It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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I’m typing up this post rather awkwardly because as I was slicing the homemade Turkish kebab (aka gyro) meat for dinner last night, with a very sharp knife as the meat needs to be cut very thin, I sliced through the flesh on my finger from the top knuckle almost to the fingernail bed. So much blood! My husband thinks it probably needs stitches but it’s a long holiday weekend here and I have no desire to sit in the ER for hours, so once I got the bleeding under control I used some padding and sports tape to make a compression bandage. It’s been a few hours now and though it still hurts like hell, I guess I’ll live.

Other than that, it’s been a reasonably quiet week. Daylight savings started yesterday, so I’m looking forward to lighter, warmer evenings, though rain is predicted for the entire week.

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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No Country for Girls by Emma Styles

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

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New Posts…

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Review: After the Flood by Dave Warner

Review: Conspiracy by Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge

Review: Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander

Review: The Liars by Petronella McGovern

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #9

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

A man runs for his life in a forest.

A woman plans sabotage.

A body is unearthed.

Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder – a ‘file and forget’.

But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day. As Nell starts to join the pieces together, she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her. Could her own family be implicated in the crimes?

The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes for her, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces. Can she survive this harrowing investigation and what price will she have to pay for the truth?

Gripping and atmospheric, The Tilt is a stunning multi-layered novel by the acclaimed and award-winning author of the international bestsellers Scrublands, Silver, Trust and Treasure & Dirt.

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A paranormal Dumplin’ for adults, When Life Gives You Vampires is part a journey of body positivity, part a story about learning how to accept love at face value, and part a hysterical romcom told through a paranormal lens.

Twenty-five year old Lily Baines is used to waking up hungover, overweight, and underemployed. Waking up with fangs? Not so much. But when it turns out a little light necking has more serious consequences than she ever imagined, Lily’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

Tristan hadn’t meant to turn Lily—it’s against vampire law—but now that she’s here, they need to team up to save their hides. They strike a truce, fending off other vampires, Lily’s work-rival-turned-slayer, and her mother’s tone-deaf romance and fitness advice—all while Lily faces down her insecurities about the fact that she lives in a diet-obsessed world with a body that will never age, never die, and never change. Can she learn to love the (plus size) woman she’ll be forever more?

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Two deaths, eighteen years apart. A tension-filled mystery by debut author Joanna Morrison.

Gracie Flynn may be dead, but she’s not gone. Three university friends are divided by a tragic death. Eighteen years later, chance reunites them. Robyn is still haunted by memories of her best friend Gracie, and Cohen’s heart has never healed. Only Sam seems to have moved on and found success and happiness. But death rocks their lives again when Sam’s body is found in mysterious circumstances. And the ghost of Gracie Flynn has a story to tell about the night that changed their lives forever.

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Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #TheTilt #WhenLifeGivesYouVampires #TheGhostofGracieFlynn #Fairytale

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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(Ok, so technically I’m posting this on Tuesday). I had a fairly busy week and ended up with a migraine that scuppered my plans for the last few days.

My eldest son graduated high school this week. He was awarded first in Advanced Mathematics, and received the University of New England Vice Chancellors High Achievement Prize with a scholarship, which confirms he will be studying a Bachelor of Media & Communication (Writing & Publishing) next year at UNE, his top choice school! We are so proud!

I also got to meet author Petronella McGovern when she visited my local library. She was lovely and I really enjoyed the event, it’s been a long time since they have been possible.

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Cut by Susan White

The Big Bang Theory by Jessica Radloff

Sincerely, Me by Julietta Henderson

With Love from Wish & Co by Minnie Darke

No Country for Girls by Emma Styles

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New Posts…

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None – eek

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny—optimistic, guileless, brilliant Denny—is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force, and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history.

Returning home to Cabramatta for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by Denny’s case: a dozen people were at Lucky 8 restaurant when Denny died, but each of the bystanders claim to have seen nothing.

Desperately hoping that understanding what happened might ease her suffocating guilt, Ky sets aside her grief and determines to track down the witnesses herself. With each encounter, she peels back another layer of the place that shaped her and Denny, exposing trauma and seeds of violence that were planted well before that fateful celebration dinner: by colonialism, by the war in Vietnam, and by the choices they’ve all made to survive.

Alternating between Ky’s voice and the perspectives of the witnesses, Tracey Lien’s extraordinary debut is at once heart-pounding and heart-rending as it probes the intricate bonds of friendship, family, and community through an unforgettable cast of characters, all connected by a devastating crime. Combining evocative family drama and gripping suspense, All That’s Left Unsaid is a profound and moving page turner, perfect for readers of Liz Moore, Brit Bennett, and Celeste Ng.

 

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Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

xxxxxxx

 

Two deaths, eighteen years apart. A tension-filled mystery by debut author Joanna Morrison.

