might have to read this one after my vacation.

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster – same reason as above

Wrath of Dragons by. Olivia Rose Darling (Fear the Flames, #2) – this is an arc and I’m 11% in.

The Homemade God by. Rachel Joyce – 16% in

Tricks of Fortune by. Lina Chern – 13% in

What have you just finished reading?

On Wings of Blood by. Briar Boleyn – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bond That Burns by. Briar Boleyn – ⭐️⭐️💫

Love at Full Tilt by. Jenny L. Howe – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mayra by. Nicky Gonzalez – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

More arcs to knock off my July netgalley list! And then I’ll be moving on the August arcs! I don’t have a lot in August but why did I sign up for so many in September?! I think it’s funny that in November, I only have 1 arc to read. 😅

A Theory of Dreaming by. Ava Reid

Soul of Shadow by. Emma Noyes

Heir of Storms by. Lauryn Hamilton Murray

The Bewitching by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 6/1/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ It is JUNE! 😳 How?….lol

+ My daughter received her academic award (so proud of her)🥰. And she had her class party and had just the most relaxing and fun last week of school. As for my son, he came home from school with a fever on Tuesday, stayed home on Wednesday and Thursday – so he missed his Lilo & Stitch movie field trip with his class (the fever was over but he was dizzy still and didn’t want to chance the school bus ride to the theater). But he did go to school on the last day of school. So what a week…

+ I’ve been packing for my S. Korea trip. My sister wants to book a scalp spa treatment that seem to be very popular there. She also wants to do some skin treatments but I’m skipping that, I’ll just do the scalp thing and I think the deal she found on klook comes with a haircut. I honestly don’t know what to do with my hair – I use box color because I still can’t handle all the white hair around my temples 😅. So my hair frustrates me and I don’t even wanna deal with it! I might get bangs. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I don’t want to get something done in S. Korea (because it’s affordable) that’s going to be hard for me to maintain when I come back to Hawaii (because of cost – why are hair services so expensive these days?).

+ This week is going to be busy before I leave for S. Korea next week. I have a breast MRI appointment, I have to pick up my son’s Nintendo Switch 2 and then bring him to the orthodontist and buy him clothes for his piano recital that I’ll be missing. I feel a bit anxious – and have been having such weird dreams lately I think because of the anxiety. But I’m sure I’ll be fine by the time I go to the airport because by then it’s all out of my hands and my hubby has to watch the kids for a week 😅. And mind you he was gone for 2 years…and here I am worrying about him with the kids for 1 week. This is the longest he will be alone with them since I gave birth to the both of them!😂🙄. He’s lucky they are older now and mostly self-sufficient!

I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

I didn’t post much this week it seems!

Books I Finished:

Mayra by. Nicky Gonzalez

Fallen Court: Filthy Rich Fae by. Geneva Lee

Arcana Academy by. Elisa Kova

Love at Full Tilt by. Jenny L. Howe

Currently Reading:

Smoke and Scar by. Gretchen Powell Fox

Throne of Secrets by. Kerri Maniscalco

The Homemade God by. Rachel Joyce

Wrath of the Dragons by. Olivia Rose Darling

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • The Wild Robot is on Netflix! And I loved this movie so much last year but it made me cry a lot in the theater. Even watching it at home made me emotional – all the themes of motherhood and found family. UGH…my heart.💜 This movie will always make me cry I think.

Videos I Posted to Youtube:

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube

WWW Wednesday | 5/28/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Okay now that The Knight and the Moth came in, I’m going to try finish that and Summer in the City, two hardcovers on my shelf. But I really am working through so many July arcs – only 7 more of them to go. 😬 I want to knock off a few more before I go on my vacation to South Korea. I don’t think I’ll have time to be reading there, maybe on the long plane ride? I’ll be bringing my kindle, so maybe I can finish a book or two. It’s Wednesday and it was a busy weekend and of course my son is sick again, he was just sick 3 weeks ago! Hopefully he’s okay to finish out the last week of school (but he wishes he doesn’t have to lol). Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

What are you currently reading?

