Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: Beach Read by Emily Henry 📖🏖🖊

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Imagine a dare is born out of a college-nemesis/complicated past feelings relationship, that results in two bestselling writers crafting stories from genres they despise. The winner has to poach their novel to publishers, get the biggest book deal and the highest paying advance. 

Enter January and Gus. 

January has just made the worst discovery of her life. After her Dad’s recent passing, a letter he left her explained that he had been in love with another woman and had built a life with her all in a small beach town. January is confused as he was always the most loving father and their connection was strong. He has left the house that he shared in his double life to January. Not only is she thrown for six but her writing jué jué is off and the timeline on her next book is closing in. 

Gus has never forgotten the frustratingly talented writer from college who never failed to make every writing assignment into a happy ending. He much prefers to research for years, uncover and pull apart the pieces of people that we sometimes never see. Seeing January in the house next door on the summer evening of his birthday was not what he had on his Bingo card for this year. But will it turn out to be his, and her, best year of writing yet?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Book Review: ‘The Ledge’ by Christian White ⛰

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Aaron is an award-winning novelist attempting to escape his home time that holds complicated and tightly woven memories for his high school friend group. Covering for one another back then wasn’t a big ask, but in the present it could mean the crumble of the entire life he’s built. 

When human remains are discovered in a forest on the edge of Aaron’s hometown, he knows that the protected secrets that haunt him are finally coming to an end. 

Back then, Aaron’s best friend had a very different home life to his own. Full of displayed love and hidden violence. Moving from past to present in this story, we learn about the prolonged abusive actions that occurred and the climactic accident that changed the future for all the boys involved. With the setting of this mystery being a small town, the community is also fighting for the answers that they never received. Aaron’s return home brings more questions than answers to the surface, and the layered complexities unravel quickly.  

Christian White’s books never fail to keep me on the edge of my seat, as his compelling writing is mostly seen through tv scripts but truly, his novels are pure Australian Crime Fiction magic!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫(4.5/5)

Book Review: Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage 📕❣️

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Teddy Anderson is her small town’s so-called ‘good time girl’, who is guaranteed to always be the life of the party and draws the attention of most people in a room with her suede fringe jacket and skin-tight jeans. 

Yet underneath the social glow of many eyes, Teddy is a hard worker, a carer for her chronically ill father and will always be there to support her best friend Emmy Ryder, along with her family. 

So when Emmy calls Teddy in a pickle, she decides the positive outweighs the negative because it’s only for the summer – right.?

 Within 24 hours, Teddy is a stay-in nanny for Emmy’s niece and living with the one Ryder family member she’s never seen eye to eye with – Angus Ryder. 

Angus is a single dad, a cattleman and the over protector for all his family members. One thing he knows for certain is that being around Teddy Anderson is much easier when they’re throwing cutting words and displaying their utmost mutual distaste to one another. Now having her in his home, spending quality and helpful time with his daughter, Angus is forced to see a different side, a softer side, of Teddy unravelling. She’s getting under his skin, but not in the way she did before. 

Lost and Lassoed is number 3 in the Rebel Blue Bell series. Teddy and Angus’ story is the classic enemies to lovers trope that has you devouring paragraphs and pages in no time!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5!!)

Book Review: Love From Scratch by Amy Hutton ❤️🐶🍝

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Australian movie star and heartthrob, Ethan James has a problem. He is filming a new movie that is expected to rocket launch his career but his dog Harry cannot cope with the time he constantly needs to spend on set without him. He is in desperate need of a dog sitter.

Hazel is in the process of escaping her everyday life and trying to hide from her career as a chef, after an embarrassing and upending experience over the quality of her food. She’s looking for a job that won’t involve her interacting with self centred humans but rather an energetic, playful and affectionate furry kind. 

When approached to become the dog sitter for a mysterious and private individual, paying quite a healthy sum of money and in town for a limited amount of time, Hazel jumps at the opportunity. But little did she know, she was signing up for daily interactions with Australia’s hottest movie star and his beloved pet. 

Hazel and Ethan push each other’s buttons, test the limits of their working relationship and reveal slithers of their personalities’ to each other from behind self-conscious walls. Slowly, their trust in each other builds but when their individual goals start being met, can they work through them as a duo? Or will it be the end of this short-term contract? 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Sundays in Bed with ‘Nectar of the Wicked’

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I feel like this Sunday has been the first in a long time where I have completely absorbed myself in books and reading for majority of the day, and it’s been an incredible feelings!

It’s an overcast, windy and cold day here so Peach and I have decided that a weather induced morning and afternoon in bed and under the covers was called for.

