Book Club Reads for November 2018

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It’s nearly the end of October and I can not believe the year is almost over. I’m spending so much of my time working on book clubs that I’m not spending nearly enough time reading them. We had some great reads in October that I was really looking forward to, and I still plan to get to some day, hopefully soon.

But the month is running away from me and now it’s time to look at the fabulous new releases we have on offer in November, and there’s lots of them so I’m just going to get straight into sharing them with you. All blurbs from the publisher website or Goodreads.

A Diamond in the Dust – Frauke Bolten-Boshammer with Sue Smethurst
Simon & Schuster – Memoir

The powerful true story of how one woman turned outback dust into a diamond empire

Within minutes of landing in Kununurra, Frauke Bolten had made up her mind to get on a plane back home to Germany. It was 1981 and the dusty frontier town was no place for a woman. However, Frauke stayed, determined to help her husband carve out a new life farming. Tragedy struck just three years later when Friedrich took his own life and she was left to raise their family alone.

Twenty-six years after she sold her first necklace off the back porch, Kimberley Fine Diamonds in Kununurra is now home to one of the world’s largest collections of Argyle pink diamonds, with a client list that includes Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Frauke is credited for not only pioneering an industry, but for putting the tiny outback town and its precious diamonds on the map.

A Diamond in the Dust is a tale of love and loss, hardship and heartache, but ultimately the inspiring story of how a young girl from Germany overcame tragedy to pioneer a diamond empire in one of the most unforgiving terrains on earth.

            

Arcadia – Di Morrissey
Pan Macmillan – Contemporary Fiction

A breathtaking Tasmanian tale of ancient forests; of art and science; of love and, above all, of friendship.

In the 1930s, in an isolated and beautiful corner of southern Tasmania, a new young wife arrives at her husband’s secluded property – Arcadia. Stella, an artist, falls in love with Arcadia’s wild, ancient forest. And when an unknown predator strikes, she is saved by an unusual protector…

Two generations later, Stella’s granddaughter, Sally, and her best friend, Jessica, stumble over Stella’s secret life in the forest and find themselves threatened in turn.

What starts as a girls’ adventurous road trip becomes a hunt for the story of the past, to solve the present, and save their future…

Dork Diaries Birthday Drama – Rachel Renée Russell
Simon & Schuster – Middle Grade Fiction

The thirteenth instalment in the bestselling DORK DIARIES series, now with over 30 million books in print!

OMG! Nikki’s birthday party is going to be beyond awesome! Her BFFs are planning a SUPERcool pool party, with a cake, a DJ, and the perfect invitations. Organizing a big party for one hundred people is easy, right? UMMM wrong!

When Mom says it’s too expensive, soon it’s looking like Nikki’s dream party will be a total dorky disaster – cringe! Can Nikki and her BFFs come up with a plan to save the day, or will there be major birthday drama?! 

Guinness World Records 2019 Amazing Animals: Wild Things
Pan Macmillan – Reference, information, junior

Whether it’s the biggest, the smallest, the fastest, the deadliest or just the downright weirdest, Guinness World Records: Wild Things turns the spotlight on the best of the beasts!

From gentle giants to killer bugs, powerful predators to cunning prey, and backyard wildlife to species on the brink, the animal kingdom is crawling with record-breakers. Wild Things is your ultimate guide to nature’s super-star animals.

There’s a special chapter all about prehistoric record-breakers, too. Unearth which ancient animals ruled over the real Jurassic world, from the tallest dinosaur and the dino with the most powerful bite to the largest flying creature ever to soar Earth’s skies – with a wingspan the size of an F-16 jet!

You’ll also hear from zoology experts and some of the biggest conservation stars including Sir David Attenborough, Dame Jane Goodall, the Irwin family and Deadly 60’s Steve Backshall. They share their standout wildlife experiences and favourite record-breaking animals, as well as top tips for anyone hoping to follow in their footsteps.

Ready to find out where the real wild things are – and the records that they hold? Then it’s time to unleash the wildest GWR book yet!

Lost Without You – Rachael Johns
Harlequin – HQ Fiction – Contemporary Fiction

A fresh and poignant novel of family, journeys, past decisions … and dresses … from the ABIA award-winning, bestselling author Rachael Johns.

Four women, one dress, and the secret that binds them all…

On a special night that is supposed to be a celebration of new beginnings, Paige MacRitchie’s joy quickly falls away when her mother collapses during the speeches at her book launch. In the aftermath, and terrified of losing her, Paige decides she wants to make the ultimate tribute to her parents’ perfect marriage: she will wear her mother’s wedding dress for her own big day.

There’s just one problem – her mum, Rebecca, no longer has the dress.

As Paige tries to track down the elusive gown, she discovers that Rebecca has a long-hidden secret that, if revealed, could blow her whole family apart. Her new friend Josie is at a crossroads too. She met her husband Nik when she was singing in an eighties-themed bar, but now she’s lonely, yearning for a family and wondering if Nik understands her at all.

And then there’s nurse Clara. When she married Rob Jones, an up-and-coming rock star, she thought she was in it forever. But now Clara needs to make a new life for herself and Rob can’t seem to understand that it’s over.

When the fates of these four women intertwine in an unexpected and powerful way, none of their lives will ever be the same again.

On The Same Page – Penelope Janu
Brio Books – Contemporary Romance

Sometimes a girl just has to do what’s in her heart …

By day Miles Franklin, named after the famous author, is a successful lawyer. But by night she writes historical romance novels under the pen name Emma Browning. When Miles’s assistant covertly enters her boss’s novel in one of Australia’s biggest literary awards—and it wins—Miles’s perfectly ordered world is torn apart.

