About the Book: Molly's a millennial home organiser about to have her first baby. Obviously her mum, Annie, will help with the childcare. Everyone else's parents are doing it. But Annie's dreams of music stardom have been on hold for thirty-five years, paused by childbirth then buried under her responsibilities as a mother, wage earner, … Continue reading Book Review: This Has Been Absolutely Lovely by Jessica Dettmann
Contemporary Fiction
Book Review: All the Beautiful Things You Love by Jonathan Seidler
About the Book: Elly and Enzo love each other.Elly and Enzo are breaking up.Now, everything must go. When Enzo suddenly walks out on Elly after ten years together, she finds herself marooned in an expensive East London flat, surrounded by all their belongings. She is shell-shocked. Inconsolable. She can't bear to look at the objects … Continue reading Book Review: All the Beautiful Things You Love by Jonathan Seidler
Book Review: Cool Water by Myfanwy Jones
About the Book: Frank Herbert's family has gathered at Tinaroo Dam for his daughter Lily's wedding - the first time he's been back since the death of his father, Joe, a year earlier. Like Frank, the dam is at an all-time low and as the water recedes, objects begin to emerge - abstract and disquieting. … Continue reading Book Review: Cool Water by Myfanwy Jones
Book Review: Appreciation by Liam Pieper
About the Book: A wild romp through Australian celebrity culture that's as bold and scathing as it is hilarious. Oli Darling is a queer artist from the country – it says so right at the top of every press release. His art has brought him fame, money, fashionable substance abuse issues and only a little … Continue reading Book Review: Appreciation by Liam Pieper
Book Review: Seven Summers by Paige Toon
About the Book: Two epic love stories. One impossible choice. The stunning new novel from Paige Toon. Six summers ago... Liv and Finn meet working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn's life … Continue reading Book Review: Seven Summers by Paige Toon
Book Review: My Brilliant Sister by Amy Brown #AYearofNZLit
About the Book: While Stella Miles Franklin took on the world, her beloved sister Linda led a short, domestic life as a wife, mother and sister. In a remarkable, genre-bending debut novel Amy Brown thrillingly reimagines those two lives – and her own – to explore and explode the contradictions embedded in brilliant careers and … Continue reading Book Review: My Brilliant Sister by Amy Brown #AYearofNZLit
Book Review: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
About the Book: Theo has one dream—to become a bestselling author. Determined to make her mark in the literary world, she heads to the US on a whim to stay with her brother Gus and focus on her writing. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she befriends a famous author, Dan Murdoch, at … Continue reading Book Review: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Book Review: Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
About the Book: A woman leaves the hospital after an operation and starts swimming in a pool in Melbourne’s inner suburbs. There she meets Frida, who is uncannily like her in her experience of illness. Soon after, she meets another woman in a local park, Sylvia, who sees her pain and encourages her to rest. The … Continue reading Book Review: Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
Book Review: The Glass House by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion
About the Book: Psychiatry registrar Doctor Hannah Wright, a country girl with a chaotic history, thought she had seen it all in the emergency room. But that was nothing compared to the psychiatric ward at Menzies Hospital. Hannah must learn on the job in a strained medical system, as she and her fellow trainees deal with … Continue reading Book Review: The Glass House by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion
Book Review: Tidelines by Sarah Sasson
About the Book: It's Sydney in the early 2000s, and Grub is spending the summer with her universally adored older brother, Elijah, and his magnetic but troubled best friend, Zed. Their days are filled with surfing, swimming and hanging out; life couldn't be better. But years later, Elijah disappears and Grub's family unravels. At first, … Continue reading Book Review: Tidelines by Sarah Sasson
Theresa Smith Writes 