Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty (4 stars)

 

As a fan of Australian authors, Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty felt like the perfect read. Set in Sydney, the story follows the quirky, sometimes chaotic lives of the Kettle triplets—Cat, Gemma, and Lyn—delivering the blend of humor and heartache Moriarty is known for. Moriarty’s vivid descriptions of Sydney, including references to places I’m familiar with, made the book especially enjoyable.

The story is told through alternating perspectives of the sisters, each grappling with their own issues. Lyn is the hyper-organized career woman and mother, Gemma is a free-spirited wanderer who refuses to settle down, and Cat—who I found incredibly relatable—navigates the pain of infidelity, as her husband Dan cheats on her with a younger woman. Having gone through a similar experience, Cat’s journey resonated deeply. Moriarty captures her raw pain and disillusionment perfectly: "It's not like in the movies. It’s not a one-time thing. It’s a thousand tiny things, a thousand little cuts."

One of the strengths of Three Wishes is how it explores sisterhood and the bond that remains strong, even through explosive arguments and personal disasters. The sibling rivalry and affection between the triplets are portrayed with a delightful authenticity. The scene where a birthday dinner turns into an all-out brawl is a humorous yet poignant reflection on the ups and downs of family life.

Gemma’s free-spirited nature was refreshing and contrasted wonderfully with Lyn’s rigidity. I particularly loved how Moriarty highlighted their different approaches to life. Gemma's lightness and tendency to escape difficult situations through travel and avoidance were balanced by Lyn’s intense control over every aspect of her life: "Lyn ran her life like a military operation. Gemma floated through hers like a cloud."

The plot is a well-crafted blend of light-hearted moments, touching revelations, and emotional confrontations. The climax brings about growth and healing for the sisters, with each one confronting their personal struggles and learning to support one another in new ways. While some sections felt a little slow, Moriarty’s trademark humor and sharp observations about relationships kept the story engaging.

Overall, Three Wishes is a heartfelt exploration of family, love, and the complexities of life. For anyone who enjoys Sydney-based stories and witty, relatable characters, this book is a delightful read.

Review: Call my Name by Jenni Ogden

 

I really enjoyed reading this book, but it may not be the book for everyone.   It opened with a shocking scene discussing whether or not she had received her period, and the consequences of this being in a new relationship, and the time of free love being the 60's.

It covers quite a lot of sensitive topics in well researched and descriptive detail.  Topics such as abortion, loosing a child during birth resulting in a hysterectomy, overseas adoption along with surrogacy and euthanasia.  

Thankyou to Netgalley and Sea Dragon Press for my advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

3 Stars: It was a good book and well-crafted. I would recommend it to the right person.

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Review: The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis

 

A disturbing thriller, that unfortunately is "believable"

Vikki Petraitis tells the story of Senior Detective Antigone Pollard. Detective Pollard was working a rape victim case in Melbourne that became too close to her heart. When the case was wrapped up, and escape from the tragedy and shock that this case held over her, Detective Pollard moved to the small town she had grown up in, to stay in her grandmother's farm house.

Not long after Detective Pollard has moved in, things go from bad to worse in this small town, where everybody knows each other, and secrets are kept.

Detective Pollard is on her way home from work, and stops at the bar for a quiet drink. Before too long she is being hit on, by a drunk old timer, who doesn't want to take no for an answer. A tall, handsome looking stranger diffuses the situation for her and offers to buy her a drink, they chat for a bit, and then she starts to feel tired and a little woozy/sick. Detective Pollard excuses herself and makes her way to her car, stumbling and tripping.

The events of this evening, lead Detective Pollard on a series of investigations, leading into suspected date rape druggings, which have been reported and previously ruled out, as the girls were apparently dressed "asking for trouble" or where only crying rape, as they were in relationships and "their boyfriends had found out"

"So you believed the the alleged rapists over the alleged victim?" Jane's voice took on an indignant pitch. "Girls lie sometimes." I nodded . And rapists lie all the time"

As Detective Pollard's investigations into these investigations continue, she becomes a target herself. She is being threatened by her boss, is threatened at her home, and is labelled as a liar by the Mayor and others in authority in the town.

