Book Review: Maggie's Going Nowhere by Rose Hartley #BRPreview

Maggie's Going Nowhere

by

Rose Hartley

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia 
Imprint: Michael Joseph
Publication date: 7th January 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 352
RRP: $32.99 AU
Format read: uncorrected paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading

Maggie Cotton’s life is a hot mess.

In one day, she’s dumped by her boyfriend, disinherited by her mum, and kicked off the three-year degree course she’d stretched to a decade. And that was before she received the letter saying she owed the government $70,000.

But that’s no reason to grow up, is it?

With a decrepit 1960s caravan to call home, Maggie has to prove to her mother she can survive without a safety net, stop her loyal best friend Jen from marrying a scumbag, and convince her sexy workmate Rueben that she’s not a walking disaster. For someone who’s spent her life avoiding hard work, she sure can move mountains when she’s got a little motivation – just don’t ask her to move the caravan.

In Maggie’s Going Nowhere Hartley has taken a character that would normally be unlikeable and given her endearing qualities.

Maggie doesn’t like to conform to societal standards. She has been living off her mother, her boyfriend and Centrelink for the past ten years whilst she idles her way through what should be a three year Uni course.

When she gets kicked out by her boyfriend and kicked off her Uni course she is disinherited by her mother until she can prove that she is capable of supporting herself. I loved her mother’s tough love and Maggie was so funny trying to weasel a meal out of her mum without letting on she had no money to buy food.

Maggie is a brazen no hoper but it is hard not to love her. She knows how to laugh at herself and doesn’t take life too seriously. She is assertive and always speaks her mind assuming her friends would prefer the truth no matter how objectionable. She says she doesn’t care what people think of her but deep down we can see that she does.

I thoroughly enjoyed Maggie's Going Nowhere. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as Maggie fumbles her way through this belated coming-of-age story. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My rating   5/5

 This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #37 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

photo credit: Goodreads

    

Rose Hartley is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Adelaide with her cat, Doris, and her 1962 caravan, Cecil. Maggie's Going Nowhere is her first novel.

Wrap up of my 2019 challenges - let's see how I went!

It's that time of year when we look back over our challenge pledges and see how we went.

You can read my 2019 sign up post here 

My first one was the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge. 

 
I signed up for Kangaroo level:
4 x female authors, 4 x Male authors, 4 x New to me authors, 3 x genres.
My completed challenge was:
38 x Female authors, 5 x Male authors, 26 x New to me authors, 8 x Genres. With a total of 43 books read.

I was happy with the results here but I definitely need to increase my male Aussie authors in 2020.

You can see the full list of books here

Next up was the Australian Women Writers Challenge. 

I nominated to read and review 30 books for this challenge.
My completed challenge was 38 books read and reviewed.

You can see the full list of books here

A new challenge for me this year was the Ginger Mum and Company A - Z challenge.

Read a book for every letter of the alphabet. I managed to read 23 of the 26 letters.
Check here to see which books I read and what letters I missed. 

Another new to me challenge was the Book Bingo challenge hosted by Theresa Smith Writes , Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse.
 
I was a slightly worried about this one but I did manage to finish the whole bingo card of 30 books. You can read my wrap up post here
 
My final challenge was the Aussie Readers Group (on Goodreads) annual colour challenge. Read 2 books each with covers of 6 different colours. 
You can see the books and covers I chose here 

Well that's a wrap for 2019. Some challenges I will be sticking with in 2020 and some I will be dropping but I am sure I will pick up a couple more.
Look out for my 2020 challenge sign up post coming soon. 

 

 

Book Review: Last Bridge Before Home by Lily Malone

Last Bridge Before Home

by

Lily Malone

Publisher: Harper Collins Harlequin Australia 
Imprint: Mira
Series: Chalk Hill #3
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romantic Suspense
Publication date: 16th December 2019
Pages: 384
RRP: $29.99 AU
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

For Jaydah Tully, the country town of Chalk Hill has never felt like home. Home is a place to feel loved. Home is a place to feel safe. Jaydah's home life is dark in ways the close-knit community could never imagine.
Jaydah knows that the man she loves has never understood her need for secrets. Brix is a Honeychurch, she's a Tully - her family are Chalk Hill's black sheep. It's better for everyone if Brix stays away.
But Brix is a one-woman man, and when he returns to his home town to help his brother, the first person he sees is Jaydah. Independent. Private. Proud. When things are good between them they are really really good but all too soon they're back in the old patterns, caught in the same argument: Her father. Her family. Her life that doesn't include him.
Underneath her tough exterior, Jaydah is drowning. She has one chance to change everything. Is she brave enough to take the risk and let Brix in? Or will her father keep them apart forever?