I’ve had quite a big work week and reading week before landing here with ‘Nectar of the Wicked’ by Ella Fields.

I started ‘The Mystery Writer’ by lovely friend Sulari Gentill last weekend and took every spare moment I could this week to keep reading as it was so captivating, twisty and turny that I just knew the ending would not disappoint.

‘The Mystery Writer’ is a story about Theo and her journey to becoming a bestselling novelist but it’s not as straightforward as one might assume. I’m working on a full review of this novel which you’ll be able to read on here very soon 👀

I’ve also devoured an indie romance for a friend as their Beta reader. Beta reading is when an author sends you a close to finished copy of their book/chapters/synopsis and you’re generally reading to provide feedback on questions they provide or for me, I usually provide feedback on flow as a reader, moments I really enjoyed or moments I found confusing. It’s not an editing gig persay, it’s more seen as a vibe check. I really enjoy doing this for books in genres I know I enjoy, with plots I know are my jam and authors I have read from previously. So more info on this one coming soon 😉

And now we’re here with ‘Nectar of the Wicked’ by Ella Fields! The first few chapters of this book had me hesitant but after the first 45-50 pages, I’ve been hooked and I know I’ll be spending the remainder of my day cozied up with this novel. As a reader, be aware that this book was placed in the Erotica section of the bookstore as our main character (at this point in time) is involved in adult/escort work. But don’t let that deter you! I do think this plot is going to become even more interesting as it’s fantasy elements are a nice mix. Ella is also Australia, which I LOVE to see and read 🌶✅

What are you reading this Sunday and what’s a new book recommendation you have for me?

‘Swift and Saddled’ by Lyla Sage

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You know when you come across a book that in every spare moment you have, whether it be in your morning tea break or when you sit down on the couch in your comfies after work, or right when you go to bed – that you’re thinking about and wanting to read?

That is Swift and Saddled 🤠🔥

THIS BOOK will have you hooked the moment you meet Weston Ryder!

Swift and Saddled is my first country/western romance and my gosh, talk about steamy! I didn’t even know this sub-genre was making such a come up in the romance world but I’m telling you, the hype is worth it.

Ada is an interior designer heading out to Wyoming, employed to refirbish a massive guest house on a family run ranch. The communicator on the other end of this big project has been Weston Ryder.

Before Ada even gets to the ranch to start on the project, she meets a cowboy at the local pub. (Here in Australia, I have to admit that actually using the term cowboy is a little cringe HOWEVER, it does fit the American context and the western culture that surrounds this book). Ada and this cowboy have a steamy connection that finished all too quickly that evening. Little does Ada know, that cowboy is her employee and she’s about to come head to head with him tomorrow morning!

Weston Ryder is an absolute SWEETHEART of a main love interest. Not only does he put his families needs before his own, but he truely just wanted to takes care Ada and wholeheartedly respects Ada and her past.

The connection that builds between these two characters over the months of the project, their slow and steady unravelling of personal vices and traits, as well as their slow burn desire makes this the perfect romance book in my opinion.

+ it’s an all connected small town romance series! We’re talking the brother and sister of Weston also have their own books and I’m so keen to start reading them this month too!

I devoured Swift and Saddled in a matter of 3 days and it’s an absolute 5 star read for me in 2024 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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Someone needs to hold me back because I’m about to YELL all over this review about how FANTASTIC this read was!

Imagine Throne of Glass + The Hunger Games + a Sarah Adam’s romance novel angst and pining = Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Here are a good few reasons as to why you should pick up this book RIGHT NOW or slide it up to the top of your TBR pile:

✅ Actual enemies to lovers: Paedyn (love this name) and Malakai aka Prince Kai, are from different sides of the track and have very different loyalties.

Paedyn is an Ordinary hidden in plain sight. This means she was not born with any magical, mind bending or magnificent power such as morphing into animals, mind reading or mind silencing, invisibility or time warping. Those that do have these powers certainly show it and they are called the Elites.

The current King, who is an Elite, has poisoned society into believing that Ordinary’s actually make Elite’s sick and it is crucial that Ordinary’s are removed from society – ie. Paedyn. However, she is much more clever than most, as was her Father when training her, because she is posing as an Elite who has Psychic abilities.

Every year the annual Trials come around, which involve the most powerful Elites showing off their powers in a range of life-threatening and vengeful situations. Some people are naturally selected due to their status (ie. Prince Kai) and some are selected by society (ie. Paedyn). All are voted on and viewed by Ilya – determining the winner and ‘most powerful’ of the year.

✅ The fighting scenes are FANTASTIC and I was personally so pleased with the balance of angst and weaponry.

