Category: historical fiction

#AussieAuthors2026, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Blog Tour, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, Disney Reading Challenge, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Joey Gets His Wings by Catherine Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer Horn

Ashleigh

Title: Joey Gets His Wings Author: Catherine Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer Horn Genre: History Publisher: Big Sky Publishing Published: 7th September 2026 Format: Paperback Pages: 32 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: Inspired by the real stories of Australian soldiers who carried small mascots from home to bring comfort during the First World War. Beneath the vast blue… Continue reading Joey Gets His Wings by Catherine Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer Horn

adventure, Book Industry, Books, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Malory Towers Mystery Club: Kidnap at Midnight by Fleur Hitchcock

Ashleigh

Title: Malory Towers Mystery Club: Kidnap at Midnight Author: Fleur Hitchcock Genre: Mystery Publisher: Hachette Australia/Blyton Books Published: 8th September 2026 Format: Paperback Pages: 200 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: Malory Towers with a mystery twist! A brand-new series by Fleur Hitchcock, inspired by Enid Blyton. New girl Emma can't wait to meet her classmates and explore… Continue reading Malory Towers Mystery Club: Kidnap at Midnight by Fleur Hitchcock

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, Speculative fiction, The Nerd Daily, translated works, Verse novels, Young Adult

The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge 2026 Completed

Ashleigh

Three months left in the year, and I have finished the 2026 Nerd Daily Reading Challenge. A few prompts could have bested me, but they didn’t, due to my strategy of tackling certain ones first, and a few books fell into place later, especially the Nerd Daily recommendation. I’d been trying to find one I… Continue reading The Nerd Daily Reading Challenge 2026 Completed

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, Sci-Fi, series, short stories, Speculative fiction, The Nerd Daily, Young Adult

August 2026 Reading Round Up

Ashleigh

I didn’t read as much as I had hoped in August, but I am still on track to read as diversely as possible. I almost completed a few challenges, and in The Nerd Daily and Disney only have one book in each respectively. I also have one book left in a book bingo, and I… Continue reading August 2026 Reading Round Up

#AussieAuthors2026, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Kate Forsyth, literary fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

The Changeling by Kate Forsyth

Ashleigh

Title: The Changeling Author: Kate Forsyth Genre: Historical Fantasy Publisher: Penguin Australia Published: 7th July 2026 Format: Paperback Pages: 416 Price: $34.99 Synopsis: Set against Scotland’s first witch-hunt, a young woman with faery blood must defy two queens to survive love, magic and treachery. On her fourteenth birthday, Caiti NicNeven discovers her true mother is… Continue reading The Changeling by Kate Forsyth

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, Deltora Quest, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Emily Rodda, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, literary fiction, middle grade, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series, Young Adult

Dymocks August Prompts completed

Ashleigh

Another month, and another set of prompts from Dymocks complete. I didn’t think I would get through as quickly as I did, but I managed. The Shift your perspective prompt threw me at first, but then I realised it was really open to interpretation. The poetry one I decided to use a verse novel, because… Continue reading Dymocks August Prompts completed

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, check in post, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, humour, literary fiction, non-fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series, short stories, The Nerd Daily, Verse novels, Young Adult

Aussie YA Challenge Completed!

Ashleigh

Well, I pledged to read 40 YA books this year, and I did! Some crossed over from middle grade into YA, or would be suitable for lower YA, and the rest seemed to cover as much of the spectrum as possible. Most were fiction and I reviewed nearly all of them, and I did have… Continue reading Aussie YA Challenge Completed!

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, Anita Heiss, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, check in post, Children's Literature, Dymocks Reading Challenge, historical fiction, history, Indigenous authors, literary fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

July Dymocks Completed

Ashleigh

I finished the July prompts in mid-July, but have been waiting for reviews to go live. I had to get a bit creative with the translated novel, because I wasn’t really interested in the ones I looked up. They often weren’t in a genre I found interesting. So I used a really cool bilingual picture… Continue reading July Dymocks Completed

#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Anita Heiss, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, short stories, The Nerd Daily, Verse novels, Young Adult

July 2026 Reading Round Up

Ashleigh

What a month July was. I read 21 books this month and reviewed as many of them as possible, and others were read for fun. I also didn’t have time to review everything. And what I did read was chosen for various purposes to fit in with reviewing and challenges. Some books were longer or… Continue reading July 2026 Reading Round Up

#AussieAuthors2026, #LoveOZMG, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, historical fiction, history, humour, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, mythology, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Myths Meet Mayhem (Ludicrous Legends #2) by Jol Temple, illustrated by David Conley

Ashleigh

Title: Myths Meet Mayhem (Ludicrous Legends #2) Author: Jol Temple, illustrated by David Conley Genre: Fantasy Publisher: HarperCollins Australia Published: 28th July 2026 Format: Paperback Pages: 112 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: Ludicrous Legends is a hilarious junior-fiction series that reimagines myths in a fun way for early readers, 7 to 10 years old. When his three-headed… Continue reading Myths Meet Mayhem (Ludicrous Legends #2) by Jol Temple, illustrated by David Conley