Book Review: The Last of the Apple Blossom by Mary-Lou Stephens

The Last of the Apple Blossom

by

Mary-Lou Stephens 

 

Deep in the Huon Valley - two orchards, two women and the secret that binds them.

 

 

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Australia

 

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 28th July 2021

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Pages: 464

 

Format read: Uncorrected Paperback 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

February, 1967. Walls of flame reduce much of Tasmania to ash.

 

Young schoolteacher Catherine Turner rushes to the Huon Valley to find her family's apple orchard destroyed, her childhood home in ruins  and her brother dead. Despite her father's declaration that a woman will never run the orchard, Catherine resolves to rebuild the family business.

 

After five sons, Catherine's friend and neighbour, Annie Pearson, is overjoyed by the birth of a much longed-for daughter. As Annie and her husband Dave work to repair the damage to their orchard, Dave's friend Mark pitches in, despite the fact that Annie wants him gone. Mark has moved his family to the valley to escape his life in Melbourne, but his wife has disappeared leaving chaos in her wake and their young son Charlie in Mark's care.

 

Catherine becomes fond of Charlie, whose strange upbringing has left him shy and withdrawn. However, the growing friendship between Mark and Catherine not only scanadlises the small community but threatens a secret Annie is desperate to keep hidden.

 

My review

 

The Last of the Apple Blossom opens with the devastating fires of 1967 in Tasmania's Houn Valley.

Mary-Lou Stephens immediately plunges her reader into the fear, heat and danger that surrounds a bush fire.

 

Catherine returns home to find the family apple orchard burnt to the ground and her brother dead. Catherine is a girl before her time. She has no interest in marriage and children, her big dream has always been to run the family orchard. But the sixties were still a time of subjugation for women and there was no way her father was going to let her run the orchard. Women worked in the packing shed.

I loved Catherine's  passion for the orchard and I could see that it caused a great rift between her and her father and bitter words were flung around. Catherine showed a real maturity and mostly let the hurtful comments bounce off her.

 

Catherine's neighbours Annie and Dave are busy with their six young children and their orchard. Dave has good friend Mark helping out on the orchard. Mark is enjoying the quite country atmosphere in contrast to his usual busy life.

 

I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the apple orchards and the day to day lives of the owners. The hustle and bustle of the children and the hectic picking and packing season was well portrayed. It came across as grueling work but you could also see how satisfying it was to finish a good crop. A successful apple season is totally reliant on so many outside influences such as fire, drought, farmyard accidents, transportation and waterside strikes. The story spans a large time period and over time we see the need to diversify and evolve to keep up with changing markets

 

There are a couple of love interests introduced for Catherine. The fun loving Tim and the dark and broody Mark add a light romance element to the story.

 

The Last of the Apple Blossom is a story of passion for the land, heartbreak, perseverance, secrets, lies, family, love and longing. The characters travel a rocky road to forgiveness and healing. 

 

My rating  5 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.

She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband.

Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now lives on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and a hive of native bees.  

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

                                  

                                   Historical Fiction Challenge 

 

 

Book Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master

Exit Through the Gift Shop

by

Maryam Master

Illustrated by Astred Hicks

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Pan Australia

Publication date: 27th July 2021

Genre: Children's / Teen

Pages: 216

RRP: $16.99AUD

Format read: paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace Book Club

 

About the book

 

Anahita Rosalind Ghorban-Galaszczuk (yes, that really is her name but you can call her Ana) is discovering that life is absurd. As if dying of cancer at the age of 12.5 isn't bad enough, she still has to endure daily insults from her nemesis, Alyssa (Queen Mean) Anderson.

 

Ana's on a wild roller-coaster of life and death, kindness and cruelty, ordinary and extraordinary.

 

And she's got a few things to do before she exits.....

 

My review

 

Exit Through the Gift Shop is Ana’s story. Ana is a 12.5 year old girl with cancer. She writes the book as an English assignment about the last year of her life.

Can I say this is a fun book! Cancer and dying are tough topics but at no time does Maryam Master try to wring the emotion out of her readers.
We follow Ana through what she is told will be her final year of life as she contemplates her own mortality, succumbs to cancer treatments, takes a last hope trip to the USA and faces a ruthless bully.

Ana is very down to earth and philosophical. She has accepted her fate and is ready to make the most of the time that she has. She has quite a sense of humour and her story is written in a dramatic (comedic) way with lots of big bold words and sketches on the pages.

There is a best friend, Al, by her side to support and cheer her up. He is also a little bit silly and not worried about what people think of him. And what’s a teen novel without a nemesis! Here, Alyssa takes the cake with relentless bullying which Ana expects to stop when Alyssa finds out she has cancer. Ana has already graciously decided to forgive her. Alyssa would have to be the embodiment of bullying. I think Alyssa's character is over dramatic but isn't that what a teen novel is all about, the drama!