Gracie Flynn may be dead, but she’s not gone. Three university friends are divided by a tragic death. Eighteen years later, chance reunites them. Robyn is still haunted by memories of her best friend Gracie, and Cohen’s heart has never healed. Only Sam seems to have moved on and found success and happiness. But death rocks their lives again when Sam’s body is found in mysterious circumstances. And the ghost of Gracie Flynn has a story to tell about the night that changed their lives forever.

xxxxxxx

 

The world’s best young magicians accept the opportunity of a lifetime.

Six are chosen. Only five will walk away.

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few . . .

– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.

– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.

– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.

– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.

– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #Fairytale #TheGhostofGracieFlynn #TheAtlasSix #AllThatsLeftUnsaid

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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The high school graduation ceremony for my eldest son is this Wednesday, I’m very glad we’ll be able to attend this one (my daughter’s was streamed because of CoVid). He’s finished now with school, except for his HSC (final exams) which begin early October. He won’t know until November at the earliest if he has gained a place at the university of his choice.

Because Thursday has been declared a nationwide public holiday to memorialise Queen Elizabeth, it will also be the last day of Term 3 for my youngest son, so he will be on school holidays for the next two weeks.

My youngest daughter has gone back to Uni to finish the last semester of her second year, she’ll be home for the summer early November.

My eldest daughter dropped by tonight, she is settling well into her new flat, though I don’t think they are doing a lot of cooking, the Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King) literally across the road is proving too tempting.

Tomorrow I’m picking up my new reading glasses, and I’m looking forward to attending an author talk by Petronella Govern at my local library in the evening.

It’s going to be a busy week for me.

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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The Opal Miners Daughter by Fiona McArthur

Conspiracy by Tom Phillips

The Work Wives by Rachael Johns

After the Flood by Dave Warner

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New Posts…

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Review: Confidence by Denise Mina

Review: The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul

Review: The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

Bookshelf Bounty

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What I’m Reading This Week…

Carla is a young doctor striving to become the first female surgeon at a prestigious Melbourne hospital. When a consultant post opens up, she competes with her lover for the job and thinks she can be judged on merit. But an assault after a boozy workplace dinner leaves her traumatised and struggling to cope with the misogyny coming from every corner of her workplace. Recovering her fragmented memories from that night, Carla begins a fight for justice that will shake the foundations of the hospital she loves.

Cut is a thrilling, provocative novel set against the backdrop of a major Melbourne hospital’s surgical team in the time before #metoo blew the lid off institutionalised misogyny and sexism

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If you can’t be a hero, just be yourself . . .

Danny Mulberry is the definition of a man who ‘could do better’. He hasn’t spoken to his sister in sixteen years, spends most of his spare time in the local pub and currently lives in his best friend’s garden shed.

But when the consequences of one drunken evening draw the attention of the press, a misleading article appears depicting Danny’s less-than-perfect lifestyle as something covetable and wise. People start to think this apparently enlightened man could be the one with all the answers, and letters begin to flood in from strangers seeking his guidance.

Wolfie is the teenage daughter of Danny’s estranged sister, Lou. She’s never met her uncle. But her mother needs help, so when Wolfie sees Danny’s picture in the paper, she sets out to find him.

Within a week, Danny goes from being responsibility-free to a big brother, an uncle and an unwitting existential ‘guru’ to some very lost souls.

Can he become the man they all need him to be?

An uplifting and heart-warming novel about a family reunited, second chances and the power of forgiveness, from the critically acclaimed author of The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman.

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GOLD. THEFT. MURDER.

A ROAD TRIP TO DIE FOR.

‘It’s not exactly how I imagined the week starting. An accessory to murder. On the run in the victim’s vehicle . . .’

Charlie and Nao are strangers from different sides of the tracks. They should never have met, but one devastating incident binds them together forever.

A man is dead and now they are unwilling accomplices in his murder there’s only one thing to do: hit the road in the victim’s twin cab ute, with a bag of stolen gold stashed under the passenger seat.

Suddenly outlaws, Nao and Charlie must make their way across Australia’s remote outback using only their wits to survive. They’ll do whatever it takes to evade capture and escape with their lives . . .

Thelma & Louise for a new generation, No Country for Girls is a gritty, twisty road-trip thriller that follows two young women on the run across the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Australia.

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From the author of the international bestsellers Star-crossed and The Lost Love Song comes a captivating novel about a young woman whose one little mix-up sets off an unexpected chain of events, with repercussions for her business . . . and her lovelife.

With Love from Wish & Co is a heart-warming novel about what we are prepared to give, and give up, in the name of love.

One little mix-up. That’s all it took . . .

