Book Club Reads for September 2017

We are motoring ahead with the new system, it’s going well and everyone seems happy. Of course now that I have a reasonably straightforward process in place, I need to do something different this month.

There are 7 books booked in for September and one of them has already had readers selected, and many of them have read the book. The remaining 6 books will be listed here with their covers and some info so that you can let us know what you want to read, and how much you want it.

I don’t have all of the September books on my shelf yet but I have started to think of an order in which to read them.

There seems to be a bit of variety coming up this month; we have a YA, some historical and some women’s fiction. There are a couple of highly anticipated reads and one that is a VERY early read so a massive thank you to Harlequin for giving us an early look at the NOVEMBER release from Rachael Johns. My only issue with reading her book so early is that it means I will have to wait longer for the next one.

The Greatest Gift – Rachael Johns

The poignant, heart-warming story of a woman who wants nothing else than to be a mum, and one who never wanted to be a mother.
Mother: Female parent of a child
Mum: The woman who nurtures, raises and loves a child
Radio host Harper Drummond lives for her glamorous career. Every day she meets fascinating people doing extraordinary things, but has begun to wonder whether there’s something more for her out there. She’s financially secure, happily married and loves her job — what more could she want from life? An interview with a childless couple prompts Harper to think about whether she could make a contribution. She and her husband, Samuel, know they don’t want a child in their lives, but could she help someone else become a mother?
The childhood cancer that left Claire Beggs infertile doesn’t matter to her husband, Jasper. He loves her unreservedly, and they are passionate about their thriving hot air balloon business in the Hunter Valley. Despite their contentment, Claire is desperate to have a child — she knows Jasper would be a brilliant father and doesn’t want him to regret choosing her over a family in the years to come. An egg donor seems to be Claire and Jasper’s only chance of a happy family.
Can they find someone who will give them the greatest gift?

The Girl From Munich – Tania Blanchard

Germany, 1943. The choices she makes will change her life forever.
Growing up in Hitler’s Germany, Charlotte von Klein has big dreams for the future. Her mind is full of plans for a sumptuous wedding to her childhood sweetheart Heinrich while working for the Luftwaffe, proudly giving her all for the Fatherland.
But in 1943, the tide of the war is turning against Germany, and Lotte’s life of privilege and comfort begins to collapsing around her. As Hitler’s Reich abandons Germany and the country falls to the Allied forces, Lotte is forced to flee from the unfolding chaos to the country with the darkly attractive Erich Drescher, her Luftwaffe superior.
Amid the danger, pain and heartbreak of a country turning on itself, Lotte must forge a new life for herself. But as the country struggles to find its future, shadows of the past come rushing back and Lotte finds herself questioning everything she has fought for – love, duty and freedom.

Willow Tree Bend – Kaye Dobbie

An interrupted phone call and a mysterious disappearance brings a family’s secret past crashing into the present…
It’s 1969 and small-town girl Faith Taylor longs for the excitement of the city. Leaving her family home in Willow Tree Bend, Faith lands a job at The Angel — Melbourne’s most infamous nightclub. While Faith relishes her new-found freedom, she can’t help but notice that there are some things about the club that don’t add up. So when a policeman shows her a shocking photograph, and reveals that a former waitress was murdered, Faith realises she must help to bring down the shadowy owner behind the club’s activities.
More than thirty years later, what happened at The Angel remains a closely held secret, never spoken about. When Faith disappears, her sister Hope — now a famous movie star — is left with an intriguing, though frustrating, piece of the puzzle. But with a tell-all documentary film crew constantly by her side, how can she find where Faith is — and what she’s hiding — while making sure her own secrets stay hidden?
Faith’s daughter, Sam, is also concerned by her mother’s uncharacteristic behaviour. When she overhears a clue to Faith’s past, she’s determined to unearth the truth. What is the connection between The Angel and Willow Tree Bend? What does Faith’s disappearance mean? And what will happen when the final secret is revealed?

If There’s No Tomorrow – Jennifer L. Armentrout

Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances. 
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything. 
Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened. 
For what she let happen. 
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?

We That Are Left – Lisa Bigelow

A moving debut novel about love and war, and the terrifyingly thin line between happiness and tragedy, hope and despair.
Melbourne, 1941. Headstrong young Mae meets and falls head over heels in love with Harry Parker, a dashing naval engineer. After a whirlwind courtship they marry and Mae is heavily pregnant when she hears that Harry has just received his dream posting to HMAS Sydney. Just after Mae becomes a mother, she learns Harry’s ship is missing.
Meanwhile, Grace Fowler is battling prejudice to become a reporter on the afternoon daily newspaper, The Tribune, while waiting for word on whether her journalist boyfriend Phil Taylor, captured during the fall of Singapore, is still alive.
Surrounded by their friends and families, Mae and Grace struggle to keep hope alive in the face of hardship and despair. Then Mae’s neighbour and Grace’s boss Sam Barton tells Mae about a rumour that the Japanese have towed the damaged ship to Singapore and taken the crew prisoner. Mae’s life is changed forever as she focuses her efforts on willing her husband home.
Set in inner Melbourne and rural Victoria, We That Are Left is a moving and haunting novel about love and war, the terrifyingly thin line between happiness and tragedy, and how servicemen and women are not the only lives lost when tragedy strikes during war.

The Mummy Bloggers – Holly Wainwright

Sometimes life behind the screen is not as rosy as it seems…
Meet three Mummy Bloggers – each of them followed, idolised, imitated, taunted and trolled online.
Elle Campbell is a glossy, lycra-clad mum with washboard abs, a ten-year plan and a secret past. Abi Black has quit sugar, moved to the country and is homeschooling her kids. Leisel Adams slogs away at her office job each day before rushing home, steeped in guilt, to spend precious moments with her kids before bedtime.
When all three women are nominated for a prestigious blogging award with a hefty cash prize, the scene is set for a brutal and often hilarious battle for hearts, minds-and clicks. As the awards night gets closer, their lies get bigger, their stunts get crazier – and some mistakes from the past become harder and harder to hide.
The Mummy Bloggers is a frank and funny look at the perils and perks of life online.
‘The freshest, funniest new voice in fiction since Liane Moriarty.’ Mia Freedman

What a wonderful selection on offer in September, there is also Secrets Between Friends by Fiona Palmer which has already been selected. I look forward to reading with our members, and hearing what they think.

A huge thanks goes out to the publishers without whom we could not offer such great reads. Harlequin, Hachette Australia, Allen and Unwin 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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Michelle

My blurb went missing… so now I have to bring you a new one. One that is a little broader too.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years I have broadened my horizons considerably.
I inhale music, hair metal that satisfies my inner bogan is where my musical passion lies, but again I’ve been exposed to lots of different music I wouldn’t normally listen to and have broadened those horizons also.

In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews.
Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS! Reading, writing, speaking, listening – if it’s got words I’m there!