Category: Books

Review: Forest Born, Shannon Hale

Review: Forest Born, Shannon Hale

| 16 March , 2011 | Reply

Tina Gamble I remember when was younger, I read Shannon Hale\’s novel, The Book of a Thousand Days. I loved that book. Her characters and setting were so alive and full of wonder; it was truly a pleasurable read. Not one to disappoint, Hale has done it again, with her new novel in The Books [...]

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Review: New York Valentine, Carmen Reid

Review: New York Valentine, Carmen Reid

| 10 March , 2011 | Reply

Diane Sexton I am not a fashion type, but I was immediately swept into Annie Valentine’s world of fashion by the clever way Carmen Reid opens each chapter of New York Valentine with a rundown of what one of the characters is wearing (and how much it cost). This clever trick captures the tone of [...]

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Review: A Hidden Affair, Pam Jenoff

Review: A Hidden Affair, Pam Jenoff

| 9 March , 2011 | Reply

Diane Sexton In the sequel to Almost Home, we go with Jordan Weiss as she leaves her job with the US State Department to follow a faint trail to her college love Jared – whom she has thought dead for 10 years. It turns out that far from being dead, he was known – and [...]

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Book Review: Mia Culpa, Mia Freedman

Book Review: Mia Culpa, Mia Freedman

| 7 March , 2011 | Reply

Diane Sexton Sparkling conversation? Check. Witty anecdotes? Check. Huge mirror held up to 30-something Australian women? Check and check again. Reading Mia Culpa, by Mia Freedman, is like meeting someone that you will either click with at first sight, or else completely fail to get along with. In my case, I couldn’t help but click [...]

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Review: The Sandalwood Tree, Elle Newmark

Review: The Sandalwood Tree, Elle Newmark

| 7 March , 2011 | Reply

Diane Sexton It’s 1947, and Evie and Martin and their five-year-old son Billy (and Billy’s toy dog, Spike) transplant themselves from Chicago to India’s Himalayan hinterland in The Sandalwood Tree, Elle Newmark’s second novel. Martin has returned from the war with combat fatigue, and their marriage is struggling. Against the unrest caused by the withdrawal [...]

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Interview + Review: Maggie Alderson, Shall We Dance

Interview + Review: Maggie Alderson, Shall We Dance

| 1 March , 2011 | Reply

Naomi Cotterill Meeting one of your favourite writers – you know the ones, they make you pray for a rainy weekend just so you can spend time curled up on the couch with a book – is exciting. Interviewing one of your idols is likely to induce a state of complete hysteria, matched only by [...]

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Review: At Home With The Templetons, Monica McInerney

Review: At Home With The Templetons, Monica McInerney

| 26 February , 2011 | 1 Reply

Kristy McCormick I\’ve loved all the Monica McInerney books I\’ve read to date and I certainly didn\’t dislike this one, her latest. In relation to the others though, At Home with the Templetons was slightly long winded compared to her usual fast paced and often amusing tales of dysfunctional families and relationships. Gracie Templeton is [...]

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Review: Left Neglected, Lisa Genova

Review: Left Neglected, Lisa Genova

| 22 February , 2011 | Reply

Kristy McCormick Left Neglected is the second novel from author Lisa Genova. And with her first book, Still Alice, being one of my favourites I couldn\’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this one. And I was not disappointed. Left Neglected is the story of Sarah Nickerson. A hugely successful human resources [...]

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Review: The Blood Countess (A Pandora English Novel), Tara Moss

Review: The Blood Countess (A Pandora English Novel), Tara Moss

| 21 February , 2011 | 4 Replies

Tina Gamble Setting the atmosphere from page one, Tara Moss delivers the first in her new paranormal series about Pandora English, The Blood Countess. This is Devil Wears Prada meets Buffy the vampire slayer. Leaving her small town of Gretchenville, Pandora is looking to start her career at Mia magazine. So when an offer arrives [...]

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Review: You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, Sarra Manning

Review: You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, Sarra Manning

| 17 February , 2011 | 1 Reply

Diane Sexton You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me is Sarra Manning’s second adult novel. All the standard ingredients for chick-lit are there – the “ugly duckling” heroine Neve, her fashion-obsessed sister Celia, the long-distance love interest William and the glamorous and sexy “man-whore” Max, with a host of supporting characters by turns superficial, [...]

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Burqalicious -The Dubai Diaries, Becky Wicks

Burqalicious -The Dubai Diaries, Becky Wicks

| 17 February , 2011 | 1 Reply

Kristy McCormick A true story of sun, sand, sex and secrecy Becky Wicks is a freelance writer who lived in London, writing for magazines and websites, before the lure of Dubai proved too much. Tempted by the promise of a tax-free income and loads of fun in the sun, Becky left dreary London behind and [...]

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