Category: Books

Book Review: The Prophet, Michael Koryta

Book Review: The Prophet, Michael Koryta

| 11 February , 2013 | Reply

The Prophet by Michael Koryta is first and foremost, a story about brothers. Adam and Kent Austin are just teenagers when their happy, stable, normal family is torn apart, and their lives are forever changed. One cold afternoon in the small town of Chambers Ohio, Adam, the oldest of three children, makes the ill-fated decision [...]

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Book Review: The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai, Barbara Lazar

Book Review: The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai, Barbara Lazar

| 8 February , 2013 | Reply

“Flower” and “Samurai” are not words one would normally think of when referring to Japanese warriors in pre-industrial Japan, yet this book is all about how one girl, destined by omens, becomes a female samurai following its code of conduct right till the end. “Pillow books” referred to diaries that people slept with hence the [...]

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Book Review: A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy

Book Review: A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy

| 8 February , 2013 | Reply

The Sydney Sun Herald said this novel was “An absolute gem”. The reviewer got it absolutely right! Maeve Binchey is rightly considered the Queen of Irish popular fiction and enjoys a huge following in Australia. Irish-born, Binchey was a teacher, journalist, speaker and writer of short stories, dramas and novels – 16 in all. These [...]

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Book Review: Heart-Shaped Bruise, Tanya Byrne

Book Review: Heart-Shaped Bruise, Tanya Byrne

| 8 February , 2013 | Reply

‘There are words you can’t say in here; you don’t ask why, you don’t ask how, you don’t ask about tomorrow and you never ask about home.’ Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne is a story about a broken girl awaiting trial at Archway Young Offenders Institution. Unlike most stories where a victim is depicted, this [...]

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Book Review: Oh Dear Silvia, Dawn French

Book Review: Oh Dear Silvia, Dawn French

| 6 February , 2013 | Reply

Silvia Shute, central character of Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French has lots of secrets. But she’s not sharing any of them. It’s not because she doesn’t want to. She can’t. She’s in a coma. The latest from comedic talent Dawn French, Oh Dear Silvia will make you cringe, laugh, sniffle and amazed all at [...]

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Book Review: The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D, Nichole Bernier

Book Review: The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D, Nichole Bernier

| 6 February , 2013 | Reply

In August of 2001, before two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre towers, another plane went down in New York. It was bound for Los Angeles and there was nothing special about this flight except it was full of everyday parents and children when it crashed within minutes of take-off. On that plane was [...]

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Book Review: The Other Half Of Me, Morgan McCarthy

Book Review: The Other Half Of Me, Morgan McCarthy

| 6 February , 2013 | Reply

Jonathan and Theo grew up together in their family’s ancestral home in Wales. To cope with the challenges of their lives, the two create elaborate fantasy worlds in the vast acres of their property. But then a tragedy brings their grandmother, Eve, home from America, and the siblings begin to realize that there is more [...]

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Book Review: Be Careful What You Wish For, Gemma Crisp

Book Review: Be Careful What You Wish For, Gemma Crisp

| 1 February , 2013 | Reply

With Jesinta Campbell’s glowing review on the glamboyant cover of  Be Careful What You Wish For by Gemma Crisp, you’d think the book would be all bubble-gum sweetness and may indeed put some readers off. I advise you if this is you. Don’t be put off. Grab this book. What you’ll get, is a fantastic, [...]

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Book Review: The Girl on the Stairs, Louise Welsh

Book Review: The Girl on the Stairs, Louise Welsh

| 1 February , 2013 | Reply

Louise Welsh not only has a history degree but she also ran a second-hand bookshop for several years before becoming a full-time writer. The Girl on the Stairs is her fourth novel. Jane has just moved from Scotland to Berlin to have a baby with her wife Petra, however her building houses some suspicious characters. [...]

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Book Review: The Lost Years, Mary Higgins Clark

Book Review: The Lost Years, Mary Higgins Clark

| 1 February , 2013 | Reply

Mary Higgins Clark’s latest novel, The Lost Years, will have you turning the pages quickly.  Renowned biblical scholar Jonathon Lyons believes he has stumbled across the discovery of a lifetime when he finds a piece of parchment thought to be written by Jesus Christ himself. The parchment, believed to have been stolen five centuries previously [...]

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Book Review: Stage Fright, Marianne Delacourt

Book Review: Stage Fright, Marianne Delacourt

| 29 January , 2013 | 1 Reply

The third book in the “Tara Sharp” series, “Stage Fright” by Marianne Delacourt chronicles Private Investigator Tara Sharp foray into the entertainment industry. Although the job is a little out of her usual line of work, the promise of backstage passes and the thought of “how hard can it really be?”, Tara accepts the opportunity [...]

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