May is the Sydney Writers Festival, so I tried to read as many books by authors who I would see there before it started, then I began reading some of the fellow authors who would be signing at the Ballgowns and Books Event in June…

23 of 80 – The Matchmaker by Saman Shad
I’m looking forward to several events at the Sydney Writers Festival this week, especially the Holly Ringland and Pip Williams ones. There’s also one with new-to-me author Saman Shad, a journalist, scriptwriter, playwright and teller of stories about being a third culture kid, growing up and living between Australia and Pakistan. Her debut novel The Matchmaker is a funny, sweet, thought provoking story of a modern matchmaker who can find love for everyone except herself. I tried this book as Saman is a friend of a friend, and I’m glad I did. It’s always fun when a story is set where you live, giving it an added layer of connection, and I loved all the characters and the tension between them, and loved seeing Saima and Kal unwittingly pushing each other to grow and blossom, regardless of whether they ended up together.

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24 of 80 – Love for Life by Saman Shad
A short and sweet Audible original based on her play The Marriage Agency, Saman Shad’s new audiobook Love for Life is a great companion to her debut novel The Matchmaker. It’s more family drama than rom com, but there are still light-hearted moments, and I was so glad I’d listened to it before seeing Saman speak on the In Love with Romance panel at the Sydney Writers Festival, which focused on the importance of everyone being able to see themselves in stories. This one highlights the rich culture and traditions of Pakistani immigrants as well as the challenges of their children growing up as third culture kids, but is also a story of and for everyone.

After successfully matchmaking within the Sydney desi community for years, Nas has decided to open a marriage agency to help all Australians find love. With 17 years of marriage to his dream woman Tasnim under his belt, he’s keen to help others find the same happiness that he has. But what he sees as a perfect, happy match isn’t necessarily what others agree on – including Tasnim.
Before long, the cracks in Nas and Tasnim’s marriage are beginning to show, and Salima, their 16-year-old daughter, is caught in the middle. Which parent will she side with, if either one at all? She’s got her own complicated life going on, one that her parents seem too busy to notice. Maybe it’s time for her to break some rules and follow her heart at last?

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25 of 80 – The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
“Your job is to bind books, not read them…”
I loved The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, and the companion novel The Bookbinder of Jericho is just as wonderful, blending history and imagination into a tale of love and loss, sisterhood (both literal and metaphorical), grief, duty and desire, feminism and friendship. Set in Oxford during WWI, it centres on Peggy and Maude, twenty-year-old twins who work in the bindery at the university press, and are reminded daily that they can’t aspire to anything more. They live on a canal boat together, Peggy responsible for her sister and occasionally resentful of that, and desperate to be a scholar but barred from the possibility by class and gender restrictions. It’s a story about knowledge – who gets to access it, who gets to create, shape and record it, and what is lost when it is so cruelly withheld from those who yearn for it, and given so generously to those who don’t appreciate it. It’s also a love letter to books, the printing of them, the binding of them, the writing and the reading of them. A different book prefaces each section, and there are references throughout to many classics.
Both sisters are tested and reshaped by the war and the new opportunities and challenges it brings, and their character arcs are complex and richly layered. I also love that some of the characters from The Dictionary of Lost Words feature, either in passing or as a significant person – I loved Tilda’s fleshed out story, which brought another unique perspective. It’s a fascinating time period; huge change was taking place, and women were proving – to themselves as well as others – just how strong and capable they’ve always been, and fighting for rights we now take for granted. It’s a fascinating, sometimes sad, deeply moving story, beautifully written and brilliantly researched, and I fell in love with Peggy and Maude and adored who they were, and who they both became.

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26 of 80 – Witchnapped in Westerham by Dionne Lister
Witchnapped in Westerham by Sydney author Dionne Lister is the first book in a sweet and funny cosy mystery series that now has 20 books to binge (as well as a second cosy series). One morning bleary-eyed Sydney photographer Lily finds a strange woman on her doorstep, who informs her that her brother has been kidnapped – and by the way, he’s a witch. As she tries to get her head around that, the woman informs her that, surprise! She’s a witch too. Confused and coffee-starved, Lily ends up in England trying to rescue her brother, wrap her head around the shock of a paranormal world, and get a handle on her unique magical ability. It’s a fun, fast-paced read, with quirky characters, great banter, a plot twist or two and lots of Aussie humour.

