Bold, brilliant, and a little bizarre, Mother Tongue is a story about motherhood, womanhood, and the desire to be true to yourself – no matter who that ‘self’ is. Mother Tongue is the second novel from producer and writer Naima Brown, and it’s one that cements her status as a writer of incredible and profoundly…
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As we barrell on into yet another quickly-moving year, the books team at AU Review have pulled together a hotly anticipated list of dramas, mysteries, romances and fresh horrors to keep you riveted to your reading seat. Between the grissly mysteries and untimely deaths are touching stories of friendship, love and recognising our own strength…
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Blueprint Comics‘ Meet Me in the Pit anthology recently released its fifth issue, inviting artists to share a few short panels inspired by music and their relationship with it. Boasting cover art from the incredible Phoebe Paradise, this collection spans a huge variety of interpretations on the theme – from music as an escape to…
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We’ve been covering Aussie author Helen Scheuerer here for a hot minute, all the way back to debut series The Oremere Chronicles – and yes, I remain a devoted Swinton girlie. So we were naturally very excited when Scheuerer announced Iron & Embers, the first in The Ashes of Thezmarr series, and her first novel with…
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The world is fascinated with missing girls. They are the subjects of true crime podcasts and countless movies and tv shows, and of course, novels. But, in Down the Rabbit Hole, debut author Shaeden Berry offers readers something a little deeper than the usual small-town thriller featuring a missing persons case. Down the Rabbit Hole…
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The knives (and forks) are out in Victoria Brownlee’s new novel Eat Your Heart Out, which blends romance, comedy, and a hearty splash of mystery to create one delicious dish. Drawing from her own career as an international food writer and critic, she’s cooked up some fascinating characters, gorgeous environments and an engaging tale. Though…
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Readers who loved The Other Bridget, last year’s rom-com from heavy hitter Rachael Johns featuring a gnome-loving librarian, will be delighted to learn that our beloved Bee makes more than a few cameo’s in 2025’s follow up, The Bad Bridesmaid. Whilst it’s not a sequel, the events of Bridget’s story are referred to throughout, so…
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Now in it’s thirteenth year, The Stella Prize has announced its 2025 longlist. Founded in 2012, the prize’s mission is to empower women and non-binary authors and to recognise and showcase their accomplishments in a world of gender inequality. With this year’s longlist featuring works ranging from poetry collections to archival history and LGBT+ romance,…
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Sunny at the End of the World is the final novel from Melbourne author Steph Bowe. It opens in 2018 with teenagers Sunny and Toby escaping the zombies who’re infiltrating the world and destroying all the adults. Flash-forward to 2034, Sunny is trying to escape an unknown underground facility and find out answers – what happened? who…
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War has broken out across the universe, and in the strategic stronghold of Upentia, tensions are rising between the human soldiers and the indigenous Atolans, forced to seek their protetction from the attacking Eritraxians. In the midst of it all, a young soldier named Caladin meets M’Kali, a local. Brought together by the devastation of war…
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Before she became (and while she was becoming) known for The Scholomance trilogy and the Temeraire series, Naomi Novik wrote an impressive number of short stories published across anthologies and magazines – and now, readers can enjoy these stories anew or for the first time. Spanning some familiar worlds and other completely new ones, Buried…
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Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin is a darkly atmospheric, surreal historical fantasy with themes of colonisation, class, feminine power and sisterhood. Set among the streets and cabaret clubs of 1930’s Shanghai, Lin has created a city that feels like a mix of steam and cyber punk with its neon lights and mechanical wonders…
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Monte Punshon lived in a man’s world. She also lived a fierce life where she refused to be pigeon-holed. Ethel May ‘Monte’ Punshon is the colourful subject of A Secretive Century, a new biography from award-winning author Tessa Morris-Suzuki. Morris-Suzuki is a history professor who has written over 25 books. A scholar specialising in Asian…
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Readers who are familiar with Karina May’s work will be unsurprised to learn that her latest fictional offering, That Island Feeling, is a smorgasbord of nostalgic film references. From the classic Goldie Hawn flick Overboard to Dirty Dancing to (one of my personal favourites) Coyote Ugly, May draws on her cinephile side (being one half of…
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As the new year is set to roll around, our team have already got their sights set on a bumper year of awesome releases! The beginning of the year has our readers frothing over occult and ghostly horrors, journeys of self-discovery, tormented artists, time travelling detectives, and even a moon made of cheese. Witchcraft and…