Even with her back against the wall. Detective Pollard is determined to find out the truth of what is going on in this small town, even if it costs her, her own life.

Thankyou to Better Reading for my advanced copy, in return I offer my honest review.

4 Stars: I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like the genre. I will definitely want to read more books by this author

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Review: Smoky Joe's Cafe by Bryce Courtenay

 

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Thommo is a returned vet from Vietnam, and is damaged with PTSD and multiple undiagnosed skin conditions, of which the Department of Vet Affairs denies is a result of the war. Thommo has nightmares from the war, has violent outbursts, and struggles to fit into normal civilian life.

"I'm a bloody coward. Oh shit, what am I gunna do? I'm a heap o' shit. They give me a medal. I let me best mate die, took the ditch for meself and they give me a fucking medal! A lousy medal."

Thommo has married his childhood sweetheart, and life is not going well for them. Between the nightmares and the outbursts, Thommo is hanging together by a thread, his marriage is on the rocks, and his only care in life is the welfare of his wife and young daughter.

Thommo's and his wife Wendy have a little girl together, Anna who is sick with cancer, leukaemia. Anna's only chance of survival is a bone marrow transport, not only are the costs of the surgery horrendous, but the hope of finding a donor match is next to impossible.

Thommo's old Platoon captain, reaches out to him, to organise a reunion of sorts, he asks if it can be held at Thommos' cafe (Smokey Joe's Cafe) which his wife inherited, when her father passed away.

Thommo's Platoon with the assistance of Wendy's fighting spirit, hitch a plan in an attempt to save little Anna's life.

"No more government, no more handouts and being thought of as bludgers working the system. We're helping ourselves, doing it our way and, as I said, it feels fucking wonderful"

I found the book to be a fast paced quick read. Bryce Courtenay does what Bryce does best, he has written a wonderful Australian Historical Fiction.

5 Stars: It was amazing. It was compelling, well-researched, entertaining and/or moving and often complex. I will definitely want to read more books by this author.

Review: Out of Breath by Anna Snoekstra

 

Jo has spent her life running away from her problems, instead of trying to tackle them.    She run from her childhood in England, from Art School in London.  She ran from a failed relationship, after a miscarriage,  with her boyfriend Eric in Sydney and is now in Western Australia, working as a fruit picker on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

The work on the fruit farm is tough, but reasonable.  The fruit packers pick fruit by hand all day in the blistering heat, the retreat of an evening to a tin shed, with no electricity, they use a fire pit for some light, have showers and retreat to bed exhausted in preparation for the next gruelling day.

Jo befriends the famer and his young son and they form a bond together.  A tragic accident occurs at the farm with one of Jo's co-workers. Jo becomes traumatised by the accident and the urge to resurfaces again.

Whilst working at the farm, Jo meets Gabe, Jo describes to her the off the grid community that he resides with, it is remote and undiscovered and to Jo this sounds like heaven, a place that is unrecognised and unknown, a place that is welcoming and a place to escape from reality.

This novel was a great thriller, with lot of unexpected twists and turns.

Thankyou to Better Reading for my advanced copy, in return I offer my honest review.

4 Stars: I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like the genre. I will definitely want to read more books by this author

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Review: The Understudy by Julie Bennett

 

The Understudy is a debut novel for Julie Bennett. The novel is based loosely on Julie's own experience as an extra in the Australian Opera in 1973. Julie's father was also a tenor in the Australian Opera.

The book tells two stories, that of the lead Opera singer Margaret and the story of her understudy Sophie Carlton.

Margaret is a famous Australian Opera Singer and has been cast in the role of Madame Butterfly, at the opening of the brand new Sydney Opera House. Sophie has a role in the Chorus, but has also been cast as Margaret's understudy.

