2018 Aussie Author Challenge and Australian Women Writers Challenge Completed

I was so pleased with my results of my first year joining in on the Aussie Author challenge hosted by BookLover Book Reviews 
The challenge had three levels to strive for:

 WALLABY
Read and review 3 titles written by Australian authors, of which at least 1 of those authors are female, at least 1 of those authors are male, and at least 1 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, any genre.
WALLAROO
Read and review 6 titles written by Australian authors, of which at least 2 of those authors are female, at least 2 of those authors are male, and at least 2 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, at least 2 genre.
KANGAROO
Read and review 12 titles written by Australian Authors of which at least 4 of those authors are female, at least 4 of those authors are male, and at least 4 of those authors are new to you; Fiction or non-fiction, at least 3 genre.

I obtained kangaroo level and read a total of 40 books

30 Female authors
8 Male authors
2 both Male & Female authors
10 different genres
23 authors new to me

1. Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra

2. Assassins Hunted by Rachel Amphlett

3. Don't Ever Look Behind Door 32 by BCR Fegan

4. The Country Girl by Cathryn Hein

5. You Wish by Lia Weston

6. Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer

7. A Place to Remember by Jenn J McLeod

8. Little Gods by Jenny Ackland

9. The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland

10. Birthright by Fiona Lowe

12. If Kisses Cured Cancer by TS Hawken

13. The Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning

14. A Kiss a Dance and a Diamond by Helen Lacey

15. The Book NInja by Ali Berg

16. Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent MCcarthy

17. The Everlasting Sunday by Robert Lukins

18. Hive by AJ Betts

19. Who Killed the Movie Star by Lily Malone

20. Burning Fields by Alli Sinclair
21. Return to Roseglen by Helene Young
22. The Honourable Thief by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios
23. The Artisan Heart by Dean Mayes
24. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
25. The Gaslight Stalker by David Field
26. The Night Caller by David Field
27. My Polar Dream by Jade Hameister
28. The Lost Valley by Jennifer Scoullar
29. Treasure Hunt at Pirate's Paradise by Mahima Kalla
30. Dressing the Dearloves by Kelly Doust
31. No Place Like Home by Bronwyn Jameson
32. Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat by Various
33. The Year of the Farmer by Rosalie Ham
34. The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanna Nell
35. Scrublands by Chris Hammer
36. Kat: The Legend of Gnawbonia by Nick White
37. Laugh Your Head Off Forever by Various 
38. On the Same Page by Penelope Janu
39. Table for Eight by Tricia Stringer
40. Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

Links to reviews can be found on my A-Z Title page

This challenge had four levels and I chose to nominate my own goal

• Stella: read 4 – if reviewing, review at least 3
• Miles: read 6 – if reviewing, review at least 4
• Franklin: read 10 – if reviewing, review at least 6
• Create your own challenge: nominate your own goal

For the Australian Women Writers Challenge I pledged to read and review 20 books. I am happy to say I surpassed this pledged amount by reading a total of 34 books for the challenge.

1. Little Secrets by Anna Snoekstra
2. Six Ways to Sunday by Karly Lane
3. The Last Days of Us by Beck Nicholas 
4. Assassins Hunted by Rachel Amphlett
5. The Country Girl by Cathryn Hein
6. Esme's Wish by Elizabeth Foster
7. Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer
8. Jenna's Truth by Nadia L King 
9. A Place to Remember by Jenn J McLeod
10. You Wish by Lia Weston
11. Little Gods by Jenny Ackland
12. Birthright by Fiona Lowe
13. The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland
14. A Kiss, a Dance and a Diamond by Helen Lacey
15. The Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning
16. The Book Ninja by Ali Berg
17. Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent McCarthy
18. Hive by A J Betts
19. Who Killed the Movie Star? by Lily Malone
20. Burning Fields by Alli Sinclair
21. Return to Roseglen by Helene Young
22. The Honourable Theif by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios
23. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
24. P I Penguin series (5 Books) by Bec J Smith
25. My Polar Dream by Jade Hameister
26. The Lost valley by Jennifer Scoullar 
27. Treasure Hunt at Pirate's Paradise by Mahima Kalla
28. No Place Like Home by Bronwyn Jameson
29. Dressing the Dearloves by Kelly Doust
30. The Year of the Farmer by Rosalie Ham
31. The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanna Nell 
32. On the Same Page by Penelope Janu
33. Table for Eight by Tricia Stringer
34. Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

Links to the reviews can be found on my A - Z title page.

I will be signing up to both these challenges again in 2019 and a couple more. My 2019 challenge post will be up today.



 

 

Book Review: Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

Lenny's Book of Everything

by 

Karen Foxlee

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 

Publication Date: 1st November 2018

Pages: 352

RRP: $19.99

Format Read: Uncorrected proof copy

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

Lenny, small and sharp, has a younger brother Davey who won't stop growing - and at seven is as tall as a man. Raised by their mother, they have food and a roof over their heads, but not much else.

