Recent Reads

Posted on 31 July 2025 by Jody

Sharing the love of reading!

Looking for your next read? You might like to consider exploring some of my most recent reads.

Happy Reading.

Jody

Share your love of books!

The mysterious bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods

I found ‘The mysterious bakery on Rue de Paris’ to be the perfect mix of modern day, mystery and charming! Guaranteed magical read that will keep you fully absorb you and warm your heart.

I simultaneously read & listened to ‘The mysterious bakery on Rue de Paris. The elements of the French language throughout the book were essentially enhanced by listening to the audio edition.

About the book

Nestled among the cobblestone streets of Compiègne, there existed a bakery unlike any other.

Rumours were whispered through the town that its pastries offered a taste of magic, chasing away the darkest of sorrows. Just one bite of a croissant might bring luck, unlock a precious memory or reveal hidden longings.

But dark clouds were looming on the horizon…

For Edie Lane, a recipe for disaster doesn’t require that many ingredients. Take an unhealthy amount of wishful thinking and a sprinkle of desperation and that’s how Edie left everything behind in Ireland for her dream job at a bakery in Paris. Except the bakery isn’t in Paris – and neither is Edie.

This might not be where Edie intended to be, but she soon realizes it’s exactly where she needs to be…

The fallen women by Fiona McIntosh

A totally absorbing historical fiction with a strong female focus. Full of family dynamics and social ideals of the time. Fiona McIntosh is certainly becoming another author I can always count for an enjoyable read when I find myself in a reading funk.

About the book

Botanical artist Jane Saville is devastated when her manipulative mother banishes her to the countryside to protect someone else’s honour. Isolated far from home, she is forced to live an impoverished, secretive life to save the family from public shame.

Guy Attwood is heir to a fortune but prefers his quiet passion for rare-apple hunting on behalf of Royal Kew Gardens to building the family’s business empire. He sets out to find a critically endangered apple species that he dreams of gifting and re-naming for his friend, the soon-to-be coronated George V.

When the paths of these people from two very different worlds collide, Jane begins to hope for a different future, but their new friendship is shattered by jealousy, misunderstanding, duty and treachery. A young boy will inspire Jane to defy the powers working against her and prove she is no woman to be outcast.

Set in the picturesque English countryside, in a forgotten orchard and beneath the ancient spire of Salisbury Cathedral, this is a heart-wrenching story about a woman who finds that in her darkest hour she can harness her greatest strength.

When she was gone by Sara Foster

Sara Foster can do no wrong in my eyes; I have read every one of her books and have absolutely loved all of them. I loved ‘When she was gone’, and it wasn’t the suspense of finding out ‘who did it’ that kept me glued to the pages, it was the way Sara Foster builds a connection with characters, so you become invested in their story and the outcome. This is what I love about Sara Fosters books. If you enjoy a good thriller or domestic thriller/mystery, then please explore Sara Fosters books if you have not already.

About the book

Was she taken … or did she run? The pulse-pounding new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of You Don’t Know Me

Rose was torn away from her daughter. Now, is she the only one who can save her?

Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. The police think Rose’s insights will lead them to Lou, but they don’t realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter anymore.

This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career, and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and as their multimillionaire grandfather breathes down Blackwood’s neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.

Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?

Happy Reading!

Jody

Book Review One Hundred Years of Betty

Posted on 27 March 2025 by Jody

One Hundred Years of Betty by Debra Oswald

Book Review

Betty begins her life story, on the eve of her hundredth birthday party and what a story it is.

From London to Australia and beyond, set against world events and social upheavals in history; Betty takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, love, pleasure, heartache, and everything in between.

Betty is sassy, independent, vulnerable and a feminist and I loved her character!

Betty’s story, told in her voice added so much to the overall enjoyment of the book, very masterful writing from Debra Oswald. While reading One Hundred Years of Betty, I felt like Betty was sitting right in front of me sharing her thoughts, memories, and feelings.

Anthea, Pearl, Leo, and Rex are just some of the many characters that feature in Betty’s life who readers are sure to fall in love with.

One Hundred Years of Betty made me angry, happy, and sad at various times throughout the book. When it came to the end of the book, I was crying and sniffling but happy at the same time. Any book that manages to do that to a reader is a rare find indeed.

For me One-Hundred Years of Betty was one of those rare books that you are still thinking about five days later; it will certainly be one of, it not my favourite book of the year! Another book to add to my yearly re-read list. I also cannot wait to listen to the eAudiobook version due for released on 1^st May 2025, and will be available to listen to via our BorrowBox Library.

Happy Reading!

Jody

Discover more books by Debra Oswald.

Discussion questions are available from Allen and Unwin

January Five Star Reads

Posted on 5 February 2025 by Jody

Well! 2025 has began with a bang! A bang of ‘Great Reads’.

Out of the 10 books I read in January these are my ‘Top 5’ five star reads. In no particular order.

Every Last Suspect by Nicola Moriarty

Manipulative, irresistible, monstrous.

Love or hate her, Harriet Osman is impossible to turn down. But someone in her life has finally snapped, leaving her face-down in a pool of her own blood. Harriet isn’t one to die quietly though, and she is determined to reveal her killer before she goes.

