Grab a blanket, find a comfy spot on the couch, and dive into our August book recommendations, that will have you intrigued, enthralled and captivated for hours. These wonderful stories will keep you engrossed within  their pages, as they take you on a journey to another  time and place.

By Any Other Name

By Jodi Picoult

This captivating novel tells the story of two women, who lived centuries apart, fighting to be heard. In 1581, Emilia Bassano lived in a time where women had no voice of their own. As the mistress of a Lord however she had access to all of England’s theatres, and used this to secretly bring her work to the stage. But, despite creating masterpieces, her secrets cost her a name etched in history. In the present, playwright Melina writes an inspired play about Emilia, her ancestor. Though they live 400 years apart, they face the same challenge where women must fight for their place in the world. Will Melina face the same fate and have her name written out of the history books?

Highway 13 

By Fiona McFarlane

A gripping and haunting story about the consequences of a serial killer’s crimes in the lives of everyday people. In 1998 a seemingly ordinary Australian man was arrested and charged with a series of brutal murders. The news shocks a nation and brings both horror and resolution to the families of the victims. But, the impact travels to the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and to the future within the stories featured on true-crime podcasts. Read on as the overlapping stories unfold, exploring the way they are told, and the repercussions of each aspect of these harrowing crimes.

Honey 

By Isabel Banta

A coming of age story, following a pop star on her rise to fame during the Y2K era. In 1999, Amber Young is about to find herself transformed from a nice, simple girl from New Jersey, to one of the most infamous pop stars of her time.  When she meets a young couple, and fellow stars, Wes and Gwen, she finds herself torn between her wonderful friendship with one, and a total infatuation with the other. How will this impact on her friendship, her career, and her future?

Talent For Murder 

By Peter Swanston

After a surprising, whirlwind romance, Martha, a quiet librarian, married Alan. However, when she thinks she sees his mask slip, she fears that the conferences he travels to may actually be a cover for something far more ominous. As she secretly begins to track his movements, she uncovers a trail of dead women. Could they all be linked? Unsure of her ability to trust her instincts, she turns to an old friend Lily, who helped her escape from a toxic relationship many years prior. But, what Martha doesn’t know is that Lily has a dark side of her own.

Home Truths

By Charity Norman

How do you fight an invisible enemy? An unputdownable and timely new novel from the Ngaio Marsh-winning author of Remember Me. Livia Denby is on trial for attempted murder. The jury has reached a verdict. Two years earlier, Livia was a probation officer in Yorkshire, her husband Scott a teacher. Their children, Heidi and Noah, rounded out a happy family, until the day Scott’s brother died. Grief and guilt leave Scott searching for answers, a search that takes him into the world of conspiracy theories. As his grip on reality slides, he makes a decision that will put the family on a collision course with tragedy. Livia’s family has been torn apart, and now her son’s life is hanging in the balance. Just how far will she go to save the ones she loves?

Two Daughters

By Alison Edwards

A brilliant debut reaching from the picturesque South Coast of NSW to the cloisters of Cambridge, following two young women’s lives as they become entwined in ways neither could have expected.

Exploring motherhood, class, social justice, love and identity, it is told with wit and empathy and perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty. For Ava, heading to university in the city is her escape from a poverty stricken upbringing in a tiny coastal town. On the other side of the world, Laurie tolerates university only at the urging of her father, a celebrated professor of Marxist thought. They could not be more different, and yet as each grapple with the lasting effects of losing a mother, their lives become entwined in ways neither could have expected.

Lebanon Days

By Theodore Ell

A captivating memoir that unravels the emotional struggles of a nation the world has long overlooked. Through the eyes of an outsider, this story takes a deep dive into the intimate details of Lebanon’s hardships, providing a profound understanding of its people and their journey. From 2018 to 2021, writer and researcher Theodore Ell accompanied his wife on her diplomatic posting to Lebanon and unexpectedly found himself a witness to a country on the brink of collapse. This is the story of a complex country driven over the edge but still seeking faith, seen through the eyes of an outsider drawn into its intimate struggle.

The Phoenix Ballroom

By Ruth Hogan

Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves is left with a huge house, a bank balance to match and an uneasy feeling that she’s been sleepwalking through the last fifty years. Buying the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom and with it a drop-in centre and spiritualist church.Venetia’s generosity, courage and kindness provide a refuge for a touching cast of damaged and lonely people who find their chosen family. As their stories intertwine, long buried secrets are revealed, missed opportunities seized and lives renewed as the Phoenix lives up to its name.