February has been a month of fun times, event busy-ness and new experiences.
This past month, Riverina Readers Festival had a whopping success of an event and I was so proud to see the love, care and time that all those involved put towards the event being a smash hit. I think for me, when we deliver a successful event it’s important to celebrate. So this past week, I’ve not gone so hard on the emails, festival strategy work and planning. I took a breath and relished in our teamwork and passion towards a common goal.
I’ve also had some fun times in my new working gal role. This month I started a new job where I get to combine my passions for local community, service/program opportunity and event planning + delivery. I recognise that I am so privileged to say that I attend a workplace where work does not feel like work. I’m currently getting paid to train, work on and deliver something I’m super passionate about and I just smile every time I think about that! I truly hope each and every one of you get to experience this feeling one day because if I could bottle it up, I’d give it to every single person I meet.
When I’m feeling good and in a healthy headspace, I’m also more open to creative projects, experimenting with ideas and dreaming towards my own long term goals. I’ve let myself lean into that this week and sometimes the result is fantastic, sometimes it’s just a “I’ll tuck this away for later” (and proceed to create another folder on my laptop with images, dot points and unfinished documents) 🤣
But all in all, I think breathing in new experiences, celebrating the wins and letting your mind dream is so important. Especially when we can lead busy lives majority of the time. I’d recommend you try it and see what creative ideas or plans spring to mind 💖🧠
Sometimes a Sunday Cake fills that little niggling feeling inside of you that desires something easy, yummy and super satisfying while you’re lazing around the house, in your pj’s … avoiding housework.
I’ve found the perfect cake to fill that void and let me tell you, I just KNOW you’ll be making this for yourself, your neighbours, for special occasions and just a simple but wholesome afternoon tea with loved ones.
I introduce to you, the gluten free cake of your dreams ☁️ ALemon & Thyme cake with healthish cream cheese icing!
I sought this recipe from the Gluten Free Shop & added my own little spin by removing, replacing and adding some ingredients. Also, this Sunday Cake doesn’t include traditional cooking sugar, which I love!
CAKE INGREDIENTS
2 cups of Almond Meal (homebrand is fine)
1/4 cup of Honey (my preferred is any Beechworth Honey with an earthy undertone)
1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil
1 tsp of Baking powder (I didn’t have GF on me but is preferred)
2 tsp of Thyme leaves, washed
1 tsp of Vanilla extract
zest of 3 lemons
5 eggs, lightly beaten
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
500g of Cream Cheese, room temperature (homebrand again is fine)
3-4 Tbs of Honey, dependent on your sweet tooth cravings
2 tsp of Vanilla extract
Juice of 2 lemons
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (fan forced).
Mix together all cake ingredients in a large bowl, adding your lemon zest and thyme last.
Pour mixture into a lined baking tin. I used a loaf tin this time, but a regular 20cm cake tin would do the trick as well.
Bake for 45 minutes. The top should be golden brown and firm to touch. (*hint* As this is almond meal, it will not have the regular spring of a flour cake. Be guided by smell and colour on this one)
Remove from oven and allow too cool for 15 – 20 minutes. While the cake is cooling, you can make a start on the frosting.
Whip together cream cheese frosting ingredients, either by hand or with beaters. (*hint* if you like a marshmellowly consistency, whip with electric beaters. If you’re open for a relaxed, hand whipped vibe, go with that)
Generously dollop frosting onto cooled cake and spread loosely with either a spatula or pallet knife. You don’t need to use all of this frosting on top of the cake, if your eaters prefer, provide a dollop on the side of their serving. Because who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting!
To celebrate this cake, garnish with lemon zest, thyme and/or caramelised lemon rind.
Serve up with a delicious cup of coffee & a good book ☕️📖
Australian Author, Abra Pressler 📸 Ravi from LiberaArts
Abra Pressler is a Riverina gal, who now lives in Canberra and writes her romantic heart out ❤️
Abra studied Creative Writing at RMIT University in Melbourne, where she lived for three years. But when the pandemic hit, in May 2020, she decided to self-publish an old manuscript, titled More. By December, she’d sold 3,000 copies.
After winning the 2021 Penguin Random House WriteIt Fellowship for Love Other Scores, Abra signed with Pan Macmillan to have the full novel published in 2023! And can I just say, I’m so pleased about this ⭐️🎾
Abra, welcome to Mel Reviews Her Books 💖
Abra, can you please share with us your writing life before Love and Other Scores came into the physical book world? … Because this isn’t your first rodeo.
Like most writers, I devoured books when I was younger and then tried writing my own (very, very bad) books. But writing quickly became my passion. I decided to study writing at university with the dream of being a published author.
