Book Review: Wasp Season by Jennifer Scoullar

Wasp Season

by

Jennifer Scoullar

Publisher: Pilyara Press
Publication date:  20th July 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 294
Format read: eBook
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book 

When Beth’s marriage ends, she’s determined to build a new life in the country for herself and her children. A quiet life lived closer to nature. She thinks she’s achieved the impossible – a civilised separation, a happy home and a cordial relationship with her estranged husband, Mark. There's even the promise of new love on the horizon. But when Mark tries to change the rules, Beth’s peaceful world is turned upside down.

Disturbingly, she also discovers that European wasps have invaded her garden. Beth’s obsession with them and their queen holds up a distorted mirror to the human drama. As the chaos in Beth’s life gathers momentum, connections between the two worlds come sharply into focus. The lives of Beth and the others are neither separate to, nor safe from, the natural world.

My review

Jennifer Scoullar's love and reverence of the nature that surrounds us shines through in her writing, making the daily lives of the wasps and other insects fascinating and evocative reading.

Wasp Season is narrated in multiple points of view. Scoullar anthropomorphises the wasps and bees thus invoking sympathy. Naming the insects and giving their POV brings the reader right into their lives and thoughts and gives a perspective I'd never contemplated before.
Fairy wrens, potter wasps, paper wasps, assassin flys, black cockatoos, European wasps, platypus, wombats, wallabies, kookaburras, dragonflies, eastern spinebill, hummingbird, cicadas, spiders; all this beautiful and diverse fauna of Australia is seamlessly spread throughout the story without being one bit contrived.

The humans are just as fascinating as the insects. Mark, a delusional narcissist, separated from wife Beth and now living with girlfriend Lena and their baby son, has a life is always greener on the other side attitude. Bored with his young girlfriend he decides he wants his wife back.

Lena feeling alone and worthless turns to the allure and bright lights of poker machines to get her highs. Predators are lurking to pounce on the weak and unwary.
Beth and her two children have settled into a tranquil life on a property in the mountains. However there is a European Wasp colony developing that will threaten them and the whole surrounding ecosystem.

With themes of the natural balance of the ecosystem, introduced pests, regrets, narcissism, gambling addiction and befriending strangers, Wasp Season is fascinating and emotional. As human lives and insect lives cross over and intertwine Scoullar builds the story to a suspense filled conclusion.

4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

Bestselling Aussie author Jennifer Scoullar writes page-turning fiction about the land, people and wildlife that she loves.

Scoullar is a lapsed lawyer who harbours a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world. She lives on a farm in Australia's southern Victorian ranges, and has ridden and bred horses all her life. Her passion for animals and the bush is the inspiration behind her best-selling books.

 

Book Review: There's a Zoo in My Poo by Prof. Felice Jacka

There's a Zoo in My Poo

by

Professor Felice Jacka

Illustrated by Rob Craw

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Publication date: 28th July 2020

Genre: Children's / Non Fiction

Pages: 64

RRP: $24.99 AUD

Format read: Hardcover

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book:

There's a Zoo in your Poo!
It needs a Zookeeper
And that Keeper is YOU! 

Did you know that trillions of tiny bugs live in and on all of us? And there's a Zoo of bugs in our poo. But which are the good bugs and which are the bad? What should we eat to keep our good bugs happy and our body strong?

Get to the guts of what you need to know about you and your poo.

Professor Felice Jacka is a world expert in the field of Nutritional Psychiatry and gut health. Teacher and musician Rob Craw is a world expert at drawing bugs!

They want kids to know all about the amazing stuff going on in their bodies.

Get ready for a journey inside the most exciting of places ... YOU! 

My review: 

It’s no secret that kids love books about bodily functions. There are a plethora of books to choose from about poos and farts. These books tend to be more fun than educational emphasising the fact that poos and farts are a normal part of life.

Professor Felice Jacka goes a whole lot further with her educational and fun children’s book There’s a Zoo in My Poo to explain gut health with zany illustrations and catchy rhymes. The book tells us all about the bugs that live in our gut, both good and bad, the food that we eat and the effect it has on these bugs, what the good bugs feed on, healthy food for a healthy body and brain.

