Book Review: The Lost Recipes by Ross Dobson

 Losing yourself in nostalgia is like a balm. Ross Dobson brings his readers The Lost Recipes, forgotten recipes, steeped in nostalgia. Recipes that have been overlooked, disregarded and barely noticed.

 

If you love cooking, nostalgia and all things Australia, you will love The Lost Recipes. Honestly, even if you hate cooking you will love this book! Filled to the brim with simple, delicious and easy to make recipes, with a huge dollop of nostalgia.

The recipes are set out in four sections:

• Fruit & Veg
• Meat & Seafood
• Baking
• Sweets

Each recipe is headed with the source; town and date.

Some recipes are from as early in Australian Colonial history as 1876 to 1952. Some recipes include a few words from Ross about techniques and his memories.

 

The book includes an extensive bibliography of the newspapers and magazines he found the recipes in, most of which no longer exist although can still be read through Trove.

 

I remember The Commonsense Cooking Book used in school Home Economics classes and I feel Ross Dobson has taken common sense cooking to a whole new level.

 

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Publication date: 29th October 2024

Genre: Non Fiction / Cooking

Pages: 240

RRP: AU$34.99

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

Book Review: Lemons are a Girl's Best Friend by Janet Hayward

With girls using beauty products at a younger age Lemons are a Girl's Best Friend is a fabulous tool to empower girls to look for all natural treatments for skin, body, hair and nails. Treatments that you can make at home.

 

This cute little pocket sized book gives us 30 inexpensive and natural beauty treatments and 30 healthy treats to nourish your body from the inside and outside.

 

DIY Beauty is huge with #diybeauty and #diyskincare garnering millions of views on Tiktok.

 

Lemons are a Girl's Best Friend has a list of 30 ingredients; fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, with some facts about the benefits of each ingredient, and recipes to make delicious food and drinks with each ingredient plus how each ingredient can be made into a beauty product for skin or hair. 

I loved this little pocket book that extols healthy habits in a fun and fresh format.

 

Lemons are a Girl's Best Friend is the perfect gift for tweens and teens. It would be a great alternative to chocolate this Easter.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: 30th October 2024

Genre: Non Fiction / Beauty

Pages: 128

RRP: AU$24.99 (hardcover)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

Book Review: A Santorini Secret by Rose Alexander

A Santorini Secret is a brilliantly conceived novel combining fact and fiction to deliver a deeply moving story of heartbreak and heroism narrated through a dual timeline.

 

2024 - Carrie has uncovered a sketch of a woman amongst her deceased uncle Sol's belongings, the sketch seems to be connected to a mission he was on in Santorini during WWII. Carrie is intrigued to find out more and a trip to Santorini to visit her friend Xanthe is the perfect opportunity.

1944 - A group of British Commandos are hiding on the island of Santorini ready to strike down the German camp. Vassia is asked by her father, the mayor, to take them food and water, under cover of darkness.

 

Both timelines were seamlessly delivered and although I enjoyed the mystery of Carrie uncovering the events involving her uncle, I found Vassia's story much more compelling. I loved Vassia's spirit and tenacity, and the evolving love story between Vassia and Sol.

I found the character of Carrie a bit melodramatic but that is a very minor gripe in this overall fabulous story.

 

A Santorini Secret is an emotionally charged dual timeline story of courage and love.

 

My rating: 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 25th February 2025 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 394

RRP: AU$4.99 (Kindle edition)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Summerfield Saddler by Penelope Janu

Penelope Janu is passionate about the environment and conservation and I love that her stories reflect this passion and also include women that are strong and resilient and swoonworthy males that are respectful and caring.

 

Mackenzie Henry 'Mac' is passionate about continuing her ailing grandfather's fight to have a closed mine site rehabilitated. When he is accepted to make a documentary on the site and the proposed rehabilitation he asks Mac to go in his place. Norwegian conservationist and Antarctic explorer Kit Thorsen will be heading the documentary.

