With April now gone, we’re a third of the way through the year already! It’s a good time to check how you’re progressing with your reading challenge. There’s plenty of inspiration to be had from our participants. Throughout April we had 18 reviews of 14 books by 14 authors. You can see all the full list on our Books Reviewed page.

Two books garnered three reviews each. Pamela Hart’s A Letter from Italy was reviewed by Jeannette at ReadRoundOz, Jess at The Neverending Bookshelf and AWW’s own Theresa Smith. Theresa featured the book on the second of this year’s historical fiction round-ups, so hop on over for a closer look!

Scott-TwistKylie Scott’s Twist also proved popular. Bree at 1 Girl 2 Many Books gave it nine out of ten:

Once again Kylie Scott has proven that she’s the worthy of the vote of Australia’s favourite romance author because she’s delivered another incredible story that flips everything I think I prefer upside down. Before reading this, I’d have said Joe wasn’t my sort of guy….after reading this? Yes to Joe. Yes to everything about Joe. He’s the sort of character that would win over any woman – not just Alex.

And I had some thoughts of my own:

The story is told in first person solely from Alex’s perspective. Nevertheless, it manages to do an excellent job of conveying Joe’s feelings. This is partly helped by the inclusion of some of their emails at the start of each chapter, but mostly the result of Joe’s earnestness and some excellent storytelling.

Rebecca Denton’s This Beats Perfect is going on my wish list after Rochelle at Inside My Worlds gave it a glowing review:

This Beats Perfect. This Book’s perfect. I loved it. Rebecca Denton has done a standout job with this cool contemporary that is all about the music. She herself has a career in music and has used her insider knowledge to bring true authenticity to this book.

Callen-long-paddockAnother five-star review went to The Long Paddock by Alissa Callen. Jess at The Neverending Bookshelf had this to say:

So far 2017 has been a top notch reading year for me personally, and this latest addition from Aussie Author Alissa Callen is no exception. Full of mystery and intrigue and a good dash of romance, it’s the kind of book that is going to demand the reader’s attention and never let them go. Dealing with some heavier topics – alcoholism, mental illness, suicide and drought – it’s the kind of book that I find myself often returning too for it is unmatched in heart and soul. It’s brilliant and one page turner that you won’t want to miss this Summer.

Coming Soon

May should be a good month for lovers of rural romance. Keep an eye out for Karly Lane‘s If Wishes Were Horses and Kayte Nunn’s Angel’s Share. Rachel Johns will be starting a new rural romance series with Talk of the Town. If historical romance is more your thing, you might be excited to know that Natasha Lester is following up the success of her book A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald with a new offering set in both the 1920s and 1940s called Her Mother’s Secret. Or if Regency is more your time period, try Marry in Haste by Anne Gracie. Contemporary readers might want to check out Memories of May by Juliet Madison, while those preferring a bit of suspense should look for Heart Breaker by Shannon Curtis.

 


Elizabeth Fitzgerald is a freelance editor and owner of Earl Grey Editing. She runs a book blog, was a judge for the 2016 Aurealis Awards, and just finished her fourth term as the Secretary of the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild. An unabashed roleplayer and reader of romance, her weaknesses are books, loose-leaf tea and silly dogs. She tweets @elizabeth_fitz