Dirrayawadha (Rise Up) by best-selling Wiradyuri author, Dr Anita Heiss, is an outstanding Australian historical novel. - truth-telling through fiction, a story of love and resilience in a time of war. I loved this beautifully written book, especially the weaving of Wiradyuri language throughout as part of storytelling, and critically, Mother Earth’s poignant contemplation and her comments, book-ending this story. In Anita’s acknowledgements, she writes “Dirrayawadha is probably the most important book I will ever write.” I believe her. The love story between Miinaa and Dan is heartbreakingly beautiful, but the tragedy and utter desecration and displacement of the indigenous people, is gut wrenching and horrifying.
From the bestselling author of Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) comes a sweeping new historical blockbuster about resistance, love and resilience during the frontier wars.
Miinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of red and white cloth and renamed her homeland ‘Bathurst’. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there. The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. Her brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the…
A Killer Among Friends is a compelling and tense mystery, with many conceivable twists. The characters are convincing and well-drawn, and journalist, Jade in particular, is complex and feisty, battling her own demons and insecurities. I’d definitely want her on my side if I was in trouble.
The song title chapter headings were an enjoyable bonus. Looking forward to reading what trouble Jade gets up to in the next chapter of her adventurous life. This was a rollicking and suspenseful whodunnit that kept me guessing.
Murder. Music. Company secrets. Soon after journalist Jade returns from abroad to her hometown, Melbourne, her friend Nick is found dead in a dumpster. She turns to their tight-knit circle for answers, only to uncover a web of lies. Mounting evidence suggests her best friend Elena’s suicide three years earlier is connected. Was she, too, murdered? As Jade closes in on the killer, she realizes the suspects are all people she loves. Her life depends on knowing which of them to trust.
“A compelling whodunnit. Jade is a complex, feisty character, battling her own demons and insecurities.” Lisa Darcy, author…
This was a beautifully written and fascinating tale about the possibility that Shakespeare was not the author of his sonnets and plays, but instead was a woman named Emilia Bassano, one of a few writers who wrote the tales that Shakespeare paid for and used as his own. I loved all the Shakespeare references. An incredible story from start to finish, full of passion, heartache, love, desire, frustration and tragedy.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.
“You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater…
Kate Cavendish: Photographer, mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend, and pet wrangler. Not great in the kitchen or at wearing heels. Like walking a tightrope, Kate’s life requires focus and balance. She’s also stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer.
But with her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her sister, her newly-dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband may be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt. And with one tiny miscalculation, Kate’s about to topple, and bring her world and all who she loves, crashing down.
With airbrushed precision, Robyn, Kate’s heavily pregnant sister, is an Instagram darling, a bone fide social media sensation. Her posts, photographed by Kate, scream perfection and happiness, but Robyn struggles to live up to the images she posts. Despite Kate’s concerns that her sister, increasingly trolled online, should consider her posts more sensibly, Robyn is determined to prove she is living the perfect life. But at what cost?
As the countdown to Christmas begins and memories of her childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens—both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future? And can the power of social media finally stop hindering her family and help her create something successful?
Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect, or remember, in this festive drama about family and forgiveness. Christmas Actually is a snapshot of modern family life; addressing Instagram to motherhood, and everything in between.
