3.5+ Stars

  • Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres, Book Review: Life affirming

    Louis de Bernieres’ Red Dog novel is a charming tale, the audiobook perfect for a long family car trip. Fiction based on a life-affirming Australian legend. Read my full review. Note: Not to be confused with Norman Bridwell’s iconic Clifford the…

  • Book Review – SNAP The World Unfolds by Michele Drier

    SNAP The World Unfolds Synopsis SNAP, a multinational celebrity TV show and magazine, is the holy grail for Maxie Gwenoch. When she snags the job as managing editor, she’s looking for fame, fortune and Jimmy Choos. What she finds is a…

  • Book Review – HOUSE OF STICKS by Peggy Frew

    House of Sticks Synopsis Bonnie has given up her life as a musician to become a stay-at-home mum. She tells herself she has no regrets, but sometimes the isolation and the relentless demands of three small children threaten to swamp the…

  • MURDER IN PASSY by Cara Black, Book Review

    This was my first outing with Cara Black and her feisty protagonist Aimee Leduc. Based on the obvious success of this series, Murder in Passy being the 11th instalment, and the Parisian setting, I had high hopes.

  • FALL GIRL by Toni Jordan, Book Review

    I really enjoyed Australian author Toni Jordan’s debut novel Addition because of its quirkiness and refreshing approach to chick lit (read my review), and so I eagerly awaited the publication of her second novel.

    In Fall Girl Toni Jordan has created an interesting premise and quirky characters for the reader to be engaged and surprised by.

  • Book Review – SKIPPY DIES by Paul Murray

    Paul Murray had attempted to explore so many deep concepts in Skippy Dies and I’m just not sure he quite pulls it off. Although undeniably impressive, the goal may perhaps have been a tad lofty?

    This novel operates on many levels, many of them in very dark places of the human psyche. Everything is put under the microscope — the themes of ‘coming of age’, differences between men and women, right and wrong (ethics), perception versus reality, love versus dependence….. with an undercurrent of existentialism.

  • Book Review – IN THE NAME OF HONOR by Richard North Patterson

    If you are after a literary masterpiece, this is not the book for you. Bestselling author Richard North Patterson is a crafter of plots rather than prose. If you are in the mood for an edge of your seat courtroom drama with gritty wartime reflections, familial deception and a little romance thrown in, In the Name of Honour ticks all these boxes!

  • MATCH ME IF YOU CAN by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Book Review

    Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. She’s endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. But that’s going to change now that she’s taken over her late grandmother’s matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is land the Windy City’s hottest bachelor as her client, and she’ll be the most sought-after matchmaker in town.

  • NEGATIVE IMAGE by Vicki Delany, Book Review: Cosy charm

    I was pleasantly surprised at how many plot lines Vicki Delany has managed to weave into Negative Image, a novel of less than 300 pages. Murder, extortion, a string of burglaries, a stalker and a personal tragedy are all on the bill.

    Vicki Delany’s prose is unpretentious and easy to read – her focus is telling a compelling story.

  • Book Review – THE SIX SACRED STONES by Matthew Reilly

    The Six Sacred Stones is action-packed and an enjoyable read but has Matthew Reilly bitten off more than even he can chew this time?
    Jack West Jr., the seemingly invincible defender of the free world and all round nice guys’ peace and solitude on his farm in outback Australia is rudely interrupted by an army of invaders one morning. This sets in motion the coming together of all our favourite characters that helped Jack save the world last time in The Seven Ancient Wonders – Pooh Bear, Wizard, Stretch, Sky Monster, Lily and Zoe.

  • The Olive Readers by Christine Aziz, Review: An ominous premonition

    An ominous premonition. In The Olive Readers, Christine Aziz hits the fast forward button and places the reader in a dystopian future world where corporations rule the Earth. This story of a world gone wrong is told through the eyes and plight of a young woman named Jephzat. Jephzat lives in the federation state responsible for producing olives in the new world order. The corporations control all information.