Somehow, Moriarty manages to hit the absolute perfect balance of quirky to the point of almost completely absurd and so authentic that it felt like she was inside my head.

I'm not going to lie - the stream of consciousness style that most of the narrative takes, along with the quirkiness of both the story and the characters, is not going to be for everyone. Personally though, I found it completely charming, and loved the intimacy that came from seeing the story from so firmly inside Abigail's mind. I also suspect that the fact I'm a 30-something woman with a just-turned-five year  old helped with the how relatable I found it. There where whole scenes between Abigail and her son that mirror almost exactly conversations and experiences that I have had with my own daughter.

Despite the fact that there are some parts of this book that are almost comically absurd, there were also many that were incredibly moving. I loved the way the breakdown of Abigail's marriage was revealed, and towards the end of the book everything got quite intense and my heart stopped a few times.

I adored the experience of reading this and gave it five out of five stars.

xo Bron

***Gravity is the Thing***
Out now from Pan Macmillan Australia
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
On Goodreads
Find Jaclyn Moriarty online here

The Familiars :: Stacey Halls
This was the book included in the March box from  The Bookish Escape Crate. I love working with Whitney as their resident blogger/reviewer - her book choices are always interesting reads (even when they aren't ones I would choose myself!) and I love seeing how she has translated themes from the books into the accompanying candles and teas. As always, my review of this one will be up on The Bookish Escape Crate website when I'm done!

The Priory of the Orange Tree :: Samantha Shannon
I talked a little bit about this one a few weeks ago, as part of my April shiny covers post. If I don't get to it over this weekend I might save it for our long weekend in May, since I feel like a big book like this deserves some serious reading time, rather than bits and pieces here and there.

The True Story of Maddie Bright :: Mary-Rose MacColl
I received this one in the mail from the team at Allen & Unwin a few weeks ago, and it's the one I've chosen to read first from this stack. It has three narratives told in three different years, decades apart. I'm looking forward to seeing how the narratives draw together.

I'd love to hear what everyone has been reading this Easter long-weekend - leave me a comment if you'd like to share!

xo Bron

I picked up The Place on Dalhousie as soon as it was released, and was completely hooked from the first page. This is one of those immensely readable books, where I slip right into its world when I start reading, and an hour later realise I'm already a third of the way through. I have heard from a few people that they read this in just one or two sittings.

One of the things I find really magical about Melina Marchetta's writing is the amount, and intensity, of feelings she manages to infuse her stories with. This one gave me ALL the feelings, and I really felt like I was right there by the characters. There are some really moving scenes - both due to them being so heartbreaking but also some that are really joy-filled.

The Place on Dalhousie is officially classified as adult fiction (the younger POV characters are in their early to mid twenties), but Marchetta does explore many of the same themes from her young adult work - belonging, family (biological and chosen), fitting in, standing out, and the way these things all contribute to who we are. There is also a sense of that coming-of-age feeling that is typical in young adult fiction, as the characters struggle to figure out where they belong and who they are. I'm not sure whether I would necessarily say the characters are culturally diverse, but there are characters from a couple of different backgrounds, including Italian. One of the things that I thought was really interesting (although I didn't think about it much at the time - it was something that came up at the event we went to) was the difference in experience of two Italian families - one of which had come to Australia after the war when families were moving together and there were large communities building here, and the other that had come more recently, just parents and one child and been more isolated.

I went into reading this with pretty much no idea what it was about, so didn't realise that it revisits the same group of friends Marchetta wrote about in two previous books - Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son. I didn't feel at all like not having read these two meant that anything in The Place on Dalhousie was hard to follow or didn't make sense, even though there were a few bits where events from them were referred to. That said, my first thought on finishing this was that I wanted to binge read them and follow with a re-reading of this one - it is really that good!

As I mentioned above, I did have the opportunity to see Marchetta talk a little bit about this book, and her writing process more generally, at an event last week. If you ever get the chance to see her speak in person I absolutely recommend it! She is so open and honest with her answers, and couldn't be more generous with her time - it was such a delight!

 I gave this five out of five big bright shiny stars, and am already planning a re-read!

xo Bron

I really loved reading this one! The writing of the setting is so intimate that it feels almost like another character in the story, which made it a really immersive experience for me - I could really feel the places as I read.

I grew up in a small town community (town is probably a bit generous - we had a school and a footy club, but no shops!) so an authors treatment of country life can really make or break a story like this for me, and in this case I felt like it was beautifully done. There is a great balance of the different sides of living in a small community like this - we see both the way people can be suspicious and closed off to newcomers to the town and also how the community looks after and stands by/up for its members too. I felt like we met a good number of people living in the town, and seeing snippets of their lives in a way that hinted to more of each of their stories without revealing everything really gave it an authentic feeling.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of three different characters who are in very different situations but we come to see have more in common than they might all realise. One of the key themes explored throughout the book is bullying, and I really liked the way that some of the characters seemed to find it easier to recognise - and stand up to - mistreatment of others than what they are on the receiving end of themselves - again this was something that added authenticity for me.


The main narrative of the novel plays out against a rich backstory about the importance of the flora and fauna of our natural world. The tension of the need for conservation of our beautiful old growth forest in a community where many are working in logging is explored, as well the impact of humans encroaching on the habitat of some of our native animals. I felt like this was done beautifully in the book - it felt like a natural part of the story, rather than something added to make a point.

Overall I thought this was a lovely read, and I'm looking forward to reading Karen's other books soon!

Thanks again to Allen & Unwin for sending me a free copy to review!

xo Bron

*** The Orchardist's Daughter ***
Out Feb 2019 from Allen & Unwin
On Goodreads
Find Karen Viggers online here

* Horse Warrior - Meredith Jaffe (on goodreads)
Middle grade fiction, out in May from Harbour Publishing

* How it Feels to Float - Helena Fox  (on goodreads)
Contemporary YA fiction, out in April from Pan Macmillan Australia

* Shauna's Great Expectations - Kathleen Loughnan (on goodreads)
Contemporary YA fiction, out in May from Allen & Unwin 

* What Lies Beneath Us - Kirsty Ferguson (on goodreads) 
Contemporary fiction, out now from Elephant Tree Publishing

* Some Days - Lucy Moffatt (on goodreads)
Memoir, out now from Elephant Tree Publishing 


I'm looking forward to reading these over the next little while - keep an eye out for reviews here!
I'd love to know if any of these are on your TBR too.

xo Bron

We all know I'm a sucker for a foil-detailed cover, and it just happens that there are soooo many beautiful ones out at the moment - and quite a few on my TBR stack - so I thought I might pull together a mini stack of some of my favourite shiny covers to read from in April.




Gingerbread :: Helen Oyeyemi
I have read - and loved - a couple of books by Helen Oyeyemi, and I am really excited to read this one, her brand new novel. Thanks to Macmillan Australia for sending me this copy!

The Beast's Heart :: Leife Shallcross
I bought this Beauty and the Beast retelling about a year ago, and am totally embarrassed not to have read it yet!

The Binding :: Bridget Collins
I know next to nothing about this book, but my book club is reading it this month.

The Priory of the Orange Tree :: Samantha Shannon
I have been looking forward to reading this since I first heard Samantha Shannon talking about it at the Canberra Writers Festival almost two years ago! It is pretty big at over 800 pages, and I'm planning to take it to read when we go away for a little while over Easter.


Not pictured here, since it arrived after I took these photos, is The Familiars, which is the book in the latest box from Bookish Escape Crate (more about that one soon!).

So, let me know! Are any of these on your TBR? Have I missed a favourite shiny cover of yours? Leave me a comment if you have any recommendations!

xo Bron