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Completion of QBD Reading Challenge 2023

I have completed the 2023 QBD Challenge. My last prompt was a funny memoir, which in some ways was hard to find, but I settled on Paul Jennings’ memoir, Untwisted, which was funny in parts, and I enjoyed the way he told the stories – with humour and empathy throughout. I reviewed twenty books for… Continue reading Completion of QBD Reading Challenge 2023

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The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale by Kate DiCamillo

Title: The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale Author: Kate DiCamillo Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Walker Books Published: 18th October 2023 Format: Hardcover Pages: 160 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: From master storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes an original fairy tale, enchantingly illustrated, in which five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning and high spirits.Once, there… Continue reading The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale by Kate DiCamillo

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Completed: Dymocks Reading Challenge 2023

This year, I took on the Dymocks Reading Challenge again. This time, we got our prompts season by season, which made it more challenging to plan what to read, but in the end, I managed to do it. The prompts were fairly flexible as well – there were ones anything could fit into and ones… Continue reading Completed: Dymocks Reading Challenge 2023

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Dymocks Spring Reading Challenge

The final set of prompts for this year’s Dymock’s Reading Challenge for Spring are completed now too – a couple of them took me a while but I got there. One of the things I have liked about this challenge is how open to interpretation some prompts were, because a prompt will always have a… Continue reading Dymocks Spring Reading Challenge

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Guest Post, Natalie Bayley – Author of Bone Rites

As part of Natalie's blog tour, she has written this post for me about her writing and research process for the novel to accompany the review. Thanks for the fascinating post, Natalie. Researching Historical Fiction: the Old, the Strange and the Downright Peculiar Most of my novels are set in the early or mid-twentieth century.… Continue reading Guest Post, Natalie Bayley – Author of Bone Rites

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Blog Tour: Bone Rites by Natalie Bayley

Title: Bone Rites Author: Natalie Bayley Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller Publisher: Aurora Metro Books Published: 31st October 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 314 Price: $25.99 Synopsis: Winner of The Virginia Prize for Fiction Bone Rites is a dark, literary tale of love, loss and one woman's obsessive fight for justice and redemption within a ruthless world.  I… Continue reading Blog Tour: Bone Rites by Natalie Bayley

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The Rebels of Mount Buffalo by Helen Edwards

Title: The Rebels of Mount Buffalo Author: Helen Edwards Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Riveted Press Published: 11th October 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 240 Price: $16.95 Synopsis: The Rebels of Mount Buffalo is a captivating time-slip tale in which a girl lost to grief meets a daring rebel on a misty mountain, who guides her to… Continue reading The Rebels of Mount Buffalo by Helen Edwards

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Deadlands: Trapped by Skye Melki-Wagner

Title: Deadlands: Trapped Author: Skye Melki-Wagner Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Prehistoric Publisher: Walker Books Published: 4th October 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 304 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: Can five young outcasts save their kingdoms? As a bloody battle rages between the two surviving dinosaur kingdoms, Eleri and his fellow outcasts, newly exiled from their herds, are searching… Continue reading Deadlands: Trapped by Skye Melki-Wagner

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Game On: Glitched by Emily Snape

Title: Game On: Glitched Author: Emily Snape Genre: Historical Fiction, Time Travel Publisher: EK Kids Published: 1st September 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 192 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: Max is horrified to find that younger brother Liam has learned nothing from their previous adventure.Once again Liam opens an app on Miss McBoob's phone, and this time the… Continue reading Game On: Glitched by Emily Snape

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September 2023 Round Up

In September I read 20 books, mostly by Australian authors, and with several reviews to go live in the coming weeks. I have a lot of review books that will take me into November, and whilst this month I didn’t get as many read as possible, I am hoping to catch up during October and… Continue reading September 2023 Round Up