 

Six year old Dot really enjoyed the concept of being the zookeeper of her body and once I explained that the bugs inside your body aren’t like insect type bugs but tiny invisible bugs you can’t see, she was much more receptive to the idea of how they lived inside you.

 

There is quite a lot of information in this 64 page book and I found it better to concentrate on a small area of the book at a time. The catchy rhyming poems were a great feeder into the more in-depth ins and outs of the workings of the gastrointestinal tract.

 

I knew the book was having some effect when Dot was asking me if the food she was eating was feeding her good bugs or bad bugs. That’s a win!

 

There’s a Zoo in My Poo focuses on the principles of gut health with colourful microbes and entertaining prose making this complex topic easier for children, and adults, to understand. gut health is an important topic and you can never start too young to teach children about healthy eating. It is great to see a children’s book addressing the ‘why’ of healthy eating. It’s a book that can be pulled out whenever your children’s eating habits go off track.

Read together from 6+

 

Read alone from 8+

⭐⭐⭐⭐ from Dot

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐from me

About the author: 

Professor Felice Jacka is an international expert in the field of Nutritional Psychiatry and gut health and leads a research field examining how individuals' diets affect mental and brain health.

About the illustrator:

Rob Craw is a teacher, musician, and illustrator, who shares Jacka's passion for educating everyone, especially kids, about the importance of healthy eating.

 

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

  the Australian Women Writers challenge  and the Non Fiction reader challenge

 

 

 

Book Review: The Long Shadow by Anne Buist

The Long Shadow

by

Anne Buist

 

Publisher: Text Publishing

Publication date: 28th April 2020

Genre: Crime / Mystery

Pages: 318

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the Book

Psychologist Isabel Harris has come to the outback town of Riley because her husband Dean is assessing the hospital—the hub of the community—with a view to closing it down. Isabel, mostly occupied with her toddler, will run a mother–baby therapy group. But on the first day she gets an anonymous note from one of the mothers:

The baby killer is going to strike again. Soon.

Then a series of small harassments begins.

Is it an attempt to warn Dean off? Or could the threat be serious? A child was murdered in Riley once before.

As Isabel discovers more about the mothers in her group, she begins to believe the twenty-five-year-old mystery of a baby’s death may be the key to preventing another tragedy.

My Review

 

Isabel Harris and husband Dean along with their young son Noah have temporarily moved to Riley whilst Dean audits the hospital, with a view to its potential closure. Isabel, a psychologist, is asked to run a mother-baby group. There is some dissension between the mothers in the group and all are harbouring secrets and fears.

A decades old murder rears its head via a threatening message and believing her own child may be in danger, Isabel starts to do some digging of her own. 

 

Isabel was quite an unlikable character for me. her paranoia was out of proportion to her circumstances. She was a psychologist but had so many issues of her own that needed addressing.

 

Anne Buist covers topics such as post natal depression, being accepted into a small close-knit community, Government closing a business that provides employment for many choosing profit over people. 

I'm finding it hard to put my thoughts down about this book.

 

What I didn't like:

Isabel was unlikable, jumping to conclusions and making outlandish accusations

Although a serious condition, I found there was too much talk on postpartum psychosis.

I'm tired of characters with mother issues.

2½ year old Noah felt like a prop, always being pushed in a stroller, or stuck in a playpen, or put to bed. He never felt like a real child. 

I guessed the twist early in the story.

I was left with unanswered questions.

 

What I liked:  

I loved the small town politics.

Bringing to light companies putting profit before people.

How the people of Riley stuck together when their livelihood was threatened.

The thing that I loved the most in this story were the evocative and beautifully drawn descriptions of the setting and the ambience of the Australian bush.

My rating 3/5   ⭐⭐⭐ 

 

photo credit Goodreads

 

Anne Buist is the Chair of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and has over 25 years clinical and research experience in perinatal psychiatry. She works with Protective Services and the legal system in cases of abuse, kidnapping, infanticide and murder. Her Natalie King series of thrillers is published by Text. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

  and the Australian Women Writers challenge

 

 

Book Review: Reasonable Doubt by Dr Xanthe Mallett

Reasonable Doubt

by

Dr Xanthe Mallett

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Publication date: 28th July 2020

Genre: Non Fiction / Crime

Pages: 272

RRP: $32.99AUD

Format read: Trade paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book

We all put our faith in the criminal justice system. We trust the professionals: the police, the lawyers, the judges, the expert witnesses. But what happens when the process lets us down and the wrong person ends up in jail?

