Literature

Jolene is riddled with anxiety and depression and hates her coworkers. The less she knows about them, the better. So when a catastrophic IT f*ck up grants her access to all of their emails and private messages, she’s initially horrified. That’s until with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her.

A stirring coming-of-age novel about guilt, loss, love and memory. Others Were Emeralds explores the inherent danger of allowing our misconceptions to shape our reality.

A gorgeous debut novel of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great white shark.

Lally has invested everything into her gallery in Manhattan and the sacrifices are finally paying off. Pat is a scholarship boy desperate to establish himself in Sydney’s antiquities scene. When they meet at New York’s Armory Show their chemistry is instant – fighting about art and politics is just foreplay.

Everyone and Everything by Nadine J Cohen is an emotional journey that will make you laugh, cry and call your sister. Here’s why this book received our first 5-star rating.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is a sweeping story moving between time and place, from Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home in Western Sydney to Sri Lanka

I Have Some Questions For You is centred around Bodie Kane, a flourishing podcaster and film professor, who returns to Granby School (New Hampshire boarding

Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn’t even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win Tully and Rachel over while carrying the burden of the secrets of her past. But, as it turns out, they are all hiding something. The announcement of Stephen and Heather’s engagement threatens to set off a family implosion, with old wounds and dark secrets finally being forced to the surface. A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle, stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that’s only the beginning.

The first year of high school brought Iris into a type of privilege she’d never felt part of. But then she found her place. The magic of performing in school musicals and the freedom of the stage opened her up to a new world. Her drama teacher gave her a glimpse of the adult she wanted to be. But, just like in the theatre, when the spotlight is off you, it can be a lonely and neglected existence. For Iris, jealousy and bitterness will grow. For Nina, something more dangerous. Reckless anger and rumours will come to a head. And, years later, there is a reckoning for them all.

Maxine (Max) Mayberry is an ad executive with big writing ambitions. However, one night, she discovers her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman and is forced to move out into her best friend’s apartment. If that wasn’t bad enough, Max was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Mercy Blain has a problem, her house just burnt down. But that’s not her biggest problem. Her biggest problem is that she hasn’t been out of the house in two years.