Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, classics, Events, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Kate Forsyth, literary fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Beauty in Thorns Revisited – And Stepping into the World of The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in Canberra.

In 2017, I was lucky enough to be approached by Penguin Random House to review Kate Forsyth’s book, Beauty in Thorns, the story of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and in particular, William Morris (Topsy), Ned Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and the women who inspired them:  Janey Burden, Lizzie Siddal, and Georgie MacDonald, and in the final… Continue reading Beauty in Thorns Revisited – And Stepping into the World of The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in Canberra.

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Zelda Stitch Term Two: Too Much Witch (Zelda Stitch #2) by Nicki Greenberg

Title: Zelda Stitch Term Two: Too Much Witch (Zelda Stitch #2) Author: Nicki Greenberg Genre: Fantasy/Children's Publisher: Allen and Unwin Published: 4th February 2019 Format: Paperback Pages: 272 Price: $14.99 Synopsis: Zelda Stitch is back in the classroom and ready to start Term Two. Will teaching be easier now everyone know she's a witch? Or… Continue reading Zelda Stitch Term Two: Too Much Witch (Zelda Stitch #2) by Nicki Greenberg

#LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Bella Donna, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, classics, Covers, Crime/Mystery, Enola Holmes, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Medoran Chronicles, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, quiz books, Reading, Reviews, Rowland Sinclair, series, short stories, Young Adult

Challenge Check-in: January 2019 

In an effort to keep on top of my check in posts this year, I'm hoping to do monthly wrap ups, and break downs every fifteen books where possible. These Challenge check-ins will allow me to track my progress and determine how many books I read each month to make my end of year posts… Continue reading Challenge Check-in: January 2019 

adventure, animals, Bella Donna, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, Fairytales, Fantasy, literary fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Bella Donna: Too Many Spells (Bella Donna #2) by Ruth Symes

Title: Bella Donna: Too Many Spells (Bella Donna #2) Author: Ruth Symes Genre: Children's Fiction Publisher: Piccadilly/Allen and Unwin Published: 7th January 2018 Format: Paperback Pages: 192 Price: $14.99 Synopsis: Be who you really are . . . whoever that may be! Half the time Bella Donna is a regular girl at a regular school with her… Continue reading Bella Donna: Too Many Spells (Bella Donna #2) by Ruth Symes

Bella Donna, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, Fairytales, Fantasy, literary fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Bella Donna: Coven Road by Ruth Symes (Bella Donna #1)

Title: Bella Donna: Coven Road Author:  Ruth Symes Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Allen and Unwin/Picadilly Published: 7th January 2019 Format: Paperback Pages: 180 Price: $14.99 Synopsis: A witch, a cat and a lot of magic! A witch, a cat and a lot of magic! Some girls dream of being a princess, but Bella Donna has always… Continue reading Bella Donna: Coven Road by Ruth Symes (Bella Donna #1)

#LoveOzYA, adventure, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, classics, Crime/Mystery, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, Jackie French, Jaclyn Moriarty, Jacqueline Harvey, Jane Austen, Kate Forsyth, Kate Morton, Kensy and Max, Kingdoms and Empires Series, literary fiction, LJM Owen, Lynette Noni, Matilda Saga, Medoran Chronicles, Phryne Fisher, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, Rowland Sinclair, series, short stories, spies

Yet Another Reading Challenge: #Dymocks52Challenge

#Dymocks52Challenge Just to add to my challenges, I'm also taking part in the #Dymocks52 Challenge this year - which will also give some overlap with the other challenges I am doing. It will merely add to my goals to complete, and I will certainly bypass it within the first half of the year, but it… Continue reading Yet Another Reading Challenge: #Dymocks52Challenge

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2018 Reading Wrap Up Post

In 2018, I had the aim of reading 120 books throughout the year. This was my general reading goal from the first of January to the end of December, and included review books, books I had to read for work as a quiz writer with Scholastic Australia, and my other challenges - The Australian Women… Continue reading 2018 Reading Wrap Up Post

#LoveOzYA, adventure, Alexander McCall-Smith, animals, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Author interviews, Awards, Belinda Murrell, Book Industry, Books, Chain of Charms, challenges, Children's Literature, Christmas, classics, Crime/Mystery, Dr Pimms, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Garth Nix, Harry Potter, Have Sword Will Travel, historical fiction, history, Jackie French, Jaclyn Moriarty, Jacqueline Harvey, Jasper Fforde, Kate Forsyth, Kate Morton, Kensy and Max, Kingdoms and Empires Series, literary fiction, LJM Owen, Lynette Noni, Matilda Saga, Medoran Chronicles, Mitford Murders, Mma Ramotswe, Nevermoor, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, non-fiction, parody, Phryne Fisher, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, quiz books, Reading, Reviews, Rose Raventhorpe, Rowland Sinclair, series, short stories, spies, The Mitford Murders, translated works, Writing, Young Adult

Pop Sugar Challenge Round Up

One of the challenges I did during 2019 was the PopSugar Challenge. It had forty categories, plus an additional ten advanced ones - a couple of which I managed to check off, and I filled most of the main categories, some with multiple books. It was a good challenge, but one thing I think lets… Continue reading Pop Sugar Challenge Round Up

#LoveOzYA, adventure, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Blog Tour, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, Covers, Dr Pimms, Fairytales, Fantasy, Festivals, historical fiction, history, Jackie French, Jaclyn Moriarty, Jacqueline Harvey, Kate Forsyth, Kate Morton, Kensy and Max, Kingdoms and Empires Series, literary fiction, LJM Owen, Lynette Noni, Matilda Saga, Medoran Chronicles, Nevermoor, parody, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

2018 Book Bingo Wrap up and 2019 Book Bingo Sign up

This year I participated in a book bingo challenge with Amanda and Theresa, and we also all participated in the Australian Women Writer's Challenge together, and many of the books I read filled both challenges. During 2018, I managed to complete two cards of twenty-five squares each, with some books working for separate categories in… Continue reading 2018 Book Bingo Wrap up and 2019 Book Bingo Sign up

#LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Blog Tour, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, classics, Covers, Crime/Mystery, Dr Pimms, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Jacqueline Harvey, Kate Morton, Kensy and Max, literary fiction, LJM Owen, Lynette Noni, Medoran Chronicles, Nevermoor, non-fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series, spies

The Books That Stayed with Me In 2018

Every year, I try to think about the books that have stuck with me - whether happy or sad, fun or informative, or any combination of these things and more that can and do make a book good. In past years, working this out has left me at the end of the year without a… Continue reading The Books That Stayed with Me In 2018