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Review: The Drover’s Brother Comes for Christmas by Darry Fraser
What is Darry Fraser’s The Drover’s Brother Comes for Christmas about? It’s 1890. Lizzie Naylor’s life is working in her grumpy father’s store in Munyup, trying to bring up her six-year-old daughter, Alice, who’s hellbent on finding herself a father. Christmas is nearing, and tempers are fraught, especially when mysterious Mr Nicholas is back with his pesky sidekick, Alf. Or Elf, as Alice calls him. And Elf is just about to make another big mistake. Mack Miller has returned to the district to make peace with his brother, Shep. He’s weary of the life he’s led, the loss he’s experienced. He’s longed for home for a while, but the family…
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Three Books to Help Your Kids Count Down to Christmas this Year.
I’ve talked before about our approach to using books as an Advent countdown – I like to wrap four books (one for each Sunday in Advent), and then keep all our favourite picture books in a basket by the tree, and others on the shelf to pick up all through the season (more on Advent here and our book basket here). Today, though, I want to talk about Advent books – where the book itself is a kind of countdown calendar. I love the idea of creating a quiet December ritual where we sit together and read for a bit every evening and, this year I’ve picked out 3 books…
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Mailbox Monday :: 2 October
I’m back for another round of mailbox Monday (thanks to the host over here – make sure you check them out) and since today marks exactly 12 weeks until Christmas I figured it’s the perfect opportunity to share this book that arrived in my post box last week. A Country Vet Christmas is a collection of short festive stories set in rural Australia and written by some of our fabulous local ruro authors. Harper Collins Publishers Australia (through their imprint HQ Fiction) release a compilation like this each year and I really look forward to spotting them at the shops – it’s really a sign that the festive season is…
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Review :: Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas by Vicki Delany
I’m a longtime lover of cosy Christmas romance stories, but lately i’ve been finding myself increasingly drawn to festive cosy mysteries too. I spotted Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas on NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise of a murder set against an amateur production of A Christmas Carol. Read on for my review! What is Vicki Delany’s Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas about? It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America’s Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol.…
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Review :: Christmas Charms by Terri Wilson
I really think there is no ‘wrong’ time of year to get cosy with a sweet Christmas romance story, but I do have to admit that I have become quite partial to a Christmas in July reading binge. This year I’m keen to catch up on some festive novels that have been on my TBR for far too long. I also want to really make an effort to share a review every few weeks, so that come November I’ll have lots of recommendations to draw from. I’m starting today with a book from Hallmark Publishing (because, honestly, what says cosy Christmas love better than Hallmark?!) – Terri Wilson‘s Christmas Charms.…
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Q&A with Aussie Indie Author Katie Montinaro
We all know I love a festive romance and this year I’ve been really keeping an eye out for Aussie Christmas stories. A few weeks ago I reviewed Katie Montinaro’s A Holly Jolly Christmas, and today I have the pleasure of welcoming Katie to my blog for a chat about writing and books and Christmas. I hope you enjoy reading our Q&A below! Hi Katie! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me today! I loved reading your festive romance book, A Holly Jolly Christmas. Can you tell us a little bit about the story and what inspired you to write it? Thank you! A Holly Jolly Christmas follows Ms…
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Q&A with Aussie Indie Fantasy Author R.K. Hart
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Canberra author R.K Hart for a chat about her books, writing, and our Aussie summer Christmas. I met Rebekka this year when she hosted the launch fellow local fantasy writer Lauren Searson-Patrick’s Amber Wolf. Rebekka kindly sent me a copy of her novel To Dream of White and Gold. I’ve only read a few chapters so far but am already loving the world and characters she has created, Hi Rebekka! Thanks so much for joining me here for a chat today! I’ve recently been reading To Dream of White & Gold, which is the first book in your Death Dreamers Legacy. Can you…
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Q&A with book blogger Anne from Immersed in Books
One of my favourite things about the online book community is the opportunity to connect with other readers and make new friends. One of the friends I’ve loved getting to know over the past year or so is fellow Australian book blogger Anne from Immersed in Books. Anne is such a great supporter of indie authors and always has great recommendations on her blog and social media of books I don’t see lots of other places, so when I decided to have a focus on indie authors on my blog this month I just knew I wanted to ask Anne to come and talk about some of her favourites! Read…
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New Aussie Christmas Romance Books 2022
We all know I love a Christmas romance story and, while it’s fun to coy up with snowy story sometimes it’s nice to see our own summer Christmas in a book too. I always have my eyes peeled for new Aussie festive stories hitting our shelves and today I’m sharing three that have caught my attention this year. Beneath a Christmas Sky Under Christmas Stars by Alissa CallenSmall-town teacher Freya George is determined to make up for last year’s disastrous Christmas. This year she will stop at nothing to ensure that she and the Woodlea community have the best holiday season ever. But from the moment Freya meets cattleman Drew Macgregor,…
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Book Advent 2022
It’s the first Sunday in Advent today, and one of the ways we celebrate the countdown to Christmas each year is with a book Advent calendar. I have written a bit about bookish Advent calendars before (check out this post for more info if you’d like). We’ve tried a few different things as my daughter has grown, and my number one ‘rule’ is always to do what works for you. For a few years when she was little and we were reading picture books we tried doing a book each day or every second day, but in the end what we’ve found works best for us is to have four…
