For reasons unknown to man I didn’t read Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep when it was released in 2014 but got to it the following year and fell in love. And… had to belatedly add it to my ‘Favourite books of 2014’ post.
Laguna’s voice and the beauty of her writing won me over. Naturally my expectations for her latest book, The Choke, were ridiculously and unachievably high. So it’s even more remarkable that I was not disappointed.
I don’t have kids, so am not overly familiar with a lot of children’s contemporary reading and literary options. My godson however is almost six and I’ve read him enough stories to know he needs to be engaged in a plot that’s exciting and relatable and – now he’s starting to learn to read – needs to be challenged by language, phrasing and prose and recognise words in print.
This new series by Mac Park (Louise Park and Susannah McFarlane) and illustrated by James Hart is perfect for the youngest millennials, accustomed to uplifting yet fast-paced action in a high-tech world.
I read some quotes about Kylie Ladd’s other work before embarking on this book and they all centred around how well she portrayed families and their relationships. This is the first book I’ve read by Ladd and I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I very much enjoyed the complex yet relatable characters she’s developed and the way she brings a family to crisis… and back out again.
I was a bit of a latecomer to Michael Connelly and his long-running Harry Bosch series (but have been watching the TV show for good measure), so it was great to see that he’s got a new protagonist in LAPD Detective Renee Ballard, who – despite 14yrs on the job – has been shunted to the midnight shift (The Late Show) because she dared accuse a senior officer of harassment.
I’d put off reading this book. I wondered if a book about a girl joining a cult would be heavy-going or too obviously a cautionary tale of sorts. But, as it happens, it was neither. I actually wrote very few notes as I read it in a night, and the only thing leaping out of my jottings is the phrase ‘surprisingly riveting’ with several exclamation marks for good measure.
This debut novel by Sarah Bailey had arrived but was still on my ‘to-read’ list when I started seeing it popping up on social media. I was intrigued by the buzz so got to it as soon as I could… and discovered the buzz was warranted.
A quick glance at debut author Kirsty Manning’s website will alert visitors and readers that she’s most certainly passionate about travel and food, both of which feature strongly in her her debut novel The Midsummer Garden, which is set in France, Italy (Tuscany) and Australia (Tasmania).
Italy, and particularly Tuscany is on my bucket list and because I’m a masochist of sorts, I thought it’d be nice to ask Kirsty about it.
It’s always obvious if authors of fiction are writing about a topic or place they know well as they can seamlessly drop facts in without it appearing as if they’re offering up some sort of PhD thesis and overtly demonstrating their vast knowledge. The fact that Fiona Higgins – author of Wife on the Run and The Mother’s Group – lived in Indonesia and understands the place, customs and culture is thus very obvious (in a good way) in her latest novel, set in Bali.
