By Meg Mason I’m unfamiliar with Meg Mason’s previous books, but Sorrow and Bliss is an enlightening and enigmatic read. Poignant, haunting and elusive, the main character, Martha is both endearing and tragic — she’s quite like the illness we suspect she has— but either she doesn’t admit it, or know the specifics. ( There are plenty of hints and speculation.) Her husband —and I admit — her long-suffering husband, is beautifully written. Patrick is supportive and nurturing and

By Alison Stuart 'There are people in this town with the gleam of gold in their eyes and cold steel in their hearts.' This is the second in the series of historical fiction novels by Alison Stuart, set in the fictional Victorian mining village of Maiden’s Creek. In 1873, Eliza Penrose arrives in Maiden’s Creek ready to begin a new life and to reunite with her brother. But her family’s circumstances have greatly changed, and Eliza’s uncle seems politely, but firmly, keen to be

by Leah Swann The beautiful phrasing, evocative language and fresh style of Leah Swann’s writing had me reeling. I warn you—you’ll need tissues, and we all know they’re in short supply. This is a story about a mother’s love, and the depths she is forced to take physically and psychologically, to protect her two sons. I was spellbound by the visceral descriptions, the drawing on of raw emotion with such vivid clarity. I lived through Ava, Simon, Laurence, and Max, as chapters