Marnie Fairchild is the brains and talent behind Wish & Co, a boutique store that offers a bespoke gift-buying service to wealthy clients with complicated lives. Brian Charlesworth is Marnie’s most prized customer, and today she’s wrapping the perfect anniversary gift for his wife, Suzanne . . . and a birthday present for his mistress, Leona. What could possibly go wrong?

For years, Marnie’s had her heart set on moving Wish & Co to the historic shopfront once owned by her grandfather. When the chance to bid for the property unexpectedly arises, Marnie – distracted – makes an uncharacteristic mistake.

Soon Brian is in a fight to rescue his marriage, and Marnie is scrabbling to keep her dreams alive. And with the situation so complicated, the last thing Marnie needs is to fall for Brian and Suzanne’s son . . .

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #Cut #SincerelyMe #NoCpuntryforGirls #WithLovefromWish&Co

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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I really enjoyed all the live stream panels from the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival,  I’d definitely recommend being part of it if you have the opportunity in 2023.

My youngest daughter is home for the week. Our late night binge program of choice is Cold Case, we won’t finish of course but it’s an easy one to pick up again when she’s home next.

I’m still catching up on writing reviews, which cuts into my reading time, but I’m getting there…

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander

The Work Wives by Rachael Johns

The Liars by Petronella Govern

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New Posts…

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Review: Yours, Mine, Ours by Sinead Moriarty

Review: Do As I Say by Sarah Steel

Review: Criminals by James O’Loghlin

Review: Dark Deeds Down Under Edited by Craig Sisterson

Book Lust

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What I’m Reading This Week…

The third book in the record-breaking Thursday Murder Club series from British national treasure Richard Osman.

It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal.

Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club is concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

Then, a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill . . . or be killed.

As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

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A thrilling new novel in the award-winning Dan Clement series.

A violent death by crucifixion near a remote north-west station has Detective Inspector Dan Clement and his Broome police officers disturbed and baffled. Other local incidents – the theft of explosives from a Halls Creek mine site, social justice protests at an abattoir, a break-in at a child-health care clinic – seem mundane by comparison. But as Clement starts to make troubling connections between each crime, he finds himself caught in a terrifying race. In a landmass larger than Western Europe, he must identify and protect an unknown target before it is blown to bits by an invisible enemy.

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Tom Phillips (Humans; Truth) and Jonn Elledge (The Compendium of Not Quite Everything) team up to debunk the greatest conspiracy theories humans have ever espoused – to teach us how not to fall for them

From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, it’s always been human nature to believe we’re being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be fair, we absolutely are).

But while it can be fun to indulge in a bit of Deep State banter on the family Whatsapp group, recent times have shown us that some of these theories have taken on a life of their own – and in our dogged quest for the truth, it appears we might actually be doing it some damage.

In Conspiracy, Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge take us on a fascinating, insightful and often hilarious journey through conspiracy theories old and new, to try and answer an important question: how can we learn to log off the QAnon message boards, and start trusting hard evidence again?

xxxxxxx

Obstetrician Riley Brand leaves the city behind to go in search of her mother, who’s taken leave from her marriage to pursue a passion for opal mining in the dry backblocks of an old mining town. Accepting a short-term posting as a fertility expert in Lightning Ridge, Riley plans to assist women pursue their baby dreams in remote and regional areas, while at the same time helping to rekindle her parents’ love for each other.

The small dusty community is a far cry from her polite medical practice on the North Shore of Sydney, but the down-to-earth locals soon welcome her into the fold with their Friday night social gatherings. But no one is more welcoming than enigmatic doctor Konrad Grey, the GP who’s working alongside her.

When an employee of their medical practice confesses she’s hiding an unexpected pregnancy, Konrad and Riley are thrown together in challenging and wonderful ways.

A moving and heartwarming story about new life and new loves, about the treasures to be found above and beneath the surface of a small country town, and about the important choices women must make in life.

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #AftertheFlood #TheBulletThatMissed #Conspiracy #TheOpalMinersDaughter

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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It’s Fathers Day in Australia! We had a family lunch with my parents yesterday at the restaurant where my youngest son works. Today my husband has been content to play Fallout on the PlayStation for 9 hours straight, and then I made him his favourite beef stroganoff for dinner.

My eldest has moved out..mostly. Half of her stuff is still here, so she’s back & forth to pick up stuff, and she doesn’t have a washing machine so she came home to do her laundry today. My youngest daughter has a week off between terms so she will be coming home from uni on the weekend.

I’m looking forward to the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival this week. I used my Parents NSW vouchers (part of a government program to stimulate post CoVid spending on entertainment) to book live stream tickets to six sessions. I’ll also be attending my first author event since CoVid later this month as Petronella Govern is coming to my local library.