The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – just started this one

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster – just started this one too

Wrath of Dragons by. Olivia Rose Darling (Fear the Flames, #2) – this is an arc and I’m 10% in.

The Homemade God by. Rachel Joyce – this is another arc that I got gifted, but never requested, just started and I’m 4% in. It’s something different from Fantasy so I decided to read and review it.

What have you just finished reading?

Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fallen Court: Filthy Rich Fae by. Geneva Lee – (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Arcana Academy by. Elise Kova – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

More arcs to knock off my July netgalley list! I don’t know why I have so many arcs for July.😅

Mayra by. Nicky Gonzalez

Tricks of Fortune by. Lina Chern

Of Flame and Fury by. Mikayla Bridge

The Bewitching by. Silvia Moreno-Garcia

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 5/25/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ 4 days of school left! Me and the kids were feeling it last week, we just didn’t want to get out of bed lol…

+ My daughter is getting an academic award, my son got into advanced math for 7th grade (he really wanted this because he loves his math teacher) and he also got into the e-sports team for Super Smash Bros. he tried out for. There were 2 spots and a bunch of kids who tried out and he got one of the spots. SO proud of him. So so proud of my kids. 🥰

+ This week is about class parties, my son has a field trip to watch the Lilo & Stitch live action with his class, lucky him and then my hubby’s birthday is on Friday. May is always so busy.

+ I’ve been looking at weather apps for Seoul, Korea and it says it’s getting hot. Lucky thing I live somewhere hot huh? So it shouldn’t be a big deal for me. I’m getting excited! Anybody been to Seoul? Any recs? For our tour we are going to the palace, we are making tal masks, we are going to learn to make bulgogi and japchae (yummy!!!), we will visit the DDP (design plaza?) and of course all the shopping areas and markets since it is a shopping tour.

I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished:

Bound in Inked Flame by. Ava Larksen

Love Unmasked by. Becky Dean

For the Record by. Emma Lord

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem

Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar

Currently Reading:

Fallen Court: Filthy Rich Fae by. Geneva Lee

Smoke and Scar by. Gretchen Powell Fox

Throne of Secrets by. Kerri Maniscalco

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

Videos I Posted to Youtube:

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Literary Palette Cleansers | 5/23/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

May 23: Literary Palette Cleansers

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?

**********

Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset?

I need a reading reset once a week I think! At the end of the year I slow down on reading and try to give me a whole month break – if I can’t do that because I’m addicted to reading, I at least give myself 2 weeks without reading.

Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset?

I read a lot of fantasy or romantasy and when I do too much of that, I switch over to contemporary romance or a thriller/horror. Thrillers are always a good palette cleanser haha and a short book is good since fantasies are so long sometimes.

Do you ever take a break from reading?

YES. I have to take a break if I read more than 13 books a month. I always feel like more than 13 books a month is pushing my limit. I’ve been only reading more this year because of how stressed I feel with reality. So I’m allowing myself to go overboard but I also tell myself not to read for a week if I’ve read too much.

Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?

I don’t think I need them at certain times of the year – just certain times of the month! I saw a tiktoker say her mood reading is based on her menstrual period cycle 😅 and I think she is totally onto something!!!

May Topics:


May 2: Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

May 9: Motivation to Read (Jillian @ The Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?

May 16: What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? (Isabella @ The Ink Bound Reader)

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭

May 23: Literary Palette Cleansers

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?

May 30: Freebie

Prompts: It’s the fifth Friday of the month, so this week is a freebie! Use this week to revisit an old LTB topic, or write about something you’re interested in! You can check out a bunch of topics on our blogs (Dini’s & Aria’s) and Rukky’s blog for more ideas!

WWW Wednesday | 5/21/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I kind of don’t know what to read right now because I’m waiting for my copy of The Knight and the Moth to come in. So I’m trying to read more July arcs, but I have a lot of fantasy arcs so I do need to break them up with other genres. I actually can’t believe I read 5 contemporary books this past week! But they are so much shorter (thank goodness) than the recent romantasy books, it’s really nice to just get through something under 400 pages!