Sophie has wanted nothing else in life, but to sing the lead singer of an Opera and sing beside her all time idol, Armando Cecchi. When Margaret goes missing, Sophie can't believe her dream has finally come true.

Suspicions arise around the convenience of Margaret's disappearance, and Sophie is questioned by her employer and work mates. Sophie is doing well in her role, whilst she is filling in for Margaret, but the suspicions continue to rise and the Media are also rising suspicions.

I found the book difficult to put down, every 5 minutes I had spare, I was reading this book to find out what was happening with Sophie and if there had been an update on the missing Margaret.

The book is full of love, suspicion, thrill and excitement. This is a good first novel, with a little room for improvement. Perhaps if the form of characters, I also found the ending a little rushed.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and Julie Bennett for gifting me this copy. In return for your generosity I offer you my review

3 Stars: It was a good book and well-crafted. I would recommend it to the right person.

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Review: The Mother by Jane Caro

The Mother  is a very well written and entertaining debut novel by Jane Caro

Miriam is a mother of two adult daughters, Fiona and Alley.  Fiona is happily married with a daughter Molly, and Ally has just met the "man of her dreams", after multiple dead end boyfriends.   Miriam and her husband Pete both feel that Nick, Ally's future husband, is lovely, kind, he has a great career, ie. Veterinarian.   He is always polite and chatty the few times that they have met him.   

Ally and Nick had a whirlwind romance, get married, and move to Dungog NSW.   Nick gets a job at the local Vet clinic and Ally ends up volunteering there as a receptionist, in her spare time between her uni studies. 

Meanwhile, back in Greenwich, Sydney, Miriam owns her own successful Real Estate Business, which keeps her busy and her spare time is spent tending to her well loved garden.     Miriam's life as she knows it, is shattered when her loving husband Pete suddenly dies, and Miriam is left to learn how to live again without her Pete.

Life for Ally in Dungog is accelerating rather quickly,  before she knows it she is pregnant with their first child, she has quit her university studies, she is busy at home learning to be a mother in a new town with no family or friends around, and is feeling the pressure.        Miriam reaches out to Ally, to try to come and spend time with her new grandchild and youngest daughter, but Ally keeps refusing and has multiple reasons as to why she can do it on her.    

This story uncovers the truths behind domestic violence situations, and how easy it is to go undiscovered by the closest of family members and friends.

Without giving away too much of the story line, so that you are able to experience the book for itself.   What Ally and Miriam both go through in this situation is terribly scary and unfortunately believable.  

Ally is bullied, and becomes a slight shadow of the confident woman that she once was before she was married.   She looses faith in herself, and has convinced by her husband to the point of believing that she is insane and going crazy.      Ally's mother Miriam is a bad ass Mum, a Mum that will go to the end of the earth to protect her daughter. 

As  a mum of a young adult daughter myself, I found this book extremely relatable, and difficult to put down.  

Thankyou to Allen and Unwin for my advanced copy, in return I am offering my honest review.  Book first published in March 2022.

4 Stars: I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like the genre. I will definitely want to read more books by this author.

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Review: Daughters of Eve by Nina D. Campbell

The suspense and thrill of this book is outstanding.   For a debut novel, this is incredible, what a wonderfully talented writer.

Detective Sergeant Hart is a foster mother to two young teenage girls, whom she discovered living on the streets.   Her daughters Rose and Grace have had a tough life on the streets, earning money whichever way they could, just to survive.  

The very first scene from this book is Detective Hart is exiting the court house with the crowd, after a court case has ended, shots are fired, people are scrambling and right in front of her a judge is shot dead by a sniper, Hart tends to the victim, takes of her coat and puts pressure on the wound, whilst the ambulance arrives.

Hart begs to be assigned the homicide case, and uses her leverage as being a witness to the murder to get assigned the case.     The case takes many twists and turns and ends up possibly becoming a serial murder case.

