Bonnie
Brilliant. Hard hitting. I could read a book written by Melissa every day. Even though there are many characters and a lot going on, she weaves the story through them in ways that has you relating to all the characters at some point. My first 5 star read for the year.
The only thing that bugged me slightly is that I wanted Kerry and Steve to have a happy ending, and we don't know what happens. But that's just cos I'm a romantic. Wonderful book, highly highly recommend.
Difficult to read but a powerful and compelling story of survival. Bri doesn't shy away from sharing the impact of trauma, and how small victories can make all the difference.
4 stars because i enjoyed it. I couldn't tell if we were in the florid 1980s or the ambivalent 2000s most of the time but I loved most of the characters and their nicknames!
Trigger warning for drugs being used and discussed on every second page, if not every page.
I really want to like this book. The first third was compelling and I liked the alternate timelines. But at some point the author got tired of that format and we remained in the overwritten, uninteresting present. Everything is an effort and men fall over themselves to help Katerina when she was quite capable of achieving what she set out to do herself. Ugh. My favourite character is Otto. Now that's a good human.
Although sometimes it felt like it would never end, It was an intriguing plot and the characters were real. The Vietnam War added a decent amount of background tension.
I enjoyed the pace and setting of this story, although the plot is not the strongest. I'm keen to read the other Under Suspicion books
I finished it so I could find out what the big mystery was. Cute but amateur. Needs a good edit. Characters are very one dimensional.
I quite liked all the characters except the lead, she is shallow, judgemental and completely lacking self awareness. Does not make for an enjoyable read. I really wanted to know more about Alice and Jack and Pete, but the most interesting characters didn't get enough space.
Nearly DNF. The trip to Greece was a nice refreshing touch, I will say that.
3.5 stars. Hillier was my favourite character. It was well written, but about as thrilling as a walking past a haunted house in broad daylight. You know it's supposed to be creepy, but you blink and you've already forgotten about it. The last two chapters were quite disturbing, but I guessed most of the plot twists right from the beginning and I feel like they could have been woven in better. Also, multiple POVs watered it down. I gave it 3.5 because I do think it's well written, just not a thriller, more a mystery.
3.5 Clever and entertaining, especially Christmas Pudding. A nice introduction to Nancy's writing
This book seems to polarise ;) the readers who either hate it or love it. It's not an overly complicated story and I quite enjoyed it. I would have liked a few more details about the continent and less about who is sleeping with who. It reminded me of when I lived on an island for a while, and when you leave you know you won't be the same again.
I really wanted to love this series, especially as the lead is supposed to be a social worker, but it just hasn't gripped me at all.
This book had me LOLing within just a few minutes, on public transport. I loved the slightly rediculous but very relatable trouble that Frankie keeps getting into. And the literary references, be still my heart!! The comments on her blog were some of my favourite moments. If you love books and a bit of drama and romance, you'll love this one!
A sweet story of survival and finding love on the Victorian Goldfields, set at the time of the Eureka Stockade tragedy. I really appreciate that the author tackled domestic violence, PTSD and corruption in this story.
I think this is a little gem. It left me feeling angry and sad that a life was taken so soon because contraception and childbirth were still taboo and hardly understood. I am glad people have written about Georgiana so that she gets the recognition she deserves for contributing to the study of botany in Australia.
I really enjoyed this sweet edition from Josephine, a successful Sunshine Coast author. The book is peppered with references to local places and businesses, making me feel right at home. It is a very Aussie story. It talks a lot about morals, but it's a story with a big heart and realistic storylines that brought a tear to my eye at the conclusion. This is the third book of Josephine's that I've read so far and I am a big fan of her style and attention to detail.
“Now, as he stands by one of these dirt tracks at the start of a blackened map, the damage from this fire stretches before him, over gullies and ridges in all directions. The hills are filled with exactly the kind of scrap metal - ruined farm equipment and endless strips of scorched corrugated-iron roofing - that he likes to collect. By lighting a fire, accidentally or not, he has turned the bush around his home into one vast junkyard.”
Parts of this book took my breath away; some pages brought me to tears; and others made me rage with the futility of attempting to understand the mind of an autistic arsonist.
I appreciated Chloe's attempts at providing all sides of the story, although the focus is mainly the lonely and tortured existence of Brendan. I liked the insights she provided from other people who have autism, on what it's like often being so misunderstood, and how differently they experience the world.
I definitely recommend this book, but be warned, it's not an easy read.
I really enjoyed it and I loved seeing homebirthing honoured alongside traditional and low intervention practices. A great little read
I love Australian landscapes, connecting to country, large families, colonial architecture, farming, art, a good mystery, and a friends-to-lovers trope. This book has it all! What starts as a promising art evaluation job for impulsive Alex turns into a murder mystery and family feud in a very Australian way. At first I was disappointed that there was no very early mention of the traditional land owners or Australia's dark history, but I only had to continue a few more pages and eventually this book more than delivered in recognising dispossession and the complexity within indigenous and non indigenous families who have worked alongside each other for generations, on the same land. Hogarth the hound added character and a unique perspective. A great read to break a reading slump.