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul

Dirty Deeds Down Under Edited by Craig Sisterson and Lindy Cameron

Gone To Ground by Bronwyn Hall

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New Posts…

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Slowly getting caught up…

 

Review: Someone Else’s Child by Kylie Orr

Review: Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

Review: Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

Review: Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson

Review: The Angry Womens Choir by Meg Bignell

Review: Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher

Review: The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #8

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

How well do you really know the people you work with?

For work wives Debra and Quinn, it’s a case of opposites attract. They are each other’s lifelines as they navigate office politics and jobs that pay the bills but don’t inspire them.

Outside work, they are also friends, but where Quinn is addicted to dating apps and desperate to find love, Deb has sworn off men. Although Deb is not close to her own mother, her teenage daughter is her life and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her. But Ramona has other ideas and is beginning to push boundaries.

Life becomes even more complicated by the arrival of a new man at the office. One woman is attracted to him, while the other hoped she’d never meet him again.

But when Deb, Quinn and Ramona are forced to choose between friends, love and family, the ramifications run deeper than they could ever have expected.

The latest novel by bestselling, ABIA award winning author Rachael Johns will make you laugh, cry and wonder what secrets your friends are keeping!

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What if your search for the truth puts your family at risk?

The close-knit community of Kinton Bay is shocked when fifteen-year-old Siena Britton makes a grisly discovery in the national park. She believes it’s a skull from the town’s violent colonial past and posts a video which hits the news headlines.

Her parents, Meri and Rollo, aren’t so sure. In 1998, their classmate went missing after a party in the Killing Cave. They’re horrified to discover the destructive teenage parties are still happening, and Siena was there last weekend.

While Meri is trying to keep her daughter out of trouble, she doesn’t realise her son, Taj, has his own problems. And none of them foresees the danger that Siena’s actions will create for the whole family.

As more secrets are exposed, the police investigate whether multiple murders have been committed. If so, by whom? And is the killer still living in Kinton Bay?

The Liars is a heart-stopping cocktail of family secrets, sinister unsolved killings and a community at war with itself.

A wife burning with resentment. A husband hiding the past. Their teenage daughter crusading for the truth. Who can we trust?

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Tom Phillips (Humans; Truth) and Jonn Elledge (The Compendium of Not Quite Everything) team up to debunk the greatest conspiracy theories humans have ever espoused – to teach us how not to fall for them

From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, it’s always been human nature to believe we’re being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be fair, we absolutely are).

But while it can be fun to indulge in a bit of Deep State banter on the family Whatsapp group, recent times have shown us that some of these theories have taken on a life of their own – and in our dogged quest for the truth, it appears we might actually be doing it some damage.

In Conspiracy, Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge take us on a fascinating, insightful and often hilarious journey through conspiracy theories old and new, to try and answer an important question: how can we learn to log off the QAnon message boards, and start trusting hard evidence again?

xxxxxxxx

 

Obstetrician Riley Brand leaves the city behind to go in search of her mother, who’s taken leave from her marriage to pursue a passion for opal mining in the dry backblocks of an old mining town. Accepting a short-term posting as a fertility expert in Lightning Ridge, Riley plans to assist women pursue their baby dreams in remote and regional areas, while at the same time helping to rekindle her parents’ love for each other.

The small dusty community is a far cry from her polite medical practice on the North Shore of Sydney, but the down-to-earth locals soon welcome her into the fold with their Friday night social gatherings. But no one is more welcoming than enigmatic doctor Konrad Grey, the GP who’s working alongside her.

When an employee of their medical practice confesses she’s hiding an unexpected pregnancy, Konrad and Riley are thrown together in challenging and wonderful ways.

A moving and heartwarming story about new life and new loves, about the treasures to be found above and beneath the surface of a small country town, and about the important choices women must make in life.

———————————————

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #TheOpalMinersDaughter #Conspiracy #TheLiars #TheWorkWives

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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I’ve felt much better this week, just an occasional cough, though my youngest came home from his school snow trip with a head cold so I’m avoiding him right now.

My mum was diagnosed with CoVid early last week, causing no small amount of panic because we had all attended my Great Uncle’s 95th birthday on the weekend. Oddly she is the only one who has contracted it, my dad remains negative, and they had houseguests who have also remained CoVid free. Because of her age she was put straight on the anti-virals, but she is quite fit for her age and is doing well so far.

The big news is my eldest daughter announced she is moving out. She and a friend have secured an apartment just a few minutes away in the centre of town, and they get the keys this coming weekend. She’s 26 so it’s about time really, I am happy for her but it’s going to be strange with both the girls gone, and in six months or so only the youngest will be left at home with #2 and #3 on their respective uni campuses for most of the year. I’m not ready to be an empty nester!

Still catching up on reviews , but I made more progress this past week, but 15 still to go!