When Mac and Kit first meet after an accident on a film set, Mac's fierce independence and Kit's need to protect form an instant barrier between the two and sparks fly.

Now they must put their own grievances aside and work together. 

 

The Summerfield Saddler is a fabulous story about two very independent people who find they have the same core values however it takes the two of them some time to realise that they don't have to fight against their feelings. This is a heartfelt slow-burn romance with a touch of spice and wonderful descriptions of  Australia's beautiful flora and fauna.

I've enjoyed Janu's previous books and I found The Summerfield Saddler to be another moving and inspiring read.

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 4th December 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance

Pages: 435

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Book Review: The Nanny Share by Emily Shiner

 The Nanny Share is a psychological thriller, with a deep seated mystery, that had me guessing all the way through.  

 

When two young girls go missing on the same night Detective Kate Martin is called in to investigate.

It appears the children had much in common, their mother's were once best friends and they share the same young nanny.

Emily Shiner has produced a compelling mystery full of simmering menace. With a cast of conniving, unlikable characters, who all had something to hide, and no-one could be trusted to tell the truth it made for some interesting reading. Even Det. Kate Martin was inadvertently connected to the case.

 

I never did unravel the mystery and the final conclusion came as a shock. 

The Nanny Share was an enjoyable read with an easy plot-line and a couple of great twists that kept me entertained throughout.

 

My rating 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 21st February 2025

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 373

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

 

Book Review: Opal by Patricia Wolf

A DS WALKER THRILLER

 

Opal delves into the high-stakes dog eat dog world of opal mining. 

 

Mark is rumoured to have found a million dollar opal, soon after he is found dead, in bed with his ex business partner's wife. Both have been  brutally murdered.

Is this the work of a jealous husband or someone looking for the rumoured opal?

 When DS Walker arrives in the small outback town to pick up his cousin, Blair, he is immediately pulled into the investigation. Overnight the town becomes isolated by rising flood waters and there is no way out.

 

A town isolated by flood waters, relentless heat and a killer in their midst makes for compelling reading.

 

As DS Walker assists local police the suspect list rises and it appears many in the small town had a grudge against the murdered man. Throw in the mix disgruntled opal miners and a fugitive who doesn't want to be found and Wolf has created a tense and atmospheric read.

 

Each book in the series reads well as a standalone with the major murder investigation wrapped up by the end of the book. However there is also an ongoing story, throughout the three books, with an outlaw motorcycle gang involved in drug manufacture.

 

Even though Opal got a little bogged down at times this dark and gritty police procedural kept me invested until the final breath holding conclusion.

 

I highly recommend all three books to crime readers looking for a new series to delve into. 

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher:  Echo Publishing

Publication date: 1st October 2024

Series: DS Walker #3

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 320

RRP: AU$32.99 (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

Other books in the series

OUTBACK 

PARADISE

Book Review: Australia's Greatest Stories by Graham Seal

 Australia's Greatest Stories wasn't quite the book I was expecting it to be. With a subheading of TrueTales, Legends and Larrikins, I was expecting a book of great Aussie yarns, true stories with a bit of a Banjo Patterson feel. 

Australia's Greatest Stories is more a series of events that formed Australia as we know it today. 

From pre-colonisation to major events in history that formed our nation; the changing face of politics in Australia, the gold rush, the Spanish flu, the great depression, world war two, major inroads by Australian women just to name a few.

 

Graham Seal has written a comprehensive history of Australia including facts and achievements by people who have previously been excluded from our history. 

I found these little known historical events to be quite interesting and at times amusing.

 

The book is not written in chronological order but rather through a series of nine headings with events, stories, poems and images that fit under each heading.

 

Graham Seal adds a very extensive notes section with links to articles to verify his research.

 

Australia's Greatest Stories would be of interest to anyone wanting to know the real Australia and the people behind some of the country's little known events. 

 

My rating 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 1st October 2024

Genre: Non Fiction / History

Pages: 343

RRP: AU$34.99 (trade paperback)

Source: courtesy of the publisher