Books

(courtesy official Holly Martin site) Full disclosure upfront – I am not a fan of short stories. It’s not how they are written or the characters or the narrative ideas contained within; in a great many cases, these are all superbly presented and you have to admire how the various Continue Reading

(courtesy Harper Collins Publishers Australia) Ever since 1993’s Groundhog Day made time loops a popular mainstream storytelling device, busting it out of the realm of sci-fi where it had been happily resident for some time, they have become a great way of someone being forced to confront the stagnant state Continue Reading

(courtesy Hachette Australia) If you are a faithful reader of the warm and cosy romcoms written by Cathy Bramley, you will likely have read 2022’s The Christmas Project a whole year before you got anywhere near the festive joy of Merrily Ever After. But should you have dropped your Cathy Continue Reading

Like many readers, I buy more far more books than I will likely ever be able to read in a lifetime (and that’s even taking into account impending retirement in the next couple of years when all the time in the world will be a glorious default). I buy them Continue Reading

I am always in two minds about sequels for novels (and honestly, all sorts of storytelling but given this is a book review, let’s stick with books for now). When I love a story and the characters in it, and that’s happens a lot given the ridiculously empathetic soul that Continue Reading

(courtesy Hachette Australia) Christmas is, we are constantly assured, supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But sometimes that feeling of perfect wonder doesn’t arrive at all, or it’s so late in making an appearance that you can begin to wonder if it’s ever going to turn Continue Reading

Zac Fallon and Ivy McFarlane have a problem. They haven’t declared their undying love for each other to each other, what with suppressing how they really feel and not wanting to risk looking like a fool or deciding that a onetime dream of a goal trumps present bliss and happiness, Continue Reading

(courtesy Hachette Australia) When you have been hurt deeply, traumatically so, it’s understandable, especially if you’re a child and your ability to process the level and type of hurt isn’t yet developed enough to think it all through, to recoil and withdraw from whatever hurt you. Distance, we think, is Continue Reading