Mini Panda's Book Reviews

#TBRTakedown 5.0 Wrap Up (February 6th - February 12th) I actually read a book!! I did it finally! I finished two books actually and started another two during this readathon.  I'm really happy considering lately my streak with readathons hasn't been all that great. I am busy with work and finding time to read has been hard but I did it! TBR Challenges: A book that's been on your TBR Shelf Over a Year! A book from your most recent book haul. The first book in a series. Catch up in a series. An "out of your comfort zone" book. I completed 3/5 of the challenges and 1/4 of the books from my original TBR. But I also finished a book that wasn't on my TBR before that I felt like reading. Challenges Completed: A book that's been on your TBR Shelf for over a year and the first book in a series. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis  ★ ★ ★ I gave this book 3/5 stars. It was fine. I have watched the movie before (when it ...

Writing: Nanowrimo Try 2017 (A Super Late  Update  Sorry) So I started this year coming up with such a fantastic idea for a Nanowrimo story that I couldn't help start immediately writing down all my thoughts. I started a Pinterest board, a Spotify playlist, etc. I've been doing this since the first of the year (the first week). I feel more excited a ready to write this than I was for last years Nanowrimo. Then I decided I was gonna work on in all year and hopefully do own Nanowrimo next month (March). There are 31 days next month and I plan on writing 25,000 words which averages to about 807 words a day. There is a lot of research that needs to be done before I start writing. That is why I was saying that I hope to do my own Nanowrimo but I'm not sure if I can finish my research before then. It's gonna be in the fantasy genre and I need to flesh stuff out before I can move forward. I never updated what happened to my other story but I didn't finish it. I...

#TBRTakedown 5.0 February 6th (12:00 am) - February 12th (11:59 pm) I've taken part of the last few TBRTakedown's so this one is no different. I'm gonna do the TBRTakedown 5.0 Challenge. It is hosted by  @leaninglights  as always. I'm really excited to participate. I haven't finished a book this year yet and I'm ready to finish one already.  TBR Challenges: A book that's been on your TBR Shelf Over a Year! A book from your most recent book haul. The first book in a series. Catch up in a series. An "out of your comfort zone" book.

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury  by Sarah J. Maas Format (That I Read It): Book Summary: Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two. With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights. Initial Thoughts: After I read A Court of...

Review: Crown of Midnight  by Sarah J. Maas Format (That I Read It): Book Summary: From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up ...

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses  by Sarah J Maas Format (That I Read It): Book Summary: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down! Initial Thoughts: EVERYONE was...

#TBRTakedown 4.0 June 20th (12:00 am) - June 26th (11:59 pm) I took part in the TBRTakedown 4.0 Challenge. It is hosted by  @leaninglights . Now this time, around with TBRTakedown it was a lot more difficult to read. When this readathon started I just one, finished up another readathon, and two I had just gotten back from my vacation.  TBR Challenges: A book that's been on your TBR Shelf Over a Year! An unread sequel sitting on your TBR shelf. The first book in a series on your TBR shelf. An "out of your comfort zone" book. A book from your most recent book haul. A book that's been on your TBR Shelf Over a Year: The BFG  by Roald Dahl ★★★★ This book was super cute! Sophie and the BFG's relationship was just too adorable but the book did have darker undertones that I wasn't expecting. I mean I know that the book was about one friendly giant and a whole slew of evil ones but I didn't expect it to be darker than the giants eating ...

Recommendations: If you like this.... (TV Shows) you'll like this.... (Books) ~All suggestions are my own opinion~ My recommendations go both ways. If you like the book then I think you will like the show. Both the TV shows and books I recommend are ones that I've watched/read and really enjoyed. Some of the shows have ended which I will indicate (by this *) but all the rest are currently ongoing.   If you like Dexter*  you will like You by Caroline Kepnes. Both of these are very similar in my mind. I was getting a lot of Dexter vibes when I was reading You . They both revolve around anti-heroes. Both of the main characters are people you love to hate. They also involve similar things, albeit Dexter is quite a bit darker with Dexter being a serial killer and Joe being a stalker. Both show and book are creepy and make you rethink who you can actually trust.  If you like  Outlander  you will like  The Bronze Horseman  by Paul...

Review: Throne of Glass  by Sarah J. Maas Format (That I Read It): Book/Audiobook Summary: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world. Initial Thoughts: Everybody and their cousins are reading or have read this series. I bought it quite a while ago and finally decided to pick it up. I just needed something kickass after my Lady Mi...

#readASOIAF Read-Along June-October 2016 I was on Youtube when I saw that Riley posted a new video about a read-along for the Game Of Thrones series. She and two others ( Elizabeth and Kayla ) were hosting a re-readathon of the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series. I got really excited because I read the first book earlier this year and really enjoyed it but I wasn't sure when I was going to be reading the rest because to be honest I was still really intimidated by how massive they all are! But having a group of people who are reading with you is really going to be helpful! So each month, starting in June, one of the books with be read. There was a printable checklis t that can be used to help you while reading:  Since I already read Game of Thrones this year I decided to opt out of the first month, instead, I will be reading Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon since it's around the same length as the rest of the series. In all, I'm super excited! ...

Review: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin Format (That I Read): Book Challenge Completed: A top 100 fantasy novel  Summary: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bears swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carries men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister t...