Review: The Idaho Murders - James Patterson and Vicky Ward - July 2025 There are some books you pick up out of curiosity, and then there are books you pick up because you simply have to. For me, The Idaho Murders was firmly the latter. True crime has been a long-time love of mine, and James Patterson has been on my shelves for years, so when I heard these two forces had come together to tackle the Moscow, Idaho case, I knew I'd be settling in with this one sooner rather than later. I followed this case closely as it unfolded in the news, piecing together fragments here and there the way we all did. But nothing quite prepared me for how much more there was to learn. James Patterson and Vicky Ward have done something genuinely remarkable here, drawing on over 300 exclusive interviews to build a picture of what happened on that terrible night of 13th November 2022, when four young lives were taken far too soon. What struck me most, curled up with this book over several evenings, was...

Review: The Death Row Club - V.A Vazquez - July 2026 Imagine waking up one day to discover that your mum or dad is a serial killer. Then imagine trying to get through the press, the whispers and the stares, all while starting your life over. It's a heavy thought, isn't it? In The Death Row Club, V.A. Vasquez shows us that these characters don't have to face it alone. They have each other, in a secret, invite-only group made up of the children of serial killers from all walks of life. For them, it's the one place in the world where they can take off the mask and be their whole selves. Nobody has to hide, explain or apologise, because everyone in the room understands. I'll admit that's the part that tugged at my heartstrings the most. Belonging is a very human need, even in the strangest of circumstances. But as we all know, a safe space never stays quiet for long. Word of the group has got out, and there are people who want to punish these children for the sins...

    Review: Librarian Tales - William Ottens - September 2020 Some books arrive in your life at exactly the right moment. Librarian Tales by William Ottens was a birthday present, and it was the perfect one for a self-proclaimed bookworm and bibliophile like me. This book was written for librarians, by a librarian. It's part memoir, part behind-the-desk confessional, and it doesn't shy away from any side of the job. There's the fun, the ugly, and the endless parade of weird and wacky things we see and get asked. If you've ever worked a library desk, you'll be nodding along, laughing, and occasionally wincing in recognition. And if you haven't, it's a wonderful peek behind the curtain at what librarians really get up to (spoiler: it's a lot more than stamping books). It spoke to me because books and readers' advisory are my true passion. I was that librarian. I had the Dewey Decimal system memorised. I remembered what each customer read so I could h...

Review: Across The Vanishing Sky - Book #1 Starlight Grove - Catherine Cowles - March 2026 I recently received this book as part of a bookstagram birthday group I belong to, and I have to say what a gift. It had been sitting on my wishlist and my want-to-read list for a while, so seeing it show up felt like fate finally giving me a nudge. I didn't know much going in, just that it was a small-town novel with a romantic suspense edge, and honestly, that was the perfect amount of mystery to start with. The story opens with our main character, Braedyn, hiking with her best friend Nova. They get separated for just a moment  and Nova vanishes without a trace. The police chalk it up to a bear attack or the river sweeping her away, but Braedyn knows in her gut that someone took her. My heart broke for her right from those first pages. Fast forward one year, and Braedyn has packed up her life and her son to move to Starlight Grove, determined to return to the spot where Nova disappeare...

Review: Love Overdue - Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus - July 2025 There’s something especially lovely about receiving a book as a birthday gift, and Love Overdue by Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus arrived in my hands courtesy of one of the Birthday Bookstagram groups I belong to. A paperback, a birthday present and a cute second-chance romance? It certainly sounded like a recipe for a cosy afternoon of reading. Lauren Green was once a frizzy-haired bookworm with big dreams of becoming a writer who got her heart broken . Twenty years later, she has swapped those writing dreams for a responsible life as vice principal of North Caulfield Primary School. Then Jamie Sultana the boy who broke her heart walks back into her life, and suddenly all those carefully shelved feelings aren't quite as forgotten as Lauren thought. I really enjoyed the second-chance romance aspect of this story. There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about reconnecting with someone who knew you when you were young, reme...

Review: Rings on Water - Book #2 The Matakana Series - Madeline Eskedahl - May 2023 There’s something especially comforting about discovering a New Zealand author who writes mysteries that feel both grounded in place and quietly gripping in their tension, and Madeline Eskedahl has firmly become one of those authors for me. Rings on Water, the second book in The Matakana Series, arrived in my hands as a beautifully thoughtful gift from the author herself, complete with a personalised message and the most delightful magnetic butterfly bookmark. It clips neatly over the page and, in a small but meaningful way, stops me from doing my usual dog-earing of pages. It’s those little touches that make reading feel even more special. From the opening pages, Madeline Eskedahl wastes no time pulling us back into the world of The Matakana series where calm coastal life is shattered by darkness beneath the surface. A narcotics pick-up at sea goes disastrously wrong, a man is lost overboard, and the ...

Review: Sounds Like Love - Ashley Poston - June 2025 You know how there are just some authors you will always read, no matter what they write next? For me, Ashley Poston is one of those authors. Every single one of her books feels like it was written to be a movie, and honestly, I'd give anything to see them on the big screen one day. This little gem found its way to me as a bookstagram birthday gift from the lovely @nzbookfae, and what a gift it turned out to be. If I had to describe the vibe, I'd say it's a cosy mash-up of What Women Want crossed with Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist equal parts magic, music, and heart. We meet Joni Lark and Sebastian McKellan, two people who couldn't be more different. Joni's a songwriter quietly battling writer's block, and Sebastian's a singer with the whole world watching him. They're polar opposites, right up until a surprise Kiss Cam moment throws a spark between them that neither of them sees coming. Suddenl...

Review: Morbidly Yours - Book #1 Love In Galway Series - Ivy Fairbanks - July 2023 There are books you pick up because someone raves about them, and then there are books that simply reach out and grab you from across the shelf. Morbidly Yours was firmly the latter for me. Something about that title paired with that cover had me utterly charmed before I'd read a single word  and I'm so glad I followed that instinct, because this one turned out to be a real gem. At the heart of the story is Callum Flannelly, an introverted mortician with a deadline that has nothing to do with death certificates: marry before his 35th birthday or lose his undertaking business.  Enter Lark Thompson, a vivacious American animator who has come to Galway to embrace life and who is absolutely not thrilled about finding herself next door to a funeral home. Their odd-couple dynamic is delightful from the very first page. Now, I have to talk about Callum, because honestly? He stole my whole heart. He...