Henry Keogh spent almost twenty years locked away for a murder that never even happened. Khalid Baker was imprisoned for the death of a man his best friend has openly admitted to causing. And the exposure of 'Lawyer X' Nicola Gobbo's double-dealing could lead to some of Australia's most notorious convictions being overturned.

Forensic scientist Xanthé Mallett is used to dealing with the darker side of humanity. Now she's turning her skills and insight to miscarriages of justice and cases of Australians who have been wrongfully convicted.

Exposing false confessions, polices biases, misplaced evidence and dodgy science, Reasonable Doubt is an expert's account of the murky underbelly of our justice system - and the way it affects us all.

My Review

I don't read a lot of non-fiction but crime fiction is one of my favourite reads so I was very interested in Dr Xanthe Mallett's book Reasonable Doubt.

Dr Xanthe Mallett has delivered a story that is both informative and interesting. One of the catch phrases on the cover is: exposing Australia's worst wrongful convictions. I am sure everyone can think of at least one case where the justice system got it all wrong. Lindy Chamberlain's conviction of the murder of her daughter comes to mind, but I was surprised how many times they get it wrong. Mallett covers five cases and also the case of lawyer X (Nicola Gobbo).

"When evidence focuses on guilt testing, to the exclusion of innocence testing, miscarriages of justice occur."

Reasonable  Doubt is a fascinating read. We put our faith in the justice system to protect the innocent but sometimes it goes terribly wrong - coerced confessions, lab errors, prejudice, unreliable evidence, incompetence and corruption are all discussed in the cases covered.

I would rather see the odd criminal go free than to see an innocent person in prison.

The CSI element is engrossing. Dr Mallett explains the introduction of DNA testing which helps to prove both guilt and innocence but even this can sometimes go wrong when human error is included in the mix.

Dr Mallett backs up her case studies with notes from experts in different fields of forensic science; Blood spatter, DNA profiling, forensic linguistics, false confessions, rules of disclosure, allowable evidence.

I read this book with astonishment and a whole lot of unease at how easily even the experts get it wrong sometimes. However, Dr Mallett leaves us with some final words of optimism.

"Don't be depressed, though. These cases are awful and the stories sad. But, generally, our justice system works, and those who have committed crimes are sent to prison, and the innocent are exonerated."

If you are a reader of crime fiction this book will fascinate you as fact is always stranger and much more compelling than fiction.

My Rating 4/ 5     ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Photo credit Macmillan Aus

Dr Xanthé Mallett is a forensic anthropologist and criminologist, author and television presenter. She has written two previous books: Mothers who Murder(2014) and Cold Case Investigations (2019).

Xanthé is also a forensic practitioner, and works with police forces across Australia assisting with the identification of persons of interest in criminal cases, as well as providing advanced DNA technologies that assist with the identification of long-term deceased victims and suspects.

In addition to her academic and professional work, Xanthé contributes to various true-crime television series, and is a regular contributor to crime news stories for television, radio and print media.

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

  the Australian Women Writers challenge  and the Non Fiction reader challenge

Book Review: My Life For Yours by Vanessa Carnevale

My Life For Yours

by

Vanessa Carnevale

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 7th August 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 349

RRP: Currently on pre-order at Amazon for $1.99AUD

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Paige and Nick are happy. They have a beautiful home, a loving family and, most importantly, they would do anything for each other. Now, they are having a baby and it feels like all their dreams are coming true.

But joy turns to despair when they discover that Paige has a rare, life-threatening heart condition and they lose their longed-for child. Heartbroken, the couple must accept the reality that they may not become parents after all.

Just as they begin to come to terms with their loss, Paige unexpectedly falls pregnant again. Paige’s heart is still weak, and to carry the baby to term puts them both at risk. The couple now face an impossible decision: Paige’s life or the life of their unborn child?

If Paige keeps the baby, she could lose her life and destroy the man she loves. If Nick tries to stop her, he may lose them both forever. It’s the most important decision they have ever had to make – and time is running out.

Vanessa Carnevale has written an emotionally charged story that will have readers asking themselves what they would do in this life altering situation.

