Readers who are familiar with Karina May’s work will be unsurprised to learn that her latest fictional offering, That Island Feeling, is a smorgasbord of nostalgic film references. From the classic Goldie Hawn flick Overboard to Dirty Dancing to (one of my personal favourites) Coyote Ugly, May draws on her cinephile side (being one half of…
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The cosy fantasy genre is having a boom at the moment, with titles like Travis Baldree‘s Legends and Lattes setting the tone for character driven stories that don’t necessarily involve epic quests, but do involve a lot of hot drinks. Rewitched, by YouTuber Lucy Jane Wood, is the latest cosy, autumnal read to come across…
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The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is a sweet, cosy fantasy story about letting people in, building community, and making a home for oneself. Kiela has lived and worked in the Great Library in the city of Alyssium for many years. She’s sequestered in the stacks with the previous volumes that she is responsible for…
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We have already sped on past the halfway point of the year and we’re edging ever closer to the busiest time of the bookselling year. As ever there is another bumper selection of books being published in the coming months to comb through. From fantasy to horror, from historical fiction to mythic retellings, and from…
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It seems like we are living in the golden age of the romance novel. Readers are discovering all that this often overlooked and much maligned genre has to offer, thanks in no small part to BookTok and writers such as Emily Henry. And with everything that’s going on in the world generally, who can blame…
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Absolute Power was first published in 1996 and was the launching point for the career of author David Baldacci. The book sold record numbers and with over 150 million books sold since, Baldacci is still a regular on the thriller circuit. Now, the book that started it all has been re-released with an exclusive introduction…
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There’s just something about a romantic comedy. They’re comfortingly predictable, often laugh out loud funny, and there’s that deeply satisfying feeling of being able to race through a book in a single day because you’re so absorbed in what you’re reading. Enter Karina May’s second novel, Never Ever Forever, the follow up to her debut Duck…
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Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll paints a vivid canvas of enthralling storytelling that navigates the complexities of female ambition, societal expectations, and the pursuit of success. Knoll, acclaimed for her previous works, including Luckiest Girl Alive, demonstrates her prowess once again in crafting a compelling narrative that delves into the lives of multifaceted characters….
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Best known for his fantasy series The Inheritance Cycle, author Christopher Paolini first delved into science fiction with his award-winning 2020 novel To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. This new novel, Fractal Noise, serves as a prequel and shows the horrifying events behind the scenes. When a team of scientists and astronauts scouting out…
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Somewhat inexplicably we are over half way through the year. This means, for publishers at least, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas, with September often seeing some of the year’s biggest titles drop. We in the AU Books Team aren’t thinking about Christmas just yet, but we are here to bring you some more…
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October 8th was Love Your Bookshop Day and The AU Review book team took to their local bookshops to snap up an entire haul of titles to top up their TBR piles. Two of the team even went on a whole bookshop crawl to share the love with as many of their local indie bookshops…
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We’re now edging ever closer to Christmas. That means we’re now entering into some of the busiest weeks in the world of publishing and book selling. Expect to see lots of gift books and themed releases on the shelves in the next few weeks. With so many books being released each month, we in the…
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Gina Rushton’s debut book, The Most Important Job In The World, explores a simple question where the answers are anything but. The award-winning journalist goes on a deep dive to ask whether we should be parents. The result is something that will resonate with both parents and non-parents alike. Writers are often told to write about…
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To Paradise, Hanya Yanagihara’s third novel, was released in January 2022. That it has taken me until now to finish it says as much about its length (some 700 plus pages) as it does about its subject matter. Spanning three interlinked novellas each set 100 years apart, To Paradise is a book about family, obligation, tradition and…
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It’s not often that a sequel to a beloved novel lives up to its predecessor. Particularly, as is the case with Jessie Burton’s latest novel, The House of Fortune, when there was never a sequel promised in the first place. When The Miniaturist was published in 2014 (and became a million copy bestseller), there was…
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As a psychology graduate and serial online dater the premise of Speaking in Thumbs was appealing. A psychiatrist – herself a fellow dater – dons the best friend cap to decipher text messages and uncover what is REALLY being said. It’s a great idea, but I found it difficult to relate to this, as some…
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The new novel from award-winning author Emily St. John Mandel traverses time and space to tell a multifaceted story of love, endurance, human nature and reality. Sea of Tranquility is set within the same universe as her previous novels Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel offering fans of her earlier works plenty of ‘a-ha’ moments….
