Hachette Australia Archives - Page 26 of 29

Book review: End of Watch by Stephen King

June 9, 20162 min read

I missed the first in this Stephen King trilogy. Mr Mercedes received great reviews which tempted me (after a long break from King’s fiction) to read the second in the series, Finders Keepers.

I mostly enjoyed Finders Keepers and you can check out my review here, but… without the Mr Mercedes backstory I failed to really engage with Bill Hodges and his cohorts – who entered the Finders Keepers plot when I was already well and truly settled in with its main protagonist, young Peter Saubers and his family.

End of Watch seems to return to where Mr Mercedes left off, but interestingly, provides a really good recap of the key points of the original. So I enjoyed it a lot.

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Book review: Die of Shame by Mark Billingham

June 4, 20163 min read

Time of Death by Mark Billingham was my first by the English author. It was the thirteenth in the series about London Detective Inspector Tom Thorne and though I’d missed a lot of backstory… it really didn’t matter.

His latest novel is a standalone thriller, so if you’re yet to read anything by Billingham, Die of Shame is the perfect place to start.

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Book review: Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

May 9, 20163 min read

Last year a book called My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises was doing the rounds. I loved the title but – for reasons I now do not recall – didn’t get around to reading that book.

It wasn’t until after I finished Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman that I discovered the Swedish blogger and columnist also authored ‘My Grandmother… etc’ and his latest had a quirky and beguiling warmth that makes me realise I would have loved to read about the apologising grandmother.

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Book review: Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

May 5, 20162 min read

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman is billed as her first adult novel and – although an enjoyable read for this 48yr old – suspect it will appeal more to young adults.

It reminded me very much of Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard. A YA book I read recently and LOVED.

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Book review: Shtum by Jem Lester

April 27, 20164 min read

I have to admit I’m a bit nervous about reviewing this book as I’m worried I’ll offend people. I like to think I’m fairly diplomatic, but my political correctness only goes so far.

It’s not that I didn’t like this book, which is about the family of a profoundly autistic boy, because I did. It’s just that the content is kinda confronting – in a thought-provoking, sad and heartwarming way.

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Book review: The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood

April 21, 20162 min read

I’ve read a lot of books lately about eccentric children. I guess they could be labelled – falling somewhere on the autism disorder spectrum or similar. But I kinda like that they aren’t. And the one in a million boy is one such boy. Friendless, he collects facts. Mostly in sets of ten. And his go-to point of reference is the Guinness Book of Records.

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Book review: Under Italian Skies by Nicky Pellegrino

April 19, 20163 min read

Almost exactly a year ago I read One Summer in Venice by Nicky Pellegrino and enjoyed it – particularly its references to the lead character’s quest for happiness and her insight into the fact that our needs and / or desires don’t necessarily make us happy.

I also loved the setting and – as the only place I really (now) want to visit is Italy – I happily leapt at the chance to read her newest release… Under Italian Skies.

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Audiobook review: Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

April 14, 20164 min read

Favel Parrett’s 2014 novel, When the Night Comes blew me away. It’s not the sort of book I’d usually read. But I’d heard great things so thought, “Why not?”

Why not indeed?! It’s stayed with me ever since and I find it hard to describe what I loved so much about it. The story, the language, the beauty. It’s in my top 2-3 books OF ALL TIME.

As I’m a slacker I hadn’t gotten around to reading Parrett’s previous work, even though I’d heard equally wonderful things.

So when I noted that Hachette audio had released an audiobook of Parrett’s Past the Shallows, I leapt at the chance to listen.

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