What are you currently reading?

Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar – 3%

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem – 15%

Fallen Court: Filthy Rich Fae by. Geneva Lee – 2%

What have you just finished reading?

Predatory Natures by. Amy Goldsmith ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Give Me a Reason by. Jayci Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love Unmasked by. Becky Dean – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

For the Record by. Emma Lord – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bound in Inked Flame by. Ava Larksen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enchantra by. Kaylie Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maid for Each Other by. Lynn Painter – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, Actually by. Mazey Eddings ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry

The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – Waiting for my copy to come in.

Mayra by. Nicky Gonzalez

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 5/18/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ We are counting down the school days. Only 9 days left for my kiddos so yes they are excited and are sleeping in later, not wanting to go to school haha. But 9 more days!

+ Didn’t do much this week but the usual. My hubby’s friend’s husband passed suddenly last week so it’s been that kinda vibes – sad, reflective – and we got not so good news about my mom’s bladder cancer. She still is stage 1 but they are worried the cancer cells are moving towards her one ureter/kidney that she has left. She’s 72 years old and it’s not news we want to hear. She’s still in the fight of it though, but aging doesn’t help, she just gets so tired of going to the doctors, and doing chemo or procedures to remove the cells.

+ I’m counting down to my South Korea trip – but I have so many things to do days before my flight that ugh…that I’m just checking things off my list on by one and trying not to stress.

I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished:

Maid for Each Other by. Lynn Painter

Give Me a Reason by. Jayci Lee

Well, Actually by. Mazey Eddings

Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson

Tenderly, I Am Devoured by. Lyndall Clipstone

Enchantra (Wicked Games, #2) by. Kaylie Smith

Currently Reading:

Bound in Inked Flame by. Ava Larksen

Smoke and Scar by. Gretchen Powell Fox

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem

Love Unmasked by. Becky Dean

Throne of Secrets by. Kerri Maniscalco

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Damiano David – his new album FUNNY little FEARS – why is he so hot? Like he is the vampire of my dreams! And his voice – beautiful.

Videos I Posted to Youtube:

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube

Let’s Talk Bookish:  What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? | 5/16/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

May 16: What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? (Isabella @ The Ink Bound Reader)

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭

**********

Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that?

Yes. 😅 The latest one is Onyx Storm. I love the series, but this book I didn’t love like the first book. I might have to do a re-read because I’m wondering if it was because I was in a bad mood? But yes there are a lot of people who loved it and I didn’t but hey…reading is subjective and we are all not going to love the same books. Plus I’m a mood reader so yeah…also I’ve found I don’t love cozy romance as much as others do.

What are some story elements that put you off while reading?

Miscommunication, a FMC who is always making mistakes and never learning her lesson; lately so many romantasy has the same, predictable things happening – secret identity/secret powers – so now I’m trying to find romantasy that is unique but that’s hard to do.

What about books others dislike that you love?

Yes there are some – like I said reading is subjective so it’s fine if people dislike what I like – that’s how it’s supposed to work I think!

Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa!

I know lots of people didn’t Shatter Me by. Tahereh Mafi and yes it was very different but I was intrigued enough to read the second book and then fell in love with Warner! But people definitely hated this one!

I didn’t love Deep End by. Ali Hazelwood, like everyone did – I gave it 3 stars I believe. There were parts I enjoyed like the sports romance of it all but I felt cold about the two characters. I didn’t like that she always cried and I didn’t like that he came off just bland to me even if they were both into BDSM.

Just for the Summer by. Abby Jimenez was so popular I had to read it and it was the first book I read from her and didn’t love it. It was just okay for me.

The Grandest Game by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes, is part of a beloved series The Inheritance Games or a spinoff of it and I loved The Inheritance Games series but I think I outgrew it? I’m not sure, but I wasn’t into this one.