I absolutely loved loved loved this book, I cannot recommend it highly enough.    It is suspenseful, thought provoking, well researched and entertaining.    I will definitely be keeping a copy of this in my home library and will be recommending to others.

There is topics of rape and sex crimes so may not be suitable for all readers.

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5 stars from me :)

A Caravan Like a Canary by Sasha Wasley

 

What an absolutely wonderful book.   

Tara and her brother Zac  have received a final wish from their Mother who is in a hospice, in the top end of Australia, and whom only has a couple of months left to live, it is for them both to go on a road trip together to deliver to her, her canary yellow caravan.   It is a road trip that Tara and Zac had done previously, over 15 years prior with their Mum and their sister Sunny also.    

Tara is extremely hesitant, it is an extremely busy time at work for her, with the announcement of a police raid occurring within the next two weeks, which would require all hands on deck.  Tara is also in the process of moving into her Nan's house, the caravan also requires a lot of work to be done mechanically and to the body to make it road worthy and registered.

Tara is the steady rock, to her carefree, thrill seeking younger brother Zac.  She has always been there for him, when he needed bailing out from the trouble he constantly managed to get himself into.  The two of them have always been extremely close, despite their differences in personality types.

Tara however  is a scientist, for the police forensic labs in Perth.  She has worked hard all her life, put her head down and studied.  She has saved money, by being scrupulous,  she would take her own vegemite sandwiches for lunch whilst her colleagues, ate out, she would stay home on weekends instead of going to bars, or movies, or shopping for clothes etc. 

The road trip with the Canary Yellow Caravan, is one of adventure and excitement, but also comes with suspense and fear.  They are on a journey of self discovery, as both siblings learn more about each others personal lives and discover new things about themselves.

They are followed and threatened by a motor cycle gang, and are running for their lives from this threat.  

If found this book outstanding.   Once I started reading, I found it really difficult to put down.

Thankyou to Pantera Press and Better Reading for providing me with this Advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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5 Stars: It was amazing. It was compelling, entertaining and moving and often complex. I will definitely want to read more books by this author

Review: Her Time to Shine by Fiona McCallum

 

Fiona McCallum is an extremely talented Australian Author.  This is my first read of hers, and reading this book was an absolute pleasure.   She is extremely descriptive, her use of words flows beautifully and the detail in setting the scene and description of her characters and even their feelings is incredible.   Some author's do not take the time to set the scene properly and tell the story.  Fiona, however is a natural at this.    I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, and will most definitely be adding more of her books to my TBR pile.

Erica is recently widowed, been threatened by a stalker, lost her job, and has uprooted herself in order to try and save thier home from being taken from by the banks.  She is trying to adjust to life on her own in a  small country town of Melrose,  and has managed to secure a new job at the local funeral home.  Where most people would feel uneasy about this type of career, Erica is at ease, she feels she is able to relate to the clients and is quite comfortable with them whilst they are upset and grieving.

Erica has a lovely boss (Walter), he also is recently widowed having lost his wife, whom used to work with him in the funeral home business.

Erica and her boss, Walter, are called out to a job that involves a young man and an accidental drowning.   Erica is usually quite good with these aspects of their job, but for some reason this particular scene renders Erica motionless and she appears to suffer from PTSD and goes into severe shock.

This incident triggers a lot gaps in  her memory for Erica, and her lack of memories from a similar incident, has encouraged Erica to do some digging into her past, with the assistance of her two daughters.

In this novel Erica goes through a journey of self discovery, she re-invents herself in the wake of a past traumatic experience, and through the help of her new friends she gains confidence in herself and her future.  

This is a lovely book, that is very easy to read.

Thankyou to Netgalley, Harlequin Australia and [author:Fiona McCallum|4311460] for my advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I rate this book 4 stars - It was compelling, entertaining and easy to read.   I would definitely like to read more books by this author.

