[rating: 5] Could there be a more perfect time for a book on everyday kindness? Author and holistic wellbeing expert Stephanie Dowrick has long been tapped into Australia's emotional zeitgeist, … [Read more...]
Book Review: Maeve Binchy’s Treasury
[rating: 4] “Treasury” is an apt description of this wonderful collection of over 40 short stories. Each of the stories is a real gem, unique and beautiful. Some are as subtle as aquamarines, or … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Briny Cafe by Susan Duncan
[rating: 2.5] Susan Duncan is no stranger to sea-side living: her best-selling memoirs A Life on Pittwater and Salvation Creek both touch on her experiences as a new resident in the coastal town of … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty
[rating: 3] How far would you go for love and when does it cross the line into obsession? The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty tells the tale of a hypnotherapist named Ellen O’Farrell, her … [Read more...]
Book Review: Chelsea Mansions: A Brock and Kolla Mystery by Barry Maitland
[rating: 4.5] This is an extremely well-crafted novel, one that will enthral and convert even the most reluctant of crime fiction readers. The arrival of an elderly American tourist in London … [Read more...]
Book Review: Ruby Blues by Jessica Rudd
[rating:4] Ruby Stanhope, the delightfully imperfect star of last year’s chick lit sensation Campaign Ruby, returns to answer that perennial question – what happened next? It’s two years since Max … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Sending: The Obernewtyn Chronicles Book 6 by Isobelle Carmody
[rating: 4] There’s a lot of pressure on any author who has been writing a series since they were 14 as Isobelle Carmody has. She began writing the first book in this series back then and the … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin
[rating: 4] Inspector Malcolm Fox is a man challenged by the past, on more than one level. Firstly, within the confines of this novel, he stumbles across a hushed-up 25-year-old mystery that his … [Read more...]
Book Review: Animal People by Charlotte Wood
[rating: 4] Wood doesn’t hammer her themes but there is plenty to think about in this novel. As a sucker for books where the characters learn something, I recommend Animal People as a very satisfying … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Opal Desert by Di Morrisey
[rating: 4] Di Morrisey immerses the reader in the world of the Australian Outback: raw, powerful, harsh and supremely beautiful. Highly recommended. In the land of the Opal hunters, there is so much … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Plantation by Di Morrissey
[rating: 4] An extraordinary family secret links a seemingly ordinary Australian family to an exotic plantation in Malaysia. This story spans three generations of political upheaval and change in … [Read more...]
Book Review: Nomad by Sibella Court
[rating: 4] How glorious it is to travel. To wander the planet and delight in the cultural and geographical wonder stretching to all corners of the globe. To delve into, experience, treasure ... and … [Read more...]
Book Review: 10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden
[rating: 5] This is quite an astonishing book. And no, I'm not star-struck ... I've always liked Hollywood icon Goldie Hawn, yes, but I'm not a die-hard fan or anything. Except ... I am now. This … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Next Always (The Inn at Boonsboro Trilogy Volume 1) by Nora Roberts
[rating: 4] Nora Roberts is the undisputed master of the romance but she might have just come up with a really clever concept this time. She outdid herself with the excellent Bride Quartet series and … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Women of the Cousins’ War: The Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother
[rating: 4] Historical fiction often gets a bad rap, as lazy, ill researched, misleading and quite frankly trashy. Some of it is all these things — but some is not. When I first came across Philippa … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Real Katie Lavender by Erica James
[rating: 4] Katie’s just lost her job and after a year of shocks and sadness as she recovers from the sudden death of her mother, she believes that she’s impervious to shock. So, when a solicitor … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Deadly Touch of the Tigress by Ian Hamilton
[rating: 4.5] It’s worth saying straight up. Ian Hamilton’s character Ava Lee is one of the freshest takes in a saturated crime writing market. The petite Chinese-Canadian is part PI, part MacGyver, … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Secret Ingredient by Dianne Blacklock
[rating: 4] When Ross Campbell introduces Andie as his “current wife”, it's the beginning of the end. After all, Andie was the “other woman” long before she became Ross's wife, and if the old adage … [Read more...]
Book Review: Last Chance Cafe by Liz Byrski
The novel by Australian author Liz Byrski is set against a diverse backdrop. There is the legacy of The Push movement in Sydney contrasted with a pilgrimage walking the Camino de Santiago de … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Death Relic by Chris Kuzneski
[rating: 3.5] The Death Relic is pure adventure. The central characters Jonathan Payne and David Jones are called to Mexico to help out a past acquaintance who believes that she’s in … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Sound of Music Family Scrapbook by Fred Bronson
[rating: 5] Created by the original cast of children from one of the most famous musicals of all time, this beautifully-produced book is not only like taking a behind-the-scenes tour of this … [Read more...]
