Aust Women Writers Challenge Reviews

aww2014 challenge wrap up

22/12/2014

This is the third year I have taken part in the AWW challenge and I am still amazed at the number of books by Australian women that I continue to discover and, more importantly, read. I love the fact that the percentage of my reading that is by Australian female authors has increased dramatically and will continue to stay that way.

Although I did not read and review as many books as I have in previous years I am still very happy with my total of 37 read and 20 reviewed. I did have a bit of a Kimberley Freeman binge this year, having just come across her books. It was wonderful to be able to keep going back for more, as you can do when you have a backlist to discover. Alas I am down to my last one now, so I will have to wait each year now for the new title to emerge. Needless to say I am now a big Kimberley Freeman fan.

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review no 20: evergreen falls by kimberley freeman

21/12/2014

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At 30 Lauren has lived a very sheltered life, having always put her own needs before those of her sick brother and needy mother. But following her brother's death she is finally standing on her own two feet and has moved away from home and taken a job in a cafe in the Blue Mountains, which is part of a renovation of the historic Evergreen Falls Hotel. Exploring the area one day she meets Tomas the Danish architect who entrusts her with a key. Although not officially allowed inside Lauren can't help but have a look and uncovers some old love letters which tell a captivating story.

Evergreen Falls is another of Kimberley Freeman's dual storyline novels, with the other part of the story set in 1926. Young Sydney woman Violet has gone to work at the hotel and is one of the few staff members left there over the winter months. A massive snow storm that traps staff and guests alike proves to be a life changing event for all who experience it. Once Lauren starts reading the old letters she is firmly ensnared in the mystery and goes to great lengths to uncover the whole story.

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review no 19: It never rains it pours by rosamond carter

21/12/2014

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Kate is looking forward to some peace and quiet on her holiday to Bruny Island in Tasmania, but that idea is soon shattered when she discovers two bodies. Kate is tempted to keep walking and let someone else make the grisly find, but her conscience wins out and she calls the police. From that moment on she finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery that keeps on unraveling.

This is a decent murder mystery plot with many twists and turns that keep the story moving. Starting out fairly simply it develops many extra layers as it unravels, some of which I must admit I found a little bit confusing at times. But not so much that I lost track of the story. Kate is a likeable heroine and is a well developed character.

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review no 18: craven by melanie casey

15/12/2014

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Having read and enjoyed Hindsight I was eager to read its sequel Craven. We are reunited with Cass who is blessed/cursed with the psychic gift of retrocognition and has taken the big step of moving to Adelaide and taking a job at a university. Given that she re-lives the death of person if she happens to be where it happened, her daily existence can be challenging. Hoping for anonymity Cass is hugely disappointed when she is recognised in her first lesson and then becomes a target of gossip.

The fledgling romance with (detective) Ed which began in Hindsight had faded as the story began, although he too is working in Adelaide. It is Ed who Cass calls, however, when she becomes the victim of a vicious hate campaign. Drawn back together under these less than ideal circumstances Cass inevitable gets caught up in Ed's latest case investigating a serial killer.

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review no 17: love your sister by connie and samuel johnson

15/12/2014

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While this is co-written by a male author I thought it was fair to include it in the AWW challenge as well.

Cancer is a disease that does not discriminate. Why some people get hit with it three times (the last bout terminal) like Connie Johnson and others don't is a mystery that medical science is yet to solve. I have no doubt that Connie would have preferred to remain anonymous as she battles the disease that will ultimately take her from her husband and children. However Connie is not the type to give in easily and using her actor brother Sam's profile she created an amazing event that not only raised an amazing amount of money for breast cancer research but also gave meaning and focus to Sam's life at a time when he really needed it.

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Review no 16: losing Kate by kylie kaden

15/12/2014

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Social worker and part-time renovator Francesca is living a relatively quite life in suburban Brisbane until one fateful day when a removal house is delivered to the vacant block next door. Taking a casual sticky beak she is beyond stunned to discover the house belongs to Jack the childhood friend she had grown to love in her teens.

The reunion between Jack and Francesca is not an easy one. Thirteen years previously Francesca's best friend and Jack's girlfriend Kate disappeared while the trio were celebrating "Schoolies" on the Noosa North Shore. Desperate to avoid the resulting suspicion and scandal Jack's family moved north to Townsville leaving Francesca to cope alone with the loss of the two people she was closest to. To further complicate things Jack now has a partner (who has no knowledge of Kate's death) and a child while Francesca is single.

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book review no 15: Wildflower hill by Kimberley freeman

15/12/2014

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Having poured her heart and soul into her ballet career from a very young age, Emma is left devastated and directionless when a career-ending injury forces her life down a very different path than she had planned. Unable to stay in London she heads home to Australia to learn that she had inherited a sheep station in Tasmania from her Grandma Beattie.

Emma's first thought is to clean the place up and sell as quickly as possible. However once she starts going through her Grandmother's old papers and photos she uncovers many things she never knew about Beattie's life and the huge struggles she overcame to succeed in life - a success that allowed Emma to live a life of privilege.

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aww2014 challenge wrap up

review no 20: evergreen falls by kimberley freeman

review no 19: It never rains it pours by rosamond carter

review no 18: craven by melanie casey

review no 17: love your sister by connie and samuel johnson

Review no 16: losing Kate by kylie kaden

book review no 15: Wildflower hill by Kimberley freeman

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