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It is the beginning of World War I, and Cora  is leaving her home in South Australia with a group of other Australian Nurses, whereby they are  travelling to England to work as a Nurse to help set up an Australian Hospital not too far from the city of London.    The beautiful home which has been donated to the Australian Army, from a wealthy Australian family that had migrated to the UK, is like nothing Cora has ever seen.

At first it is an adventure for Cora, travelling overseas, assisting in the set up of a new hospital in a beautiful English Manor House, with luscious gardens and lakes.

Cora meets new friends, and forms life time friendships with the other Nurses and also the English volunteers.

Jessie is a local, and Jessie and her Mum have their own sewing business.   Jessie and her Mum, Win help clean and set up the hospital also.    Jessie ends up volunteering at the hospital, in whatever free time she can find inbetween sewing dresses and caring for her Mother and Brother.

Jessie and Cora's stories are both stories of romance, love heart ache and sadness.    

I have read many WWI novels, but the Nurses War by Victoria Purman would have to the absolute best  so far.   Victoria puts a lot of research into her novels, and the history that you learn whilst reading such a beautiful novel like this is inspiring.   I have learnt a lot about Australia and the sacrifices our Anzacs made for the future of Australia whilst reading this novel.

Don't try and rush this book, sit down read it slowly and truly relax, enjoy and let the story sink in.   There will be tears, but you will experience joy and relief also.

I am so in love with this book, that I will be buying multiple copies when it is published, a copy for my personal library as long as a couple more for gifts.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for my advanced copy for my honest review.   I rate this novel 5 stars.

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Review: Small Acts of Defiance by Michelle Wright

 

Lucie was born and raised in Australia, it is the only home she has ever known.

After an unfortunate incident where her home caught on fire and her father passed away in the fire.

As Lucie and her mother Yvonne have nothing left, they are left with no choice but to move to Paris, to receive assistance from her Uncle whom Lucie has never met. There are rumours of a possible war , but they are currently only rumours, and it is currently being labelled as a "fake war", as Lucie and her Mother cannot survive on their own in Australia, they take the little money Uncle Gerrard has offered them and use it to for their passage to France to live with relative in his small apartment.

Although Lucie is in a foreign country, that is on the edge of a war breaking out, Lucie is able to spend a little bit of time familiarising herself with Paris, and really starts to love and enjoy the city just prior to the breakout of the war.

Lucie finds herself a job at the local art gallery where she paints postcards of Paris. It is here in this job that she forms some special friendships, and learns about her Parisian friends who are making these "small acts of defiance".

Lucie is shown, by her Parisian friends the true extent of the war, and what is happening when the Jews are extracted from Paris. Lucie needs to make a decision as to whether she will stay safe and secure and turn a blind eye, or will she join her friends in their small acts of defiance.

I enjoyed the thrill of this book, Lucie and her friend Aline are both wonderfully dramatic characters. I highly recommend this book, and it will definitely hold a permeant place on my shelf for good books.

Big thank you to Allen & Unwin for the copy.

Rated 4 stars


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Review: When we Fall by Aoife Clifford

 

What a fantastic book, I loved every singe minute of it. This is one of those books, that you just can't put down. It is very well written, well researched, the characters are great. It is a "who done it, murder mystery" that keeps you guessing the entire book. It is an extremely entertaining book and I will be looking out for more books by Aoife Clifford to read in the future.

Alex returns to her home town Millett to check in on the welfare of her mother, who is suffering from early onset Alzheimers.

Whilst Alex and her mother are going for a walk on the beach, her mother discovers a human leg. Alex waits at the scene, a lengthy two hours before the local police arrive.

Alex is a lawyer, who has a business of her own which is fairly quiet at present, with not many clients. She has also recently broken up with her boyfriend, so Alex has a fair amount of time on her hands while in Millett with her Mother.

One of the local townsfolk asks Alex to look into the recent death in the town, although the police indicate it may be a possible drowning, the townsfolk feel there is something more sinister happening, and that it is perhaps linked to another previous death of young girl in their town.

