Book Club Reads for October 2017

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Wow, who can believe it’s October already… where has this year gone?

So, in October we have 7 reads, there are lots of Aussie Women Writers which means my challenge is going beautifully and I think I will make my 50 for the year easy.

Genre-wise we have some historical, young adult dystopian, contemporary, suspense. I think they all look great and can’t wait to sink my teeth in.

I love the new system and it seems everyone else does too, so enjoy a little look at what’s coming up and get back to us with what you would like to read.

Not all of them have arrived on my desk yet but I have made a start and hope I can get through them all, should be interesting with two weeks of school holidays about to start.

War Flower – Mary-Anne O’Connor

From the political upheaval of sixties Sydney to the killing fields of Vietnam, an epic story of love, war and forgiveness.

The 1960’s are beating a fresh pulse of political and cultural upheaval through Sydney but for sheltered convent schoolgirl Poppy Flannery such changes seem redundant. But that doesn’t stop her from longing to join in, especially if it means spending time with the popular boy she secretly loves, Ben Williamson. So when the opportunity for a dream escape to Surfers Paradise arrives, Poppy and her twin sister Rosemary seize it, and find themselves in the midst of the swinging sixties at last.

Rosemary embraces their secret new life with a vengeance, discovering drugs, boys and radical politics in a haze of parties, music festivals and protest marches. But such freedom is stolen when Rosemary’s great love Angus is sent to Vietnam, along with Ben.

Soon a war fought thousands of kilometres away will arrive on the twins’ door in the form of orphaned refugee Thuy. As many more victims begin to appear, including shattered versions of Australian soldiers, they must decide how far they will go for the men they adore, and ask themselves whether love really is all that you need.

Little Secrets – Anna Snoekstra

What happens when ambition trumps the truth?

A town reeling in the wake of tragedy

An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most recently burning down the town’s courthouse and killing a young boy who was trapped inside…

An aspiring journalist desperate for a story

The clock is ticking for Rose Blakey. With nothing but rejections from newspapers piling up, her job pulling beers for cops at the local tavern isn’t nearly enough to cover rent. Rose needs a story-a big one.

Little dolls full of secrets

In the weeks after the courthouse fire, precise porcelain replicas of Colmstock’s daughters begin turning up on doorsteps, terrifying parents and testing the limits of the town’s already fractured police force.

Rose may have finally found her story. But as her articles gain traction and the boundaries of her investigation blur, Colmstock is seized by a seething paranoia. Soon, no one is safe from suspicion. And when Rose’s attention turns to the mysterious stranger living in the rooms behind the tavern, neighbor turns on neighbor and the darkest side of self-preservation is revealed.

Come Rain or Shine – Tricia Stringer

A wedding and a will, a bushfire and a baby: who said the country was quiet?

Paula knew when she moved to the country that the life would be tough. Nearly a year into her marriage with farmer Dan, and now pregnant, she is proud of her ability to feed shearers, bake a pasty and fix a fence while still running her accountancy business from home. With a wedding to plan, the farm to run and neighbours to help out, life is busy but good.

But there are clouds on the horizon. Dan is increasingly tired and distant. He promised he would always tell her the truth, so why is he being so mysterious about his late father’s will?  And why is his abrasive Aunt Rowena suddenly so interested in the sex and due date of Paula’s baby? As bushfires rage, Paula makes a discovery that shocks her and threatens all she holds dear.

Come Rain Or Shine follows on from Chance of Stormy Weather

Force of Nature – Jane Harper

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.

The hike through the rugged Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case – in just a matter of days she was to provide the documents that will bring down the company she works for.

Falk discovers that far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. But does it include murder?

Sixty Seconds – Jesse Blackadder

Inspired by the author’s own family experience. The Brennans – parents Finn and Bridget, and their sons, Jarrah and Toby – have made a sea change, shifting from chilly Hobart to a sprawling purple weatherboard in subtropical Murwillumbah. Feeling like foreigners in this land of sun and surf, they are only just starting to settle when, one morning, tragedy strikes – changing their lives forever.

Determined to protect his wife, Finn finds himself under the police and media spotlight. Guilty and enraged, Bridget spends her nights hunting answers in the last place imaginable. Jarrah – his innocence lost – is propelled suddenly from his teens into frightening adulthood. As all three are pushed to the limit, questions fly: Who is to blame? And what does it take to forgive?

A haunting and ultimately redemptive story about what it takes to forgive.

The Empress – S.J. Kincaid

It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—one where they don’t have to hide or scheme or kill. One where creatures like Nemesis will be given worth and recognition, where science and information can be shared with everyone and not just the elite.

But having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress.

Nemesis will protect Tyrus at any cost. He is the love of her life, and they are partners in this new beginning. But she cannot protect him by being the killing machine she once was. She will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire—or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne. But if proving her humanity means that she and Tyrus must do inhuman things, is the fight worth the cost of winning it?

A Very Country Christmas – Various

Alissa Callen, Fiona Greene, Rachael Johns, Juliet Madison, Victoria Purman

This collection of heartwarming Australian stories is full of the joys of the season and guaranteed to brighten your Christmas

Under Christmas Stars – Alissa Callen [BRAND NEW STORY]

Small-town teacher Freya George is determined to make up for last year’s disastrous Christmas. This year she will stop at nothing to ensure that she and the Woodlea community have the best holiday season ever. But from the moment Freya meets cattleman Drew Macgregor, her plans unravel faster than red Christmas ribbon…

Home For Christmas – Fiona Greene [FIRST TIME IN PRINT]

When Sergeant Tate McAuliffe, stationed in Afghanistan, opens his Christmas care package from Australia, he is stunned by both its contents and the sender, Layla Preston. Little could Layla know that this impersonal-but-cheerful holiday gift is set to be the start of something big…

The Kissing Season – Rachael Johns

A wild past, a secret pregnancy and a disastrous marriage: every family has a black sheep…and Hannah Elliot is it. But when she returns to her home town of Wildwood Point, she is determined to stay on the straight and narrow. Then gorgeous Italian Matteo Della Bosca walks into her life and Hannah’s resolve starts to slip…

12 Daves Of Christmas – Juliet Madison [FIRST TIME IN PRINT]

Can love transcend time and space? An uplifting story of a lonely writer, her grandmother’s ghost and a Christmas road trip to visit 12 different Daves.

Christmas At Remarkable Bay – Victoria Purman [BRAND NEW STORY]

Prickly Mara has hit a crossroads and is hoping a Christmas alone in idyllic Remarkable Bay will help. Police officer George is also alone for Christmas. Drawn together unwillingly, they try to stay out of each other’s way. But Remarkable Bay is a small place…

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

We are also trying to tie in some of our book clubs with our new Ask An Author segment so you can question the authors about their book.

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.

Keep an eye out for the reviews to start coming in! Good luck and happy reading!

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4 thoughts on “Book Club Reads for October 2017

  1. OH BOY – A new Tricia Stringer and the gorgeous sounding Christmas one Rachel Johns is featured in!! This won’t be easy to decide – another brilliant selection with something to suit everyone I believe.

    I really, really like this concept. Great work, girls. I’m off to email my selections! Thanks for the wonderful opportunity.

  2. A great selection by some of my favourite authors and some I have not read before. Looking forward to finding some new favourites.

  3. sniff sniff. When I saw the October books I was like nooooooo. I would have certainly put Trish Stringer as no 1, A very Country Christmas as 2 and Jane Harper as 3 as my selections.

    Will now have to ask Santa 🙂

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