By: Eva Scott ISBN: 978-1-8672-3058-8 Mira (2021) “Meet Me in Bendigo” is a charming romance that follows the basic storyline of the movie “You’ve Got Mail”, giving it an Australian gloss and updating it to reflect current times. Annalisa is the latest Cappelli to run the family hardware store, a fixture in Wongilly for over … Continue reading Meet Me In Bendigo
Month: July 2021
The Last of the Apple Blossom
By: Mary Lou Stephens ISBN:978-1-8672-2643-7 HQ Fiction (2021) “The Last of the Apple Blossom” engaged me more quickly and strongly than I expected. This charming novel follows the fortunes of Catherine Turner and the Tasmanian apple orchard that she loves. Because it’s so engaging, it’s also quite a quick read – it kept me turning … Continue reading The Last of the Apple Blossom
Daughter of the River Country
By: Dianne O’Brien with Sue Williams ISBN: 978-1-76068-706-9 Echo Publishing (2021) “Daughter of the River Country” is the memoir of a proud Yorta Yorta woman. It’s a fascinating and frequently sad accounting of a life blighted by domestic violence, bureaucratic cruelty, and discrimination. This is a memoir rather than an autobiography; it lacks the level … Continue reading Daughter of the River Country
The Last Night In London
By: Karen White ISBN: 978 0 7553 7929 3 Simon and Schuster (2021) “The Last Night In London” uses the familiar structure of two entwined story lines, one in the past and one in the present. I didn’t find it engrossing, instead rather average, but I can picture other readers finding it a stronger novel. … Continue reading The Last Night In London
Catch Us The Foxes
By: Nicola West ISBN: 978 0 7553 7929 3 Simon and Schuster (2021) I found it difficult to decide how I felt about “Catch Us the Foxes”. Throughout my reading I cycled through like, dislike, like again, and so on. In the end I wound up closer to dislike, but only because the central premise … Continue reading Catch Us The Foxes
The Other Side of Beautiful
By Kim Lock ISBN: 978-1-8672-1490-8 HQ Fiction (2021) “The Other Side of Beautiful” is a deceptively simple novel that highlights the grace and kindness that so many people offer to others. This emerges slowly, but readers will quickly engage with the very damaged but very likeable main character. Mercy Blain is not very happy. Her … Continue reading The Other Side of Beautiful
What Would LaVonda Robinette Do?
Author: Kirsten Maron ISBN: 978-1-922444-42-4 Shawline Publishing Group (2021) “What Would LaVonda Robinette Do?” is a funny and incisive novel about a woman whose life is abruptly and involuntarily changing in multiple ways. LaVonda is not having a good day. It’s her birthday, but instead of being spoiled and pampered, her husband leaves her, she … Continue reading What Would LaVonda Robinette Do?
Black 13
Author: Adam Hamdy ISBN: 978-1509899128 Pan Macmillan (2020) “Black 13” is a well written spy thriller that uses many familiar tropes of the genre, but which is thoroughly contemporary in its’ concerns and plot. Scott Pearce was unwillingly retired from MI6, and is spending his retirement chasing the lead that his superiors refused to believe in. His … Continue reading Black 13
Red Wolves
By: Adam Hambdy ISBN: 978-1509899234 Macmillan (2021) “Red Wolves” is the second in the Scott Pearce series, and like the first, it’s a fast moving and timely thriller. I enjoyed it immensely. Few readers would be able to avoid being swept up in the action. After the successes and failures of “Black 13”, the first … Continue reading Red Wolves
Grace and Glory
Volume 3 of “The Harbinger” By: Jennifer Armentrout ISBN: 978-1-8672-3194-3 HQ Fiction (2021) “Grace and Glory” is the third volume in the Harbinger series, and it’s a cracker. Readers who’ve been waiting for the conclusion to the trilogy will be delighted. Please note that this review may have minor spoilers for the first two volumes … Continue reading Grace and Glory
Other Dreams, Other Lives 