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Recipe for Family by Tori Haschka

The Wrong Woman by J.P. Pomare

Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher

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New Posts…

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Review: The Surgeon’s Daughter by Audrey Blake

Review: The Fallback by D.L. Hicks

Review: Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

Review: Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

Review: The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Blog Tour Review: A Recipe for Family by Tori Haschka

Review: Madwoman by Louise Treger

Review: Nothing but the Truth by The Secret Barrister

Bookshelf Bounty

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

Meredith Maggs hasn’t left her house in 1,214 days. But she insists she isn’t alone.

She has her cat, Fred. Her friend Sadie visits when she can. There’s her online support group, StrengthInNumbers. She has her jigsaws, favourite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories for company.

But something’s about to change.

First, new friends Tom and Celeste burst into her life. Then an estranged sister she hasn’t spoken to in years.

Suddenly her carefully curated home is no longer a safe place to hide.

Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door . . .

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UN surgeon Rachel Forester is posted at a remote medical clinic deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With violence escalating in the region, Dr Forester risks her life by remaining to tend an injured child while the rest of her team evacuates. On the cusp of her final desperate chance to leave, a soldier is carried into the camp by three other members of his unit, his condition so critical, his airlift must take priority over hers.

With no help coming, and in the path of warring militias, this small unit must flee through the heart of the jungle to reach the safety of the province capital. But in the dark wilderness lies a strangling web of crime and corruption. As they get deeper, they discover a sinister mining operation and stolen children with evidence indicating shadowy ties to the UN. But aren’t those the people Dr Forester works for? The only people who know she’s still lost out there? And now, the people who want her dead?

The further they delve, the more the web closes around them. Will they make it out alive?

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NEW YORK CITY 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship.

Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leech: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night.

Their romances flourish and falter while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach and their friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses.

They gossip, they comfort each other, and they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

In this brilliant new novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Jackie and Maria and The Secret Wife, readers will fall right into Jazz Age New York and into the inner lives of these groundbreaking, influential women.

xxxxxxxxx

 

Dark Deeds Down Under, a groundbreaking anthology, brings together internationally-renowned Aussie and Kiwi crime writers and their beloved characters.

This stunning anthology includes 19 short stories from some of the brightest storytelling talents from Australia and New Zealand: including international bestsellers and award winners.

Through the prism of page-turning crime, mystery and thriller stories you will roam from the dusty Outback to South Island glaciers, from ocean-carved coastlines and craggy mountains to sultry rainforests and Middle Earth valleys, and via sleepy villages to the underbellies of our cosmopolitan cities.

In these all-new stories you’ll spend time with favourite series cops, sleuths and accidental heroes, and meet some new and edgy standalone characters.

This vibrant showcase includes: Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman, Garry Disher’s ‘Hirsch’, Vanda Symon’s Sam Shephard, Sulari Gentill’s Rowly Sinclair, RWR McDonald’s ‘Nancys’, Lee Murray & Dan Rabarts’ Penny Yee & Matiu, Katherine Kovacic’s Alex Clayton, Dinuka McKenzie’s Kate Miles, and a rare appearance from Shane Maloney’s Murray Whelan.

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #MeredithAlone #DarkDeedsDownUnder #GonetoGround #TheManhattanGirls

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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This horrid flu is still lingering, I feel exhausted a lot of the time, and my ribs ache from coughing. Thank goodness winter is nearly over!

On the weekend we attended a lunch to celebrate my Great Uncle’s 95th birthday. He was delighted to have so much family in attendance, and it was nice to catch up with some relatives we haven’t seen in years, though I had to keep my distance for obvious reasons.

The HSC Trial exam period (in the UK I think you call them Mocks – I’m not sure what the US equivalent would be) has started for my eldest son. He had his Drama performance on Friday night which consisted of a group performance and an eight minute monologue, and over the next two weeks has exams for all his subjects. As he is hoping to get early entry offers for university, he is studying hard.

My youngest son left for a week long school ski trip to Thredbo yesterday. It will be his first time seeing snow, little lone attempting skiing/snowboarding. I’m just hoping he doesn’t break anything!

Daughter #2 is back at uni, and this week was awarded a place on the Dean’s Merit List for the 2021 academic year. It looks like she is in track for this year too as her mid year results were stellar. We are so proud of her, especially given all the challenges due to CoVid, bushfires and floods!

I’m still trying to catch up on reviews, and failing!

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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All of Me by Cadance Bell

The Unbelieved by Vicki Petraitis

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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New Posts…

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*placeholders for now*

Review: The Surgeon’s Daughter by Audrey Blake

Review: The Fallback by DL Hicks

Review: Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

Review: Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

Things are getting slippery for Stella. With her husband away she’s juggling a full-time job, a tricky stepdaughter and a relentless four-year-old – all while trying to find her footing in her spouse’s shiny world. Joining the throng of local mothers, she reluctantly hires an au pair in the hope that it will lighten the load.

