Misconceptions by Sophie Townsend

This is a story of two women Ruth and Mim who have been best friends since they were twelve years old. Mim lives with Ruth and her husband Simon at their home in Glebe. They have been through a lot together over the course of their twenty year friendship including the tragic death of Ruth’s mother.
Ruth and Simon have been trying for a baby for the two years that Mim has lived with them and when Ruth finally conceives, they ask Mim to move out. This causes Mim to feel unwanted and abandoned, and she moves in with the teenage brother of a work colleague out of feelings of desperation and loneliness. When things go wrong at Mim’s work she decides to relocate to Broken Hill where her mother grew up.
This story deals with the issues of loss and grief and how relationships can inevitably be saved or be broken beyond repair.

Cathy.

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

I first encountered this series when the movie was released and other library staff members had began to read the books. After hearing their praise for them, I became quite intrigued by the story.
The series consists of four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. It follows the story of Isabella Swan and her encounters with the mythical creatures – vampires and werewolves. She does the unthinkable and falls in love with a vampire and becomes the best friend of a werewolf which causes much upset between the worlds of the mortal and immortal. Her love for Edward is tested many times throughout the series and it must endure many trials and tribulation. Her friendship for Jacob also causes many problems between the eternal enemies. Can they all live harmoniously, or must she choose between her soul mate and best friend? Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn capture the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires.
What can I say about this series? It was unbelievably thrilling and captivating! It’s been awhile since I’ve picked up a book that I couldn’t put down let alone an entire series! I surprised myself by completing the entire collection in just 4 nights. They were all passionate, exciting, unpredictable, enticing, seductive and heartrending. Stephenie Meyer should be applauded for brilliant writing. The way in which the characters and events are described draws you into their remarkable world. I would highly recommend these books to people who like a beautiful romance, a bit of suspense, a little mystery and the chance to escape into another world.
Amy

Gathering Storm by Rosie Dub

Artist Storm Cizekova was told her mother died in childbirth so she grew up with her grandmother and great-grandparents in England. Amongst the snow and a family of secrets, half-answered questions and gypsy lore, Storm always felt the death was her fault, but when her last surviving relative, her grandmother, dies suddenly, Storm finds a photo of herself and her mother. She must have been about two years old. When she reads her mother’s diary she decides to travel back to Australia to retrace the journey she and her mother had taken twenty five years previously, trying to piece together some answers about her past so she can move into her future. Will that future still include her partner Max? Storm’s journey through Australia’s stark outback is moving, confronting and challenging. What she discovers is heartbreaking and inspiring. I had to give up listening to the CDs and read the book when I found myself sitting in the car in the garage in the dark. This is a great read!
Helen

I married a pirate by Samantha David

I married a pirate is not your run-of-the-mill type of book. Imagine this, you are a woman in your 30’s with 2 kids - twins in fact, you have no money, nowhere to live and your best friends are practically in the same kind of boat as you. It is then that you start talking on the internet chat rooms and meet a man… a pirate to be more precise. He is witty, fun and makes you feel good without him being chummy.
“The Pirate” (of which you always refer to him) lives on the Caribbean and offers you a free holiday to visit him and his pirate ship. You always worry about the money but he assures you that he is rich (very rich in fact) and will cater for all your needs (and the flights too of course).
The thought of beautiful beaches, sun and great food seems like a great idea and quite frankly, irresistible…until you realise that he takes your passport away, keeps you as his prisoner and deems you as his “treasure” as opposed to his (eventual and persuaded) wife. It is this kind of humour, romance and great descriptions that keeps the reader intrigued. I applaud the work of Samantha David!
Sara

Summer affair by Elin Hilderbrand

Claire Danner Crispin is a renowned Glassblower, who lives on the Island of Nantucket with her husband and four young children. Claire hasn’t worked in over a year, since the premature birth of her youngest son, but Lock Dixon, a wealthy and influential man, asks her to help organise a charity gala and to create a museum worthy piece of glass to donate to the cause. Out of a sense of guilt Claire obliges. Another reason Claire was asked to co-chair the summer gala is her link to rock star Max West. Max and Claire were High School sweethearts and it is hoped Claire will be able to influence Max to play at the gala. Over the course of a year working on her piece and organising the gala, Claire and Lock Dixon spend a lot of time working closely together, an attraction grows and they embark on an affair, and what will happen when her old love Max West comes back to Nantucket? I enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a holiday read, or something light before going to bed.
Cathy.

Busy woman seeks wife by Annie Sanders

This particular book is not normally the type of novel I like to read, but the title grabbed my attention and I was intrigued to find out what it was all about. I was quite surprised. I am able to somewhat sympathise a little with the main character of the book. I know what it’s like to be a busy woman in this day and age and never seem to find the time to get things done, especially when it comes to household chores.
The story follows the life of Alex, a marketing executive for a global sportswear company who never seems to find time to manage her sky rocketing career with the day-to-day necessities of life, such as cleaning her house, grocery shopping, cooking, and looking after her aging and retired actress of a mother. This is where her best friend Saffron comes up with the idea of seeking out a wife to help her out. They place an advertisement in the local paper to find the perfect person for the position. But, not everything goes according to plan. This opened up the opportunity for quite a few hilarious situations that kept you absorbed in to the end.
You’ll enjoy this light hearted novel that is a great satisfying read. It is insightful, moving, uplifting, and funny all in one book.
Amy

Addition by Toni Jordan

Grace Lisa Vandenburg is a powerful, 35 year old woman, but in her own world. Unfortunately what she sees as the norm, others do not. Through leading her life via the counting of numbers, her change in lifestyle has evolved into a déjà vu-like regime.
At one stage, Grace was a well respected teacher of mathematics. That is, until she continuously kept on “totting up the number of children, rather than teaching [them].” Unfortunately, this led her to unemployment and a day-to-day boring scheme of counting and dividing her muffins into respectful pieces to the amount of poppy seeds on her food.
This book addresses so many more themes then just the authority of judging people into categories such as “normal people” and it is this that intrigues the reader into reading more…and more…and more of the book. In saying this, I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, not just young or old etc, but to someone who just wants a good read. To make this piece of narrative more appealing, it was advertised in the “50 Books You Can’t Put Down” and Sigrid Thorton herself said this book was ‘A stylish, witty and moving love story.’
Sara