I have four fabulous book packs to give away. Spreading a little Christmas cheer to my blog readers.
Entry is via the form below.
A Cold Season by Matthew Hooper
The books are listed below. Enter for the pack that interests you, or all four packs if you wish.
Pack 1
Set between the wars, A Cold Season is rich in voice, character and landscape.
It follows the story of fourteen-year-old Beth, who is also the narrator. Beth’s brother Sam and her father Owens have gone missing in a freak winter storm. In a small house in the foothills of Mount Kosciusko, Beth is stuck with her mother and her other brother, Little Sasha. They are waiting and longing for Sam and Owens to return. In what threatens to become an emotional and physical pressure cooker tensions flare, and to make matters worse Mama is seeing the local bad man, Wallace.
Matthew Hooper’s stunning debut expresses how people deal differently with absence and hope. It is a story of finding agency in a world where people, and particularly the young, are often powerless. As Beth plays with language to reclaim her spirit and family, A Cold Season emerges as unforgettable – a novel that captures rural poverty and human capacity with true soul.
It follows the story of fourteen-year-old Beth, who is also the narrator. Beth’s brother Sam and her father Owens have gone missing in a freak winter storm. In a small house in the foothills of Mount Kosciusko, Beth is stuck with her mother and her other brother, Little Sasha. They are waiting and longing for Sam and Owens to return. In what threatens to become an emotional and physical pressure cooker tensions flare, and to make matters worse Mama is seeing the local bad man, Wallace.
Matthew Hooper’s stunning debut expresses how people deal differently with absence and hope. It is a story of finding agency in a world where people, and particularly the young, are often powerless. As Beth plays with language to reclaim her spirit and family, A Cold Season emerges as unforgettable – a novel that captures rural poverty and human capacity with true soul.
Melbourne, 1868. When dazzling theatre
star Marie St Denis dies in the arms of her best friend, fellow actress
Lola Sanchez, everyone believes it was suicide by laudanum overdose.
Everyone except Lola. On the brink of stardom herself, she risks
everything by embarking on a quest to find Marie's killer.
When journalist Magnus Scott, writing as 'the Walking Gentleman', publishes a compassionate obituary about her friend, Lola decides to seek his help. A fraught attraction develops between these two amateur detectives from opposite sides of society, and their volatile relationship soon begins to compromise their investigation.
Lola keeps a secret from Magnus. She traverses the corrupt underbelly of the brash young metropolis just as he does, but disguised as a boy, entering dangerous, forbidden spaces where the lives of the rich and privileged intersect with the city's underclass and bohemians, theatre folk, prostitutes, down-and-outs and opium addicts.
Neither are prepared for the truths they will uncover about the powers that rule Melbourne - or the consequences for their own lives. And now they must race to find the murderer before the city destroys them both.
When journalist Magnus Scott, writing as 'the Walking Gentleman', publishes a compassionate obituary about her friend, Lola decides to seek his help. A fraught attraction develops between these two amateur detectives from opposite sides of society, and their volatile relationship soon begins to compromise their investigation.
Lola keeps a secret from Magnus. She traverses the corrupt underbelly of the brash young metropolis just as he does, but disguised as a boy, entering dangerous, forbidden spaces where the lives of the rich and privileged intersect with the city's underclass and bohemians, theatre folk, prostitutes, down-and-outs and opium addicts.
Neither are prepared for the truths they will uncover about the powers that rule Melbourne - or the consequences for their own lives. And now they must race to find the murderer before the city destroys them both.
Pack 2
Kharkiv, Ukraine, 2019: Ongoing clashes between
Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian activists make this city a deadly
destination.
However, Matt Latham - Australian foreign correspondent and reluctant spy for ASIS (Australia's secret service) - isn't too picky with the work he accepts, as long as the money is right. When offered a lucrative assignment to interview a reclusive Russian billionaire in Kharkiv, he jumps at the chance. But an explosion at the club where they were to meet leaves Matt hospitalised and his interpreter, Katya Fomina, dead.
Was it just another random act of violence in this strife-torn region?
Released from hospital, Latham travels to Katya's Ukrainian village to meet her parents and pay his last respects. There, he learns of his interpreter's fruitless search for her missing younger sister, Nadiya, and discovers that Katya led a double life.
Picking up the threads of Katya's investigation, Latham becomes a man on a mission. And his search for Nadiya will propel him across Europe and ever deeper into a murky world of double agents, illegal arms shipments, drug running and human trafficking.
However, Matt Latham - Australian foreign correspondent and reluctant spy for ASIS (Australia's secret service) - isn't too picky with the work he accepts, as long as the money is right. When offered a lucrative assignment to interview a reclusive Russian billionaire in Kharkiv, he jumps at the chance. But an explosion at the club where they were to meet leaves Matt hospitalised and his interpreter, Katya Fomina, dead.
Was it just another random act of violence in this strife-torn region?
Released from hospital, Latham travels to Katya's Ukrainian village to meet her parents and pay his last respects. There, he learns of his interpreter's fruitless search for her missing younger sister, Nadiya, and discovers that Katya led a double life.
Picking up the threads of Katya's investigation, Latham becomes a man on a mission. And his search for Nadiya will propel him across Europe and ever deeper into a murky world of double agents, illegal arms shipments, drug running and human trafficking.
Shadow Lives tells a tale of loss, betrayal, and revenge.