Stella’s mother-in-law, Elise, thinks this is a rotten idea. An industrial chemist and staunch feminist, she finds the ethical murkiness surrounding the au pair solution difficult to swallow. But she’s promised her son not to meddle, has her own career battles to slay and ghosts of her own past to contend with.

For Ava, life in Sydney as an au pair could help fill the void left by the loss of her mother. With her family recipes in her hand and hope in her heart, she sets off to reinvent herself in a place far away.

Three women, drawn together by impossible circumstances, will discover that the greatest comfort can often be found in the mess.

Perfect for fans of Meg Mason and Sally Hepworth; a powerful and heart-rending story about how food connects us and assumptions divide us – and how true family can come from where you least expect it.

xxxxxxxxx

 

Dark Deeds Down Under, a groundbreaking anthology, brings together internationally-renowned Aussie and Kiwi crime writers and their beloved characters.

This stunning anthology includes 19 short stories from some of the brightest storytelling talents from Australia and New Zealand: including international bestsellers and award winners.

Through the prism of page-turning crime, mystery and thriller stories you will roam from the dusty Outback to South Island glaciers, from ocean-carved coastlines and craggy mountains to sultry rainforests and Middle Earth valleys, and via sleepy villages to the underbellies of our cosmopolitan cities.

In these all-new stories you’ll spend time with favourite series cops, sleuths and accidental heroes, and meet some new and edgy standalone characters.

This vibrant showcase includes: Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman, Garry Disher’s ‘Hirsch’, Vanda Symon’s Sam Shephard, Sulari Gentill’s Rowly Sinclair, RWR McDonald’s ‘Nancys’, Lee Murray & Dan Rabarts’ Penny Yee & Matiu, Katherine Kovacic’s Alex Clayton, Dinuka McKenzie’s Kate Miles, and a rare appearance from Shane Maloney’s Murray Whelan.

xxxxxxxx

NEW YORK CITY 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship.

Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leech: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night.

Their romances flourish and falter while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach and their friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses.

They gossip, they comfort each other, and they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

In this brilliant new novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Jackie and Maria and The Secret Wife, readers will fall right into Jazz Age New York and into the inner lives of these groundbreaking, influential women.

xxxxxxxx

 

As a photographer, Stevie’s been to enough bush weddings to last a lifetime. When’s it going to be all about her?

With her ex soon to be married, her mum back on the dating scene, and her best friend threatening to settle down with the Most Boring Man Alive, Stevie is feeling left behind.

To top it off, her old uni mate Johnno West, whom she hasn’t seen for years, keeps turning up as best man at Stevie’s jobs. And he is looking so good.

Perhaps their youthful pact – that if they were both still single in their early thirties they’d get together – is not so crazy after all?

Then the enigmatic Charlie Jones walks into the frame …

Capturing the heartbeat of rural Australia, Five Bush Weddings is an uplifting romantic comedy about looking for love, second chances, and what really matters when the bouquet has been thrown, the swag’s been rolled up and the party’s over.

 

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #FiveBushWeddings #ARecipeForFamily #DarkDeedsDownUnder #TheManhattanGirls

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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I’m sick again! Another bad cold (multiple RAT’s have come up COVID negative), it seems maybe even the same one as last month. I swear I catch stuff more often from my kids now that they are adults than I did when they were little. It started Wednesday night with a headache and an occasional throat tickle, on Thursday I felt like I’d swallowed razor blades, and I started coughing so hard I lost my voice. By Friday my nose started flowing, but today my head is a bit clearer and I haven’t been coughing quite as often, so hopefully it’s nearly done with me. I hope so because I’m my ribs are really sore, and I’ve barely slept for days.

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Confidence by Denise Mina

Blood Sisters by Cate Quinn

All of Me by Cadance Bell

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New Posts…

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Review: The Change by Kirsten Miller

Review: The Emma Project by Sonali Dev

Review: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Review: Rattled by Ellis Gunn

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #7

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

This is not a romance, but it is about love

Two kids meet in a hospital gaming room in 1987. One is visiting her sister, the other is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there. Their love of video games becomes a shared world — of joy, escape and fierce competition. But all too soon that time is over, fades from view.

When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment. The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love – making games to delight, challenge and immerse players, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars.

This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest as it examines the nature of identity, creativity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

xxxxxxxx

 

‘So you believed the alleged rapists over the alleged victim?’ Jane’s voice took on an indignant pitch. ‘Girls lie sometimes.’ I nodded. ‘And rapists lie all the time.’