Paige has been advised not to fall pregnant until her health improves but when she accidentally falls pregnant it causes major family upheaval and a conflict that may cost her her marriage.

Told in the alternating points of view of both Paige and her husband Nick, we get a rounded view of the emotional upheaval the pregnancy has caused for both of them.

I don’t want to give too much away with the plot but the story is strongly focused on a mother’s love and how far you will go for your child.

Vanessa Carnevale made it very easy to put myself not only in Paige and Nick’s shoes but also Paige’s mother Evelyn’s. Each character had their differing ideas on what Paige should and shouldn’t do and I felt for each of them.

My Life For Yours is a compelling and heart-wrenching read. A story of lost dreams and hopes. Of a love that defies all reasoning. I had no clue as to how this story was going to pan out. And I loved that! It kept me eagerly reading.

My Life For Yours is a heartrending story told with compassion and candour. It had me reaching for the tissues a few times whilst reading.

 My rating 5/5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Photo credit Goodreads

Vanessa Carnevale is an Australian author of women's fiction. She is also the host of Your Beautiful Writing Life retreats held in Tuscany and Australia.

Vanessa loves to travel, and spent several years living in Florence, Italy, a place she considers her second home. She lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

Her previous novels, THE MEMORIES OF US and THE FLORENTINE BRIDGE are published by HarperCollins and have been translated into German and Slovenian. Vanessa's third novel, MY LIFE FOR YOURS will be published by Bookouture in August 2020.

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

  and the Australian Women Writers challenge

 

Book Review: Crack Up by Jules Faber

Crack Up

by

Jules Faber

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Pan

Publication date: 31st March 2020

Series: Book #2

Genre: Middle Grade / Teen

Pages: 232

RRP: $12.99 AUD

Format read: paperback

Source: courtesy of the publisher

Max Crack and his best friend Frankie are back with even more quest-ordinary adventures!

Armed with a shiny new quest list, they are on a mission to find a meteorite, make a movie, solve a sisterly feud, eat truckloads of chocolate, set a World Record ...

Funny fonts, gross stuff, embarrassing moments, speech bubbles and strange creatures. Read all about it!

Max Crack and best friend Frankie Doink are back again with more quests, bigger and better than before.

Max starts a new journal/diary which runs from November to end of February. A four month period that includes the end of year school holidays which gives the boys plenty of time to complete new quests.

After seeing a shooting star and feeling a shudder like an earthquake the boys think it could have been a meteorite. Their first quest: find a meteorite.

At school their class will be involved in trying to break a world record. They will also be having a movie making competition.

I loved that the stories weren’t all about winning but working together and having fun.

The boys are eager to attend their first pop concert and find work mowing lawns for an elderly local resident who tells them of her falling out with her sister. Thus prompting their next quest: to reunite the sisters.

The boys take the ups and downs of life in their stride. Max eager for his own smart phone is happy to take his father’s hand-me-down and the rules that go with owning a phone.

We see the comparison of Frankie’s large rambunctious family to Max’s only child family. Both families are caring and interested in the boys activities.

As an adult I am keen for young children to read books with good role models and I think Max and Frankie have achieved this status. They have fun, are a little dorky, are respectful, don’t expect to be given the world, argue and make up, give everything their best effort and never complain.

I loved the second book in this series even more than the first.

There are blank pages at the end to write your own quest list, favourite movies, world records you want to set, places you wish to explore and also a few pages to try your own sketches.

My rating 5/5         ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jules Faber is a cartoonist and illustrator, most well-known for illustrating the 'WeirDo' series by comedian Anh Do, for which they've won multiple awards, including Book of the Year for Older Children at the Australian Book Industry Awards

He's also illustrated David Warner's 'Kaboom Kid' series Michael Pryor's 'Leo Da Vinci' series, Alex Ratt's 'Stinky Street Stories' and some of Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's science books.

When he's not illustrating books, Jules loves reading books and graphic novels, and collecting comics. he has served four, two-year terms as the president of the Australian cartoonists Association and is a member of the CBCA NSW Committee.

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

Click the cover to read my review.

