The story starts in the 1980s when Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital’s Games Room. They share a controller back and forth. It’s the first time Sam’s spoken to anyone since …

… you’ll find out when you read this stellar story. As the blurb says, it’s a story about love (not romance). And it is. Plus, the full spectrum of the human experience that comes with love — connection, creativity, conflict and loss. 

I loved this book. Every sentence, every chapter, every part. Definitely a keeper!

Everybody has a story. This one is NOT about old people gossiping in a nursing home. Spanning from Sri Lanka to western Sydney, it is a powerful, multigenerational story exploring everyday racial tensions that simmer underneath modern Australia’s social fabric.  It illuminates how the darkness of hidden, historical trauma can explode when it meets the light of today. 

Enlightening. Gripping. Confronting. Heartbreaking. Beautifully told. ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT. 

The blurb puts it best: This is Martha’s story. Her husband Patrick thinks she’s fine. He says everyone has something, the thing it just to keep going.

Right outta left field, this book totally surprised me. It’s sharp with a good dose of dead-pan sass. It’s full of heart, but dry as a bone. A brave, original voice — just give me all the Meg Mason books. Stellar.

Set against The Troubles, an Englishman artist and a French linguist travel by boat to live for the summer on a remote island off the Irish Coast. Both personally charged with encapsulating the truth of the island — on their own terms. 

With stunning poetic prose and a subtly simmering pot, ‘The Colony’ made me ache. It’s a poignant nod to the world — how the push of sweeping colonisation (now: globalisation?) can pollute the beauty of what makes every culture it’s own masterpiece.

Frank and Cleo’s lives collide when they meet in an elevator in New York City on New Year’s Eve. As they jump into an impulsive marriage, their lives push and pull their inner circle through the twists and turns of a pairing built on a moment’s spark. 

I loved it. Not at first — it took 75 pages for it to grab me. But then I couldn’t put it down. 

Set between the vivacy of Florence and the timelessness of London, a delightful motley crew of characters follow the wind (read: opportunity) through the reckless abandon of post-war Europe. It read like a close friend telling a tale over a warm cup of coffee. Loved it.

As the blurb starts: this is Greece in the time of kings. This is the story of Achilles — half god, half mortal — told through the eyes of his significant other, Patroclus. 

As a historical fiction wannabe, i appreciated how Miller easily wove together Ancient Greek history with a tender love story navigating the politics and tensions of men at war. Miller’s writing is clear, concise and classic. She keeps you reading because her style is active, punchy and emotive. I love that ‘The Song Of Achilles’ is a modern take on an ancient story — may we continue to pass down stories that are as old as time. Generation after generation.  

This is Nina’s thirty second year. As her life twists and turns, we follow Nina through the complexity and comfort of aging and evolving relationships. Through unlearning life expectations. Through love, lust and trust and all that lies in between. A year threaded together by the dark that makes us treasure the light. (I’m cheering for ya, Nina.)

I read this book in a week. I love Alderton’s witty, keenly observational tone; aptly describing the social nuances of the everyday with ease.

A charming, charismatic Aussie tale set against the backdrop of the Queensland bush and its big smoke — Brisbane. It’s a love story for the bush. It’s an homage to a Aussie larrikinism and mateship. And the opening line is a corker (IYKYK). It was the ultimate holiday read!

In 1950s New York, Esther inherently knows her ambitions. But they fly in the face of society’s expectations for women. As she struggles to find her way and loses a dream opportunity, her mental health unravels. 

I didn’t expect to like this book (or finish it!)! But Plath is a master of words. From the first chapter, Plath’s vibrant yet darkly witty tone captured me. Even as Esther’s inner demons overtake her, Plath describes her journey with rationality and practicality. 

Imagine if your significant other omitted you from the story of their life. This is what Funder explores in ‘Wifedom — Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life.

Through impressively deep research, Funder  re-writes the Blair (Orwell) marriage as it happened. Not as it’s been written. 

An illuminating read for everyone. It’s clear, considered. Both hopeful and heartbreaking. As Funder says, may young women start in a place we’ve just reached.

This is a clear and no-BS look into how to make the biz/family juggle work in real terms — your own.

‘Six Figures In School Hours’ is rich in grab n’ go tips across five key areas that make or break you as a WFM parent — mindset, productivity, money, family, self-care. Written in Toon’s signature light wit — it’s easy to read, ‘otterly’* informative, encouraging and entertaining. This one will live a long life on my bookshelf — ready to be grabbed for whenever a Toon pep talk is in need. 

*You’ll get this reference when you read it. 

This story goes behind the glamorous red curtain of old Hollywood. Evelyn Hugo is a famous actress and style icon who plucks journalist Monique Grant from obscurity to pen her tell-all memoir. 

Amidst the glam and goss of celebrity, this book turns the spotlight on the social currency of life’s big moments: births, deaths and marriages. It flips the script — is marriage just about love? How does the price of ascension weigh against the value of a happy heart?

I binged this book like a Netflix special (which, in hindsight makes sense — as Jenkins Reid is an ex-screenwriter). The story grabbed me from the get-go; TJR a skilled storyteller bringing together memorable characters, twists and arcs that are all purposeful and considered. But most of all, the book spotlights society’s everlasting fascination with love stories. Because: “When you dig just the tiniest bit beneath the surface, everyone’s love life is original and interesting and nuanced and defies any easy definition.”