Alex takes it upon herself to investigate these deaths, and discovers lots of town secrets along the way.

Thankyou to Ultimo Press and Better Reading for providing me with this Advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I rate this book 5 stars.


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Review: Brunswick Street Blues by Sally Bothroyd

 

Brunswick Street Blues is the story of Brick Brown, a foster child who had been passed around from foster family to foster family, until she found her adoptive family with her beloved father Uncle Baz.

Baz runs the Phoenix pub in Brunswick where Brick has worked most of her life as a barmaid. Brick has recently found herself a day job working for the local council in their PR department. Whilst at work at the Council, Brick discovers a dead body in the archive department, the deceased is the local town Mayor. Everything around this discovery is quite mysterious.

Shortly after this discovery Brick's Uncle Baz, goes missing, she goes to his apartment above the pub and nothing is missing apart from his guitar. 

Brick takes it upon herself to find her Uncle Baz, and stumbles upon some dirty property developers and politicians that are involved in Melbourne's underworld of crime. 

The story is a little slow, but it really heats up towards the end, there are a couple of parts where I was truly fearing for Brick's safety.

Thankyou to Netgalley, Harlequin Australia and Sally Bothroydfor this advanced copy in return for my honest review. I rate this novel 3 stars.

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 I have never read a Jack Heath novel before, and I am extremely grateful to have received this unedited advanced copy from Allen & Unwin.    Kill Your Brother, is a well written suspenseful thriller.   Entertaining and and on the edge of your seat excitement from the very first page.

The first chapter sets the scene for the remainder of the book.   Elise is injured and hurt, and has somebody tending to her wounds and bandaging her.     It turns out this person is Elise's captive, and the captive has also captured Elise's brother Callum whom Elise has been searching for.   Elise is soon given an ultimatum, her capturer will let her go free, on one condition, Elise must kill her brother.

Jack Heath captures our attention from the very first chapter with this shocking dilemma.

The reader then goes on to read and discover more about who is Elise and what her relationship is with her brother Callum.      

Elise is disliked in her home town, she is threatened continuously, she has had food thrown at her, poo put in her letterbox, her house broken into and she is being followed.   Elise reports it to the police, but she feels the police are sick of her phone calls and no longer will investigate the threats until Elise herself is dead.  

Elise's brother Callum, a local school teacher, goes missing and the police don't have any leads.   Elise decides to take matters into her own hands and track down her missing brother herself by posing as a private detective.   

Things turn ugly for Elise when she also becomes captured with her brother.   Nobody, will be looking for Elise, as the town and everyone she knows turns against her years ago.

Will Elise and Callum, come up with a plan to escape, or will Elise have to kill her brother?

Many thanks to Allen & Unwin Publishers for my advanced unedited copy, released November 2021 - I rate this book 4 Stars,  it is engaging from beginning to the end.

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Review: Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

 

My daughter was reading this book as part of her senior reading tasks at school, and she really enjoyed it and asked if I would like to read it also.   I obviously jumped at the opportunity not only to read a good book, but also for a chance to bond with my teenage daughter.

The story is very sad, on so many accounts, so much tragedy and loss.  

Harry is the youngest of three boys, and the story is based around Harry’s life.  

The boys lost their mother in a terrible car accident, and are trying to survive life and its turmoils without their loving mother.    The eldest son Joe, has moved out of home, due to conflict with the father and he is living with his Grandfather.  Both of the elder boys love surfing although Harry is quite frightened of the water.  He spends his days strolling the sand looking for treasure, whilst the elder two are surfing.

Harry befriends a local dog and it’s owner, the love and friendship that is formed between Harry and George (the dog’s owner) is beautiful, George is the protector overseer that comes into Harry’s life just when he needs it.

The story is a tragedy, and will end with tears, so have on hand the box of tissues.