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27 of 80 – Beasts and Beauties: Ballgowns and Books Event (BABE) Anthology
The countdown is on to BABE, so I’ve been reading one of the two charity anthologies. I love Selina Fenech’s incredible story, and have blushed at a few others – there are some super spicy ones! Beasts and Beauties is the Paranormal and Fantasy Anthology, featuring a selection of BABE 2023 attending authors.
The anthologies are designed to give BABE attendees a brief introduction to these authors and their stories. All stories within are brand new content, or otherwise unavailable anywhere else. They’re short stories, novellas and prequels which don’t require any prior knowledge of the author or characters within. These stories are a broad range of romance, from high heat to closed door, and some will end on cliff-hangers.
All profits from the BABE 2023 Anthologies will benefit the Hawkesbury Helping Hands charity. Physical copies are only available at the event, and the ebook editions will be withdrawn from sale in July.
Featured stories include: Fallen Fae Gods – Jaymin Eve; A Siren’s Story – Stephanie Hudson; Sunset Stakes – Sophie Davis; Alpha Seeker – Lela Grayce; A Wish of Ashes and Glass – Selina A Fenech; Bad Moon Rising – Steffanie Holmes and Katie May; Brianne – Kate Bonham; Dragon Flames – Stacey Brutger; Biker Bear – Miri Stone; Found by Fate – May Dawson; Frayed Bond – Kaydence Snow; Insatiable – Emma Dean; Fancy Fury – Margo Bond Collins; Winter Ball – Leia Stone; A Discovery of Demonology – Amelia Hutchins; Of Ferns and Gullies – Lana Pecherczyk; On A Wing and A Prayer – Aaron L Speer; Shadows And Demons – Emma James; Witch Moon – Lilliana Rose; The Glass Court – Coralee June.
And I’ve been planning my story for the next BABE Anthology, which will be available at BABE 2025 in May.

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28 of 80 – The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien
There’s a lot of misinformation about the upcoming referendum swirling around, so The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo and award-winning journalist Kerry O’Brien is a wonderful contribution to the discussion, answering questions and explaining clearly what is being asked of Australians, why we should vote YES to enshrine a First Nations Voice in our Constitution, and the importance of all three aspects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – Voice, Treaty and Truth.
Thomas Mayo, signatory and advocate of the Uluru Statement, took the document to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around the country, which he wrote about in his first book Finding the Heart of the Nation, and in Finding Our Heart: A Story about the Uluru Statement for Young Australians, both brilliantly informative and engaging. Now (six years after then-PM Malcolm Turnbull asked First Nations people for solutions – then outright rejected what they’d spent six months consulting on) the referendum will finally be a reality, and The Voice to Parliament Handbook is a short, easy-to-follow guide that explains what it is and how it will improve policies affecting Indigenous communities. It’s a historic opportunity for genuine reconciliation, for all Australians to come together to right the wrongs of the past and heal the ruptured soul of a nation, and I can’t wait to vote yes.

From the Uluru Statement: 
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution… and seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

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29 of 80 – Haunt Me by Amanda Pillar
I’m getting sorted for BABE – well, I should be! – but also trying to catch up on fellow author book posts!
I really enjoyed Amanda Pillar’s Haunt Me, a funny, action-packed ghost story with a twist, and lots of hilarious banter plus some fun and flirty romance. (It’s on the steamy side though, if that’s a consideration!)

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30 of 80 – Beshadowed Omnibus by Selina Fenech
BABE – Ballgowns and Books Event – will have ALL the pretties! Like this stunning special edition hardcover of Selina A Fenech’s awesome Beshadowed series, four action-packed magical books that I love so much! The SE is sold out, but I have the four paperbacks, plus the omnibus, plus all the ebooks, cos Juz was reading them along with me as the four books came out, and we couldn’t wait to read the next instalment! And yes, he bagsed the paperbacks, ha ha!