25 year old Emira Tucker works as a babysitter for the Chamberlain family in Philadelphia. One Saturday night at 11pm, the Chamberlains call her for an emergency ‘sit — to take their toddler daughter for a walk. They need to attend to an issue kid-free. Innocently, Emira walks her to the local grocery store to browse tea …

… this story rockets out of the gate! The simmering drama hooked me from the get-go, layering complexities into the story with every (unlikable?) character. 

This novel is a light page-turner in tone, but heavy in subject. Through the ensemble of African-American and Caucasian characters, Reid explores race, privilege and motherhood. It makes you think. It makes you cringe. It sticks with you. 

It’s the Roaring Twenties in London. Nellie Coker is the Queen of (Night)Clubs — recently released from prison she returns to rule Soho amongst a complicated web of deception, debauchery and drugs. As Book Club puts it: “It’s Peaky Blinders. But, more polite.”

At about page 180, I was ready to give up on this story. Whilst I loved the time period, the huge ensemble of characters and overly detailed backstories made the story sluggish for me. It didn’t seem to be really getting anywhere.

Then I hit page 200: the stage had been set. It became a raucous and riveting read I couldn’t put down.

On the fringe of the Queensland outback lies the stockman’s grave. When Cameron — one of the three Bright brothers — is found dead against the headstone, it triggers a mystery with bigger questions than the open, vast expanse of the red, dusty land that surrounds him. 

A page-turning blow-by-blow mystery where the Australian landscape plays a major role in the action. 

This is Lily’s story. Written in first person with an energetic, conversational tone — it’s an addictive, rom-com-esque page turner. It’s heartbreaking, brutal and … hopeful.

I requested ‘It Ends With Us’ through my local library as I was eager to read a book before a movie adaption — for once!

A quintessential rom-com in words!

Narrated by protagonist Lucie, this fun and entertaining story is full of witty banter and OTT spiralling assumptions. It’s like gossiping over a friend’s boy troubles on the phone during a cosy Saturday night at home on the couch.

The premise is that Lucie and Josh are both EA to co-CEOs. And they are fierce rivals. Or so, Lucie thinks… and you know what’s going to happen as soon as the story starts. But you enjoy it all the same. 

It’s a cute vacation or beach read. Now to jump in to the movie adaption on my holidays!

Yellowface is a book for today, for sure. Kuang has crafted an apt, riveting page-turner angling the mirror right back on the digital world’s toxic discourse and created FIRE. 

Did I enjoy it? I just don’t know. 

It’s smart. Fast. Superbly written. 

But the characters flew in the face of my moral compass. Which feels like the point?! But yeah. I just don’t know.

A subtle, thoughtful story centred on discovery — of life, of place, of one’s self and fulfillness. Based in the Abrolhos Islands, far off the WA Coast, each chapter swells like the ocean, lulling you through the small waves of change of life. Reminding us of all the parts that make the sum of the human experience.

A page-turning story that unravels delicately one layer at a time. Easy, enjoyable read and refreshing to enjoy a different topic (wolves) and inspiration (rewinding/climate). Characters a little more complex than needed?

“Leave the door open to the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.”

Like a stream of thoughtful consciousness, this thematic work connects how a sense of being lost is what’s there to be found. Solnik’s poetic prose is bejewelled with pearls of insight. But, I did feel like I was reading a text prescribed for a compulsory university essay… 

Set in a small New England town outside Boston, ‘The House In The Pines’  follows Maya, a twenty-something customer service worker who struggles to silence a haunting event from her adolescence. 

It’s a psychological thriller that’s punchy and sharp. But for me, it didn’t quite hit the spot. 

“Only the woods know.” In this story, we follow a little yellow house set deep within the north woods of New England. Over four centuries we meet its inhabitants — all extricably linked. Though they don’t know it. 

I must say this book is worth the rave. Beautifully written in a curated mix of chapters, letters, diary entries, prose and photographs — Mason’s novel is fresh, unique and a delight as it unravels. I just loved it. 

Full disclosure: I’ve followed Jedidiah Jenkins since he was captioning segments of his life bicycling in California, destined for Oregon. I love seeing his thoughtful prose pop into my feed. So, a hard copy of those thoughts to keep on my bookshelf? Yes please. 

I loved this book. It’s like sitting around a campfire, hearing a friend unload their ideas on the sense of self. Nodding along as they go. Hearing little epiphanies pop off in your mind as they speak. It’s why there’s so many post-its wedged into it (34, I counted) — marks to help me jump straight in, feet first, to my fave hidden pearls sitting in these curated streams of thought. 

We meet Hera with her sassy, soured attitude to life as she gets her first actual job — comment moderating in a Sydney newsroom — and falls for Arthur. “This is a bad idea and I am actioning it.”

And, having once been a 24 year old living in Sydney too, I felt Hera’s corporate displacement. And glad to be on the other side. 

This is a wry, witty and entertaining read. A nice book for the summer break.

Layla lives in Brisbane, juggling her career, kids and a dissolving marriage. As Christmas approaches, her mother calls from Tasmania with a cryptic message. Presuming the worst, Layla jumps on a plane to Tasmania to decode her family mystery.

Deeply detailed and emotive, Rogers’ debut novel centres on an eternal life truth: you can’t run away from your past. It always catches you.