Was it her devoted husband, Malek, with a violent past? Her best friend and lover, Victoria, with a deadly secret only Harriet knew? Or the new woman in her life, fellow school mum Karen? The one with an impeccable reputation … or so she says.

Bullying, friendships and games (in and out of the bedroom) combine with envy, lust and revenge, creating a darkly twisted tale of drama and suspense where the question isn’t who killed Harriet, but why did it take them so long to do it?

Nicola Moriarty’s books just keep getting better, and better!

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.

Now, he’s been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend, and sister of the girl he killed.

Duchess Radley, Star’s thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin – and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.

Murder, revenge, retribution.

This one stayed with me longer after I finished reading it.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

Beautiful! Had me hooked from the very first page. I am officially a Evie Woods fan!

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress …

Everyone in the small town of Thorncombe knows the tales of the haunted woods where the birds don’t sing and a girl in a white dress roams, luring people to their deaths. But when a girl in white is found dead the morning after Halloween, her body carefully arranged at the bottom of an old stone folly, the community is thrown into turmoil.

With a teenage daughter of his own, police detective Ben Chase knows how high the stakes are. Was the girl the victim of a party prank gone wrong, or does her death represent something more sinister and ritualistic?

As the investigation unfolds and the noose tightens around Chase’s own family, the only thing anyone can be sure of is that no one is safe until this violent killer is caught.

How far can we run from the past, when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?

Hannah Richell never falls to write amazing stories.

The Ledge by Christian White

When human remains are discovered in a forest, police are baffled, the locals are shocked and one group of old friends starts to panic. Their long-held secret is about to be uncovered.

It all began in 1999 when sixteen-year-old Aaron ran away from home, drawing his friends into an unforeseeable chain of events that no one escaped from unscathed.

In The Ledge, past and present run breathlessly parallel, leading to a climax that will change everything you thought you knew. This is a mind-bending new novel from the master of the unexpected.

Another gripping thriller from Christian White.

I hope you find another great read to add to your TBR pile.

Happy Reading.

Jody

Book Review The Railwayman’s Wife

Posted on 23 May 2024 by Jody

The Railwayman’s Wife by Ashely Hay

About the book

In a small town on the land’s edge, in the strange space at a war’s end, a widow, a poet and a doctor each try to find their own peace, and their own new story.

In Thirroul, in 1948, people chase their dreams through the books in the railway’s library. Anikka Lachlan searches for solace after her life is destroyed by a single random act. Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, has lost his words and his hope. Frank Draper is trapped by the guilt of those his treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle with the same question: how now to be alive.

Comments

We found this to be a beautifully written book, very much enjoyed by the group. Some readers did say this was not a book that was for them or a book they would normally have chosen but they commended the lovely writing style of the author.

As a group we found the key characters were very likable.

The downside for our group was the focus on poetry all throughout the book. We found the poetry written in the story was not at all outstanding or enjoyable and to some readers it was bland and uninspiring.

There were many themes in this story discussed in detail by the group.

Anika, the main character in the book. Her transformation from a secure loving and loved wife and mother to a grieving widow, mother to a grieving child and thrust quickly, through necessity’ into working woman.

We found the grieving process for Anika and her daughter in the year after Macs death was a well detailed theme throughout the book.

Anikas relationship with Mac, her husband. Her reflections on their life after his death reveals some marital restrictions placed on her throughout their marriage that were not evident to her at the time during their marriage.

This book was read by our group in April, the month of Anzac day. The post war traumas of Roy and Frank were very relevant at this time along with Australian society’s attitude to men who did not go to war for whatever reasons.

The character of Roy was also complex in his presentation. His romanticised view of Anika as his “muse” not one year after the violent death of her husband.

The ending of the story was also discussed at length with many differing opinions on interpretation of events and specific character responses to events.

Read by MJ Readers

Spotlight on Australian Crime Authors

Posted on 22 February 2024 by Jody

Australian Crime Fiction

My advice to those people who are yet to discover the wonderful world of Australian Crime fiction is, do yourself a favour and make Australian crime fiction your next obsession!

Over the last couple of months, I have read some amazing Australian Crime fiction. Chris Hammer’s latest book, The Seven started me off. I loved the characters and nuances of small-town life, not to mention the mystery of who committed the murders.

After finishing The Seven and then re-reading all of Chris Hammer’s other books I decided to look for new Australian Crime authors to explore, and now I am two months in and can’t seem to stop! Strange though it might seem I find them relaxing.

So, in the hopes that you to, may find something new and interesting to read here, are some of my favourite Australian Crime reads to get you started or, assist longtime fans discover something new.

Happy reading!

Jody

Margaret Hickey

For those of you who are yet to discover award-winning Australian Crime author Margaret Hickey, you are in for a treat! Cutters End, Stone Town and Broken Bay all featuring Detective Mark Ariti are, simply put, unputdownable!

The pace, setting, dialogue and interaction of the characters is what makes Margaret Hickey’s books standout.

Margaret Hickey’s new book, The Creeper is due for can’t wait]. To read more about The Creeper and Margaret Hickey’s other books check out https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/margaret-hickey