For Paedyn to survive in Loot (the poorest part of Ilya) she thieves coins and belongings. Prince Kai comes along, unbeknown to her of who he is. To Paedyn, he just looked like a well off guy holding a fat stack of coins. Drama and death tends to follow Prince Kai as he is the ‘Enforcer’ for the King, while also being his second son. Paedyn robs Prince Kai and walks away feeling chuffed, until a Mind Silencer starts attacking him.

Paedyn is triggered by a past event in her life when watching Prince Kai being attacked and she cannot stop herself from stepping in to save him. This action tumble-rolls Paedyn’s future. She is selected by Ilya to participate in the Trials as she is seen as strong, but in actual fact, she is physically strong and trained in conflict yet actual magical power? Zlitch.

✅ Angst was at an all time high!

The back and forward banter, love to hate relationship between Pae and Kai was incredibly entertaining. Him pulling down his walls around her because of his either genuine concern or curiosity + her desire to be around him yet knowing that he is in fact the worst person for her to befriend … or more.

Admittedly, there was a time there when I was starting to get a little over the back and forward without any consequence happening. They became so close at one stage that you would think the end of the scene was inevitable – but then it simmered again. I do believe that if their relationship had developed a little more, then the ending, Payden’s choices and Kai perspective would be heavier and more emotional.

In saying that, I think the reveal of Paedyn’s political actions and her powerless power in the final chapters was great. I wouldn’t say the final chapters were unpredictable (one element of the final challenge was), or that the outcome – couldn’t be guessed – but you know what, I still read and loved each and every page anyways!

Sometimes it’s not about the guessing game of a novel, it’s about connecting with the characters and just letting the story be told the way the author wants us to see it. And this novel certainly ticked all those boxes for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Book Review: ‘When in Rome’ by Sarah Adams

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You know that feeling when you find a new book that will continue to be the book you re-read to get you out of a book slump?

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is that new book for me 💖

It’s been a hot minute since I last had a book that I just simply NEEDED to spend my whole Sunday reading. When in Rome had me hooked from the moment we open the first pages and Amelia is in her beat up car driving off into the middle of nowhere, in an effort to just escape the overwhelm that is her current celebrity life.

Amelia, or better known as Rose Ray, is a pop superstar with T-Swift levels of fame. Her singing career is at its peak but her wellbeing is not. Her relationship with her Manager is overbearing. Her mum only wants her to pay for extravagant trips around the world. Her dating and true friendships are basically non-existent because of the grinding life she leads.

Deciding that the only way to clear her head and get a little perspective, Amelia drives to Rome, Kentucky in an effort to loosely recreate her favourite Audrey Hepburn film, When in Rome (that’s Rome, Italy, but sadly her scheduling cannot allow for that plane flight).

15kms out of Rome, Kentucky, Amelia’s car decides that it’s had a good life and it’s ready to call it a day … right on Noah’s front lawn. That’s right, we have a good old grumpy X sunshine trope goin’ on and I was stocked about it!

Noah has returned back to his home town of Rome after a heartbreaking relationship that upended his life. He’s just starting to resettle into country life again. He’s opened and is running his family pie shop with the help of his sisters and is certainly NOT in the mood for romance. Noah immediately recognises Amelia and assumes she a spoilt, rich and stuck up superstar who expects to be treated like royalty. But that is certainly not the case. Amelia is reserved, shy and uncertain of the fame and stardom that is her current stressor. And this experience in Rome, and with Noah, could be just what she needs.

Their bickering, joking and heat is so well paced and I adored Noah for all his grumpiness! He’s the protector in his family, has emotional intelligence (at times) and ends up opening his world to Amelia + we have the addition of his sisters! Gosh I loved them! And it you want more of their stories, read Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams.

I do hope we see these small town characters again in future Sarah Adams’ novels because this was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5) star for me!

4 Books to Begin my 2024

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It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a good ol’ fashioned bookish blog post! So here you are my friends – I’m going to fill you in on the 4 books I’ve already whipped through in 2024 📖