After I finished my degree, I got a job in the private sector and kept writing on the side. I wrote several manuscripts in a variety of genres but kept coming back to contemporary romance. Around 2018-2019, I wrote a manuscript called More about an Uber-like delivery driver who dreams of being a chef and a taciturn foreign diplomat who can’t cook (thus orders a lot of takeaway). I pitched it to a few agents and publishers but didn’t get much of a bite. Then COVID-19 hit and I had nothing do to, so I thought I’d just polish it up, edit it, and self-publish. It was also pretty strategic because I knew I wanted to get a traditional publishing contract, and thought ‘Well, if I can show I can write a sellable book, that’ll help!’
I learnt so much about self-publishing (aka I made a lot of mistakes), and More did moderately well (it sold around 6,000 or so copies), so I started writing my next idea, which was Love and Other Scoreswith the intention that I really wanted to get a traditional deal, but if I didn’t, I could always self-publish it. I ended up signing with Pan Macmillan around 8 or 9 months after I started pitching it to agents and publishers.
That goes to say that the first book you ever write may not be the one that will land you a traditional deal (if that’s your goal!). Sometimes it can take 3, 5, or 10 manuscripts and that’s okay. Every draft and book I’ve written has allowed me to grow as a writer and I’m of the firm belief no book idea is ever ‘dead’ even when it’s shelved. It’s just not in its right form yet!
The Australian Open is CLEARLY a huge inspiration for Noah and Gabriel’s love story. What personal experiences brought this idea to life for you?
I’ve been obsessed with tennis from a young age—my friend Bec and I would stay up late watching the Australian Open back when Nadal, Federer and Djokovic were the big three, fighting it out each year for the major titles.
But my actual ‘research’ comes from when I worked at the Australian Open as a barista. Around 2014 or 2015 (I forget which!), I was there making coffee and milkshakes and I had a ground pass for my job, but I could use it whenever I wanted. I’d go hang out and watch matches or see players’ practice. It was great fun!
I studied in Melbourne, lived in Footscray and commuted to my job on Chapel Street. Yes. Chapel Street. (For those unfamiliar, an hour and fifteen minutes on public transport; two hours on Sundays). So a lot of Noah’s experience is based on my life working in South Yarra, being a rat bag and public nuisance, staying out too late, paying way too much to get into Revs—basically, being a young adult with no real sense of direction.
Who came to you first- Noah or Gabriel, and what did you see/feel?
Noah came first, because as I mentioned, a lot of his experiences are based on my life, but his personality was developed over several drafts and his voice shone when I switched from third-person to first-person early in the drafting process. Still, I remember from the first draft I wanted him to have this floppy Leonardo Di Capro-esque blow-cut 90s hairstyle—something that (at the time!) was so out of fashion, but I just felt if anyone could rock that look, Noah could.
Gabriel is a more nuanced character who required much more research to bring to life, both because a) he’s a professional tennis player and b) he’s culturally completely outside of my own experience. But, in the same vein as Noah, I also knew he had to have incredible hair—there’s something about a tennis playerwith amazing hair that just gets the people going!
I instantly fell head over heels for both Noah and Gabriel. I just didn’t want that excited buzzing feeling in the bottom of my stomach to end! Are there more exciting buzzy books coming our way soon?
Thank you—I am always so thrilled to hear when people love my characters. On the topic of more books, I certainly hope so!
Last year, I was lucky enough to win the Voices from the Intersection + Allen & Unwin Fellowship for a sapphic young adult sports romance. It’s a fun, sporty romance that explores those really hard ages between 18 and 20 when everything is changing (school, family, living situation, friendship groups), but it’s also about footy and female empowerment and standing up for what you believe in!
Argh, I’ve probably said too much but I’m in the middle of another draft and it’s all coming together, so I hope there’s a chance I can share it with you soon. And then, who knows! I would never say no to returning to the world of tennis…
Abra – thank you so much for sharing your time, experiences and book journey with us here & on Instagram Live 🎥 Admittedly, reading through your answers I was laughing and smiling – I think that just shows how much your writing in Love and Other Scoreswas a hit for me 👏🏼
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 💭
2023 was an epic year in books for me – in the form of reading, reviewing, talking about books with all you book lovers and also talking with authors about their work!
This year I have:
⭐️ Conducted over 10 in person, online and panel interviews
⭐️ Participated in NaNoWriMo & now have 20,000 words on page
⭐️ Started the Riverina Readers Festival
⭐️ Attended two book festivals
⭐️ Met some seriously talented people!
