Review: The Last Guests - JP Pomare - July 2021  You know how sometimes you pick up a book by an author and you're just not sure what you're going to get? That's exactly where I found myself with JP Pomare's The Last Guests. My relationship with this Kiwi author has been a bit of a rollercoaster, if I'm being honest. His debut left me putting it down unfinished, but then 17 Years Later completely won me over with a solid five stars. So settling in with this one, I wasn't quite sure which version of JP Pomare I'd be getting. Here's the thing about New Zealand fiction that I've noticed over the years we tend to take our cues from the UK when it comes to pacing. There's that slow-burn, atmospheric quality that builds and builds rather than hitting you with the high-octane intensity you often find in American thrillers. Sometimes I love that deliberate unfolding, and sometimes I'm itching for things to move faster. With The Last Guests, I found ...

Review: What If? What If? - Suzanne B. Miller - May 2025 Every now and then, a book comes along that feels like it was written just for you. When I was approached to read What If? What If? by Suzanne B. Miller and saw it was set in New Zealand—specifically Hamilton—I knew I had to say yes. What I didn’t expect was how deeply this story would resonate with me, not just as a reader, but as someone who’s lived through many of the same moments. The story follows Jasmine, a council archivist whose life is shaped by her OCD—nicknamed “Medusa.” Her condition is portrayed with such honesty and compassion, and I found myself relating to her work life more than I expected. Before I was made redundant from Tauranga City Council, I held a similar role, scanning and profiling old council documents. Reading about Jasmine’s day-to-day felt like revisiting a chapter of my own life. The setting was another highlight. Having visited Hamilton, I could vividly picture the Garden Square by the Library a...

Review: 17 Years Later - JP Pomare - May 2024 One of my 2025 reading goals is to clear my physical bookshelf and as I also have my e-reader, what I have decided to do is to alternate between physical books and ebooks. So as my first read of the year was an ebook, that means my second read is a physical book. Being on a thriller buzz for the first day of January, I grabbed this New Zealand fiction - 17 Years Later by JP Pomare. One of the things I love about reading New Zealand fiction is being able to imagine the places that the book is set as I know the areas and that helped with 17 Years Later being set in Cambridge, just over the hill from where I live in Tauranga. The book starts with a crime podcaster Sloane Abbot winning an award and then googling herself, she reads a few comments that talk about how she is a one-trick pony and only covers white cases. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, there are talks about a case Bill Karamea who was convicted of murder 17 years ago of an English famil...

Review: Dice - Claire Baylis - January 2023 As someone from New Zealand, I have to admit when it comes to New Zealand fiction - I either end up DNF'ing it or the ones that I do finish, I end up loving and enjoying. There tends to be no in-between for me. Like UK Fiction, NZ fiction can be quite slow-paced and this book was no different as it does take a long time to read and that's coming from someone who is normally quite a fast reader though it was good, I felt in parts that it did drag on and since it was set in a courtroom trial - there was a lot of repetition from the witnesses and the people on trial, etc. The book is set in Rotorua which I loved as since my partner is from there and I have been there quite a few times, I was able to visualize and imagine the location of where the story was set and some of the places mentioned in the book - I too had been there a few times like The Fat Dog Cafe. Dice tells the story of a teenage sex game that has been created between f...

Review: Paper Cage - Tom Baragwanath - August 2022 I don't normally enjoy a lot of New Zealand fiction as I struggle with it as it sometimes tends to be long-winded and dry, a bit like the UK fiction - slow-paced and too many details. However, with Paper Cage, I found myself getting really into it and I think a lot of that was because I lived in the Wairarapa where the book was set when I was younger and it brought back lots of happy memories. Also growing up, we have lived in the lower-income parts of the neighborhoods and known patched members, so I could relate to the story. Paper Cage introduces us to Lorraine who works for the local police as the records clerk which I love as I do a similar job for the council and this sounds right up my alley this job. In this book, young children from lower-income / gang families have gone missing and there are no leads. The police are looking at this as gang turf crimes, but Lorraine knows there has to be more than this and so after she is...

Taniwha Creek Stephanie Ruth (Otago Waters) Publication date: July 22nd 2023 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance Maybe friends really do make the best lovers… Barista Maddie Stalwart-Jones has known Todd Kaihanga all her life, but no matter where her brain wanders when she’s not vigilant, she refuses to consider her brother’s best mate as anything other than off limits. It would be all wrong, right? The self-proclaimed pessimist is intent on ignoring the fact her cafe manager is the only guy she can relax and be herself around, and the only person she’s comfortable talking about her dead brother with. Intent on escaping Wānaka, where everyone seems to have an opinion on her intimate business and family history, falling for Todd would be highly inconvenient. Todd’s a patient guy, but he’s over waiting around for Maddie to notice he could be so much more than a shoulder to lean on. When Maddie’s mother finally agrees to accept some much needed help with her run down property,...

Review: The Missing Wife/ Life - Nikki Perry and Kirsty Roby - October 2022 The Month of May was the Clear Your Bookshelves challenge and so I made my goal to target the books on my bookshelf. This one was given to me to review and I was looking forward to the book as it was set in New Zealand being from New Zealand, it was fun to read a book based on parts of memories and to get a rough idea of the scenery and adventures. I also liked this book, at the start of every few chapters was a fun newspaper article that related to the particular chapter. The Missing Wife/Life starts with two mothers waking up hungover after moving their children into a flat ready for University in Wellington. The woman wake up to discover that they pooled their money together and brought a bright pink ex-plumber van. The two mothers decide to go on a road trip as Faith needs to be down in Invercargill to visit her brother and say goodbye to her Dad as he is ill and Anna's marriage has been on the rocks ...