Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston

The New York Times Bestseller Red, White and Royal Blue (Macmillan Publishers 2019) by Casey McQuiston is a contemporary, queer, funny romance between Alex, the First Son of the (female) US President and HRH Henry, heir to the UK throne. In this absolutely delightful,...
Edenglassie – Melissa Lucashenko

Edenglassie – Melissa Lucashenko

Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Melissa Lucashenko’s most recent novel Edenglassie (UQP 2023) is in my opinion her best yet, a true masterpiece of historical and contemporary timelines woven together into a powerful story of love and brutality, and all the...
The Bone Hacker – Kathy Reichs

The Bone Hacker – Kathy Reichs

Full disclosure: I am not a particular Kathy Reichs fan, despite the fact that she is an internationally bestselling author of 22 novels. And so my review of her latest, The Bone Hacker (Simon and Schuster 2023) is coloured by my bias. I do realise, however, that...
Gunflower – Laura Jean McKay

Gunflower – Laura Jean McKay

Talented author Laura Jean McKay stunned and polarised readers with her award-winning debut novel The Animals in that Country, so there has been great anticipation for her debut short story collection, Gunflower (Scribe 2023). These stories will bemuse, confuse, and...
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett

Tom Lake – Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is one of my favourite writers, both her fiction and her poignant essays. Her latest novel, however, Tom Lake (Bloomsbury Publishing 2023) missed the mark a little for me. This is not to say it is not an outstanding piece of writing – I don’t think...