3 STARS - It was a good book and well-crafted. I would recommend it to the right person.

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Review: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Truly Madly Guilty is another outstandingly good book by Liane Moriarty.

Erika and Clementine are childhood friends, who grew up in two completely different families. Clementine

I truly enjoy the style Liane Moriarty uses to write her book, each character gets to tell their side of the story in their own words, and you get to feel each characters point of view. She introduces you to each character through the beginning of the book, you get to know and understand each character well.

Through the book, there are hints and suggestions of some kind of tragedy, and we see how it effects each character differently, in the middle of the book, the tragedy is revealed and it is not what I guessed what it would have been, I was shocked.

The book is very well written, like all of Liane's book.

I highly recommend it.

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Review: 28 by Brandon Jack

28 by Brandon Jack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a phenomenal book.

I am an avid Sydney Swans fan, and I must admit my interest in reading this book initiated from my cult like following of the Swans, but after reading the book, I believe it will be thoroughly enjoyed by an sports fan, not just AFL.

Brandon is a local Sydney boy, who group up in the Hills Shire, his father was the infamous Garry Jack from Balmain Tigers and the Australian Rugby team, Brandon was the youngest of three boys Kieran, Rhys and Brandon.

The eldest son Kieran was a professional footy player for the Sydney Swans, he was a premiership player, club captain and all Australian.

Football was imbedded into the boys since they were young, it was similar to a religion to them, the boys all grew up playing local rugby, with the boys playing for numerous local comps, with Rhys going on to play Harold Matts for Parramatta and Leichardt.

Kieran left the family tradition of League and moved on to AFL, Brandon also left the family comfort of League and changed codes to AFL.

The pressure footballers put themselves under every day to become successful and to play in the seniors team, is unthinkable, they literally live and breath footy every moment of their lives, every decision that Brandon makes is in regards to how it effects his chances of being selected for a senior footy game.

Brandon leaves the family home and moves into a club organised share house with some of his other team mates, closer to the SCG. Brandon works hard, to make senior team selection, and the opportunity always seems to be hanging in front of him, like a carrot on string, he is told numerous times, that he is doing everything right, but just doesn't see to be enough to make team selection.

He really punishes himself and works himself hard, physically and mentally to become the athlete that the coach's require him to be. He pushes and pushes himself so hard, that it is extremely tolling on his body mentally and physically.

Brandon opens up a lot about his personal life, about the parties, the drinking, the excessive amounts of alcohol, drug usage, sex, women, his own personal sexuality choices.

Brandon also talks about his music career, his band, the music he has written and produced.

Brandon is a gentle soul, with a lot of emotion and feeling, I feel that his love hate relationship with football, truly took it's toll on him, and came very close to destroying him.

The pressure these young athletes put themselves through just for team selection, and then adding to the mix the binge drinking, night life, parties and sexual encounters, these athletes are both mentally and physically challenged.

As a Swans fan, this book is a marvelous trip down memory lane, reading about past players, and reliving glorious moments like the 2012 Premiership and then the roads to the 2014 and 2016 Grand Final appearances.

John Longmire is an outstanding coach, and I will be forever proud to call the Sydney Swans my team, particularly when you read how the coaching staff install mental health sessions for their athletes, and are constantly taking care of their wellbeing, at the same time of training them to be elite athletes and footballers.

The influence these athletes have had over one another, in particular the way the senior team and leadership group have assisted with the first and 2nd year players is a great read. Particular the influence of the likes of Adam Goodes and Rhyce Shaw.

Brandon touches briefly on the racism incidents with Adam Goodes, but what he does highlight is the incredibly amazing man that Adam Goodes that is, his influence on young children and the fans, and the respect that his fellow team mates and Swans staff and fans have for him.

Respect is a huge part of the football culture, and it is great to read about how the club and it's staff encourage and influence the respect for one another.

Brandon is a multi talented young man, and a wonderful writer.

I was extremely lucky to receive an advanced copy of this book by publisher Allen and Unwin, and in doing so, I am more then happy to offer my honest review.

