Book Club Reads for January 2019

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Life got on top of me at the end of 2018 and I find myself very far behind and with a much smaller list of book club reads on offer for January than I would have liked.

I also start the year without my computer, AGAIN. That means I also start the year without my emails and the bulk of my work. Please let this be the year the techno curse is lifted from my house because I’ve had enough.

This means that the January book club is going to be difficult to sort and we will have members who don’t get a book again this month, but it’s the beginning of a brand new year and I hope to grow that number each month. I will also do my utmost to ensure that it’s not the same people who miss out each month.

We have established how far behind I am so let’s cut to the chase and start looking at what books we have in store for our members in January.

29 Dates – Melissa de la Cruz
HQ Young Adult – YA Romance

How many will it take to find the one?

Jisu’s traditional South Korean parents are concerned by what they see as her lack of attention to her schoolwork and her future. Working with Seoul’s premier matchmaker to find the right boyfriend is one step toward ensuring Jisu’s success, and going on the recommended dates is Jisu’s compromise to please her parents while finding space to figure out her own dreams. But when she flubs a test then skips out on a date to spend time with friends, her fed-up parents shock her by shipping her off to a private school in San Francisco. Where she’ll have the opportunity to shine academically – and be set up on more dates!

Navigating her new world, Jisu finds comfort in taking the photographs that populate her ever-growing social media account. Soon attention from two very different boys sends Jisu into a tailspin of soul-searching. As her passion for photography lights her on fire, does she even want to find The One? And what if her One isn’t parent and matchmaker approved?

An Anonymous Girl – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Pan Macmillan – Thriller/Suspense

Seeking women ages 18-32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.

When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking… and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what is real in her life, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.

Dinosaur Roar and Ten Terrible DinosaursHenrietta Stickland and Paul Stickland
Macmillan Children’s Books – Children’s

Dinosaur Roar
Henrietta Stickland. Illus. by Paul Stickland
A brand new edition of this best-selling classic picture book, produced from re-scanned original artwork, and now endorsed by the world famous Natural History Museum. The jaunty rhyming text is perfect for reading aloud and the images of the dinosaurs are authentic and accu
rate.

Originally published in 1994, Dinosaur Roar! is now seen as a modern classic, a book that every pre-school child will love.

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs – Paul Stickland
Ten terrible dinosaurs standing in a line, soon began to mess about until there were… nine.

This lively counting book, first published in 1997 and now reissued as a new edition, is based on the characters from Dinosaur Roar!, a picture book that is now recognised as a modern classic. The rhyming text encourages children to join in, helping them to learn their numbers as they count down from 10 to 1, ending with a wonderful loud ROAR!

Even If I Fall – Abigail Johnson
HQ Young Adult – YA Romance

A year ago, Brooke Covington lost everything when her beloved older brother, Jason, confessed to the murder of his best friend, Calvin. Brooke and her family became social pariahs, broken and unable to console one another. Brooke’s only solace remains the ice-skating rink, where she works but no longer lets herself dream about a future skating professionally.

When Brooke encounters Calvin’s younger brother, Heath, on the side of the road and offers him a ride, everything changes. She needs someone to talk to…and so does Heath. No one else understands what it’s like. Her brother, alive but gone; his brother, dead but everywhere.

Soon, they’re meeting in secret, despite knowing that both families would be horrified if they found out. In the place of his anger and her guilt, something frighteningly tender begins to develop, drawing them ever closer together.

But when a new secret comes out about the murder, Brooke has to choose whose pain she’s willing to live with – her family’s or Heath’s. Because she can’t heal one without hurting the other.

How to Be Second Best – Jessica Dettmann
Harper Collins – Contemporary Fiction

Going from one child to two is never all that easy for a family, but when Emma’s husband simultaneously fathers a third child three doors up the street, things get very tricky, very fast.

No longer is it enough for Emma to be the best wife and mother – now she’s trying to be the best ex-wife, and the best part-time parent to her ex’s love child, and that’s before she even thinks about adding a new bloke to the mix.

Set in an upwardly mobile, ultra-competitive suburb, this is a funny, biting, heartwarming modern comedy that looks at the roles we play, how we compete, and what happens when we dare to strive for second-best.

Life on the Leash – Victoria Schade
Allen and Unwin – Contemporary Fiction

Cora Bellamy is a woman who thrives on organisation. She’s successfully run her own dog training business for years, perfectly content with her rescue pitbull as the main man in her life.

But all that changes when she meets Charlie Gill, the hottest client she’s ever had. The only problem? Charlie’s taken. Luckily, Cora has a new friend — the lovably geeky Eli Crawford. He’s always there to help Cora with her problems, including her love life. That’s why she’s shocked to realise that, even as things start heating up with Charlie, there might just be a spark between her and Eli, too.

As Cora’s life gets more tangled up than a dog walker’s leashes — and as she prepares to audition for a dog training TV show that may change her life — she has to figure things out before it all goes straight to the dogs.

Charming, witty and warm-hearted, Life on the Leash inspires you to cheer for every underdog looking for love.

Not Bad People – Brandy Scott
Harper Collins – Contemporary Fiction

It’s New Year’s Eve. Three thirty-something women – Aimee, Melinda and Lou – best friends for decades, let off sky lanterns filled with resolutions: for meaning, for freedom, for money. As the glowing paper bags float away, there’s a bright flare in the distance. It could be a sign of luck – or the start of a complete nightmare that will upend their friendships, families and careers.

The day after their ceremony, the newspapers report a small plane crash – two victims pulled from the wreckage, one a young boy. Were they responsible? Aimee thinks they are, Melinda won’t accept it, and Lou has problems of her own. It’s a toxic recipe for guilt trips, shame, obsession, blackmail and power games.

They’re not bad people. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

The Café By The Bridge – Lily Malone
Harlequin Mira – Contemporary Romance

Child psychologist Taylor Woods needs a man. Flashy restaurateur Abel Honeychurch to be specific. Abe can help her get justice for her brother, Will. Taylor knows Abe, too, was scammed by the same woman who broke her brother’s heart and stole everything in his pockets.

But bringing a lying, cheating scammer to justice isn’t easy when all Abe wants to do is forget the whole sorry saga. He’s returned to his home town of Chalk Hill to lick his wounds and repay his debts, renovating his nanna’s house and opening the Chalk ‘n’ Cheese cafe.

He’s miserable. And it would be easier to stay miserable if everyone else around him wasn’t so darn cheerful. It’s wildflower season in Chalk Hill with a cafe full of upbeat bushwalkers, and it’s all Abe can do to remember to put sugar, not salt, in his customers’ cappuccinos. He definitely has no time for the mysterious red-headed guest who admires his cheesecake and adores his flat white.

Taylor’s mission to help her brother seems doomed – how will she gain the trust of a man whose every instinct tells him never to trust a woman again?

A huge thanks goes out to the publishers without whom we could not offer such great reads. Allen & Unwin, Harlequin, Pan Macmillan and Simon & Schuster. We are so grateful for the support you show us, we couldn’t do it without you.

If you aren’t yet a member of the Beauty and Lace Club there is still time to join, head over to the signup page and take a look: yoursay.beautyandlace.net.

Happy Reading, have fun selecting preferences and we look forward to hearing what you think.

If you like the look of these books and want to purchase your own copies they are available at Angus & Robertson, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.

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