The bright spot every week is the arrival of the latest issue of the Burrell's Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia. Through the encyclopedia, Lenny and Davey experience the wonders of the world - beetles, birds, quasars, quartz - and dream about a life of freedom and adventure. But as Davey's health deteriorates, Lenny realises that some wonders can't be named.

A big-hearted novel about loving and letting go by an award-winning author.

'A gorgeous, heartbreaking, and heartwarming book.' - R. J. PALACIO

'Such a big heart and not a beat out of place.' - MELINA MARCHETTA

'Tough, tender and beautiful.' - GLENDA MILLARD

'Unforgettable.' - ANNA FIENBERG

'Karen Foxlee, you're a genius.' - WENDY ORR

Heartbreaking and uplifting – this book is everything every reviewer has said....and more.

In Lenny’s Book of EverythingKaren Foxlee wanted to convey love in all its forms, sibling love, motherly love, neighbourly love and what it means to love someone who is different and the emotions that go with it. What I find she has also conveyed was the feelings of shame and self loathing when sometimes that love slips and you are left feeling embarrassed, even annoyed by this person you are meant to love.

Foxlee’s writing is reminiscent of Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep (one of my all time favourite reads) only it’s not as complicated making it excellent for younger readers.

‘She was thin with worry our mother. She was made almost entirely out of worries and magic.’  - Lenore Spink

The story is narrated by Lenny as she worries about her mother, her brother and her absent father. She tells the story of her brother’s ‘growing’ as it is at first brushed off as tall family genes, then visits to the specialist, stays in hospital and how a community comes together to give help.

Foxlee has created a likeable and realistic cast of characters. Cynthia Spink with all her worries, Mrs Gaspar, the Hungarian neighbour, and her strange dreams, Lenore and her beetle mania and Davey, it was easy to see why everyone loved him.

In Lenny’s Book of Everything Foxlee captures life in the early 70’s where man has recently landed on the moon and knowledge comes from encyclopedias (not the internet) via weekly instalments arriving through the mail. Lenny’s family won their set of encyclopaedia which would have been akin to winning the lottery. A set of encyclopedia on your bookshelf in the 70’s was like a status symbol and I remember eagerly purchasing the new issue from the newsagent each week and like Lenny and Davey poring over the facts and pictures in each book.

Lenny comes across as a bit of a tomboy, a deep thinker and a deep feeler. She bristled, she felt ashamed, she took on a lot of her mother’s stoicism but mostly she loved.

Lenny’s Book of Everything is a heartbreaking and wonderful read full of the kindness of people everywhere. 

Age : 10 - 14 years and older.

My Rating  5/5                🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

 

  Lenny's Book of Everything is book #34 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of author website

Karen Foxlee is an Australian author who writes for both kids and grown-ups. Her first novel The Anatomy of Wings won numerous awards including the Dobbie Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book. Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy, Karen's first novel for children, was published internationally to much acclaim while her second novel for younger readers, A Most Magical Girl, won the Readings Children's Fiction Prize in 2017 and was CBCA shortlisted the same year.

Karen lives in South East Queensland with her daughter and several animals, including two wicked parrots, who frequently eat parts of her laptop when she isn't looking. Her passions are her daughter, writing, day-dreaming, baking, running and swimming in the sea.

  

Book Club Book Review: Table for Eight by Tricia Stringer

Table for Eight

by

Tricia Stringer

 

Publisher: Harlequin Fiction AU

Publication date:  24th September 2018

Pages: 496

RRP: $32.99

Format Read: Trade Paperback

Source: Courtesy of publisher via Beauty & Lace book club

A cruise, no matter how magical, can't change your life. Can it...?


Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship's all-powerful maître d' Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style-eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together.


But this trip is different. As the glamour and indulgence of the cruise takes hold, and the ship sails further away from Sydney towards the Pacific Islands, it becomes clear that her fellow travellers - a troubled family, a grieving widower and an angry divorcee determined to wreak revenge on her ex - are going to be harder work than usual.


As Ketty tries to deal with her own problems, including the unexpected arrival on board of her long-lost love, Leo - the man who broke her heart - as well as troubling news from home, she begins to realise this might be the one cruise that will defeat her.

Ketty Clift loves cruising and helping people so naturally she combines the two on her numerous cruises.

Ketty’s fashion design business has taken a recent downturn and she had thoughts of cancelling her cruise on the Diamond Duchess’s farewell voyage but it seemed fitting that what may be her last cruise is also the last voyage for this magnificent ship.

Ketty loves to observe people and her table of eight each night for dinner id the perfect opportunity to get to know her fellow passengers; their strengths and foibles.

One cruise. Twelve days. Eight strangers. (well almost strangers, there is a husband and wife with the wife’s father in the group).

Stringer skilfully develops her characters. There are characteristics you will see in yourself and the people around you which draws the reader in, quickly becoming invested in the characters’ lives, eager to learn more.