Maryam Master has written an entertaining novel that will be ideal as a school study novel with the inclusion of metaphors, alliteration and exaggeration. Alyssa, the bully, would be a good case study and excellent discussion point.

Recommended for ages 12 – 16 years

 

My rating  4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

About the author

 

Maryam Master was born in Iran and moved to Australia when she was nine. She is a screenwriter and playwright who loves creating shows for young audiences.
She began her career in TV, writing for shows like Home and Away, Blinky Bill and the Jim Henson Company's Bambaloo, in 2011 she was selected by Sesame Workshop as the writer for Elmo's tour of Australia.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is her first novel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21 

 

Winner of a copy of Luna Finds Love Everywhere announced

 

Once again I would like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway for a copy of Luna Finds Love Everywhere. The giveaway closed on the 3rd September and the winner was randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

Congratulations to........   Angela

 The winner has been notified and has seven days to provide a mailing address.

I would like to thank Pacific & Court PR for sponsoring this US & Canada giveaway. 

Please look under the giveaway tab for more chances to win great books.

 

Book Review: Driving Stevie Fracasso by Barry Divola

Driving Stevie Fracasso 

by

Barry Divola

 

He's about to find everything he didn't know he was missing

 

 

 

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia

 

Publication date: 3rd March 2021

 

Genre: General Fiction

 

Pages: 352

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Source: My purchase 

 

 

About the book

 

Jaded music journalist Rick McLennan knows his life is going south when he loses his job, his apartment and his long-term girlfriend all on the same day. But then he is thrown a lifeline - a commission to write the story of his ex-rock-star brother, Stevie, and drive him from Austin, Texas, to New York to play one final gig. One small problem: the brothers haven't spoken in thirty years.

Rick knows it's a bad idea. But he's out of choices. So he gets behind the wheel of a beaten-up 1985 Nissan Stanza and drives towards his destiny. He's about to find everything he didn't know he was missing. It's September 2001.

 

My review

 

I have to say I've never been interested in music or bands. The only records I've brought are a couple of Slade albums in my early teens. What I'm saying here is you don't have to be a music buff to love this novel. Though if you are, you will!

 

Driving Stevie Fracasso is a story about finding yourself, reconciling your past and growing up and learning what's important in life.

Music journalist Rick loses his girlfriend, his accommodation and his job on the same day. However when he is offered the job of writing a book on washed-up musician Stevie Fracasso, on the proviso he picks him up in Austin and drives him back to New York, Rick decides it solves his immediate problems so accepts. The only problem is, Stevie is his brother and he hasn't seen him in 29 years.

After stealing borrowing his ex-girlfriends car, what ensues is a road trip filled with colourful characters, a busted nose, acquisition of a three legged dog and words of wisdom that come from the most unlikeliest people as Rick and Stevie visit Stevie's top attraction list on their trip.

 

I had a blast reading Driving Stevie Fracasso, it was witty and heartfelt. Rick was quite annoying at the start of the book. He was forty years old and still acted like a twenty year old. I felt embarrassed for him. He has a big chip on his shoulder about his life, his parents and his brother. Rick's character was well drawn and I enjoyed following his road to enlightenment. 

 

I love stories about road trips and Barry Divola didn't disappoint. The road trip through New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville was eventful and funny - usually at Rick's expense.

 

"Don't you know anything about road trips? They're not about the destination, they're about the journey."

 

Driving Stevie Fracasso was a roller coaster journey for Rick and he did finally reach his destination, reassessing his hopes and dreams.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Barry Divola is a journalist and author born and bred in Sydney, currently living in Perth. He writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and Qantas Magazine. He was a senior writer for Rolling Stone (Australia), the long-time music critic for Who, and his work has appeared internationally in Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Monocle and other magazines. Driving Stevie Fracasso is his first novel, but he has published eight other books – four non-fiction books, three children's books and a book of short fiction (Nineteen Seventysomething). He has won the Margaret River Short Story Prize, the FAW Jennifer Burbidge Award, the Cowley Literary Award and the Banjo Paterson Award for Short Fiction (three times). Although he plays in three bands in two cities, he has been informed not to give up his day job.  

 

Challenges entered:   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

 

 

Book Review: Love, in Theory by Elodie Cheesman

 Love, in Theory

by

Elodie Cheesman

There's an algorithm for everything else, so why not love?

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

 

Publication date: 25th May 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary fiction

 

Pages: 352

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

 About the book

When 24-year-old lawyer Romy learns that she is at her 'optimal stopping point' (the mathematically designated point at which one should select the next 'best person' who comes along in order to have the best chance at happily ever after), she knows it's time to get serious about her love life.

Ruthlessly rational, with a belief in data over destiny, Romy knows that reliability and consistency are dependable options, while passion and lust are transitory and only bring pain and disillusionment.

That's why sensible Hans the engineer is the right choice, as opposed to graphic designer James who exhibits the kind of behaviour that has got her into trouble before. Isn't he?