Book Club Book Review: Mammoth by Chris Flynn

Mammoth

by

Chris Flynn

Publisher: University of Queensland Press

Publication date: 28th April 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 265

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty and Lace bookclub

Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct American mastodon, Mammoth is the (mostly) true story of how the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and the narrator himself came to be on sale at a 2007 natural history auction in Manhattan.

Ranging from the Pleistocene Epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, including detours to Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, Mammoth illuminates a period of history when ideas about science and religion underwent significant change. By tracing how and when the fossils were unearthed, Mammoth traverses time and place to reveal humanity's role in the inexorable destruction of the natural world.

Told through the eyes of a mammoth’s fossilised remains Chris Flynn has delivered a hilarious and thought-provoking tale of life, extinction and rebirth. A tale that spans continents and centuries!

As mammoth is exhumed from the earth his bones absorb information from the conversations around him. Now waiting to be auctioned in a New York City warehouse mammoth tells his story, by mental telepathy, to a tyrannosaurus-bataar skull, a prehistoric penguin and an Egyptian mummy hand. A story that spans oceans and centuries.

Chris Flynn has extensively researched his subject matter and many historical events are included in a narrative where fact and fiction combine.

With Mammut’s formal speech and dry sarcasm, T-Bataar’s witty humour and penguin’s snarky comments Mammoth had me laughing and totally invested in their stories. By the end of the story these ancient fossilised bones felt like old friends.

“Can I jump in? Bro. Take a breather. I knew this was going to be a big story. I didn’t realise it would be so boring.

I’m sorry you feel that way, T-bataar.

I don’t mean to be rude, but a couple more jokes wouldn’t go amiss.

I want to hear about your adventures, Mammut.

Not all this stale historical jibber jabber.”

This quote made me laugh because the story was anything but boring.

Funny, thought-provoking and unique, Mammoth is a must read.

 

My rating 4/5            ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Chris Flynn is the author of The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden, which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The Age, The Australian, Griffith Review, Meanjin, Australian Book Review, The Saturday Paper, Smith Journal, The Big Issue, Monster Children, McSweeney’s and many other publications. He has conducted interviews for The Paris Review and is a regular presenter at literary festivals across Australia. Chris lives on Phillip Island, next to a penguin sanctuary.

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

 

Book Review: An Alice Girl by Tanya Heaslip

An Alice Girl

by

Tanya Heaslip

Publisher:  Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 19th May 2020
Genre: Non Fiction / Memoir
Pages: 344
RRP: $32.99 AUD
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

An extraordinary story of growing up in the late 1960s and early 70s on an outback cattle property

Whether working the mobs of cattle with the stockmen, playing cattleduffing on horseback or singing and doing lessons at their School of the Air desks, Tanya Heaslip and her siblings led a childhood unimaginable to many Australians. Growing up on a vast and isolated cattle property just north of Alice Springs, Tanya tells of wild rides, of making far-flung friends over the Air, of the dangers, the fun and the back-breaking work. As the eldest child, her added responsibility was to look after the littler ones, so she was by their sides dealing with snakes, the threat of bushfires and broken bones.

Tanya's parents, Janice and Grant 'the Boss' Heaslip, were pioneers. They developed Bond Springs Station where water was scarce, where power was dependent on generators and where a trip to town for supplies meant a full day's journey. Grant was determined to teach his children how to survive in this severe
environment and his lessons were often harsh. In a childhood that most would consider very tough, Tanya tells of this precious time with raw honesty, humour, love and kindness. This is the story of an Alice girl.

 

An Alice Girl is the memoir of Tanya Heaslip’s life growing up on a remote cattle station just north of Alice Springs. The story includes her parents early life. Tanya’s memoir is a candid warts and all tale of growing up in this harsh land. Their triumphs and struggles.

Life was hard and filled with responsibility not only for the adults, the children were expected to work as well. Tanya tells of long days helping her father with the stock and the deep connection to the land that develops when it is your life blood, your whole existence. I was actually a bit shocked at how hard the children had to work.

“the land would soon shape the way I felt and thought and lived. It was like an anchor deep inside, holding me fast to the rocks and earth and hills around me.”

Governesses, school of the air, illness, snakes, redbacks, accidents, lack of water, fire; life lessons were hard in such an isolated place.

“We knew that death was ever present in our world. Many things could kill us in the bush.”