Stringer uses the backdrop of a luxury cruise liner to explore issues of broken relationships, love, loss, grief, family relationships, self image and second chances.

I’ve never been on a cruise and Stringer’s luscious descriptions of the opulence of the ship, the activities available, the night life and the beautiful islands they visited brought it all to life on the page. If you have cruised before I am sure it will bring back memories in vivid detail.

I loved that the characters were older (aged between 40 and 69) and how they formed friendships and relationships in a different way than younger people. Table for Eight confirms that age is no barrier to love and the need to have companionship and feel wanted.

The story is told in multiple POV so we get a well rounded view of what the characters think and feel. This also helps to explore the different ways that people see the same situation.

The main character, Ketty, is a people watcher and she loved giving people a nudge toward love, healing or a change of direction. Some may see Ketty as a meddler or a busy body but she always had good intentions.

Each character has their own reasons for being on the cruise and heartbreak, secrets and jealousies are slowly divulged throughout the story.

Stringer’s move from her highly successful Rural Fiction stories to the Contemporary Fiction market has been an outstanding success.

Content: themes of loss and grief

                 no sex

                 minimal coarse language (hardly worth a mention)

My rating    5/5            🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace book club. You can read the original review here 

Table for Eight is book #33 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

 

photo courtesy of Harper Collins Aus

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling author of novels across three genres: women's fiction, historical saga and rural romance. Her first book, Queen of the Road, won Romantic Book of the Year in Australia and she has been shortlisted for more awards. Tricia has spent many years in education as a teacher, a librarian and in middle management; with her husband she took on the first licensed Post Office in South Australia where they included a bookshop, and she now works as a full-time writer. Tricia travels Australia and sometimes overseas researching and drawing inspiration for her novels which always feature an authentic Australian voice. Home is a place near the beach in rural South Australia.

 

Book Club Book Review: On the Same Page by Penelope Janu

On the Same Page

by

Penelope Janu

 

Publisher: Brio Books (XO Romance)

Publication date: 1st October 2018

Pages: 352

Format Read: Paperback

Source: Publisher via Beauty and Lace Book Club

Sometimes a girl just has to do what’s in her heart …

By day Miles Franklin, named after the famous author, is a successful lawyer. But by night she writes historical romance novels under the pen name Emma Browning. When Miles’s assistant covertly enters her boss's novel in one of Australia’s biggest literary awards—and it wins—Miles’s perfectly ordered world is torn apart.

Lars Kristensen smells a rat. As the CEO of Iconic International, the company publishing Miles’s prize-winning novel, he’s determined to meet the author and uncover her true identity. But Miles is equally determined to protect her privacy—and to keep writing. Even if it means mastering pole dancing, and choreographing a love scene in the back of a horse-drawn carriage … Well, she is a romance writer, after all.

Miles has the grit to keep her secret, but Lars has the smouldering looks and arrogance of any romantic hero she has ever imagined.

Hmm. Sometimes a girl just has to turn the page …

Janu brings up the issue of literary snobbery in On the Same Page. Does it exist? I'm sure it does but I've never come across it.

Miles Franklin is the daughter of two acclaimed authors. She was sent to a psychiatrist in her early teens as she was reading and writing historical romance stories. Her parents thought there was certainly something wrong with her. She was wasting her literary talent.

Miles is a lawyer by day and a successful Historical Romance author by night. Hiding her secret behind the pseudonym, Emma Browning. However when her latest novel wins a literary award there is much disapproval in literary circles, including that of her parents.

I loved Miles! A relatable character; she was uncoordinated, out of shape, anxious and had a chronic blushing problem. She put a lot of herself into her characters and also a lot of the things she wanted to be.

Janu ties the classics cleverly through the narrative with references to many of the greatest literary romances of all time. I loved the snippets of Miles' Historical Romance stories which gave the reader stories within a story.

There is a minor but powerful subplot of teenagers in crisis and how a little attention and caring can make a huge difference in their lives.

The story is filled with humour usually at Miles expense. Written in the first person we learn a lot about Miles' hopes and fears. I would have liked to learn a little more about Lars.

On the Same Page is a wonderful story that will make you laugh and also sigh

My Rating 4.5/5                🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace Book Club. You can read the original review here

  On the Same Page is book #32 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

  

photo courtesy of Goodreads

Penelope Janu writes contemporary fiction about clever and adventurous women who don’t mean to fall in love, but do. Penelope’s novels, whether coastal or rural, celebrate Australian communities.

Penelope is a lawyer with an interest in social justice issues and the environment. She, like her characters, is up for anything, even though she has a terrible sense of direction. She has six children, big dogs, a distracting husband and never enough time to write.

Penelope hopes readers will fall as passionately in love with her heroines and heroes as she invariably does. She has travelled to many places in the world but has lived most of her life in Sydney, Australia. When not reading or writing Penelope can be found walking the coastline, or in the bush (though she's not much of a walking companion as she plots as she walks).