Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

Reviewed by Kiah

Campy, carnivalesque, and intriguing, 'Voyage of the Damned' is a magical murder mystery from debut British author Frances White. Blending comedy, romance, and suspense, 'Voyage of the Damned' is a fun novel to add to your 'To Be Read' list.   For... (continued)

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

Reviewed by Kiah

‘Legends and Lattes’ meets the unfathomable power of garlic in this splendid new addition to the cosy fantasy genre. Written by American author Caitlin Rozakis,‘Dreadful’ follows an amnesia-struck Dark Wizard grappling with an identity crisis, moral crisis, and world-en... (continued)

The Ministry Of Time, Kaliane Bradley

Reviewed by Kiah

The Ministry of Time   A few months from now, an unnamed British civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry. She learns the government has discovered time travel, and that a number of 'expats' have been brought from different points in... (continued)

"Oryx and Crake" (The Maddaddam Trilogy) by Margaret Atwood

Reviewed by Ro Roberts

At the end of the world, a young man watches the glow-in-the-dark rabbits frolic on a lonely beach, and he wonders where humanity went wrong. As he travels in search of supplies, memories of his former life waft back to him, dreamlike. He remembers his unforgiving existence, his ambitious best... (continued)

"She Who Became The Sun" by Shelley Parker-Chan

Reviewed by Ro Roberts

In a poverty-stricken village, a young boy’s future is revealed by a fortune-teller: a path of unfathomable greatness and endless honour, a far-cry from his harsh existence. By morning, the child is dead. All that remains is his younger sister, her wits, and an unimaginable plan; to take... (continued)

Author Spotlight: Becky Chambers

Reviewed by Eleanor Roberts

With three prestigious Hugo Awards under her belt (Wayfarers - Best Series 2019, A Psalm for the Wild Built - Best Novella 2022, A Prayer for the Crown Shy - Best Novella 2023), Becky Chambers is well and truly on her way to becoming science-fiction royalty. Her Wayfarers series (2014-2022) ha... (continued)

Author Spotlight: Sarah J. Maas

Reviewed by Abbey

Sarah J. Maas is the epitome and arguably the catalyst for the Romantasy and New Adult genre. Start off with either her Throne of Glass series or her A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but be sure to read both before reading her Crescent City series. Maas is known within the fandom for &l... (continued)

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

Reviewed by Kiah

Howl's Moving Castle meets Polish folklore in this stunning book from first-time author A. B. Poranek. Add in a cursed forest, a twisted bargain, and a dash of Beauty and the Beast, and 'Where the Dark Stands Still' will be your new favourite romantasy to look forward to in 2024. ... (continued)

Killing For Country by David Marr

Reviewed by Vivienne Wynter

Killing For Country by reknowned Australian author David Marr is published by Black Inc Books who describe it as a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world - of land seized, fortunes made and lost and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies fought for poses... (continued)

Prophet by Helen Macdonald & Sin Blanché

Reviewed by Kiah

In a remote field in England, random objects start appearing. A bouquet of flowers, board games, a toy dinosaur, a motorbike jacket, even a whole American diner. These items are bright and nostalgic - treasured mementos from people’s pasts. But looking closer, there’s something not... (continued)

Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight

Reviewed by Poppy Solomon

~ Stuck in an eerie shopping centre outside of time and space, with everything they could ever want at their fingertips, six teens become like family ~   This isn't an apocalyptic sci-fi story about kids who turn into heroes; the teens form close bonds with each other, drink b... (continued)

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

Reviewed by Poppy Solomon

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman – 5/5 stars   A unique, disturbing and witty new historical fiction.   ~High society regency era spinsters begin saving women in trouble – but the conspiracies they get themselves into are dea... (continued)

"Fire Rush" by Jacqueline Crooks

Reviewed by Bianca

Set in London in the 1980s, Crooks' striking debut novel offers a captivating portrait of Black womanhood within the dub reggae scene. A story of resilience, loss, and finding your inner voice, Fire Rush is a brilliant work of literary fiction that will break your heart and heal it all at ... (continued)

"Wandering Souls" by Cecile Pin

Reviewed by Bianca

"There are the goodbyes and then the fishing out of the bodies - everything in between is speculation" Longlisted for the 2023 Women's Prize for fiction, Wandering Souls tells the story of three tenacious young people fleeing political unrest in Vietnam after the withdrawal o... (continued)

"All's Well" by Mona Awad

Reviewed by Audrey

Awad's exploration of chronic pain captivates you from the get go. Her enticing examination of marginalization and isolation through the prism of women's pain is incisive and filled with biting humour. Set amongst our protagonist Miranda's dogged attempt to stage Shakespeare's ... (continued)

"Trust" by Hernan Diaz

Reviewed by Audrey

In Trust, 4 stories frame and then reframe the life of elusive businessman Andrew Bevel and his wife Mildred. The reader is drawn deeper into these lives with new text, examines the couples financial prowess in the tumult of the era of the Great Depression and then the murky circumstances rega... (continued)

Folio Society sets

Reviewed by Book Barn, Berrima

At the Book Barn we celebrate every generation of reader.  Our rustic shelves are filled with the beauty of new; second hand with vintage titles; or subjects that are rarely found, for those who enjoy to fossick and discover the unknown and the unpredictable.  We believe every b... (continued)

The Penguin Story MCMXXXV-MCMLVI

Reviewed by Book Barn, Berrima

Be you a lover of the orange, blue, green, red, cerise, grey, yellow or purple covered Penguin Books, this is a fascinating account of its development published to mark its twenty-first birthday in July 1956, written by Sir William Emrys Williams, C.B.E., - associated with the firm for twenty ... (continued)

How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson

Reviewed by Kiah

Tommy Llewellyn can't be remembered. Every year, on his birthday, all evidence of his existence vanishes. Photographs, hospital records, his birth certificate, and every memory people have of him are wiped away, leaving Tommy as the only one who remembers. With no answers to be found as to... (continued)

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Reviewed by Kiah

  Once, a man who studied fairy tales met a mysterious woman called Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. They fell in love and decided to marry, but Indigo had one condition: do not ask about her past. Do not look, do not pry. The man agreed, and they were wed.     But whe... (continued)