In 2023 I read a total of 26 books! If you’d like to see & follow my individual ratings for each book, you can jump onto my GoodReads (click here)
The 📖 BOOK will indicate that there is a book review of this title on Mel Reviews Her Books
The 🎤 MICROPHONE will indicate that there is an Author Talks with this author on Mel Reviews Her Books
The 🎥 FILM will indicate that you can watch an Instagram Live Interview with this author on @melreviewsherbooks
Heartstrong by Ellidy Pullin 📖
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley 📖
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (2x reread) 📖
The Spice Roads by Maia Ibrihim 📖
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
The Redgum River Retreat by Sandie Docker 🎤
The Dangers of Female Provocation by Zoë Coyle 📖🎤🎥
Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher 📖🎤🎥
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey 📖🎤🎥
How to be Remembered by Michael Thompson 📖🎤🎥
Ascension by Nicholas Binge 📖
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams 📖
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (3x reread) 📖
The Whispering by Veronica Lando 📖
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 📖
The Hummingbird Effect by Kate Mildenhall 📖🎤🎥
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
A Beginner’s Guide to Scandal by Alivia Fleur
Happy Place by Emily Henry
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary 📖
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (3x reread) 📖
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace 📖
The Love Contract by Steph Vizard
The Only One Left by Riley Sager 📖
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett 📖
Kill Your Husbands by Jack Heath 📖🎤🎥
Love and Other Scores by Abra Pressler
Here’s to another year full of books, joy and reading 💖
What a year 2023 was! It feels somewhat surreal to be looking back on a year that held so much for me, not only in terms of book related content and book joy, but also in personal growth, being open to change and starting new projects.
Looking back through my yearly calendar diary is a bit of a nostalgic routine for me each new year. I stop and ponder over what’s been written, what I may have been stressing myself over that week and what little notes, stickers and ‘artefacts’ if you will, I’ve left in there, eg. photos, cinema tickets, receipts.
Here’s what my 2023 involved:
I brought in the 2023 New Year surrounded by some of my closest friends. It was a 10+ hr drive to get there and 100% worth the trip 💫
Collins Booksellers Wagga was my place of work and my position there was as the Store Manager. I had the privilege of meeting, networking and talking books with so many new book friends, authors and illustrators.
I dedicated a lot of time to playing tennis (my favourite sport) and become better and more consistent over time 🎾
One of my best friends organised a wonderful birthday party for me! In which I was spoilt, full of food and joy 🎂
I adopted a little cat and called her ‘Peach’ 🍑
Hollie Startup who is based in London, designed and created my wonderful new logo for Mel Reviews Her Books 🖼
I started and finished a relationship, and grew in leaps and bounds 💖
Sulari Gentill and I had a wonderful chat at One Book One Temora 🎤
The Riverina Readers Festival came to fruition 💙
I begin studying Library and Information Studies at TAFE and then decided, it wasn’t for me 🤓 Book blogging suits me far better!
I worked really hard on my mental health and committed to dedicating time to me. This lead to my personal growth and acknowledging my self worth 🧠
Jugiong Writers Festival invited me to be their bookseller at their bi-annual Book Festival! What a wonderful experience this was – one I will truely cherish 🙏🏼
I organised, communicated and brought together the most beautiful authors who were all about LOVE! I organised my last Collins Booksellers Wagga in store event and our first Riverina Readers Festival micro event – all in the same weekend 😅 (I like to push my limits but BY GOSH was it worth it!)
I started a new job in the Disability sector and have learnt so much 🤩
Social Worker Mel has made a full appearance and I really like her – she’s going to stick around 😊
Our local ABC Radio had me on to talk about our Riverina Readers Festival event and it was so much fun 📻
The Riverina Readers Festival committee had meeting, after meeting, after meeting. I may be bias in saying, but our team is really the best in the biz 👌🏼 … we’re only at July book friends
Wagga Civic Theatre put on a number of amazing shows in which I attended! I love that place! 🎟🎭
The Riverina Readers Festival officially became incorporated with me as President 💙
I began planning, organising and starting Instagram Lives on Mel Reviews Her Books 🎤
Weekly blog posts became an ongoing goal 💻
I made new friends 💖
I hugged my friends tight as they went overseas and explored the world while I stayed in Wagga and explored what I can build in the world of books 🌍
My Literary Lovers Book Club has an inconsistent attendee in me, but luckily, they still accepted me coming along here and there 😉
With our Festival Committee, we wrote plans, proposals and grant applications – of which we have had some success ⭐️
I experienced many migraines and the process of handling them is now something I’m exploring 🏥
I attended Write Around the Murray (WAM) Book Festival and had a stunning time 📖
NaNoWriMo got me good and Instagram Live really become my intimate friend 🎥 20,000 words are now sitting in my word doc waiting for a time when the creativity sparks again.
