Emily Paull

Harper Collins Australia (I own a copy, courtesy of the publisher) 9781460751312 Published March 2017 (Pre-order it from your favourite bookshop now!) Joni, Deb, Eden and Trina try to catch up once a year for some days away together.  Now in their thirties, commitments have pulled them in different directions, and the closeness they once enjoyed growing up seems increasingly elusive.  This year, determined to revive their intimacy, they each share a secret in an anonymous letter to be read out during the holiday.  But instead of bringing them closer, the revelations seem to drive them apart.  Then a fifth letter is discovered, venting long-held grudges, and it seems one of the women is in serious danger.  But who was the author?  And which of them should be worried? It's been a long time since I read a whole book in a single sitting, but that's what happened when I picked up The Fifth Letter last night.  Nicola Moriarty has crafted a near-perfe...

Extinctions Josephine Wilson UWA Publishing, 2016 (I own a copy, courtesy the publisher) Extinctions by Josephine Wilson was the winner of the inaugural Dorothy Hewett award, which ran for the first time in 2015.  The award was created in response to a significant change to the funding and structure of the WA Premier's Book Awards, which were reduced to a biennial format in 2015.  It is a prize which aims to "support literary talent both in and related to Western Australia, and to celebrate the life and writing of a stalwart Australian radical."  To read more about the award, click here. The novel follows Professor Frederick Lothian, once an engineer, now a lonely man living in a retirement community, regretting the mistakes he has made and the people he has isolated himself from.  Frederick is a fascinating, and not wholly likable character, one who is far-removed from the world of words and language-- Frederick is a scientist, a man who likes angles and ph...

If you were wondering why it's been a little quiet here lately, it's because I have been on an adventure in the South and South West of WA for the last couple of weeks.  We began our trip in Albany, then moved to picturesque Margaret River after a week.  It's been a fortnight filled with walking, reading, eating, and more reading, with a little wine drinking thrown in for good measure.  I managed to finish reading eight books in two weeks... a number I am a little astounded at myself because it wasn't like we spent every waking moment with books in our hands... but it is a wonder what some rest can do! For those of you who are bookworms, we checked out a few choice literary establishments while we were down south, and if you're heading that way too you can check out the following: * Gemini Secondhand Bookshop, York Street, Albany-  An Aladdin's cave of books with a great selection of sci-fi/ fantasy.  Friendly and knowlegable staff.  I even managed to f...

Ida  by Alison Evans Echo Publishing/ Bonnier 2017 (I own a copy courtesy the publisher) 9781760404383 Ida  is the first young adult novel to be published by Bonnier imprint, Echo Publishing.  In many ways, Echo are the new kids on the block, but they are punching well above their weight and have award winners in their stable of authors already.  In Ida , we meet Ida Wagner, an ordinary teenager suspended in the void between high school and university, trying to decide what direction she wants to take with her life.  Except she's not all that ordinary at all. Ida possesses the ability to go back in time to any decision and change the outcome, a power she uses liberally.  She avoids car crashes, she saves plates and cups that get dropped.  The only trouble is that she doesn't fully understand the ability she has.  But Damaris does.  Damaris knows that Ida is not going back in time at all, but shifting to another alternate universe wher...