Lars Kristensen smells a rat. As the CEO of Iconic International, the company publishing Miles’s prize-winning novel, he’s determined to meet the author and uncover her true identity.

But Miles is equally determined to protect her privacy—and to keep writing—even if it means mastering pole dancing, and choreographing a love scene in the back of a horse-drawn carriage … Well, she is a romance writer, after all.

Miles has the grit to keep her secret, but Lars has the smouldering looks and arrogance of any romantic hero she has ever imagined.

Hmm. Sometimes a girl just has to turn the page …

Return to Rosalee Station – Mandy Magro
Harlequin – Mira – Contemporary Romance

Bestselling Australian Author returns the world of her debut novel, Rosalee Station, with a new tragic and harrowing story of love and second chances, set deep in the heart of the Australian outback.

Can they find the path to forgiveness and healing, or will grief keep them apart forever?

After eight years of marriage, Sarah Walsh had thought she and Matt would be together forever. But when a fatal accident serves up the cruellest punishment any mother could face, their relationship falters. Sarah is helpless as Matt flies off the rails – she braves one last–ditch attempt to try and make him see they need to work together to get through the heartache. But will it be enough? And what about her – how does she go on alone?

Reeling from devastation and guilt, Matt gets the wakeup call he needs to save his marriage before it’s too late. But the way forward is littered with obstacles, and he can see it’s only by returning to the outback beauty and isolation of Rosalee Station that he has any chance to reclaim the man he once was. But will this separation end up costing him everything?

Shadow of the Fox – Julie Kagawa
Harlequin – HQ Young Adult – Young Adult Fantasy

Enter a beautiful and perilous land of shapeshifters and samurai, kami and legends, humans and demons…a world in which Japanese mythology and imagination blend together to create a brand-new and lushly drawn fantasy adventure. Prepare to be captivated by the first book of an enchanting new young adult fantasy series, Shadow of the Fox!

ONCE EVERY THOUSAND YEARS…

Every millennium, one age ends and another age dawns…and whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers holds the power to call the great Kami Dragon from the sea and ask for any one wish. The time is near…and the missing pieces of the scroll will be sought throughout the land of Iwagoto. The holder of the first piece is a humble, unknown peasant girl with a dangerous secret.

Demons have burned to the ground the temple Yumeko was raised in, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure – one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has…and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

A wish will be granted and a new age will dawn.

Suitcase of Dreams – Tania Blanchard
Simon & Schuster – Historical Fiction

From the bestselling author of The Girl from Munich, a sweeping, dramatic tale of love and identity, inspired by a true story

After enduring the horror of Nazi Germany and the chaos of postwar occupation, Lotte Drescher and her family arrive in Australia in 1956 full of hope for a new life. It’s a land of opportunity, where Lotte and her husband Erich dream of giving their children the future they have always wanted.
 
After years of struggling to find their feet as New Australians, Erich turns his skill as a wood carver into a successful business and Lotte makes a career out of her lifelong passion, photography. The sacrifices they have made finally seem worth it until Erich’s role in the trade union movement threatens to have him branded a communist and endanger their family. Then darker shadows of the past reach out to them from Germany, a world and a lifetime away.
 
As the Vietnam War looms, an unexpected visitor forces Lotte to a turning point. Her decision will change her life forever . . . and will finally show her the true meaning of home.

The Lost Man – Jane Harper
Pan Macmillan – Crime & mystery fiction

The man lay still in the centre of a dusty grave under a monstrous sky.

Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland.

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last chance for their middle brother, Cameron.

The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…

For readers who loved The Dry and Force of Nature, Jane Harper has once again created a powerful story of suspense, set against a dazzling landscape.

The New Girl – Ingrid Alexandra
Harper Collins – Crime & Mystery Fiction

You’ve only just met.
But she already knows you so well.

When Rachel moves into the spare room in Mary’s flat, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that there’s something strange about her. Everyone apart from Mary.

And when Rachel starts sleepwalking, the flatmates’ fears grow. But there’s something about the new girl that Mary can’t help but trust, and having recently escaped a toxic relationship, she needs the support.

Rachel becomes a friend and an ally, and Mary soon discovers that they have more in common than she ever could have imagined.

In fact, Rachel seems to know more about Mary than she knows about herself…

A twisty and unnerving psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Erin Kelly’s He Said, She Said and Laura Marshall’s Friend Request.

Where the River Runs – Fleur McDonald
Allen & Unwin – Rural Fiction

In the tradition of the acclaimed Red Dust, Where the River Runs is a brilliantly told rural story of long-held family secrets by an author at the forefront of rural fiction, Fleur McDonald.

Ten years ago, thirty-year-old Chelsea Taylor left the small country town of Barker and her family’s property to rise to the top as a concert pianist. With talent, ambition and a determination to show them all at home, Chelsea thought she had it made.

Yet here she was, back in Barker, with her four-year-old daughter, Aria, readying herself to face her father, Tom. The father who’d shouted down the phone ten years ago never to come home again.

With an uneasy truce developing, Chelsea and Aria settle into the rhythm of life on the land with Tom and Cal, the farmhand, who seems already to have judged Chelsea badly. Until a shocking discovery is made on the riverbed and Detective Dave Burrows, the local copper, has to tear back generations of family stories to reveal the secrets of the past.

Chelsea just wants a relationship with her dad but will he ever want that too? Or will his memory lapses mean they’ll never get that opportunity?

 

A huge thanks goes out to the publishers without whom we could not offer such great reads. Allen & Unwin, Brio Books, Harlequin, Harper Collins, 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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