April is my birthday month, so between getting some books as presents from others and feeling like I 'deserve' to buy myself a few extra treats, it is generally a pretty big haul month. This time around there have also been a couple of events I've shopped for/at (although, after not purchasing a single book at Speculate yesterday I'm feeling quite well behaved haha). So, the new books that have made their way into my possession this April....

I picked up The Queen's Rising because I find it pretty much impossible to pass up a book being sold as "perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Sarah J Maas" (yes I'm a marketer's dream haha). This comparison wasn't far off the mark - The Queen's Rising delivered a tough young woman main character and a bunch of espionage and political intrigue.

The Last of the Bonegilla Girls is a brand new novel (released today!) that ticks a whole lot of boxes for things I like to read - it's historical fiction, it's the story of 'ordinary' women, it's set in Australia, and written by an Australian women. Beyond this I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. What I got was a sweet and sometimes sad story that gave some insight into what it might have been like for the hundreds of thousands of 'new Australians' who came here after the Second World War.


The book starts with four young women at Bonegilla Migrant Camp - three migrants recently arrived from different parts of Europe, and the Australian daughter of the camp director. We follow their friendship from their first meetings in the camp in 1954 to the modern day, and through alternating perspective chapters we see some of the highs and lows of each woman's life.

I am a bit of a fan of story telling through alternating perspectives, and in this case I thought it worked especially well since it not only helped me to understand each woman a bit better, but I also loved how I could see the secrets they kept from each other (and, oh, there were some secrets!)

The book touched on some pretty serious issues - as you can probably imagine given what these families went through before arriving, and some of the treatment they got once they did - but in a reasonably light/superficial way. While the women were touched by some awful events, the parts of the book I found most moving were the 'ordinary' things - things like love and loss and betrayal and illness.

I thought it was interesting to see not just a 'European migrant' experience, but how that experience might have been different depending on a person's background. Also, how difficult it must have been for these young women who arrived as children or teens and grew up in a kind of a limbo between their traditional families and a new and changing Australian society.

And, of course, I loved the friendship - the way the women supported each other through difficult times, and how even if they hadn't seen each other for years they seemed to fit back together so easily.

I gave this one 3.5 stars, and would recommend it for anyone looking for a read about women's friendship that is light-ish but will still give you feels - a bit heart-warming and a little bit heart-breaking too.

xo Bron

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The Last of the Bonegilla Girls is out today from Harlequin Books. I received a free ebook through NetGalley, but all opinions here are my own.

Sarah Epstein's debut novel Small Spaces - a YA psychological thriller about a girl with a 'gruesome' imaginary (or is he?!) friend - was on my list of most anticipated #loveozya for 2018, so I was absolutely thrilled when the lovely people at Walker Books sent me a review copy! Also, check out how cool the ARC looks *insert heart eyes emoji here!*

• It was TOTALLY CREEPY! Like, I felt uneasy right from the start and couldn't stop reading because I just HAD to know what was happening.
• The characters - and their feelings - felt pretty authentic to me. Trish's constant doubts about herelf (and others), they way her best friend had her back, and her mum's attitude of being frustrated with but protective of her daughter at the same time. I also liked the settings - they felt like places I have been.
• The ending was totally satisfying! I didn't see it all coming, but when you found out what was happening it made sense (does that make sense haha?) - I can't stand when you read a thriller and the ending comes out of nowhere. Like, literally nowhere - as in, you couldn't possibly guess the end because there are no clues, and the solution just appears.  This was not like that - I found the ending twisty and fulfilling.

Happy Friday everyone!
I'm extra excited this week, since it's my birthday next week AND I have the whole of next week off, PLUS I have something bookish to look forward to every weekend from now until mid-May.
On top of all those reasons to be excited,  today is AUTUMN COSY READING NIGHT!

Cosy Reading Night is a readathon hosted by the lovely Lauren from Lauren and the Books. While readathons are often about reading as much as you can over a set time, I feel like cosy reading night is about making a special effort to enjoy your reading time - setting aside some time to getting comfortable and just reading. Lauren hosts (virtually) a number of cosy reading nights across the year - obviously autumn is the best time for cosy reading, which makes this one even more lovely than usual.

I thought it would be fun to share my cosy reading night essentials for tonight - I did the same last April, if anyone is interested in looking back you can see it here =)