Title: Return Ticket Author: Jon Doust review Publisher: Fremantle Press Genre: Historical fiction Favourite quote: “Perhaps I wash the dishes the way I do because it suggests a way I might have lived – ordered, structured, careful and meditative” After reading this line at the conclusion of Return Ticket’s first chapter, I was hooked. Perhaps…
Tag: historical fiction
Review: An Inheritance of Secrets by Sonya Bates, by Shelley Carter
Title: Inheritance of Secrets Author: Sonya Bates Genre: Historical Thriller Publisher: HarperCollins Australia (2020) After the horrific death of her Oma and Opa, Juliet Dunne must trace her family history and uncover secrets that were supposed to stay buried forever. She discovers that her grandfather, Karl, somehow had a connection to the Nazi party before…
Six Historical Fiction Books by Aussie Authors, by Shelley Carter
When I’m in a reading slump, or feel as though I need an escape from the world, I tend to gravitate towards historical fiction. There’s something about diving back into a different era that makes me forget about what is happening in the real world, and helps bring back my passion for reading. I have…
Review: The Daughter of Victory Lights by Kerri Turner, by Shelley Carter
Title: The Daughter of Victory Lights Author: Kerri Turner Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: HQ Fiction, HarperCollins Australia imprint, (2020) After serving her country proudly in World War II, Evelyn Bell is not ready to go back to a life of domestic duties. The independence she gained as a member of the all-female 93rd Searchlight Regiment introduced…
5 Books for Getting the Facts in Fiction Right, by Jess Gately
The art of fiction is making it believable. Whether you’re writing a crime thriller, historical fiction, or science fiction, the realistic details are what allow your readers to suspend their disbelief and follow you into your ‘make-believe’ world. While there are many ways to research for your story, including interviews with experts and using historical…
Review: The Orange Grove by Kate Murdoch, by Shelley Carter
Title: The Orange Grove Author: Kate Murdoch Publisher: Regal House Publishing Genre: historical fiction The Orange Grove follows an extensive cast of characters within an affluent French chateau in the 1700s. When the duc takes a new mistress, Letitia, and brings her to live in the chateau, tensions flare within the household. Fellow mistress Henriette…
Review: Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander, by Shelley Carter
Title: Half Moon Lake Author: Kirsten Alexander Publisher: Bantam (Penguin Random House); 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction/Crime When Sonny disappears without a trace in the summer of 1913, his family is thrust into the media spotlight and his case stays in the public eye for years. What is different about this case, however, is that the…
Interview: Kerri Turner, author of The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers and Underground Writers Alumni
Interview with Kerri Turner, author of The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers and Underground Writers Alumni In 2017, Kerri Turner submitted her short story The Cause and an Effect to Underground Issue 17: Hitchhiker. Now her debut novel, The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers, has just been released and the second is on…
9 Audiobooks to add to your 2019 TBR, by Shelley Carter
Featured image from Canva free stock images As someone who spends a decent amount of time commuting to work each week, audiobooks have been my saviour when it comes to smashing out my Goodreads goal and feeling like I haven’t just wasted an hour sitting in traffic. While some people consider audiobooks to not be…
3 things to consider when choosing books for your loved ones this Christmas
Have you ever heard of Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve? Translated to ‘The Christmas Book Flood’, Icelanders spend months pouring over book catalogues in the lead up to Christmas before exchanging books and chocolate on Christmas Eve and spending the night reading together by a cosy fire. Ok so the…
Book Cover Monotony and the Rise of the ‘Bouquet Book’, by Shelley Timms
The term ‘judging a book by its cover’ pretty much sums up my shopping technique when looking for new books. Even when I’m at the library, an attractive cover can determine whether or not I bother to learn more about the book. Recently, I have begun to realise that book covers (especially those from the…
Review: Little Lost Girl (#1 Old Balmain House series) by Graham Wilson, by Shelley Timms
Title: Little Lost Girl Author: Graham Wilson Genre: Australian Historical Fiction Favourite Part: The way in which the antique perfume bottle was threaded through the story and linked each era together. Favourite Quote: “There were scents of frangipani, wafting on late summer afternoons, as they played under leafy branches shaded from the hot afternoon sun.”…
7 Books That Celebrate Books, by Jemimah Brewster
I’m a book person: I read them, I write about them, and I like reading about how great they are. Deep meta. The following are novels that have, as a central theme, the importance of books, stories, reading, and writing. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Annie Barrows & Mary-Ann Shaffer I’ve written…
Shelley’s Character List
A Character List by Shelley Timms Growing up, I had a hard time identifying with characters in the books I was reading. For me reading was, and still is, escapism. The worlds in which I delve into are often far removed from my own, the stories separated from my own life by fantasy, history, or…
Review: The Sisters’ Song by Louise Allan, by Jess Gately
Title: The Sisters’ Song Author: Louise Allan Genre: Historical Fiction A review by Jess Gately If you’re struggling to understand why gender roles are so persevering, this book might be a good place to start. As more and more mothers admit to feeling judged, Louise Allan’s debut novel can tell us a lot about the…
Jemimah Halbert’s TBR – round 2
In 2018 I’ve challenged myself to read further outside my usual habits, so this To Be Read list features two memoirs, a historical fiction work, a paranormal murder mystery, and a quintet of science fiction novels. A delectable selection of reading material! Honey Farm Dreaming by Anna Featherstone A memoir about a family who moved…
Books to read if you loved ‘Moana’, by Jemimah Halbert
In the spirit of Summer I recently re-watched Disney’s Moana, one of my favourite Disney movies to date, and it got me thinking about books that centre on strong adolescent or young adult characters who love their island home, embracing the place where they are meant to be and the person they want to become….