Book Review: Stieg and Me by Eva Gabrielsson and Marie-Francoise Colombani
[rating: 3.5] I was devastated, the way only a selfish reader can be, to learn that Stieg Larsson died soon after delivering the first three manuscripts for the Millenium series to his publisher. Yes, … [Read more...]
Book Review: House of Sticks by Peggy Frew
[rating:4] What does it take to blow your house down? Does the big bad wolf need to huff and puff, or have you already invited him in to sit at the table with you? Or, instead, will the flimsy … [Read more...]
Book Review: Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood
[rating:4] How does an artisan baker get up close and personal with a tiger named Tabitha? Corinna is on holiday and she’s looking forward to some quality time with a jug of cocktails and the … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Dressmaker by Posie Graeme-Evans
[rating: 3.5] As a sucker for corset-ripping historical drama but unfamiliar with the works of best-selling author Posie Graeme-Evans, I was quite excited by the prospect of tackling her most recent … [Read more...]
Book Review: Notorious Australian Women by Kay Saunders
[rating: 3] I was pretty keen to read this book, billed as “the sensational lives and exploits of some of Australia’s most audacious women”. The author of this collection, Kay Saunders, is a highly … [Read more...]
Book Review: Madam Tussaud by Michelle Moran
[rating: 5] Whether you have visited one of her many wax museums or not, you will have no doubt heard of Madame Tussaud. And even if her life is something that has never crossed your mind before, you … [Read more...]
Book Review: The 3rd Victim by Sydney Bauer
[rating: 4] No one likes it when terrible things happen to children. As a reader it just makes you squirm. You’ll squirm even more when you find out that Sienna Walker is accused of killing her own … [Read more...]
Book Review: An Outback Life by Mary Groves
[rating: 3.5] To peruse the story of Mary Groves’ life is to step onto a rollicking rollercoaster which moves so fast you can barely catch your breath. The ripping yarns come thick and fast throughout … [Read more...]
Book Review: Watch Out for Me by Sylvia Johnson
[rating: 3] Sylvia Johnson’s 2011 novel Watch Out For Me, is a dramatic story beginning in Australia in 1967 and continuing through to the present. It follows the story of two sisters, their older … [Read more...]
Book Review: Heiress in Love – A Ministry of Marriage Novel by Christina Brooke
[rating: 4.5] We’re not stupid, readers know there is a structure to most romances. Specifically Historical Romance. They usually involve a few raunchy scenes, a splash of mystery, a dilemma which … [Read more...]
Book Review: Dolci di Love by Sarah-Kate Lynch
[rating: 3.5] For logistics expert Lily Turner life is about getting from A to B, and the less meddling within the supply chain the better. After all, her only effort to do so has been an abject … [Read more...]
Book Review: Discover the Gift by Shajen Joy Aziz and Demian Lichtenstein
[rating: 4] What’s your gift? No, I’m not talking about the trinket you recently received for a birthday or festive celebration. I’m talking about your gift to the world. The one you can use to help … [Read more...]
Book Review: Horoscopes 2012 by Milton Black
[rating: 4] There’s something to be said about ‘creating your own life’ – about reality stemming from that which you believe. Such is the hidden and relatively untapped power of the mind. Soothsayers … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Shelly Beach Writers’ Group by June Loves
[rating: 4] This lovely book crept up on me. I was initially worried it would be what US publishers call a ‘cosy’ — a warm and fuzzy story without much real tension. And, in fact, it has many ‘cosy’ … [Read more...]
Book Review: Laugh With Health by Manfred Urs Koch
[rating: 4.5] Loving the title of this book - firstly because it, well - makes me smile. But also because it infers holistic health. The clutch of vibrant fruit and veg on the cover also helps – but … [Read more...]
Book Review: Searching for Women Who Drink Whiskey by Miranda Kennedy
[rating: 4] I was captivated by Miranda Kennedy’s account of her time in India, her experiences as a “feringhee”- a foreigner, and more significantly, as a woman on her own, living the life of a local … [Read more...]
Book Review: Belle by Lesley Pearse
[rating: 4.5] I loved this book. I just wanted to be able to say that first. Belle is a fifteen year old girl, living in her mother’s brothel in Seven Dials with dreams of being a milliner. Until she … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Big Book of Small Business
[rating: 5] All businesses start out small - even if it's just the seed of an idea. But the secret to turning small businesses 'big' is absolutely entrenched in practicality, no matter how soaring and … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Little Veggie Patch Co: how to grow food in small spaces
[rating: 5] Okay, let's just get this out of the way, shall we? because I simply can't wait another moment. I LOVE this book. There, I said it. And why do I love this book? Well, there are many … [Read more...]
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