Our latest reviews
The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
Caoilinn Hughes is touted as a major new literary voice and from the very first page of reading The Alternatives it is apparent as to why. Her prose is exciting and original and while I don’t usually like to compare…
Mongrel by Hanako Footman
Mongrel by Hanako Footman is a beautiful debut novel that captivated me from start to finish. With lyrical prose and masterful characterisation, Footman weaves a story that explores themes of heritage, identity, and hope.
From the very start, Footman draws…
The Divorcées by Rowan Beaird
Upon fleeing her loveless marriage, Lois Gorski finds herself back under the control of her strict father and is dispatched to The Golden Yarrow – a divorce ranch in Nevada. There she will spend six weeks under yet another person’s…
The Pyramid of Needs by Ernest Price
What do transgender identities, pyramid schemes and the climate crisis have in common? The answer is Ernest Price’s Pyramid of Needs. In his eclectic debut, Price introduces us to Linda, a 70-year-old woman who has spent most of her…
Thunderhead by Miranda Darling
Winona Dalloway wakes up at 5am to steal a sense of freedom. From the outside, she seems an ordinary suburban mother/wife/person, but inside the thunder is growing louder and louder. Chaos stirs and swells into the corners of her mind…
The Work by Bri Lee
Bri Lee’s foray into fiction should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following this smart and perceptive writer. Reflected in her nonfiction work are the issues of privilege, consent, relationships, and identity, and clearly, here, she…
What I Would Do to You by Georgia Harper
Georgia Harper’s debut novel, What I Would Do to You, is an example of speculative fiction executed to perfection. Set in the not-too-distant future of 2039, the death penalty has been reintroduced in Australia for the most heinous crimes…
Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn
Winnie Dunn’s debut novel is unlike anything you’ve ever read, because it is unlike anything that has been published in Australia before. That said, it’s a universally relatable tale of the painful process of coming to an understanding of self…
Black Beauty (Oxford Children’s Classics) by Anna Sewell
As a child, I was utterly obsessed with this story of a beautiful horse and his journey from childhood to old age in 19th-century England, a time when horses were the main form of transportation.
Black Beauty is the autobiography…
Death of a Foreign Gentleman by Steven Carroll
One of Steven Carroll’s superpowers as a novelist is to look back at history and make very astute observations about how society works. We have seen this skill in his other works, and now with this quiet detective novel, we…
Browse our reviews by category
