Review: When the Moon Hatched - Book #1 Moonfall Series - Sarah A. Parker - November 2024 I'll be honest upfront: romantasy isn't usually my genre. But this one had been sitting on my shelf staring at me for long enough that I finally caved, and I'm glad I did. From the first few chapters, When the Moon Hatched pulled me in with how effortlessly it reads. There's nothing clunky or overwrought about the prose here , it just flows, chapter after chapter, in a way that makes it dangerously easy to tell yourself "just one more" long after you meant to put it down. If you've read Throne of Glass, you'll probably feel the same familiar hum I did. The setup centers on two women who turn out to be long-lost royalty, both reshaped into assassins after an accident that left them with amnesia, both quietly fighting to protect the very people who don't know who they really are. It's a premise that leans into tropes I've seen before, but Sarah A. ...

Review: When Fire Whispers to the Storm - Gayatri Ram - July 2025 As a book reviewer, my inbox constantly overflows with submissions—books I'd likely never encounter on my own browsing adventures. Some end up abandoned in my DNF pile , but occasionally, I discover a diamond in the rough. Gayatri Ram's When Fire Whispers to the Storm falls firmly into the latter category. Timing couldn't have been more perfect for this read. After being snowed under with work for weeks, barely managing to surface for breaks while drowning in deadlines, I desperately needed something engaging yet manageable. Gayatri Ram's novel delivered exactly that—a swift, satisfying read that didn't demand more time than I could spare. What immediately captured my attention was the New Zealand setting . I'll admit, seeing my own backyard as the backdrop made me smile and kept me turning pages when exhaustion threatened to win.  The story introduces us to Mia and Darius, whose intense conn...

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: The Last Wife - Matt McGregor - May 2025 What starts as a modern fairytale quickly spirals into a chilling psychological thriller in Matt McGregor’s intense and suspenseful novel. Olivia, a humble waitress with artistic dreams, believes she’s won the romantic lottery when she meets the charming and wealthy Lachlan Gibson. Swept off her feet by his attention and encouragement, Olivia is quickly immersed in a world of luxury, love and control. After moving into Lachlan’s lavish home, the cracks in their whirlwind romance begin to show. Small, unsettling things begin to unravel: curious glances from locals, hushed whispers, and a name that Olivia can't escape - Yasmine Gibson. Yasmine, it turns out, was Lachlan’s first wife who died in childbirth just eight months earlier. This revelation alone is shocking, but what’s even more disturbing is how quickly Lachlan moved on—and how much Olivia is starting to resemble Yasmine in every aspect. As Olivia digs deeper, her dream life t...

The Revenge Game Jax Calder (The Revenge Club, #1) Publication date: April 11th 2025 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance Rule #1 of Revenge Club: Don’t fall for your target Andrew I’ve come a long way since being the gawky, geeky, gay kid who was constantly picked on growing up. Having just sold my tech start-up for so much money it broke my phone calculator, I’m now at a loose end wondering what to do next in my life. Then I run into Justin. Justin, the golden boy from high school. Justin, the popular jock who turned my life into a living hell for four years. And do you want to know the kicker? He doesn’t even recognize me. Even worse, it looks like karma hasn’t done its thing because Justin definitely hasn’t been punished for his previous sins. Maybe my next mission in life is to give karma a helping hand… Justin My life looks perfect from the outside – good job, good friends, no worries. Only I know it is all based on a lie. I’ve never been honest w...

Be In My Bubble Maya Mason Publication date: October 11th 2023 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance London. 2020. Lockdown. Emily has had a terrible year when it comes to love. And now she’s stuck in her apartment, alone. Things change when—one fateful night—she trudges to the rubbish chute and bumps into Robbie. Robbie—tall, hot, Australian Robbie. Robbie—her brother’s friend from school Robbie. Why on earth did I choose to wear my twerking corgi T-shirt tonight of all nights? And that’s when her bubble of one becomes a bubble of two. Cue glorious meals, dancing the night away, and cuddling on the couch. Can this love bubble stand the test of time, or is it set to burst? Read now to find out. This is the coronavirus-era rom-com you didn’t know you needed. Goodreads / Amazon — EXCERPT: “You’re on top of me,” she blurted out, referring to his apartment’s location. The second the words left her mouth, her face erupted in an instant rash of crimson. He chuck...

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...

Faking the Face Off Anne Kemp Publication date: January 29th 2025 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance There’s a reason you shouldn’t fake date a friend—because the biggest mistake you’ll ever make might just be falling for them… and NEVER ever wanting to let them go. Anna: As the assistant to the coach of the River City Renegades, my life is a whirlwind of schedules, crisis management, and saving the day when things go sideways. I love my job, but sometimes I wonder if there’s more for me out there. Then, I discovered my dad needs help. I’ll do anything to support him—even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone. So when the team’s publicist decides Ollie Decker, my long-time friend and the Renegades’ star defenseman, needs a fake girlfriend to boost his image, I volunteer. After all, it’s just pretend, it pays, and who knows Ollie better than me? But as the lines blur, I start to realize there’s more to Ollie—and us—than I ever let myself see. Ollie: Being on ...