This book was read at Kalimna, Yeranda cottages, near Dungog in early January 2026 “Life,” declares the front cover tagline of Brooke Crawford’s debut novel, Better Than the Real Thing, “is messy.” The central character of this rawly emotionally honest romcom, which serves up a potential fairytale ending but not Continue Reading
Books
Valentine’s Day book review: Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
(courtesy Hachette Australia) As premises go, the one what washes through Swept Away by Beth O’Leary is a doozy. We are meant to believe, and honestly you will trust us, that two people can retire to a houseboat for a one-night stand and find themselves, the next day, floating to Continue Reading
Book review: The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Scott Yambao
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Create a real sense of fantastical otherworldliness is not as easy it sounds. Surely, you reason, it’s simply a case of letting your imagination run free and allowing it to express itself in ways that defy any and all caveats of our actual reality? But while Continue Reading
Book review: The Expert System’s Champion by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Expert System book #2)
(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) If you read a lot of really good science fiction, it will become immediately apparent that imagination is rarely in short supply among the boundlessly creative authors of the genre. But what will also emerge is how imaginatively fertile some of the giants of the genre Continue Reading
Book review: The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits
(courtesy Allen & Unwin Book Publishers) Laments about middle age are often viewed as a tired old cliché. But what is often forgotten in the midst of all the eyerolling and lowkey dismissals is that the cliché exists for a reason; middle age is a time when youth is walking Continue Reading
Book review: Moderation by Elaine Castillo
(courtesy Allen & Unwin Publishers) Mixing a love story in with an often excoriating though wryly funny exploration of the inhumanity of big tech in the 21st century may not sound like the most viable of narrative drivers for a novel but in the hands of Elaine Castillo it is Continue Reading
UPCOMING READS: The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
(courtesy Beth O’Leary newsletter) A fresh start is waiting for Charlie Jones.But another Charlie Jones wants it too… The Isle of Ormer: population 500, soon to be 501. Charlie Jones has landed on the island to embark on her brand new life. As the manager at Ormer’s only farm shop, Continue Reading
Book review: Lost in Time by A. G. Riddle
An escapee from the depth of this reviewer’s TBR – 2026 is supposed to be the year of the much-neglected reads though so far 13 new books have been bought so who knows who well this will go – Lost in Time by A. G. Riddle comes with a doozy Continue Reading
The mystery is afoot … Thoughts on Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
(courtesy IMP Awards) In the grand scheme of things that relax, soothe and put your soul at ease, crime, particularly of the murderous variety, should not rate all that highly. Surely after all the murder of someone can not come remotely close to putting anyone into a chilled state? Likely Continue Reading
Book review: The Greatest Possible Good by Ben Brooks
(courtesy Simon & Schuster Australia) What does it mean to live a good life? We all have airily vague ideas of what that might entail from doing good to others to treating people with kindness to not using plastic and prioritising people over digital obsession. But it’s wide and open Continue Reading