When Senior Detective Antigone Pollard moves to the coastal town of Deception Bay, she is still in shock and grief. Back in Melbourne, one of her cases had gone catastrophically wrong, and to escape the guilt and the haunting memories, she’d requested a transfer to the quiet town she’d grown up in.

But there are some things you can’t run from. A month into her new life, she is targeted by a would-be rapist at the pub, and realises why there have been no convictions following a spate of similar sexual attacks in the surrounding district. The male witnesses in the pub back her attacker and even her boss doesn’t believe her.

Hers is the first reported case in Deception Bay, but soon there are more. As Antigone searches for answers, she encounters a wall of silence in the town built of secrets and denial and fear. The women of Deception Bay are scared and the law is not on their side. The nightmare has followed her home.

Chilling, timely and gripping, The Unbelieved takes us behind the headlines to a small-town world that is all too real – and introduces us to a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.

xxxxxxxxx

 

As a photographer, Stevie’s been to enough bush weddings to last a lifetime. When’s it going to be all about her?

With her ex soon to be married, her mum back on the dating scene, and her best friend threatening to settle down with the Most Boring Man Alive, Stevie is feeling left behind.

To top it off, her old uni mate Johnno West, whom she hasn’t seen for years, keeps turning up as best man at Stevie’s jobs. And he is looking so good.

Perhaps their youthful pact – that if they were both still single in their early thirties they’d get together – is not so crazy after all?

Then the enigmatic Charlie Jones walks into the frame …

Capturing the heartbeat of rural Australia, Five Bush Weddings is an uplifting romantic comedy about looking for love, second chances, and what really matters when the bouquet has been thrown, the swag’s been rolled up and the party’s over.

xxxxxxxxx

 

A private investigator returning to the hometown he fled years ago becomes entangled in the disappearance of two teenage girls in this stunning literary crime thriller.

Reid left the small town of Manson a decade ago, promising his former Chief of Police boss he’d never return. He made a new life in the city, became a PI and turned his back on his old life for good.

Now an insurance firm has offered him good money to look into a suspicious car crash, and he finds himself back in the place he grew up – home to his complicated family history, a scarring relationship breakdown and a very public career-ending incident.

As Reid’s investigation unfolds, nothing is as it seems: rumours are swirling about the well-liked young woman who was driving the car which killed her professor husband, while a second local student has just disappeared. As Reid veers off course from the job he has been paid to do, will he find himself in the dangerous position of taking on the town again?

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I’m sorry if I haven’t visited you recently, I’m trying to get back on schedule.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #TheWrongWoman #FiveBushWeddings #TheUnbelieved #TomorrowandTomorrowandTomorrow

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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I am currently 21 reviews behind schedule, but I’m working on it!

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

Do As I Say by Sarah Steel

Yours Mine Ours by Sinead Moriarty

Criminals by James O’Loughlin

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New Posts…

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Review: One of Us by Kylie Kaden

Review: The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley

Review: Overboard by Sara Paretsky

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

The tiny outback town of Dead Tree Creek is a rough place – and the locals are even rougher – but they’ve never seen anything like this . . .

When a man is found gruesomely murdered in the local pub, all fingers point to the backpackers working behind the bar that night – two American girls who skipped town before the body was discovered.

Despite all the evidence against them, rookie cop Tara Harrison knows there must be more to this case than a pair of sorority sisters who couldn’t take a joke. She’s determined to uncover the truth, and is soon on the trail of a devastating secret that could tear her hometown apart.

But sorority sisters Lauren and Beth have their own dark secrets and they’ve made an oath to take them to the grave – which they will, all too soon, unless Tara can stop it .

xxxxxxx

This is not a romance, but it is about love

Two kids meet in a hospital gaming room in 1987. One is visiting her sister, the other is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there. Their love of video games becomes a shared world — of joy, escape and fierce competition. But all too soon that time is over, fades from view.

When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment. The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love – making games to delight, challenge and immerse players, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars.

This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest as it examines the nature of identity, creativity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

xxxxxxxx

The unforgettable memoir that redefines ‘she’ll be right’.

What’s it like to grow up in an Aussie family that has a man of every flavour? A bank robber, an infamous sports umpire, several different breeds of drug addict (collect the whole set!), a roster of crafty swindlers, an attempted murderer and the local town drunk. And what if you had a secret so ghastly that you feared it made you more disgraceful than all of your roguish ancestors combined?

Seven years ago, Ben was a millennial with a death wish. He was loveless, overweight, crashing in his parents’ rumpus room and blinking his life away in a haze of marijuana vape. Then one day Ben decided to change everything – starting with the Ben bit. Becoming Cadance was more than a gender transition: it was a transition in every way, fear to acceptance, from self-loathing to love, anger to kindness. She was determined to experience the all of it.

