Bibliophile | Fiona Palmer finds family in Sisters and Brothers
Sisters and Brothers by Fiona Palmer Hachette Historically, marriage has been about social and economic stability. It was all about conserving the patriarchal lineage so that wealth could be passed onto the male bloodline. Conservative values about women keeping themselves pure before marriage and not having sex outside the marriage were strictly imposed on women, […]
Perth author aims to break into mainstream with gay romance
Perth author Daniel de Lorne’s new novel is out now bringing a gay romance – between a cop and firefighter – to a mainstream audience. Daniel de Lorne is an emerging writer with a focus on LGBTQI romance. His first book, the gay romantic horror, Beckoning Blood, was published by Escape Publishing in 2014. In his other life, Daniel is a professional writer and […]
Bibliophile | Catherine Coulter’s Paradox is a voyeuristic FBI thriller
Paradox by Catherine Coulter Simon & Schuster When there is a failed kidnapping of the five year old son of agents Sherlock and Dillion Savage, they are suitably terrified and wonder about the motive. Was it a paedophile; a kidnap for ransom; a payback from an old enemy or the act of a random crazed […]
Bibliophile | Kate Mascarenhas explores The Psychology of Time Travel
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas HarperCollins Publishers It all began in 1967 when four young scientists (Margaret, Lucille, Grace and Barbara) used their combined knowledge to create a time machine in an isolated laboratory in Cumbria, in the north west of England. The first complication that arose was that Barbara became ‘destabilised’ […]
Bibliophile | I Had Such Friends begins with the end
I Had Such Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness Pantera Press It all started when a kid died. A year 12 guy was driving his girlfriend home from a Saturday night party. The car skidded and crashed as he tried to avoid a dog. Charlie Parker died and the girl, Annie Bower, was in hospital with minor […]
Bibliophile | Confessions of the Fox layers stories through shared history
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg Allen & Unwin Jordy Rosenberg’s debut novel is a story within a story, within a story. The first story is of 18th century English folk hero Jack Sheppard who was notorious for daring prison escapes and inspired John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. […]
Bibliophile | The Kiss Quotient ticks all the boxes
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang Allen & Unwin When Helen Hoang’s pre-school teacher suggested that her daughter might have high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, Helen did some research. She found that there is are major differences between the condition in females as they mask their awkwardness and hide their autistic traits to become […]
Bibliophile | The House on Half Moon Street
The House on Half Moon Street by Alex Reeve Raven Books In 1880, Victorian London was full of desperate characters that profited from other people’s weaknesses. It was a terrible time for most women and there is no way to romanticize the exploitation and the conditions in which the majority of the population struggled to […]
Bibliophile | Ripples make the waves in Belinda Castles’ Bluebottle
Bluebottle by Belinda Castles Allen & Unwin “After midnight the heat swelled in the house on the cliff while the cool surf pounded below.” Set on Sydney’s Northern beaches, sixteen year-old Lou, fifteen year-old Jack and younger sister Phoebe live in a house overlooking the sea with their parents Charlie and Tricia. Although the novel […]
Bibliophile | Big Rough Stones dreams of a lesbian utopia
Big Rough Stones by Margaret Merrilees Wakefield Press Reading Margaret Merrilees’ latest novel is a bit like doing a jigsaw. The narrative is littered with lesbians who all connect in some way. Poet Miriel Lenore says at the beginning of the book that to build a lesbian wall, you need big rough stones. Some bits […]
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