Category: challenges

#AussieAuthors2025, #LoveOZMG, adventure, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, humour, literary fiction, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors by Meredith Downes

Ashleigh

Title: Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo WarriorsAuthor/illustrator: Meredith DownesPublisher: Bugalugs BooksPublication date: 31 August 2025Price (AUD): $18.99 Page numbers: 250 pagesGenre: children's fiction (ages 8-12)Synopsis: Liam is an echidna destined for trouble. A fierce fire inside him makes him do strange things...crazy things! Like standing up to the wicked Goanna Gang, something no other echidna… Continue reading Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors by Meredith Downes

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2025 Dymocks Reading Challenge Volume 2 Completed

Ashleigh

Volume two is complete! There was one prompt that required some research, and that was dark academia, as the books I was expecting to have for this prompt hadn’t arrived. So, when I found Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent on an Instagram post of dark academia books, I slotted it in there. I could… Continue reading 2025 Dymocks Reading Challenge Volume 2 Completed

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The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge Completed

Ashleigh

It’s taken me around 8 months, but I have completed another reading challenge for 2025. I embarked on The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge again, and enjoyed the prompts because they were broad enough to interpret for any book that I had on my shelf. There were some that were specific, and a few that I… Continue reading The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge Completed

#AussieAuthors2025, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, A.L. Tait, adventure, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Jane Austen, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, Nevermoor, Picture Books, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, Speculative fiction, Young Adult

Book Grocer Book Bingo Completed

Ashleigh

In 2025, one of the book bingo challenges came from a bookshop I follow online called The Book Grocer. I moved a few things around, and made some changes to use some books that I felt were better suited to the prompts. This was one of my reading challenges for the year, and I am… Continue reading Book Grocer Book Bingo Completed

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Drift by Pip Harry

Ashleigh

Title: Drift Author: Pip Harry Genre: YA Contemporary/verse novel Publisher: Hachette Australia/Lothian Published: 30th July 2025 Format: Paperback Pages: 312 Price: $17.99 Synopsis: A beautifully written verse novel that will resonate with younger teen readers who are beginning to understand themselves and the changing world they live in. Fourteen-year-old Nate has just moved back to Australia and… Continue reading Drift by Pip Harry

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July 2025 Reading Round Up

Ashleigh

In July, I read 22 books, and am keeping on track with maintaining reading mostly Australian authors, and reading as diversely as I can between what I have already and what I am being sent for review. I’m also focused on certain styles and genres, so there might be some that are, say, translated, that… Continue reading July 2025 Reading Round Up

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The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot

Ashleigh

Title: The Lies We Tell Ourselves Author: Maura Pierlot Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Publisher: Big Ideas Press Published: 1st August 2025 Format: Paperback Pages: 352 Price: $22.99 Synopsis: The biggest lies are the ones you tell yourself. When gorgeous new student, Carter, struts into class, Harley knows it's time to reinvent herself. Before long, she's… Continue reading The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Maura Pierlot

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Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney

Ashleigh

Title: Weaving Us Together Author: Lay Maloney Genre: Contemporary Publisher: Lothian Children’s Books/Hachette Published: 30th July 20025 Format: Paperback Pages: 297 Price: $19.99 Synopsis: A sharp and insightful coming-of-age story about all the ways we find home from an exciting debut author and 2022 black&write! Fellow. When I look back, I realise everything I needed… Continue reading Weaving Us Together by Lay Maloney

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Hedgehog or Echidna: Animals who are the same . . . but different! by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Amadine Thomas

Ashleigh

Title: Hedgehog or Echidna? Animals Who are the Same but Different Author: Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Amadine Thomas Genre: Non-fiction Publisher: Lothian/Hachette Australia Published: 30th July 2025 Format: Hardcover Pages: 32 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: A fun rhyming picture book with bright and engaging illustrations that teaches children about animals who look similar, but have unique… Continue reading Hedgehog or Echidna: Animals who are the same . . . but different! by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Amadine Thomas

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Oceanforged 1: The Wicked Ship by Amelia Mellor

Ashleigh

Title: Oceanforged 1: The Wicked Ship Author: Amelia Mellor Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Affirm Press Published: 29th July 2025 Format: Paperback Pages: 240 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: The realm of Aquinta has fallen into a dark age. And no one knows that better than thirteen-year-old Cori, who is fighting for her life in a pirate crew more… Continue reading Oceanforged 1: The Wicked Ship by Amelia Mellor