Classic thriller! Love a good edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-it-down kind of book. Really enjoyed McGovern’s style of writing and her characters were believable, the storyline well constructed.

This was such an interesting novel to read. Deep, moving, and intense. These female characters had some power to them. Julia stood strong through some of the toughest days I can imagine & Bridie, a sad story with a beautiful bittersweet ending. It was well-timed to be released amidst our own pandemic & I am incredibly grateful we’ve not experienced it to this degree (in Australia) with the advances in both science & medicine.

This had all the potential of an amazing novel, unfortunately for me it fell flat. It was an interesting storyline, well-built characters & enough action but I feel like it was a case of right book, wrong time for me, I just found it really hard to get into while there was a lot going on in my life. I think I would have enjoyed it much more had I been able to really get absorbed in it.

I really enjoyed the idea behind this book. I felt like I could have written parts of it myself, the emotion of the author resonated with me several times... some of the experiences replicated in my own life. I loved the idea of breaking through with a goal & began writing my own list. I’m excited for what this book as encouraged me to try!

Once again, another beautifully written novel by Bridget Collins. Very different to The Binding but still a strong book in its own right. Collins has a true talent for constructing words & stories & capturing the imagination of the reader. Admittedly it took me a bit to really get into what was going on & I still don’t understand exactly what the grand jeu actually is... (is it a dance, a symphony...a love song?) but I still thoroughly enjoyed this story of love, mystery, risk & tragedy.

It’s official - Jane Harper is an *incredible* author. This, her fourth offering, is just as captivating as her previous.
I have always found Harper’s novels to be easy to read, the language & character development so well built & relatable. The imagery used to describe the location settings is honestly out of this world, you really feel like you can see it.
While this was maybe a heavier story, those last few chapters had me speed-reading to answer the questions. And when it finished I was left wanting more! In a good way.

Two pages in & I was completely enamored with the language. I love words & I could already tell this one was going to fill up my word love bucket. I had high hopes from the first pages... but as each chapter progressed it varied in style, from a journalistic style interview, to a written diary entry, to mystical tales, the landscape of the retelling constantly changing, which gave an element of disjointedness to the overall story. I found myself lost at times & by the ending chapters I felt like I had lost interest in “Mouse’s” story & really had to push myself to finish.
Throughout parts of the story I had begun to wonder if the writer had been experiencing some personal issues in their own life that had affected the tone of the story & upon reading the Acknowledgments in the back, my intuition had been correct.
I still feel like Nydia Hetherington is one to watch out for, she has a beautiful way with words.

“Everyone is the star of their own show, performing for the passing, faceless crowds. We are all clowns”

I was really seeking something light-hearted for my next read & this book was perfect even thought I didn’t *love* it.
I was super into the way Ben & Arthur met & the very oh-so-cute rom-com kind of way they reconnect - it had all the potential for something pretty great. But it fell flat for me. I have never felt more like a thirty-something-parent reading this. One character was incredibly obnoxious, the other overly neurotic & it all just felt a bit too dramatic for me - which is appropriate when most teens live their drama daily (don’t come at me, I was one once upon a time). And this is coming from a highly sensitive empath. It just didn’t have me gunning for their relationship. I really wish I could say I loved this more than I did.

This was an incredibly imaginative tale, but also sad & at times... dark & weirdly disturbing, which is not at all what I expected from that cover!
Tobias Kemp, the Father, is an artist who creates a series of books with Romilly as the main character. These books are filled with “hidden wonders” that turn out to be the elusive treasure hunt that entices people from all over the world to their doorstep. As you can imagine, this turns out to be more than it seems...
The life of Romilly held more sadness than I feel one person should. I found that hard to persevere through, I just wanted one of her relationships to be positive & not tragic. There were just so many sad elements to this story like child neglect & abuse, death, parental illness, animal cruelty, among others, which I found quite triggering. It made it hard for me to actually enjoy the story but I kept reading hoping for a happy ending.