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Review: Solomon's Song by Bryce Courtenay

Solomon's Song by Bryce Courtenay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Solomon's Song is the third book in the Potato Factory trilogy by Bryce Courtenay.

It continues on directly from where Tommo & Hawk left off in the previous book. It starts in Sydney Town with Tommo hunting down Sparrer Fart for the death of his brother Hawk's beloved Maggie Pye. A body is found washed up on the shore, and is required to be identified, the body is found headless, and is wearing a Maori medal around it's neck, and Tommo's wallet in the pockets of the clothing. Mary and Hawk are called into Alexandria morgue to identify the body, and Mary confirms it is in fact the body of her son Tommo. It later becomes apparent that Tommo had devised a clever plan and had found and murdered Sparrer Fart, but changing the identity to his own at the very last minute, which prevented further investigations being made.

Tommo has retreated to New Zealand, where his daughter resides and has been raised by the Maori chief. Hawk follows Tommo to New Zealand, and is there with his brother in his last days before Tommo's passing, the wound in Tommo's head making Tommo extremely ill and causing the passing of his final days.

Hinetitema, Tommo's daughter is now 21, she is very strong willed and stubborn just like her father Tommo. Hawk tries to convince Hinetitema to come to Auckland to meet her Grandmother Mary Abacus. Hinetitema will have nothing of it, as she wants to be a nurse, and continue to reside in New Zealand and assist the poor.


Hinetitema is working as a Nurse in New Zealand and succumbs to the effects of alcohol, hawk on one of his annual visits to New Zealand discovers she is missing, and finds her a mess, he cleans her up and brings her back to Hobart with him. Mary and Hinetitema get along famously even though both women are very similar in personality and extremely stubborn.

Mary is getting quite elderly and is desperate for a heir to take over The Potato Factory, with Tommo passed and Hawk' without a partner, her only hope is in Hinetitema. Mary sends multiple suiters for Hinetitema to consider, none of them are of interest to her. Mary makes a risky move and arranges for a former flame of her niece's to come to Hobart, he is an alcoholic and a card shark.

The move pays off for Mary and Hinetitiema and the Dutch man, marry and conceive two children Ben and Victoria.

20 years later and Ben has gone to Gallipoli with the Anzacs and becomes and Victoria is learning the business of the Potato Factory under the guiding hand of her Uncle Hawk.

This is a must read story for every Australian. Bryce had detailed the story of Gallipoli in a clear heart-wrenching descriptive, you feel like you are there with the soldiers and hoping not to die. Make sure you have a book of tissues on hand when you read this book.

An outstanding story and deserves 10 stars. This is a book that stay with you for eternity.

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Review: Tommo & Hawk by Bryce Courtenay

Tommo & Hawk by Bryce Courtenay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the 2nd book in Bryce Courtenay's series the Potato Factory.

The story is continued with Tommo & Hawk, Mary Abacus' two sons. Their birth mother, died during child birth and they were found by Ikey Solomon who gave the two boys his name, and Mary raised them and loved them as her own sons.

The two boys were abducted when then were 7 and this experience has effected them both deeply. The story of Tommo and Hawk begins from when Tommo returns to Mary badly damaged both mentally and physically.

Tommo and Hawk leave the comforts of their mother, and find themselves on many adventures, they initially start out as workers on a whale ship, the embark in New Zealand and find themselves living amongst the Maori's, where Tommo meets his love Maraketa.

They leave New Zealand and return to Australia, but to Sydney where they travel to the gold mines and Tommo plays the Flats to get set for the next part of their journey. Hawk meets the love of his love Maggie Pye in Sydney.

Whilst they have been away, Mary has been writing to Hawk asking her boys to return to Hobart. Hawk gets himself in a spot of trouble and Tommo writes to Mary asking her to come to Sydney to help Hawk, whilst she is in Sydney, Mary continues to push Hawk and Tommo to return home.

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