Women's Fiction Archives

Book review: The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns

January 24, 20253 min read

I requested The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns as soon as I’d finished reading her 2024 release, The Other Bridget, which I read belatedly after hearing Rachael talk about it at a local author visit to my little seaside town. I tend not to read romance novels unless it’s romantic suspense but was a huge fan of Bridget Jones’s Diary (the book) and loved that Bridget Jones (the librarian) was an avid reader and constantly quoted books of all genres. The Bad Bridesmaid is a loose sequel to The Other Bridget, featuring one of the more endearing characters, Fred (aka Winifred) – fellow librarian and wannabe writer.

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Book review: The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns

November 16, 20243 min read

I hadn’t sought out The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns when it was first published because I assumed it would be too ‘romancy’ for me. I’m not a fan of romance novels though I certainly churned through Sweet Dreams books at high school, my grandmothers’ Mills & Boons in my late teens / early twenties. And… I LOVED Bridget Jones’s Diary (the book) when I first read it over 24 years ago. I remember it vividly as I was living overseas and borrowed it from a colleague, reading it cover to cover late at night, cackling all of the way through.

I went to hear (and see) Rachael speak when she visited my hometown recently with a friend (who told me how much they adored The Other Bridget). I hadn’t known too much about it but hearing Rachael talk about THIS Bridget Jones – a librarian – and her references to a love of reading and books of all genres I decided to get a copy. And yes, I did so despite its length as I tend to whinge about any book that’s over 400 pages and this is almost 500 pages-long. But surprisingly it didn’t drag at all. I practically inhaled it in two evening (bathtime) sittings – both extended as I didn’t want to put it down.

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Book review: Whenever You’re Ready by Trish Bolton

January 28, 20243 min read

Whenever You’re Ready by Trish Bolton is a bittersweet tale of family and friendships and of love and loss. I read this as my mother’s 80th birthday neared and was a little sad that there’s even any question about older women’s worth or how much living septuagenarians might have left.

And of course that’s the thing about age; 30, 50 or 70 seems old… until you’re there. And 10, 15, 20 seems young… unless you’re there. I recall finishing high school and looking at the year 8 students thinking we NEVER looked that young. And now I look at staff in stores and they look like they’re 12.

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Book review: Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

October 13, 20233 min read

Green Dot by Madeleine Gray is a book based on a premise that will possibly divide its readers. Essentially it’s about a woman who falls in love with a married man and continues to have an affair with him, even after finding out. It’s cliched in some ways because she’s sure he’s desperately unhappy in his marriage and just waiting to escape in a way that doesn’t hurt his wife. Too much.

The thing I liked most about this book however is that Gray doesn’t take the easy way out by making our leads cliches. Hera knows she will be harshly judged by others for her behaviour. She knows it’s viewed by everyone – including herself – as ‘wrong’ but she loves Arthur desperately and cannot imagine life without him. And Arthur – doesn’t make a lot of false promises. He doesn’t diminish his relationship with his wife. But he falls in love with Hera nonetheless.

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Book review: Lioness by Emily Perkins

September 26, 20233 min read

Lioness by Emily Perkins is a beautifully written book. I’ve bookmarked a lot of pages featuring phrasing or passages that leapt out at me – as being eloquent, or perhaps relatable for me personally. Which is interesting, as though I could relate to some elements of this and its lead characters (who are similar in age to me), I really did not connect with them in the way I expected. In fact, I did not like them at all. Therese our narrator seems surprisingly enamoured by her neighbour Claire and I confess I did not see the allure.

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Book review: Reinventing Emily Brown by Jodi Gibson

September 14, 20232 min read

I’m not traditionally a reader of feel-good books. Most I read are those written by writing and blogging friends whose words I enjoy and who I know will always deliver on their promise. Reinventing Emily Brown is the third book I’ve read by Jodi Gibson and I’ve enjoyed them all. It’s perfect for lovers of Virgin River (and the like) as it offers that perfect balance of joy and happiness with personal angst and life-not-going-how-you-expect.

Here, I felt I could fairly confidently guess where the book was going and how it would end, but I very happily coasted along because sometimes that predictability is comforting and exactly what you need.

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Book review: The Knighton Women’s Compendium by Denise Picton

January 21, 20233 min read

The Knighton Women’s Compendium wasn’t really on my radar until I realised it was by Denise Picton, whose debut novel The Family String was my favourite book of 2022. As a result I put in a belated request for a review copy and was then even more excited to discover the book featured my favourite kind of narrator – a child! I regretted the time I’d wasted having initially eschewed this (thinking – from the cover perhaps – it was another book about women in a retirement village!), though at the same time happy I could savour this delectable treat.

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Book review: The One and Only Dolly Jamieson by Lisa Ireland

January 10, 20232 min read

What a delightful read The One and Only Dolly Jamieson by Lisa Ireland is! I would have read it in a sitting (in the bathtub) had I not had my mother visiting (at the time) and needed to be social and prepare dinner. I was reminded from previous books I’ve read by Ireland, she’s got the ability to create really warm and familiar characters that you feel as if you get to know – and perhaps – befriend, in the few hours you spend with them.

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