Book Review: Wildflower by Monique Mulligan

About the Book: 1979 After being bullied at school, Jane Kelly dreads spending the summer holidays alone, friendless. So, when Acacia Miller moves in next door, Jane imagines carefree days of trading secrets and pinkie promises with a new best friend. But as their friendship grows, Acacia remains stubbornly guarded about her home life, and … Continue reading Book Review: Wildflower by Monique Mulligan

Quick Shots Book Review: The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

About the Book: The moment she laid eyes on Heather Wisher, Tully knew this woman was going to destroy their lives. Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn't even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their … Continue reading Quick Shots Book Review: The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

Book Review: Mrs England by Stacey Halls

Mrs England… About the Book: From the bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling comes Stacey Halls' most compelling and ambitious novel to date. West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill … Continue reading Book Review: Mrs England by Stacey Halls

Book Review: Punch & Judy – A Poetry Collection by Kelly Van Nelson

Punch & Judy… About the Book: Punch and Judy explores the tangled intensity of a toxic relationship. Bestselling author, Kelly Van Nelson, brings her trademark gritty style to this modern poetry collection. She takes readers on a rollercoaster journey from attraction and desire of a couple initially meeting, through the turbulence of abuse at the … Continue reading Book Review: Punch & Judy – A Poetry Collection by Kelly Van Nelson

Author Talks: Leah Swann on Inventive explorations of motherhood in fiction

The eagle-featured mother in Angela Carter’s Bluebeard story “The Bloody Chamber” was an electrifying discovery as a student and lives on in me to this day. Back then, I’d read about oppressive mothers, unreliable mothers, fearsome mothers and loving mothers but never a fierce, swashbuckling mother like this one. Early in the story we learn … Continue reading Author Talks: Leah Swann on Inventive explorations of motherhood in fiction

Book Review: The Girl She Was by Rebecca Freeborn

The Girl She Was... About the Book: At the cafe in the small town of Glasswater Bay where she works after school, seventeen-year-old Layla enters into a volatile relationship with her married boss. Twenty years later, she receives a message from her former boss’s wife. As Layla relives the events from her youth that have … Continue reading Book Review: The Girl She Was by Rebecca Freeborn