May Topics:


May 2: Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

May 9: Motivation to Read (Jillian @ The Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?

May 16: What is one book that everyone else seemed to love except you? (Isabella @ The Ink Bound Reader)

Prompts: Have you ever experienced what seems like the whole book community raving about a book, only to discover it’s not all that? What are some story elements that put you off while reading? What about books others dislike that you love? Feel free to share examples of which books everyone loved and you didn’t, and vice versa! 🤭

May 23: Literary Palette Cleansers

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?

May 30: Freebie

Prompts: It’s the fifth Friday of the month, so this week is a freebie! Use this week to revisit an old LTB topic, or write about something you’re interested in! You can check out a bunch of topics on our blogs (Dini’s & Aria’s) and Rukky’s blog for more ideas!

WWW Wednesday | 5/14/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

We are counting down to June, and my vacation! I’m excited but also nervous too? So I am trying my hardest to get through July arcs – I had 18 and now I have 12 to go 🫠. But I also see in September I have 12 arcs to finish…then Oct-Dec…barely anything. Yet, I also want to read the newest books – reader problems!!

What are you currently reading?

Predatory Natures by. Amy Goldsmith – 15%

The Jasad Crown by. Sara Hashem – 2%

Give Me a Reason by. Jayci Lee

The Courting of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson – 64% – I got the audiobook. I think I have to borrow the book again. I’m 64% through with this audiobook but I feel like I haven’t gotten a grasp of the world building through listening to it.

What have you just finished reading?

Well, Actually by. Mazey Eddings ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Tenderly, I Am Devoured by. Lyndall Clipstone – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Silver Elite by. Dani Francis – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shield of Sparrows by. Devney Perry – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

King of Envy by. Ana Huang ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Forgery of Fate by. Elizabeth Lim ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

His Mortal Demise by. Vanessa Le ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry – Okay I didn’t read this in 7 days lol. I’ll get to it again when I can borrow it again.

The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – I can’t wait for this release!

Mayra by. Nicky Gonzalez

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 5/11/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all you mama’s out there, whether it be to your own child, furbabies, other pet babies, your nieces/nephews – if you are a mother figure, Happy Mother’s Day. I told my hubby I wanted books as my gift, so he’s giving me money to buy some YAY. I think I’m going to use it to get the Legendborn books (I only have Legendborn in hardcover – or should I wait until the whole series is out? 🤔). Anyway I’m excited to add to my collection. We are going to my mom’s house today to celebrate Mother’s Day and my sister’s birthday early.

+ It was a long week because my son’s “cold” turned into a fever/cough/he basically was fighting some virus. And yet he went to school because he had an advanced placement test he didn’t want to miss, then a National test the next day and then he has been waiting for e-sports try-outs. I was trying to hard to get him better! Made him tea with honey and lemon, picked him up from school on the days he went (usually he walks home). So I was being nurse mom all week and then we also had to go to his orthodontist because he is done with his invisalign (yay!) and will be starting retainers soon! And yes they knew he was getting over a cold but it’s so hard to reschedule these things so my son toughed it out and did well! Didn’t have to cough or sneeze while his session.

+ I did go to my Korea Shopping Tour luncheon last Sunday and it looks like a fun group. It’s 29 of us – 4 of them men (husbands lol). The 2 bigger groups are families with kids, parents, and a grandparent – so cute! So I’m just counting down to that trip.

I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished:

Silver Elite by. Dani Francis

A Forgery of Fate by. Elizabeth Lim

King of Envy by. Ana Huang

Currently Reading:

Shield of Sparrows by. Devney Perry

Smoke and Scar by. Gretchen Powell Fox

His Mortal Demise by. Vanessa Le

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Beyonce , Cowboy Carter concert on Tiktok (thank you to all for your service!!!!🥰)
  • Kendrick Lamar/SZQ – GNX tour on Tiktok – I appreciate all these streamers!

Videos I Posted to Youtube:

April Monthly Wrap-Up Journaling Video

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube