The Book Mermaids

Rose Keller and Tate Russo have been climbing for years, training in harsh weather and traveling all over the world. The goal that kept them going: summiting Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. Everyone on their expedition has something to prove, it seems. And not everyone is making the best decisions while short on oxygen and physically and mentally exhausted. The farther up the mountain they go, the more their climbing plans unravel and the more isolated each team member becomes. Rose and Tate will have to dig deep within themselves to determine what—or who—they value above all else. Above All Else by Dana Alison Levy absolutely blew me away. The story was incredible and unique, and it was such a breath of fresh air as more and more novels in the YA genre are becoming clones of each other. The story was intense, heart breaking, heart warming and so inspiring. I would never climb Everest, I could barely handle a 3-day overnight hike! But after reading this book, I feel like

January 1901  Sharks circle the stranded ship as Hannah and her family head to a new home in the newly formed nation of Australia. Hannah's father has a new post as the schoolmaster in a larger school in northern NSW, where the school's wealthy patron, a sugar planter called Mr Harris, will give the family a life of comfort and the best society. But secrets lurk in this subtropical paradise. From the moment Hannah's mother rebels against her husband's refusal to let Jamie, the Pacific Islander boy who rescues them from their shipwreck, into his school, the facade crumbles. Mr Harris's fortune is built on slavery and the whip. And the new Federal government's first law demands that all Pacific islanders - even those born in Australia - be deported. If Mr Harris learns of the secret school that Hannah's mother is running, it will mean ruin, violence, and possibly even death. Hannah and Jamie must fight for Jamie's right to stay in the land he loves, and fo

Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past, where the shadows hide more mysteries than she could ever imagine. In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention. In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. Arriving in the market town of Oxleigh, she brings with her a length of fabric woven with a pattern of deadly plants that will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house.            The Silk House  was such a gorgeous story, and I was so blessed to receive an ARC

An exciting announcement has been made and Alice-Miranda and her schoolmates are going on camp. There are sleep outs, treasure hunts and so many other activities to look forward to! However, it's not all fun and games.  Alice-Miranda and Millie will need to keep a close eye on Caprice, the school's newest student, who seems determined to cause trouble.  Next door to the camp is Pelham Park, where Alice-Miranda's father, Hugh, grew up. These days, Hugh's beautiful old house serves as a retirement home but when some startling objects are uncovered in its cellar, the peaceful estate is turned upside down. With help from a much-loved relative, Alice-Miranda sets out to investigate.                      Alice-Miranda and her schoolmates are going on camp, there are sleep outs, treasure hunts and other fun activities..... and of course there is a mystery waiting to be solved! The Alice-Miranda series has been a favourite of mine since I was a little girl, and even though this

Stella may only be seventeen, but having read every self-help book she can find means she knows a thing or two about helping people. She sure wasn't expecting to be the one in need of help, though. Thanks to her father's gambling addiction, Stella and her family now find themselves living at Fairyland Caravan Park. And hiding this truth from her friends is hard enough without dealing with another secret. Stella's birth mother has sent her a letter.  As Stella deals with the chaos of her family, she must also confront the secrets and past of her 'other' family. But Stella is stronger than she realises. This book was absolutely brilliant. It is possibly one of my favourite YA novels ever!! I absolutely adored the characters, and I LOVED the story. The book has so many beautiful messages, and everyone would benefit from reading this book. The book shows that sometimes things that are covered in gold, are crumbling on the inside, and that sometimes you can find be

It's senior year, and Paige Hancock is finally living her best life. She has a fun summer job, great friends, and a super charming boyfriend who totally gets her. But senior year also means big decisions.  Feeling the weight of 'the rest of her life' Paige starts to panic. Everything is exactly how she always wanted it to be - how can she leave it all behind next year? In her head, she knows there is so much more to life after high school. But in her heart, is it so terrible to want everything to stay the same forever?  Gahhh... I wanted to love this book, I really really did. I am a huge fan of Emery Lord's other novels;  The Names They Gave Us and When We Collided, so I went into this book with super high expectations, which possibly could have been why I didn't love this book as much as I think I should have. I did enjoy it, but its just not my favourite YA novel.  Paige was a really great main character, and the friendships in the story were crafted perfec

Lissa is home on her own after school one afternoon when a stranger turns up on the doorstep carrying a baby. Reed is on the run - surely people are looking for him? He's trying to find out who he really is and thinks Lissa's mum might have some answers. But how could he be connected to Lissa's family - and why has he been left in charge of a baby? A baby who is sick, and getting sicker ... Reed's appearance stirs up untold histories in Lissa's family, and suddenly she is having to make sense of her past in a way she would never have imagined.  It is so difficult to review a book when you have such mixed feelings about it! I was a bit disappointed to be honest. This book was an easy read as it only took me a few hours to finish. The storyline was inventive and had the potential to be interesting, however I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I found the dialogue a bit forced, and in my opinion, at times the narration was 'trying way

So I have never been one to follow trends... Especially when it comes to reading! I guess part of the problem is that I have probably got 100s of books on my To-Be-Read list, and it is almost impossible to get through them all. Lately, a few people have said to me "How can you read almost 100 books a year, and never have read (insert title)?' so I thought that I would make a post about the books I am embarrassed to say I have NEVER read and why I haven't! Tell me about the books you are ashamed that you have never read in the comments! 1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling Ugh I am so sorry! Just writing this makes me feel ashamed! To make things even better - I have never seen the movies either! Please forgive me. I honestly don't really know why I haven't read them. They are so hyped, so I know that I have  to, and I promise that I will read them one day. I guess they just have never appealed to me. People have told me that I am the living and breathing

Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life...until now. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is  not  a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read. This is a book I had been wanting to get my hands on for a very long time! So when I saw it on display in the library I was beyond happy. This is such a beautiful story; beautifully written, with beautiful characters. There were so many gorgeous quotes throughout the book which pulled at my heartstring

In 1978 the Northern Territory has begun to self-govern. Life is hard and people are isolated. But they find ways to connect. Sybil is the matriarch of Fairvale Station, run by her husband, Joe. Their eldest son, Lachlan, was Joe's designated successor but he has left the Territory - for good. It is up to their second son, Ben, to take his brother's place. But that doesn't stop Sybil grieving the absence of her child. With her oldest friend, Rita, now living in Alice Springs and working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Ben's English wife, Kate, finding it difficult to adjust to life at Fairvale, Sybil comes up with a way to give them all companionship and purpose: they all love to read, and she forms a book club. Mother-of-three Sallyanne is invited to join them. Sallyanne dreams of a life far removed from the dusty town of Katherine where she lives with her difficult husband, Mick. Completing the group is Della, who left Texas for Australia looking for advent

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay...until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back. Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid. When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling. Wow. This book gave me all the feels, and took me on a real emotional journey. But if a book makes you feel how I’m feeling **(I don’t know how to describe it)** it must be a pretty

FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and refuses to sit and do nothing... I am lost for words. This book was incredible and soul crushing, it broke my heart one-thousand times. This book tells the forgotten story of The Women's War.  During WWII the women fought and did unimaginable things to protect

Apple has one memory from her childhood, her mother leaving without a second glance. For eleven years, she lives with her Nana, dreaming about the day her mother will come back. When her mum arrives home unexpectedly, Apple expects everything to fall into place, but ends up feeling more lost and confused than ever before. When Apple goes to live with her mum, Apple realised she is not the doting mother she had hoped her to be. To make things even better, she walks into her new bedroom to find a 10 year old girl named ‘Rain’ who is her sister. Rain is even more lost than Apple, and things start to spiral out of control.  Not wanting to lose her mothers love and trust, Apple goes along with her shenanigans until it is too late... Wow! This novel was beautiful, heart breaking and thought provoking. It is a really great example of the idea that ‘love is blind’ and how much children need to be loved and nurtured. Although the protagonist is 13, this is not a children’s book! Sarah Cros

Six girls, six boys. Each in the two separate bays of a single spaceship. They have six minutes each week to seduce and to make their choices, under the unblinking eye of the on-board cameras. They are the contenders in the Genesis programme, the world's craziest speed-dating show ever, aimed at creating the first human colony on Mars. Leonor, an 18 year old orphan, is one of the chosen ones.  She has signed up for glory. She has signed up for love. She has signed up for a one-way ticket. Even if the dream turns to a nightmare, it is too late for regrets. The Phobos trilogy by Victor Dixen is so amazing, that I read all three books in the space of a week. I love novels set in space, and I am a Bachelor fanatic so as soon as I read the blurb, I knew that this series would be INCREDIBLE! The characters were all very loveable, and I adored the story which is so much more than a YA romance. The story changes POV throughout, to people on Earth who are following the programme, the cr

Paris, 1899. Emma Lacasse has been estranged from her older sister for nearly twenty years, since Caroline married a wealthy American and left France. So when Emma receives a request from Caroline to meet her, she is intrigued. Caroline invites Emma to visit her in New York, on one condition: Emma must tutor her shy, young niece, Isadora, and help her prepare for her society debut. Caroline lives a life of unimaginable excess and opulence as one of New York's Gilded Age millionaires and Emma is soon immersed in a world of luxury beyond her wildest dreams - a far cry from her bohemian lifestyle as a harpist and writer with her lover, Claude, in Montmartre. Emma hopes for an emotional reunion with her only family, but instead she finds herself in the vice-like grip of her charismatic and manipulative sister, who revels in the machinations of the ultra rich. As Emma begins to question her sister's true motives, a disaster strikes, and New York society is stripped bare - beneath th

It’s 1900, and sixteen-year-old Helen comes alone in steerage across the Atlantic from a small village in Lithuania, fleeing terrible anti-Semitism and persecution. She arrives at Ellis Island, and finds a place to live in the colorful Lower East Side of New York. She quickly finds a job and, like millions of others who are coming to America during this time, devotes herself to bringing the rest of her family to join her in the New World, refusing to rest until her family is safe in New York. A few at a time, Helen’s family members arrive. Each goes to work with the same fervor, and contributes everything to bringing over their remaining beloved family members in a chain of migration. Helen meanwhile, makes friends and—once the whole family is safe in New York—falls in love with a man who introduces her to a different New York—a New York of wonder, beauty, and possibility. Stitching A Life was a truly delightful read. The story is about the author's grandmother, and I couldn

Taylor and Isolde used to be best friends - before THAT FIGHT, 18 months ago. It's been radio silence ever since - until Taylor contacts Isolde to sympathise with her breakup: the breakup that she never saw coming, which ended her dreams of joining the National Ballet School. Taylor's had his own share of challenges, including a life-altering accident that has brought his hopes of competing at the Winter Olympics to a halt. Isolde responds to Taylor, to be polite. But what starts out as heartbreak-themed Spotify playlists and shared stories of exes quickly becomes something more. And as Taylor and Isolde start to lean on each other, the distance between them begins to feel not so distant after all ... Lately I have found myself getting more and more disappointed with YA novels and a lot of the time reading them feels like a waste of time. That is what I was expecting to feel when reading The Long Distance Playlist but I loved it. The story takes you to the stunning glaciers

“Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me. I believed them. That was my mistake. There isn’t anyone else in the world like me. I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster.  For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong  word , could change the world. I have one word to say about this book: WOW! This book was absolutely fantastic. I was intrigued about the characters, the setting and the plot from the very first page. It was an amazing YA novel which was a bit dystopian and fantastical while still being entirely realistic! This book has the perfect

It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky enough to come into the world without expectations, she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful. To be handsome and poor is misfortune enough; but to be both plain and penniless is a hard fate indeed.  In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable. I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Mary Bennet known as the 'plain' sister, the ' unsocial' sister, the 'boring sister, the 'undesirable' sister, gets a new life in this novel by Janice Hadlow . The first part of the book re-tells the story we all know and love in ' Pride and Prejudice' but from Mary's point of view which was really wonderful to read. It then follows Mary and her life. I really loved this book, and truly admired Mary. This book gave her the st

CeCe D’Aplièse has always felt like an outcast. But following the death of her father—the reclusive billionaire affectionately called Pa Salt by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe—she finds herself more alone than ever. With nothing left to lose, CeCe delves into the mystery of her familial origins. One hundred years earlier, Kitty McBride, a clergyman's daughter, abandoned her conservative upbringing to serve as the companion to a wealthy woman traveling from Edinburgh to Adelaide. Her ticket to a new land brings the adventure she dreamed of…and a love that she had never imagined. The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley is an amazing series about sisterhood, love, family and hope. The enthralling fourth novel The Pearl Sister  takes you to the beautiful beaches of Thailand and to the red and dusty plains in Australia. One of my favourite things about the series is learning about different cultures and countries, and this book took me to another world.

The sea is a fickle witch. She is just as likely to bestow a kiss as to steal the breath from your lips. Beautiful and cruel, and every glimmering wrinkle in between. Filling our bellies and our coffers when she is generous. Cooly watching as we don black and add tears to her waters when she is wicked. Only the tide follows her moods - giving and taking at the same salty rate. Still, she is more than our witch - she is our queen. I absolutely ADORED Sea Witch by Sarah Henning. The book  t ells a reimagined version of the little mermaid. But instead of the antagonist being the Little Mermaid, it is the Sea Witch (aka. Ursula). I don't think I will ever look at Ursula, or the Sea Witch the same again! The book was definitely not what I was expecting - it was very magic heavy but I really enjoyed it as it wasn't my typical read.  I loved loved loved this book and I will never get over it! I was hooked as soon as I read the blurb! As soon as a book involves mermaids I am inte

England, 1939   Talented pilot Skye Penrose joins the British war effort where she encounters her estranged sister, Liberty, and childhood soulmate Nicholas Crawford, now engaged to enigmatic Frenchwoman Margaux Jourdan. Paris, 1947  Designer Christian Dior unveils his extravagant first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance, Miss Dior, in tribute to his sister, Catherine, who worked for the French Resistance. Present day  Australian fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a secret wardrobe filled with priceless Dior gowns in her grandmother's vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother. An unspeakable betrayal will entwine all of their fates. The Paris Secret  by Natasha Lester was a phenomenal and truly unforgettable novel. The story is about remarkable women, who have been forgotten by history but deserve to be remembered and celebrated. The stor