Tanya’s life although remote was also filled with friendship and community get togethers and I could just picture the family squashed together in the Heaslip’s little plane, hot and excited, off to visit friends and family.

Even though the Heaslip children’s lives were busy they still did many things me and my siblings did as children of the 70’s. Much the same games and activities, although I must admit we had a lot more free time. Tanya’s most memorable present of a typewriter when she was 10 brought back my own memories of receiving a typewriter for Christmas when I was 11 and like Tanya it was my most precious present ever.

The 24 pages of colour plate photographs of the Heaslip family makes you feel like you are a treasured friend sharing in their life.

Tanya’s memoir ends at the age of 12 as she leaves to attend boarding school. A heart-wrenching scene. But we all know Tanya goes on to great adventures in Alice in Prague. However her love for the land never leaves her.

An Alice Girl is an awe inspiring story of hardship, endurance, determination and ultimately triumph over the elements to make a living in the harshest of conditions.

My rating 4/5          ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 
Tanya Heaslip was born on a cattle station in outback Australia at the height of the Cold War. She grew up to study and then practice Law. In 1989 she travelled to Europe for the first time and in 1994 she moved to the Czech Republic where she taught English for two and a half years. Tanya's first memoir, Alice to Prague, was published to acclaim in 2019.

Tanya now lives in the Northern Territory with her husband. 

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

  the Australian Women Writers challenge  and the Non Fiction reader challenge

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Just One Wish by Rachael Johns

Just One Wish

by

Rachael Johns

Publisher: Harlequin Australia
Publication date: 21st October 2019
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Women's Fiction
Pages: 496
Format read: Paperback
Source: won

Three women, three secrets, one life-changing journey. Alice has always been a trailblazer as a scientist, activist, and mother. She knew her choices would involve sacrifices, but now, on the eve of her eightieth birthday, she's beginning to wonder if she's sacrificed too much.


Alice's daughter Sappho rebelled against her unconventional upbringing, choosing to marry young and embrace life as a homemaker, but her status as a domestic goddess has recently taken a surprising turn.

Ged has always been the peacemaker between her grandmother and mother. A tenacious journalist she knows what she wants in life and love, yet when everything in her world starts falling apart, she begins to question whether she really knows anyone at all.

At a crossroads in each of their lives, Alice, Sappho and Ged embark on a celebratory trip together, but instead of bringing them closer, the holiday sparks life-changing consequences and lifts the lid on a fifty-year secret.

With a feminist pioneer for a grandmother and a domestic goddess and instagram sensation for a mother Ged is stuck in the middle trying to appease them both.

Each woman has a secret, some more potent than others. Ged has a secret that will unite them as a family but Alice’s secret could tear them apart.

Ged, Alice and Sappho’s stories will have you wondering what you would do if you were in their shoes as each of them face dilemmas relevant to women everywhere.

Just One Wish was an easy, quick read but an easy or light read doesn’t mean it can’t deal with some pertinent issues, especially relevant to women today. The story touches on issues such as single parents, gay parenting, feminism, abortion, DNA testing, co-parenting, women’s rights, euthanasia and adultery. For me personally I think there were too many issues explored in this story.

Just One Wish was an enjoyable read. My main disappointment being the number of errors in the book. Things that should have been picked up during editing.

I have read Rachael John’s rural romance offerings and absolutely loved them so I was a bit disappointed that this book didn’t wow me. I am looking forward to reading Lost Without You, also by Rachael Johns, which I have waiting on my shelf.

My rating 3/5        ⭐⭐⭐

Photo credit: Goodreads

Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic arachnophobic, a Diet Coke addict, a podcast junkie and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and never irons. A lover of romance and women’s fiction, Rachael loves nothing more than sitting in bed with her laptop and electric blanket and imagining her own stories.
In 2016 The Patterson Girls was named General Fiction Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards. Rachael has finaled in a number of other of competitions, including the Australian Romance Readers Awards. Jilted won Favourite Australian Contemporary Romance for 2012, The Patterson Girls won the same award for 2015 and she was voted in the Top Ten of Booktopia’s Favourite Australian Author poll in 2013.
Rachael lives in the Perth hills with her hyperactive husband, three mostly gorgeous heroes-in-training, two ginger cats, a cantankerous bird and a very badly behaved dog.

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

and Australian Women Writers challenge