My family moved away and I felt incredibly lonely. I’ve learnt to appreciate those around me and what the community of Wagga can bring me 👥
Cooking continued to be my downtime and I explored many new recipes, of which I shared a few with you all on here! 👩🏽🍳
I renovated a bookcase and absolutely LOVE it 💚
THE ROMANTICS Book Club became an online book club created by a friend and myself 📖
I set myself the 2024 goal of conducting 12 Author Interviews on Instagram Live & developing a paid newsletter full of juicy content 💻
Christmas and New Year was celebrated with my nearest and dearest 🎄🎆 and I’m rounding out 2023 feeling as if I’m bringing the right people into my orbit who are going to continue to support me and want the best for me ❤️
WOW! Now looking back after writing this all down, I cannot fathom how much I’ve actually done in 2023 🙈 What a year – here’s to another beautiful bookish year with all you book friends 🥂📖🎤💫
Bestselling Australian Author, Jack Heath 📸 Curtis Brown Agency
Jack Heath is the #1 bestselling author of 40 novels, published in nine languages. Jack’s first crime thriller, Hangman, was voted one of the 100 best books of all time (twice) – and I think Kill Your Husbands won’t be far behind! His mission is to create books that inspire a love of reading in children and adults.
Welcome Jack, to Mel Reviews Her Books 😊
Jack, Kill Your Husbands is certainly a unique storyline! I mean, we have murder, a touch of romance, a LOT of suspicion and a partner swap! How and where were you inspired to write Kill Your Husbands?
I used to rent a beach house with my old high school friends every year after exams were over. There would be drinking, truth or dare, more drinking, and (my favourite) games of murder in the dark. We’d creep around the house with the lights out, and when someone screamed, we’d all get together in the room with the “body” and try to work out who the killer was.
Writing 7 different perspectives is not an easy feat in the slightest. Why did you choose to split perspectives rapidly in each chapter and do you feel its effect was achieved? (I certainly do!)
When I was a kid I read a murder mystery where the killer turned out to be the narrator, which blew my mind. For Kill Your HusbandsI set myself a challenge – what if the killer was the narrator, and the reader knew it from the start, but they didn’t know which narrator?
In a world where ChatGPT exists, human writers can compete by focusing not just on the characters’ emotions but the readers’. Splitting the perspectives and tightly controlling the flow of information was the only way to create the effect I wanted.
In person and online, you’ve spoken openly about the challenges of making it into the book industry and rewriting, rewriting and rewriting your work before sending it off to be published. 40 novels down the line, what does that process look like for you now?
Things have changed a bit. At the start of my career, I’d write a book and then hope I could find a publisher to sell it to. These days publishers often come to me and ask me to write something for them. This means my income is much more stable, but it also means less creative freedom. I have to outline everything before I write it, and I have so many readers that I’m locked in to certain genres. Nice problems to have, I know!
Our main Police perspective, Kiara, is a recurring character for you. Kiara ends Kill Your Husband by exploring new cases and she’s stepped up into higher ranks as a Detective. Do you feel like there is another story left for her yet?
I hope so! I’ve learned not to plan out long series, because often a book won’t sell well enough to warrant a sequel. I also have several contracts for non-Kiara books, so I’ll be pretty busy either way. But the response to Kill Your Husbands has been tremendous, so I think there’s a market there for another Kiara book if I chose to write one. What do you think of Kill Your Boss?
Kill Your Boss sounds absolutely terrifying! Can’t wait to read it 😉 Jack – thank you SO MUCH for spending your time here on Author Talks. I’m so pleased to have had the opportunity to chat again (virtual this time), it’s always a pleasure 📚
You can find all of Jack Heath’s books via this link: Click Here ⭐️
Yesterday, I had a day. My brain was saying “go, go, go – you’ve got a busy day ahead and we need to get moving”, but my body was telling me otherwise and I didn’t want to listen, but eventually, it made me.
I started to feel as if I was going backwards, when in reality – I’d just filled my plate too much that it was not possible for my body to process the high speed in which we needed to function for the day/week.
I wasn’t going backwards, in fact I was moving forward. This was just another experience that leads me to understand why listening to your body is important. Listening to the signs of exhaustion, busy-ness and the need to be your best self at every facet of your life isn’t practical – and it’s also not realistic.
So today, I’m saying “thank you body, for telling me I was overloaded yesterday” and “I understand that I need to take things a bit slower today”.
