Australian Recent Release: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang.
Khai Diep does not feel big, normal emotions like grief, and love. He feels irritation when people move his stuff, and contentment when his finances are in balance, but otherwise, he believe’s himself to be defective.
But Khai’s family know that his autism means he processes his emotions differently to others. As Khai consistently avoids relationships, his mother decides to take matters into her own hands, returning to Vietnam to find him a bride.
Esme Tran is a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, and has always felt out of place. When she receives the opportunity to travel to America to connect with a potential future husband, she finds herself unable to refuse, believing Khai may be the key to helping her family. Seducing Khai, however, is not at all plain sailing.
“Original, smart, knowing, and finely observed. The story never flags and the portrayal of the autistic protagonist avoids the cliches and stereotypes…. A terrific cast of characters, deftly portrayed. We know from the outset that we’re in sure hands, and the book delivers on its promises” – Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project.
Tasmanian Recent Release: The Sparkle Pages by Meg Bignell.
Is marriage just a series of texts about where the children are and whether we need milk until one of you dies?
Susannah Parks is a busy woman, but not quite in the way she always imagined. As a wife and mother, she has become an expert cleaner of surfaces and lego pick-er-up-erer, but this year, she has decided to be much more interesting, and thoughtful, cheerful and relevant, not to mention stylish and alluring. This year, she is going to renew herself, and reignite the passion with her husband, Hugh.
“WARNING: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, SEX SCENES AND FANTASIES ABOUT HUSBANDS UNPACKING THE DISHWASHER.”
This is a hilarious and heart-warming book that will steal away the winter chill and put a smile on your face.
Kids Recent Release: Wolf Girl by Anh Do.
Best-selling children’s author Anh Do returns with this fantastically exciting adventure.
“Does Gwen have what is takes to be leader of the pack?”
When disaster strikes, Gwen is separated from her family and must learn to survive on her own. Fortunately, she is soon joined by a wolf puppy, a labrador, a chihuahua, and a greyhound, who help Gwen uncover strengths she hadn’t realised were in her possession.
Tasmanian Classic: Kindred: A Cradle Mountain Love Story by Kate Legge.
“He was an Austrian immigrant; she came from Tasmania. He grew up beside the Carinthian Alps; she climbed mountains when few women dared. Their honeymoon glimpse of Cradle Mountain lit an urge that filled their waking hours. Others might have kept this splendour to themselves, but Gustav Weindorfer and Kate Cowle sensed the significance of a place they sought to share with the world. When they stood on the peak in the heat of January 1910, they imagined a national park for all.”
In Kindred: A Cradle Mountain Love Story, award-winning journalist Kate Legge shares the incredible story behind the creation of the Cradle Mountain reserve, through the characters at it’s centre. Sadly, neither Gustav Weindorfer or Kate Cowle lived to see their dream come to fruition. The World Heritage listed landscape is now visited by 250,000 people every year.