About the Book: Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into … Continue reading Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Literary Fiction
Book Review: Haven by Emma Donoghue
About the Book: Three men vow to leave the world behind them. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. Haven, Emma Donoghue's gripping and moving novel, has her … Continue reading Book Review: Haven by Emma Donoghue
Book Review: The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins)
About the Book: It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between tutoring twelve-year-old Mieko in an apartment in an abandoned hotel and lying on the floor at her grandparents: daydreaming, playing Tetris, and listening to the sounds from the street above. The heat rises; the days slip by. The plan is … Continue reading Book Review: The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins)
Book Review: Faithless by Alice Nelson
About the Book: Set between India and England, Faithless is the story of Cressida, a writer and translator, and her consuming love for Max, an enigmatic older writer – and married man. Cressida’s passion for Max engulfs her from the first giddy rush of sensation when she meets him in the mountains of southern India. It is … Continue reading Book Review: Faithless by Alice Nelson
Book Review: Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry-Jones
About the Book: Grief-stricken and on the verge of a breakdown, Luda Managan and her two teenaged children try to make a home for themselves on a collection of harsh and haunted Scottish islands. Luda, a photographer, is mesmerised by the extraordinary magic of the islands and soon finds herself condemned by the local community after … Continue reading Book Review: Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry-Jones
Book Recommendation: The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa
About the Book: Dublin 1966. When Joan Quinn, a factory girl from the Cranmore Estate, marries Martin Egan, it looks like her dreams have come true. But all is not as it seems. Joan lives in the shadow of a secret – the couple’s decision to give up their first daughter for adoption only months … Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa
Book Review: Joan by Katherine J. Chen
About the Book: Girl. Warrior. Heretic. Saint? France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. Yet out of the chaos, an unlikely heroine emerges. Reckless, steel-willed and brilliant, Joan has survived a childhood steeped in both joy and violence to claim an extraordinary - and … Continue reading Book Review: Joan by Katherine J. Chen
Book Review: The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
Set in rural England, 1989, The Perfect Golden Circle tells the story of two men who set out over the course of a summer to form elaborate crop circle patterns in the wheat fields under the cover of darkness. As their circles become increasingly intricate, their work gathers an international cult like following, pushing them … Continue reading Book Review: The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
Book Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
About the Book: ‘And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room Rules no longer apply.’ Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, … Continue reading Book Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Book Review: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
About the Book: Longing for love, obsessed with weddings and let's not even mention the mysteries of sex, Linda, her sisters and cousin Fanny are on the hunt for the ideal lover. But finding the perfect match is much harder than any of them had ever dreamed. Linda is first courted by a stuffy Tory … Continue reading Book Review: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Theresa Smith Writes 