When Roz Chen's wife, Niamh, is killed in a
hit-and-run on a lonely Tasmanian road, the grieving widow begins to
wonder if Niamh's death was an accident after all. Meanwhile, SAS
veteran Sam Willard is hoping for a fresh start with a job at a salmon
farm. But as allegations of old war crimes surface and Sam is 'promoted'
as a special operative against anti-salmon farm activists, he and Roz
form an unlikely alliance.
Forced to retreat into the unforgiving Tasmanian wilderness, Roz and Sam find themselves scrambling for the truth with murderous thugs on their trail.
Forced to retreat into the unforgiving Tasmanian wilderness, Roz and Sam find themselves scrambling for the truth with murderous thugs on their trail.
Pack 3
Can she find love this Christmas?When
Darcy Cotterell discovers her boyfriend is cheating, she falls out of
love with love. With Christmas coming she's also too busy pursuing her
PhD studies in Copenhagen to be distracted by a broken heart, despite
her friends' efforts to set her up with the 'perfect' blind date in the
city.Then an unknown portrait by Denmark’s greatest painter is
discovered beneath another masterpiece and Darcy is charged with
discovering the identity of the woman in the painting. With no name or
any supporting evidence to work with, she must utilise all her research
skills to find a ghost. Working closely with the most powerful figures
in the art scene, she encounters Max Lorensen - her blind date! The
attraction is instant but knowing they must work together, they agree to
keep things between them professional. But the chemistry between them
is hard to ignore until one of Darcy's discoveries threatens to set her
and Max on opposite sides for ever . . .
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter,
told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over
an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their
life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the
moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best
friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
Pack 4
On the unforgiving streets of 1920s Sydney, the Leach family have nothing but each other.
In a tale spanning decades, three children of the broken, working-class family find adventure, heartache and trouble, as their lives drift apart.
John finds faith and love at a young age. The inevitable clash between the two leads him into a different kind of brotherhood as war clouds gather.
Maureen dreams of a life 'just like the movies' and waits to be swept off her feet. Yet at every crossroad, she makes the wrong choice.
Bob discovers a natural talent with his fists and an instinct for trouble. But with every win he earns the hard way, more enemies rise.
From police corruption and gambling dens to brothels and blood feuds, the Leach family toil in Sydney's seedy underbelly and on battlefields far away. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the Second World War, The Youngest Son chronicles one family's mesmerising fate in a grand saga and a masterclass in epic storytelling.
In a tale spanning decades, three children of the broken, working-class family find adventure, heartache and trouble, as their lives drift apart.
John finds faith and love at a young age. The inevitable clash between the two leads him into a different kind of brotherhood as war clouds gather.
Maureen dreams of a life 'just like the movies' and waits to be swept off her feet. Yet at every crossroad, she makes the wrong choice.
Bob discovers a natural talent with his fists and an instinct for trouble. But with every win he earns the hard way, more enemies rise.
From police corruption and gambling dens to brothels and blood feuds, the Leach family toil in Sydney's seedy underbelly and on battlefields far away. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the Second World War, The Youngest Son chronicles one family's mesmerising fate in a grand saga and a masterclass in epic storytelling.
London, 1798. Born into poverty, illiterate,
eighteen-year-old Sarah Evans has been raised to believe she has no
rights at all. She and her childhood friend, Lucy Burnes, struggle daily
to find food and shelter, drawing strength and comfort from their
friendship.
When she is falsely accused and found guilty of theft, Sarah is sentenced to transportation,but, instead, she is secretly transferred to ColdbathFields, one of London's most notorious prisons, at the request its sadistic governor, Thomas Aris. Placed in his household, she becomes entangled in a web of sexual exploitation, cruelty and corruption, where powerful men rule and the law disregards women.
When Sarah is presented with an opportunity to regain her freedom, she seizes it. But even beyond the prison walls, she discovers she cannot escape Aris's control over herself and her children.
She can no longer turn to Lucy for support - her friend is a convict in New South Wales, her life's journey taking her down a path as hopeful as Sarah's is desperate. Instead, she finds kindness and protection among the network of women who, like her, are struggling to avoid starvation on the pitiless streets of London. At the lowest point of her life - accused of murder and facing the death penalty - these strong women don't let her down.
And Sarah is a force in her own right. Drawn into a circle of political rebels, she is introduced to the concepts of justice and equality. Despite the brutal challenges that life throws at her, she learns her own value and begins to fight for her rights.
When she is falsely accused and found guilty of theft, Sarah is sentenced to transportation,but, instead, she is secretly transferred to ColdbathFields, one of London's most notorious prisons, at the request its sadistic governor, Thomas Aris. Placed in his household, she becomes entangled in a web of sexual exploitation, cruelty and corruption, where powerful men rule and the law disregards women.
When Sarah is presented with an opportunity to regain her freedom, she seizes it. But even beyond the prison walls, she discovers she cannot escape Aris's control over herself and her children.
She can no longer turn to Lucy for support - her friend is a convict in New South Wales, her life's journey taking her down a path as hopeful as Sarah's is desperate. Instead, she finds kindness and protection among the network of women who, like her, are struggling to avoid starvation on the pitiless streets of London. At the lowest point of her life - accused of murder and facing the death penalty - these strong women don't let her down.
And Sarah is a force in her own right. Drawn into a circle of political rebels, she is introduced to the concepts of justice and equality. Despite the brutal challenges that life throws at her, she learns her own value and begins to fight for her rights.
ENTER VIA GIVEAWAY FORM