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Somehow it’s April already, with Easter coming up just next week. And in our opinion nothing pairs better with a chocolate egg and a long weekend like a good book. To help you decide what to read next, we at the AU Books Team are here to pick out some choice cuts from the many…
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The old adage that “well behaved women rarely make history” has never been truer than here in Eliza Reilly’s Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History. Gathering together a batch of bonafide badasses in bonnets from across Australian history, Sheilas is a witty and engaging introduction to some of the country’s most interesting – and occasionally…
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Jennifer Ryan‘s latest cosy novel, The Kitchen Front, has been described as “The Great British Bake Off set in World War Two”. Taking its title from a daily BBC radio show established in 1940 in cooperation with the Ministry of Food, the novel looks at life on the home front for four very different women, all through…
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2021. We had high hopes. But it’s been another year of uncertainty and upheaval – albeit perhaps not as bad as last year. It has been another strong year for books and publishing, with some big names returning with new books: Colson Whitehead, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sally Rooney to name just three. It’s also…
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The Magician, the new novel from Irish author Colm Tóibín, explores the live of the acclaimed German author Thomas Mann. It’s a novel that spans decades, continents and two World Wars – all in fewer pages than you would expect. It is an interesting novel. Whilst it’s clearly incredibly well researched, and it has prompted…
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Thanks to our friends at Pan Macmillan Australia we have two copies of Felicity Castagna’s forthcoming book Girls In Boys’ Cars to giveaway. Girls In Boys’ Cars tells the story of a complicated friendship; of a road trip through NSW in a stolen car; of two funny, sharp and adventurous young women who refuse to…
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In Heartsick, journalist and assistant head of content at Mammamia, Jessie Stephens goes undercover in search of the truth about heartbreak. Inspired by her own relationship breakdown and a search for a “book that [she was] fairly certain [didn’t] exist” which could “put into words how [she was] feeling”, this debut work of narrative non fiction looks…
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These crazy Covid times have most likely left people feeling as though they were living the wrong life. For those of you questioning and soul-searching, never fear as life coach, Kate James is here to help. She is an author who has worked in the realms of positive psychology and meditation practices for some time….
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By now it goes without saying that 2020 has been a rough year. From wildfires to a global pandemic there has disruption and upheaval on a scale rarely, if ever, seen in “peacetime”. Pretty much every sector of society has taken a hit this year. And the publishing world, as with much of the Arts…
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It’s been a week or so since Kathleen Jennings released her debut novella Flyaway into the world. You can read our review of the book here! We caught up with the Brisbane based writer and illustrator to chat about the release of Flyaway! First of all, can you tell us a little about Flyaway? What’s it…
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When Bettina Scott’s father and brothers disappeared, her mother took charge. The wild ways of her childhood were over, and Bettina was moulded into a proper young lady. But, when a mysterious letter arrives and a painted warning appears on their perfect picket fence, Bettina is forced to confront what really happened all those years…
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Akin is Emma Donoghue’s tenth novel for adults, but only her second set in the modern day. Known by most readers for her 2010 novel, Room, Donoghue has published countless novels which examine little known pockets of history, such as 2014’s Frog Music and 2016’s The Wonder. At first glance, Akin is something entirely different to Donoghue’s back catalogue, including…
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For a book that attempts to celebrate the magical power of the medium, The Girl Who Reads on the Metro is certainly underwhelming. Although written by a prolific French author, the results appear lost in translation. What could have been an exciting and energetic meditation on the restorative power of these delightful things, is instead,…
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