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren was the first book I completed in 2024. I zipped through this in about 3 days because it’s addictive plot line and characters were just divine. The True Love Experiment is about a US best selling romance author going on a reality dating tv show, much like ‘The Bachelorette’ or ‘Love at First Sight’ here in Australia. However, the set up for this reality show is that each guy introduced to our eligible bachelorette needs to be inspired by a romance novel trope, such as ‘the bad boy’, ‘the one that got away’, ‘the nerd’ etc. And of course, our beautiful, kind hearted producer (😉) can see this is a fabulous idea and will help make the tv network the money it needs for him to go back to producing animal documentaries. That is, until he also becomes incredibly invested in the show … and our main character. This book was laugh out loud funny, had great angst and hot moments, but also sweet and down to earth moments. I find Christina Lauren’s books a great palate cleanser ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was my next completed novel. Admittedly, I started this in December of 2023 but just didn’t get around to finishing it until the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year was over. This story follows 3 women as they’re thrown into an investigation of the foster home they all lived in as children. A child’s body has been found under the house in present day and all 3 woman are suspects as the police try to put the timeline together. The flashbacks of each woman’s perspective shed light on what actually took place in the house/at this time/who this child could be. Due to the manipulative, abusive and influential experiences all 3 girls had at that house, they consider themselves sisters and are determined to see the woman behind their abusive childhood found guilty. I enjoyed this book. I would say that I saw some of the ending coming but there were other parts that I didn’t! Overall, enjoyable and I would like to try more of Sally Hepworth’s books this year. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

Weyward by Emilia Hart was picked up at the perfect time for me! I wanted the feel of magic/fantasy but didn’t want drudge through the whole world-building chapters, not understanding peoples roles and having no clue what peoples names are – you know? 🤣 So Weyward was more magical realism and I found it the perfect slice for my craving. Following 3 quite extended generations of Weyward women, all 3 are guided by their connection to nature, ability to intuitively speak with animals, and also grow their gifts. A strong plot line that I was not expecting in this book is domestic violence and intergenerational trauma. Each woman has either been exposed to and/or experienced domestic abuse, with the male figure being the perpetrator, first hand. This abuse is actually the start of their spark in magic as it is used as both a coping mechanism and also a form of protection or revenge. One woman is in the 1600’s and she is on trial for witchcraft. Another woman is in the 1950’s and she has lost her mother, has a poor relationship with her father and her cousin unexpectedly comes to stay following his time serving in the War. Another woman is in present day, and she is on the run from her husband after just finding out she’s pregnant. This novel certainly hits some cautionary points and has quite descriptive scenes at times. I didn’t find this a bad thing, if anything it made me more passionate about seeing these women through to then end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/stars)

Love, Just in by Natalie Murray has been my fourth completed book and I just NEEDED to pick this up because, girl – is she getting some hype (totally worth it I might add)! Love, Just In is a friends to lovers but there is also some high school chasing and then present day heartache. Josie and Zac have been best friends since the moment they bonded over music in high school, but as the years went by, poor timing, dating other people and after Zac experiences a tragic accident, resulting in the loss of someone significant in his life, they’ve drifted. Zac fled Sydney 2 years ago following the tragic accident and since then, him and Josie have barely been in touch. Josie has been offered an opportunity to help progress her news reading/tv presenter career, and it just happens to be in the city Zac fled to – Newcastle. Instantly, their friendship is starting to mend but Josie is seeing Zac in a different light; an attractive light; a more than friends light; a HOT light. Zac & Josie’s story had perfectly timed reveals, angst, funny moments and tender heart moments. The perfect Sunday morning/afternoon read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

How are you guys starting your 2024? New books? New hobbies underway? 🙈📖 Comment below 💭

Author Interviews of 2023 🎤

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On my drive back to my family home for Christmas, I had the time to reflect on the year that was 2023 🎄

2023 has been HUGE in terms of Author interviews and they have taken place in many forms. I have conducted over 10 in person, online, written and panel interviews.

I am so incredibly grateful, feel incredibly privileged and in all honesty, speechless when I look at this collection of talented Australian Authors who have given their time, knowledge and enthusiasm on Mel Reviews Her Books (excuse me while I start getting teary writing this).

Thank you; Sulari Gentill; Zoë Coyle; Anita Heiss; Brooke Hill; Karina May; Emma Grey; Clare Fletcher; Michael Thompson; Kate Mildenhall; & Jack Heath.

Additionally, a big thank you to Sandie Docker; for your time spent in Wagga visiting me, sharing your festival knowledge and attending Collins Booksellers after years of connecting online but Covid stepping in our way!

Thank you to the stunning Maya Linnell, for featuring me on her latest novel Kookaburra Cottage! 💫 *honestly a dream come true*

Extra thankfulness to Sulari Gentill – your encouragement, support, strength and belief in me pulling together a book festival for our region. I cannot express my gratitude enough x

And lastly, thank you to all of YOU! Thank you for reading, viewing, liking, commenting, sharing and watching the book content I create and work on each and every week 💖

Now, it’s time to celebrate yourself!! ⭐️ COMMENT BELOW something you’re proud of this year 💬