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Friday Favourites :: 20 May
Painting class is back! If you’ve been around a while you might remember that I started going to a watercolour class about a year ago. Our second term was cut short by a covid lockdown, and last week classes finally started again. I find it so helpful to have that time set aside where I actually leave the house specifically to paint, otherwise I am not great at making time to practice. Lately I’ve been finding myself super inspired by book covers, like this one for Eleanor Limprecht’s new historical fiction novel, The Coast, which was a perfect reference image for our class on clouds this week. Big thanks to…
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Friday Favourites :: 1 April
I think I mentioned when I posted about reading Bitter Greens that I had booked a virtual writing course on plotting and planning with Kate Forsyth – one of my absolute favourite authors. We had our first session this week, and honestly, spending a couple of hours on Monday night listening to Kate talk about her writing process was just like a dream come true. I booked the course through the Australian Writers’ Centre, and it is two zoom sessions over two weeks. The session was so well organised – there were slides we could access to print out ahead of the class if we wanted, and lots of help…
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Currently Reading :: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Popping in tonight to share my current read, Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. I am such a fan of Kate Forsyth – both in terms of her books (she’s an auto-buy author for me any time she has something new out, and I’m making my way through her backlist) and also any time I have the opportunity to hear her speak, be it in person or a podcast interview, or really anything else. Bitter Greens has been on my to be read pile for the longest time, and I have really been looking forward to reading it, particularly since so many people I know have told me it is one…
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Nancy Business
It’s been four months since Tippy, Uncle Pike and Devon were together for Christmas. Now back for the first anniversary of Tippy’s father’s death, the Nancys are reformed when Riverstone is rocked by an early morning explosion that kills three people and destroys the town hall. A new case is born. Is the accused bomber really guilty? Is there a second bomber? And if so, does that mean a threat to destroy Riverstone Bridge is real? And is asparagus a colour? Once again, it is up to the Nancys to go against the flow and ignore police orders to get to the truth. It’s great to be back in Nancy…
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CHRISTMAS :: The Christmas Swap by Sandy Barker
The majority of Christmas romance/romcom novels I read are from the UK or the US, so I am always on the look out for Aussie authors and stories. The Christmas Swap was one of the Aussie Christmas books I highlighted in my post about the 2020 Christmassy releases I was most excited to read, and it did not let me down! It was fun and funny (there were a few laugh out loud moments for me), and the alternating perspectives meant I kept on wanting to read ‘just one more chapter’. What is Sandy Barker’s The Christmas Swap about? Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are…
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Interview :: Tea Cooper author of The Girl in the Painting
The first book I read from Harlequin’s HERSTORY campaign – featuring historical fiction about women who rebel – was Tea Cooper’s The Girl in the Painting. This was my second time reading a book by Tea, having read The Woman in the Green Dress last year, and I absolutely enjoyed both – you can see my reviews here and here. This week Tea has kindly answered a few questions I asked about The Girl in the Painting, as well as giving us a little sneak peek at what she has coming up for us next. First, what is The Girl in the Painting about? Here’s the synopsis Maitland 1913 Miss Elizabeth Quinn is something of an institution in Maitland…
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Can’t Wait Wednesday :: Bottlebrush Creek :: Maya Linnell
Today I’m joining in with a blog meme called “Can’t Wait Wednesday” which is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. As the title suggests, this is a chance for everyone to talk about those books that we just can’t wait to get our hands on. This week I’m featuring Bottlebrush Creek an upcoming rural romance by Aussie author Maya Linnell. Bottlebrush Creek is Maya’s second novel after her 2019 debut Wildflower Ridge (you can read my review here). In Wildflower Ridge we met the McIntyre sisters, and in particular focused on Penny as she came to terms with coming home to the family farm. In Bottlebrush Creek we’ll be hanging…
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Christmas :: Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber/Hallmark
Ok, we all know I love Christmassy romcoms in both novel and film form, so I thought it might be fun to read and watch some book and movie pairs. My local library just happened to have both the original novel and the DVD of Hallmark’s movie adaptation of Debbie Macomber’s Dashing Through the Snow. Obviously I read the book first. It is a relatively short novel, so I got through it in a single day. Honestly, I thought this was quite delightful! There are lots of things about it that are completely ridiculous, but in a fun way. I don’t even know where to start with the plot, so…
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Review :: The Boy with Blue Trousers by Carol Jones
I’m delighted today to be sharing my review of Carol Jones’ historical fiction novel The Boy with the Blue Trousers, as part of a blog tour with publisher Head of Zeus. Read on below the synopsis to find out what I thought. What is Carol Jones’ The Boy with the Blue Trousers about? On the goldfields of 19th-century Australia, two very different girls are trying to escape their past. 1856, China. In the mulberry groves of the Pearl River Delta, eighteen-year-old Little Cat carries a terrible secret. And so, in disguise as a boy in blue trousers, she makes the long and difficult passage to Australia, a faraway land of untold riches…
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Review :: The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle by Sophie Green
I absolutely adored Sophie Green’s debut novel, The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club, so whatever she did next was always going to be at the top of my TBR list. I am pleased to report that I found The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle just as wonderful! I’ll pop the synopsis in here so you can get a feel for what The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle is about, and then you can read on below for my review. Synopsis of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle by Sophie Green It’s 1982 in Australia. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is a box office hit and Paul Hogan is on…