 

My review

 

Love, in Theory follows 24 year old law student Romy as she struggles to find 'the one'.

 

I enjoyed the snippets of  the employment law cases that Romy worked on and how Cheesman put a humorous spin on them.

Romy's mother tells her about a dating theory she had read about based on algorithms, called the optimal stopping theory. Romy goes on Tinder date after Tinder date until she meets Hans who is somewhat staid and very unlike the fun, spontaneous James, but Romy isn't after fireworks, she's after stability. It's clearly a matter of head over heart.

I loved all the mentions of sights and bars around Sydney and being my hometown it was easy to imagine Romy and her friends there. Love, in Theory is a light read, a fun rom-com and I read it at a time when I needed something light, cheery and with a happy ending. In this way it certainly delivered. I will have to say though I think the story would be better appreciated by the under thirties.

Elodie Cheesman has written a delightful debut about the conundrum of dating in the modern era and the old adage of whether to follow your heart or your head.

My rating 3 / 5     ⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Elodie Cheesman grew up in Canberra. She studied law at the University of Sydney and the University of Oxford, and was an Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC at the High Court of Australia. She works as a lawyer in Sydney. Love, in Theory is her first novel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

Winners of a copy of Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid announced!

 

Once again I would like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway for a copy of Malibu Rising. The giveaway closed on the 28th August and the two winners were randomly selected (using Random org) from all correct entries. 

Congratulations to........   Kylie Lister & Anita

 The winners have been notified and have seven days to provide a mailing address.

Please look under the giveaway tab for more chances to win great books.

 I would like to thank The Reading Nook for sponsoring this giveaway. The Reading Nook is an independent Australian online bookstore. Click on the image below to browse their extensive book list and jigsaw puzzles.

 

 

 Stay tuned as I have a giveaways coming soon for copies of The Curlew's Eye by Karen Manton & The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer by Ilsa Evans.

                           

Plus a children's book giveaway for Afloat in Venice by Tina Wilson

Book Review: Dinosaur Whack, Whizz, Roar & Munch!

 

Dinosaur Whack! The Stegosaurus

by

Jeanne Willis & Peter Curtis

 

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pages: 24

RRP: $14.99AUD

Publication: 13th July 2021

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

 Meet Dinosaur Whack, the clumsy Stegosaurus, in this brilliant rhyming story, part of The World of Dinosaur Roar! series.

 

After accidentally knocking over Dinosaur Chew and bumping Dinosaur Boo, poor Whack finds herself all alone. But can she find a use for her wayward tail and win back her friends?

Dinosaur Whizz! The Coelophysis

by

Jeanne Willis & Peter Curtis

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pages: 24

RRP: $14.99AUD

Publication: 13th July 2021

Source: courtesy of the publisher 

About the book

Meet Dinosaur Whizz the Coelphysis, speediest of the dinosaurs.

Whizz is quick-moving & quick-thinking. She loves to run and just can't stand still, much to the annoyance of the dinosaurs. But when the mean Spinosaurus, Dinosaur Snap, tries to catch Whizz, she finds her quick running can be very useful indeed.

Dinosaur Roar! The Tyrannosaurus rex.

by

Jeanne Willis & Peter Curtis

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pages: 24

RRP: $14.99AUD

Publication: 13th May 2021

Source: My purchase

 

About the book

 

Meet Dinosaur roar, he is the king of the dinosaurs, ferocious and strong but when he can't find his best friend Dinosaur Squeak we see that he is a big softy after all. 

Dinosaur Munch! The Diplodocus

by

Jeanne Willis & Peter Curtis

 

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pages: 24

RRP: $14.99AUD

Publication: 13th May 2021

Source: My purchase 

 

About the book

 

Meet Dinosaur Munch, the hungry Diplodocus.

Munch always wanted to eat, as soon as he'd eaten he wanted some more. He ate everything and left nothing for the other dinosaurs. In his hungry search eating everything in sight he munch on his own long tail by mistake.

My review

Everyone here at The Burgeoning Bookshelf loves these fun hardcover picture books! They are currently Jay's go-to picture books and he carries them everywhere.

Kids are fascinated by dinosaurs and these fun, colourful bring the dinosaurs to life with their own unique personality. Each book has a subtle life lesson included.

Inspired by the classic picture book, Dinosaur Roar! by Paul Strickland & Henrietta Strickland, this series introduces a cast of fun characters to young children.

Each book contains a pronunciation guide as well as a few simple dinosaur facts at the end of each story.

About the authors

Peter Curtis is a welsh-born author, creator and producer of children's characters, books and television series, with over twenty five years experience in children's media.

 

Jeanne Willis is an internationally renowned, full time writer and has published over a hundred books - ranging from picture books including The Bog Baby and Who's in the Loo?, to YA, poetry and fiction. 

 

You can read my review of Dinosaur Flap & Dinosaur Snap HERE