Last bridge before Home is the third book in the Chalk Hill trilogy. Each book focuses on one of the three Honeychurch brothers but read perfectly as stand alone.

Set in the fictional Western Australian rural town of Chalk Hill. A town were everyone knows everyone else’s business but have no idea what really goes on behind closed doors, especially when it involves the reclusive Tully family, the black sheep of the town.

Lily Malone has written a heart-breaking end to her Chalk Hill series. Braxton (Brix) has always been in love with Jaydah but she won’t commit to a long term relationship. Jaydah has a dark secret that she can never reveal but can she open up to Brix to save her family?

Through Jaydah’s family Malone explores domestic abuse and it’s hold on the abused. Another theme throughout the novel is the rights of a person with a mental disability and caring for a person with special needs. The importance of Family Services and the wonderful and extensive work they do for families is also highlighted during the story.

I found Last Bridge Before Home to be quite confronting. The tension was palpable and the characters were real. The Honeychurch family were welcoming and accommodating. Nothing was too much trouble and they were all happy to help Jaydah even though they had problems of their own.

I love the way Malone gave us a family of three sons and showed how a mother’s connection to her sons can be just as warm and deep as with daughters, with all the boys gathering around their mother in her time of need.

The story ends with a bang as we find out Jaydah isn’t the only one holding secrets!

Last Bridge Before Home is heart-breaking, tear inducing and hope imbued.

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 My rating  5/5

This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #38 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

 

photo credit: Goodreads

 Lily Malone trained as a journalist and worked in newspapers before becoming editor of Australia's largest wine industry trade publisher. After the birth of her two boys, she discovered writing romantic stories set in Australia's vineyards was much more fun than writing about diseases of grapevines or the latest French clone. Lily is based in Cowaramup, Western Australia.

 

 

 

Book Review: The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper #BRPreview

The Girl in the Painting

by

Téa Cooper

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Australia
Publication date: 16th December 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Pages: 352
RRP: $32.99 AUD
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading

Maitland 1913. Miss Elizabeth Quinn is something of an institution in Maitland Town. For longer than anyone could remember she and her brother, businessman Michael, have lived in the impressive two-storey stone house next to the church. When she is discovered cowering in the corner of the exhibition gallery at the Technical College the entire town knows something strange has come to pass.

Was it the prehistoric remains or perhaps the taxidermy exhibition that had reduced the whale-boned encased pillar of society to a quivering mess? Or is there something odd about a striking painting on loan from the National Gallery?

Mathematical savant Jane Piper is determined to find out. Deposited on the doorstep of the local orphanage as a baby, she owes her life and education to the Quinn's philanthropic ventures and Elizabeth has no one else to turn to.

As the past and the present converge, Elizabeth's grip on reality loosens. Can Jane, with her logical brain and penchant for puzzles, unravel Elizabeth's story before it is too late?

Ranging from the gritty reality of the Australian goldfields to the grand institutions of Sydney, the bucolic English countryside to the charm of Maitland Town, this compelling historical mystery in the company of an eccentric and original heroine is rich with atmosphere and detail. 

As soon as I heard of The Girl in the Painting I was expecting to love it. Dual time line Historical Fiction set in colonial Australia; it already featured a few of my favourite themes. And I’m happy to say Tea Cooper didn’t disappoint. The Girl in the Painting is totally immersive. I was hooked right from the beginning. William and Elizabeth Quinn are immediately likeable and young Jane Piper’s character is quirky and endearing.

The Girl in the Painting is set in the New South Wales towns of Maitland in the early 1900’s and Hill End during the gold rush years of 1860’s.

Cooper uses true historical events to set the story solidly in its time and place. I do enjoy a strong female character and both Elizabeth and Jane are characters that are independent and intelligent. Elizabeth instills in Jane independence and the knowledge that women should and can look after their own business affairs.

The Girl in the Painting is an engrossing story featuring a compelling mystery that will keep you turning the pages.

                           🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

My rating  5/5

This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #36 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

 

Tea Cooper is an established Australian author of contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling. She is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Horse Thief, The Cedar Cutter, The Currency Lass, The Naturalist's Daughter and The Woman in the Green Dress.