I hope you also find a snippet of time in your day in which you can reflect on how you can be kind to your body x
I did not expect to devour this book in under a week but I’m not ashamed to say that I did! What I am ashamed to say is that this is my first Jack Heath book! If the rest of his adult crime fiction are anything like this … book friends, you know what’s on my Christmas list 📕
Kill Your Husbands is a witty, stand alone crime fiction novel that takes place in a secluded, digital detox holiday house. Three couples, who are high school friends, take the opportunity to leave behind their every day life baggage and spend some time reconnecting with themselves, their partners and … other couples partners.
There are many different perspectives and characters to flick around in this book, so let me start by introducing them as outlined to us in the front of this novel:
*written by Detective Kiara*
FELICITY, stand-up comic, married to Dominic (trophy wife?)
DOMINIC (Dom), finance bro, gave $10K to Cole (gift or loan?)
COLE, gym owner, married to Clementine (but attracted to Isla?)
CLEMENTINE, fitness model, Isla’s best friend (find someone who’s done IVF, see if story is credible)
ISLA, full-time mum, married to Oscar (what ‘truth’ was he referring to?)
OSCAR, real estate agent (but didn’t rent the house?)
Just reading these I was immediately intrigued! So, we have Dom and Felicity, a very glitzy pair who show off their wealth in a new Tesla & branded clothing. Dom also forked out and rented the grand holiday house for everyone – he’s a bit of a show off really. Felicity is quite a bit younger than Dom and has an interesting background before meeting Dom. Felicity is the one to suggest the partner swap … or is she?
We have Cole and Clementine who are the ‘perfect’ couple. However for them, their seemingly wonderful relationship is not complete without a baby. They’ve been through multiple rounds of IVF and the cost is setting Cole’s gym business backwards. He is also starting to see Clementine as becoming fragile and not able to fulfil his desires. Cole is beginning to feel helpless and he has an urge that needs fulfilling … will the partner swap be just what he needs to fulfil these continuous thoughts?
Finally, we have Isla and Oscar, and they have a little one named Noah who is the light of their life but Oscar is beginning to feel twinges of jealously, like he is left behind and that his wife is only sexually attracted to him because she wants another baby. Mentally, Oscar is finding it hard to stay balanced, and a weekend away from his son, somewhat from his wife, is exactly what he needs. And also because there will be another woman there he’d like to focus on … Oscar never thought he’d be a man who would cheat on his wife, but he’s obsessed.
Snipping through each perspective, two week time period, as well as being lead through the investigation process by Kiara , Kill Your Husbands is a very quick read 📕 There is no time to put this story down because at the end of every chapter, you’re left hanging for the next.
Each character has a motive for murdering another in the group. Each character you feel sympathy for because we learn, care and understand how they feel – it’s only human. Each character is a suspect. Up to the very last pages, I promise you, you will be kept guessing as to who, when, how and why.
I could not put down this GODDAMN book down, with it’s big puppy dog like golden retriever hockey team players, the ongoing manipulative drama between iceskating partners, and the SPICE 🌶 … the spice 🌶
Let’s just say this story has over 5 open door scenes for all you snoopy readers out there.
The storyline had body and I appreciated that. Anastasia attends Maple Hills College and is training with her partner to become iceskating olympians. Together, in their doubles duo they train hard everyday, restrict their diet, limit socialising outside of their iceskating groups and absolutely DO NOT associate with the other ice rink users, such as the ice hockey team.
Disaster strikes when the hockey teams separate ice rink is damaged due to a prank gone wrong, and our favourite tropes get introduced people! Friends to lovers & forced proximity 👏🏼🙈 Que ongoing arguments, training running over time, longing stares and secret watching/admiring of each other 😉 AND the unstoppable merging of two complete rivals in sports.
Nathan is built up from the beginning as this gentle giant. He is the captain of the hockey team and also a strong father type figure to the younger boys in the group. Nathan comes from a wealthy background but doesn’t flaunt it (too much) and our favourite part – he is genuinely love struck by Anastasia.
A big chuck of the beginning is the two of them in their own lanes, trying their best to not acknowledge the other. But, it’s not long before we’re well and truely into the depths of this ‘I want you but it’s not good to want you’ back and forward.
I genuinely liked having so much of the book about them figuring out their relationship status. I think it helped to draw out each of their personalities and fears of committing to a relationships in college (or university). Things change at the end of every year, people move away and careers begin to take a forward step.
However, this is a romance people so let’s remember that they’re always going to end up back in each others arms! 🙈
Mel Reviews Her Books 