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Book Spotlight VBT# - Never Tell A Secret - Miranda Rijks

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Synposis: Never Tell A Secret - Miranda Rijks - October 2026 Having secrets is dangerous. Confessing them can be fatal. Today I’m delighted to shine a spotlight on a gripping new psychological thriller that tackles a very modern fear: what happens when the thing we trust with our deepest confessions is listening a little too closely? The Story Emma’s family is coming apart at the seams. Her marriage to Hayden is crumbling, their 21-year-old daughter Willow is unravelling after a painful breakup, and teenage son Fred is isolated and unhappy. It’s the kind of household where everyone is under the same roof but struggling alone. So when their friend Marcel, a widower, invites them to test ClarityU, a revolutionary AI therapist he has built himself, it feels like a lifeline. And at first, it genuinely seems to help. Each family member finds a safe space to talk, to cry, to say the things they can’t say out loud to one another. But there’s a catch, and it’s a chilling one. ClarityU i...
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VBT# The Single Father - Jade Lee Wright

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Review: The Single Father - Jade Lee Wright - October 2026 Being part of the Zooloos Book Tour family has given me the chance to read some of Jade Lee Wright’s earlier titles, and I’ve enjoyed every one. This latest caught my eye straight away because I have a soft spot for any book with a Nanny or Au Pair at its heart. Funnily enough, I very nearly became a Nanny myself! I was all set to head to Nanny College in Wellington until my Dad hired a career counsellor to talk me out of it. I’ll never know whether I’d have been any good at it, but I do love living vicariously through fictional ones. Matilda, or Tilly, has just lost Marc, the love of her life, and is trying to find her footing again. She takes a position as a Nanny in the Peak District, an area she and Marc always dreamed of visiting, hoping for a fresh start. There she meets Edward and his two children, Sage and Ryan. Everything goes beautifully at first, until a hike takes a terrifying turn and Tilly is pushed. She wakes...
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Review: Pieces of the Night - Jennifer Hartmann

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Review: Pieces of the Night - Jennifer Hartmann - April 2026 There is something rather lovely about settling into a chunky book on a long bus ride home, knowing you have hours of uninterrupted reading ahead of you. Pieces of the Night by Jennifer Hartmann was my Intercity Bus companion on the journey from Hamilton to Tauranga after heading up for the 5SOS concert, and honestly, what better way to spend the trip than getting lost in 600+ pages of angsty New Adult romance? Jennifer Hartmann is an author who knows how to deliver the angst, the emotions, and those deliciously complicated relationships that have you feeling all the things. If you've read her work before, you'll know she's not afraid to put her characters through the emotional wringer, and this book is another fabulous example of why readers keep coming back for more. First, though, can we take a moment to appreciate this COVER? Because, much like Dream On, this one had me experiencing a total cover crush. You kn...
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Review: The Woman in Me - Britney Spears

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Review: The Woman In Me - Britney Spears - October 2023 Some books you read, and some books you simply sit with. The Woman in Me was the second kind for me, and I’m so glad I picked it up. I read most of it on the Intercity bus from Auckland back to Hamilton, still buzzing and a little hoarse from the 5SOS concert the night before. Is there a better way to pass a bus trip home than a cuppa from the stop, a warm jumper, and a book you can’t put down? It’s such an easy read, and I whizzed through it with the countryside rolling past my window. Now, I’ll be honest: I already knew a good deal of what’s in these pages. Like most of us, I’d followed the headlines over the years. But there is a world of difference between hearing a story about someone and hearing it from them. My heart went out to her, truly. By the final chapter I loved her music and loved her even more, and I hadn’t expected that. The book is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, surviva...
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Review: The Kings of Kearny - Navessa Allen

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Review: The Kings of Kearny - Navessa Allen - February 2026 Some books sit on the shelf for months, giving you the quiet side-eye every time you walk past. The Kings of Kearny was one of those for me. So when I found myself facing a long bus trip up to Auckland to see 5SOS, I decided it was the perfect moment to finally pick it up. A bus, a bag of snacks, a good book and a concert waiting at the end? Hard to beat, really. I’ll be upfront: I went in with low expectations. I didn’t enjoy Lights Out, so I was a little wary of giving this author a second chance. But oh my goodness, I’m so glad I did, because this book was awesome. It also reignited my love of motorcycle club novels, which I hadn’t realised I’d been missing until I was knee-deep in leather jackets and clubhouse drama. The story is set in a small Texas town run by a motorcycle club. Krista works at the local bar, where she sees plenty of locals come and go, but on the nights Jakob walks in, the whole place changes. Known ...
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