Written with dazzling creativity and exuberance, The All of It is a wild coming-of-gender memoir like no other. Tender, tragic, hilarious and life-affirming, it will leave you understanding a little more about trans people, rural Australia, family, millennials and the beautiful contradictions of our kaleidoscopic world.

xxxxxxxxx

‘So you believed the alleged rapists over the alleged victim?’ Jane’s voice took on an indignant pitch. ‘Girls lie sometimes.’ I nodded. ‘And rapists lie all the time.’

When Senior Detective Antigone Pollard moves to the coastal town of Deception Bay, she is still in shock and grief. Back in Melbourne, one of her cases had gone catastrophically wrong, and to escape the guilt and the haunting memories, she’d requested a transfer to the quiet town she’d grown up in.

But there are some things you can’t run from. A month into her new life, she is targeted by a would-be rapist at the pub, and realises why there have been no convictions following a spate of similar sexual attacks in the surrounding district. The male witnesses in the pub back her attacker and even her boss doesn’t believe her.

Hers is the first reported case in Deception Bay, but soon there are more. As Antigone searches for answers, she encounters a wall of silence in the town built of secrets and denial and fear. The women of Deception Bay are scared and the law is not on their side. The nightmare has followed her home.

Chilling, timely and gripping, The Unbelieved takes us behind the headlines to a small-town world that is all too real – and introduces us to a brilliant new voice in crime fiction.

———————————————

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #BloodSisters #TomorrowandTomorrowandTomorrow #AllofIt #TheUnbelieved

Its Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon

 

Linking to: It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at BookDate; Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer; and the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz

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Life…

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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…

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Nothing But The Truth by the Secret Barrister

The Angry Woman’s Choir by Mel Bignell

Counterfeit by Kirsten Chen

Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson

The Family String by Denise Picton

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New Posts…

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2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge Monthly Spotlight #6

Bookshelf Bounty

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What I’m Reading This Week…

 

On 21 January 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At 31 years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge – twelve-year-old Fanny Austen – Anne’s arrival is all novelty and excitement.

The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard.

When Mr Edward Austen’s family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice.

Meanwhile Jane’s brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess . . .

And from now on, Anne’s days at Godmersham Park are numbered.

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A little red telephone box full of stories, a chance to change her life…

Jess Metcalf is perfectly content with her quiet, predictable life. But when her beloved grandmother passes away and she loses her job at the local library, Jess’ life is turned upside down.

Determined to pick up the pieces, Jess decides it’s time for a new beginning. Unable to part with her grandmother’s cherished books, she packs them all up and moves to a tiny cottage in the English countryside. To her surprise, Jess discovers that she’s now the owner of an old red phone box that was left on the property. Missing her job at the local library, Jess decides to give back to her new community–using her grandmother’s collection to turn the ordinary phone box into the littlest library in England.

It’s not long before the books are borrowed and begin to work their literary magic–bringing the villagers together… and managing to draw Jess’ grumpy but handsome neighbor out of his shell.

Maybe it’s finally time for Jess to follow her heart, let go of her old life, and make the village her home? But will she be able to take the leap?

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At the heart of being human is the desire to belong. It can make us unspeakably vulnerable to the manipulations of others. Cult leaders prey on this desire, but so do many unscrupulous operators hiding in plain sight.

Sarah Steel, the creator of the popular ‘Let’s Talk About Sects’ podcast, has researched the cults you’ve heard of–and dozens you haven’t. What strikes her most are not the differences between bizarre cult behaviour and ‘normal’ behaviour but the depressing similarities. Her work reveals that we are all susceptible to the power of cult dynamics.

In Do As I Say, Steel tells the human tale behind the sensationalism. Sharing deeply personal stories, gathered over years of interviews with survivors, and some shocking tales about the world’s most famous cults, she sheds light on the high cost of unchecked coercive behaviours to individuals and communities at large.

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What’s another branch on the family tree?

Things are finally looking up for Anna. Seventeen miserable years of marriage to man-child Connor have left her drained and ready for a new start. So when they separate, she couldn’t be more thrilled to move in with James, a handsome lecturer who is everything her ex-husband is not: kind, thoughtful, and above all, reliable.

But Anna and James’s kids hate living with the loved-up couple and the new set-up. Their teenage daughters – one a studious high achiever and the other a cool rich girl unbothered by grades or exams – have nothing in common. And Anna’s wild football-mad nine-year-old son declares war on bookish James.

Nobody said step-parenting was easy; Anna and James are about to find out exactly how complicated it can be. With exes, new partners-of-exes and money all in the mix, home life is fast becoming a minefield and their new-found happiness hangs in the balance. Do they have what it takes to make their blended family work?

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Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR @thebookdate #SundayPost @Kimbacaffeinate #SundaySalon @debnance #GodmershamPark #TheLittlestLibrary #DoAsISay #YoursMineOurs