Blog Archives

“Lashings of empathy”, Tina Shaw

From the Ashes
Deborah Challinor
HarperCollins, $37.00,
ISBN 9781460754122

What You Wish For
Catherine Robertson
Black Swan, $38.00,
ISBN 9780143772811

Discovering that From the Ashes is a sequel to Fire, Challinor’s 2006 novel, makes sense of this novel’s title. Fire was set in Auckland, although based on the Ballantyne’s department store fire of 1947 in Christchurch. From the Ashes is the second book in a series called “The Restless Years” that will take readers up to the Vietnam War.

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Teacup warriors, Les Cleveland

Fernleaf Cairo: New Zealanders at Maadi Camp Alex Hedley (with Megan Hutching) HarperCollins, $36.39, ISBN 9781869507718 Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Vets Talk About their War Deborah Challinor HarperCollins, $36.99, ISBN 9781869507718 Things Have Been Pretty Lively: The Great War

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Posted in Autobiography, Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review, War

Confessions of an historical romance virgin, Beryl Fletcher

The Paua Tower Coral Atkinson Black Swan, $27.99, ISBN 1869417623 The Sawdust Makers Jackie Fraser Hazard Press, $34.99, ISBN 187739307X Kitty  Deborah Challinor HarperCollins, $34.99 ISBN 1869506014 First, a confession: I’m an historical romance virgin. This is either a good

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Bring on the gothic, Jane Stafford

Fire  Deborah Challinor Harper Collins, $39.99, ISBN 9781869506001 Wild Latitudes Barbara Else Vintage, $27.99, ISBN 9781869418670 A Secret Mind  Kaye Kelly Black Swan, $27.99, ISBN 978869417819 Sylvia lay awake listening to the mournful cry of a morepork. Another noise, a

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Heroes, villains, fatal flaws, Jenny Robin Jones

Catching the Current Jenny Pattrick Black Swan, $27.95, ISBN 1869417259 Union Belle Deborah Challinor HarperCollins, $31.99, ISBN 186950559X The Love Apple Coral Atkinson Black Swan, $27.95, ISBN 1869417208 New Zealanders, we are told, are avid for their history. To help

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Strangely compelling, Jane Stafford

Tamar Deborah Challinor HarperCollins, $21.95, ISBN 1869504089 The Trespass Barbara Ewing Times Warner, $34.95, ISBN 0316860573 The Stove Rake Denise Keay Flamingo, $24.95, ISBN 1869504062 One of the most disconcerting aspects of the reading experience, encountered frequently at this more

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Posted in Fiction, Literature
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