You've landed where I share my book reviews. I believe in being honest in a book review - although also, hopefully, tactful. I also believe that most books do have an audience somewhere. So if I dislike a book, I'll tell you so, but I'll also try to tell you why in such a way … Continue reading Where are you?
A Lot to Unpack
By: Portia Macintosh ISBN: 9781805571667 Boldwood Books (2025) This is a fun rom com with a touch of jetsetting and a very modern outlook. I enjoyed that people acted like adults, meaning that misunderstandings or difficult situations were actually confronted and dealt with reasonably. Liberty’s just turned 30 and landed a dream job, but she … Continue reading A Lot to Unpack
The Angry Wives Club
By: Gabby Stroud ISBN: 9781761473104 Allen & Unwin (2026) Although Stroud is travelling a well worn path with this novel, she does it with passion, feeling, and a nice vein of humor. It’s an enjoyable and readable novel, even when some of the subject matter is a tad confronting. In Shellwater Bay, three women’s lives … Continue reading The Angry Wives Club
The Chateau on Sunset
By: Natasha Lester ISBN: 9780733651717 Hachette Australia (2026) This is possibly my favorite of Lester’s novels to date. All her novels are deeply researched, deep in character, and often fascinating, but this one also has a hint of whimsy which really struck a chord with me. In the late 1950s, orphaned Aria Jones is sent … Continue reading The Chateau on Sunset
Shopping for a Highlander’s Baby
By: Julia Kent ISBN: unavailable Self published (2026) As with all romance novels, the ending of this isn’t a great surprise – it’s about the journey as much as the destination. Kent fills that journey with love and laughter, and a lot of heart. I can’t imagine a reader who wouldn’t enjoy this. This is … Continue reading Shopping for a Highlander’s Baby
The Witness
By: Fleur McDonald ISBN: 9781460766927 HarperCollins Australia (2026) I opened this novel at least as interested in the progress of the character’s lives as I was in the mystery I knew they would be exploring. This is the third in a series, and although it stands alone for new readers, existing fans are going to … Continue reading The Witness
The Drowning
By: Fiona Lowe ISBN: 9781038921505 Harlequin Australia (2026) I love Fiona Lowe’s meaty dramas, and this is one that will please most readers. The plot is exceptionally twisty, and perhaps leans a bit more into the crime space than I’d expect from Lowe; but it’s handled so well that at one point I literally could … Continue reading The Drowning
The Tangled Web
By: Tea Cooper ISBN: 9781038906564 HQ Fiction (2025) This is a solid historical fiction which presents an interesting and unique plot set in a well researched time and place. I enjoyed it a great deal. In 1892 Viola Oswald loses her beloved brother Sebastian to hemophilia. At this time the disease is not well understood, … Continue reading The Tangled Web
The Stalker
By: Teri Terry ISBN: 9781806008360 Boldwood Books (2025) This was my first encounter with Terry writing adult fiction, and a thriller at that. She moves into a new genre with aplomb. This is a tightly written thriller that will both engage readers and keep them guessing. Terry has previously written speculative fiction novels aimed at … Continue reading The Stalker
The Lightning Ridge Ladies
By: Fiona McArthur ISBN: 978-1-76135-011-5 Penguin Random House (2025) Trigger warning: this review contains references to suicide and self harm. Fiona McArthur is back with The Lightning Ridge Ladies, another strong story set in outback Australia. As with earlier novels such as The Baby Doctor, the focus is on relationships and particularly strong female friendships. … Continue reading The Lightning Ridge Ladies
Beth is Dead
By: Katie Bernet ISBN: 9781761355455 Penguin Random House Australia (2026) I dithered about whether I wanted to read this novel, and I wish I hadn’t – it’s a wonderful read, and I wasted time when I could have been enjoying it. The novel is a contemporary re-imagining of “Little Women” as a YA murder mystery. … Continue reading Beth is Dead
Other Dreams, Other Lives 