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As we rapidly approach the end of the year, the AU Books team have been desperately sorting books, rating and re-rating, choosing and re-choosing as they try to narrow down their favourite reads of 2024. It’s never an easy to task to choose just one, so we at least let them put forward a couple…
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Matthew Hooper’s heart-wrenching debut A Cold Season doesn’t shy away from the realities of rural life in a bitter post-WW1 winter. Narrated by 14-year-old Beth, the book is set in the foothills of Mount Kosciusko. Isolated and vulnerable, the story opens as a harsh winter is rolling in, bringing with it flash storms and heavy…
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Every Australian knows something of the colonisation of Australia; of the ships that were sent and the convicts that arrived. But, there are some parts that are left out of the wider narrative, unnoticed or undiscussed in conversations about Australia’s history. It’s one such element that Santilla Chingaipe delves into in her latest book Black…
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Invasion is imminent! Hostile forces have overtaken a remote moon and are in the midst of uncovering a secret base that holds the key to a delicate intergalactic alliance. It is up to superhero Anvil Liza to thwart the enemy’s plans and in the process maintain balance in the universe. Launched via Kickstarter, Stellarlands is…
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Fans of history, maritime archaeology, or simply anyone fascinated by the unknowns of the sea will enjoy Mensun Bound and Mark Frary’s deep dive (sorry!) of artefacts, wreckages and other mysteries recovered from the ocean floor. Wonders In The Deep sees Mensun Bound, a renowned maritime archaeologist who served as the Director of Exploration for…
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Nina Kenwood, best known for her YA novels and former winner of the Text Prize, released her first novel for the adult market this September. While it’s decidedly less spicy than some other books in the genre I could mention, the book is definitely not meant for teenage readers. The Wedding Forecast follows Anna, a marketing…
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In the interests of full transparency before diving into this review, I must admit: I’m a massive fan of Savage Garden. The band’s two monumental albums were often blared from the tape player of my parent’s VN Vacationer Commodore, embedding themselves into the soundtrack of my childhood and bookmarking every road trip in the early…
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Heartbreakingly sad, beautifully written and filled with edge-of-your-seat tension, A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is a stunning exploration of war, feminine power, and the ability to endure. Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, the story opens with Xishi washing silk in a river on…
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Emily Tsokos Purtill‘s debut novel took her ten years to write. Ten years in which she was also building a promising legal career and a family. It’s no surprise then, that family is at the heart of Matia – the story of four generations of women from a Greek Australian family. The matia of the title…
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Prolific Australian author, Anita Heiss, published her ninth novel in August, following the success of her 2021 historical fiction book, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams). Her latest book, Dirrayawadha (Rise Up) once again looks at Australian history from the perspective of First Nations characters, this time examining the Frontier Wars in Bathurst of the 1820s…
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It’s hard to summarise Western Australian author John Kinsella’s latest book – Beam of Light: Stories, save for describing the way it feels: a little uncanny, a little haunting. An anthology of short stories – most of which are extremely short, even for the genre – its atmosphere and thoughtfulness makes for a fascinating read,…
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The cosy fantasy genre is having a boom at the moment, with titles like Travis Baldree‘s Legends and Lattes setting the tone for character driven stories that don’t necessarily involve epic quests, but do involve a lot of hot drinks. Rewitched, by YouTuber Lucy Jane Wood, is the latest cosy, autumnal read to come across…
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All the Beautiful Things You Love is the second novel by journalist, Jonathan Seidler. It follows Elly, a woman in her mid-thirties, in the days and weeks following the breakdown of her marriage. She attempts to deal with the pain of losing her relationship by getting rid of all the things in their once-shared apartment…
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Gabriella Ortiz has gone by many names. General. Dolores Lazlo. La Pesadilla. Ortz. Nine Lives. Gabi. Child superweapon turned pit fighter, turned pirate, turned the Accord’s most wanted, she’s lived more than a few different lives. And she’s died a few deaths too. Havemercy Grey is, by any comparison, nobody. A Deputy Air Marshall on…
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Keshe Chow‘s hotly anticipated debut, The Girl with No Reflection, is a dark fantasy inspired by Imperial Chinese history and mythology with a steady injection of romance for good measure. Its vivid imagery, unique world-building and courtly intrigue are no doubt what had US critics praising the book long before its release here in Australia….
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