Kathryn's Inbox

University graduate Kip Grady is stuck in a go nowhere job making smoothies. Underemployed and living with his parents, his prospects are looking grim. He is having no luck finding a job he is degree qualified for, further study is too expensive and most of his friends have moved on to bigger and better things. But he can make a good smoothie ... which is fortunate as professional ice hockey player Scott Hunter's pregame ritual involves buying a smoothie from Kip. Scott's life is all about ice hockey, and he has no family and no friends outside of his team. Then something unexpected happens when Kip and Scott get to know each other. Not only does each have something the other is searching for, but the attraction between them is undeniable.  The first book in a series that has recently been developed into the phenomenally successful Heated Rivalry television series, Game Changer  is an enjoyable story of an unlikely romance that changes both Kip and Scott's lives for the be...

What a delight it was, from start to finish to read this Mr Men/Agatha Christie mash up. Although technically a children's picture book, there is a lot of fun to be had within the pages of this story as Little Miss Marple--think Agatha Christie's famous detective but as a small, round and purple lady with a friendly but no nonsense look--investigates a mystery in St Mary's Mead. The Vicar, Reverend Muddle (who bares an uncanny resemblance to Mr Muddle,) has invited his friend, a famous archeologist to stay.  But problems soon arise when a crown belonging to the archaeologist goes missing. Little Miss Marple will need to use her powers of deduction to locate the crown. With some help of some other Mr Men/Little Miss favourites of course. This one was beautifully and cleverly adapted by Adam Hargreaves, who took over duties of writing the Mr Men/Little Miss books from his father after he passed away in 1988. The attention to detail and characterisation is superb for such a sm...

Aussie sports romance fans rejoice--finally we have a sports romance set in the high stakes world of AFL. Debut author Darcy Green's After the Siren tells the story of Theo and Jake, a pair of enemies from rival football clubs. When Theo Bestravos fails to kick what should have been a career changing goal, he finds himself put up for the draft and picked up by a rival interstate club. The same club where their star player arrogant Jake Cunningham has been publicly rejoicing a little too much at Theo's failure. Starting over at the new club, Theo wants nothing at all to do with Jake. But when a preseason camp forces the two men into close proximity they discover that they might have a few things in common ... and they might just be more than friends.  After the Siren is entertaining with two equally great but different lead characters whose romance is complicated by their high profile careers in the top tier league of a sport where there are no players who are publicly out. At...

Heavy, heavy, heavy ... Neil from The Young Ones has like, written an autobiography. Well, okay, not quite. The cover certainly plays on what is arguably Nigel Planer's most famous role of Neil. But Young Once is a well rounded and much deeper dive into his career as a comedian, actor, author, screenwriter and voice actor.  In Young Once, Planer gives readers plenty of inside information about his childhood, his personal relationships and his long and varied career. I was genuinely surprised to discover just how varied his career has been--I had no idea that he had voiced the audiobooks for a number of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels or his work with The Magic Roundabout. Of particular interest however was Planer's behind the scenes accounts of The Comic Strip and how it formed, working on The Young Ones and how he had traveled to America to film a pilot for an American version of The Young Ones titled Oh, No! Not Them. The pilot did not get picked up, but Planer has...

Those wonderful and wacky Wakefield Twins Elizabeth and Jessica are back. And this time they have back up ... Picking up where Sneaking Out left off, the sixth Sweet Valley Twins graphic novel adaptation opens with Elizabeth and Jessica encountering Brooke Dennis once again. A new arrival in Sweet Valley, Brooke has moved to the neighbourhood with her dad, a successful screenwriter. Brooke most certainly does not want to be in Sweet Valley and the kids of Sweet Valley most certainly do not want her. Brooke is spoiled, wears preppy clothes and is rude and dismissive of everyone. Then she ruins one of Jessica's projects. The kids of Sweet Valley decide that she has gone too far this time, and decide it is time to get some revenge. Unfortunately, because this is Sweet Valley, the world's capital of bullying and implausible plot twists, this revenge takes shape in the form of a third Wakefield "triplet", Elizabeth and Jessica's supposed identical sister. Each twin ta...

Twenty-seven year old schoolteacher Kaede has a knack for encountering mysteries. Her beloved Grandfather, whose mind is still sharp despite having Lewy body Dementia, has a knack for solving them, in this heartwarming and often philosophical novel from Japan. Beautifully translated into English, we read as Kaede relies on her grandfather's help to solve all kinds of things, such as how did an extra student appear in Kaede's classroom? How did a teacher disappear from the school during a swimming lesson? However, between these mysteries two things soon become clear. First of all, innocent Kaede is slowly getting caught up in a love triangle with her two male friends. Second, something, or someone, is a threat to Kaede and her grandfather's safety ... This was an enjoyable read. I read this over the space of a few weeks, reading one section and then something else before starting the next. This proved to be quite an enjoyable way to experience the novel as the philosophical ...

Australian comedian and former school teacher Bron Lewis takes readers on a roller coaster ride of emotions in her memoir of motherhood and mental illness I'm Not Mad (Anymore).  I found this one to be hilarious in places--seriously, she got away with throwing her report cards in the bin in high school? I also found it to be heartbreaking in others, particularly the account of the days that followed the birth of her son Ari. I think that this one will have a special place in the hearts of young mums, particularly those who need someone to remind them that they do not have to be perfect and yes they are doing their best. Recommended. Thank you to Affirm Press for my copy of I'm Not Mad (Anymore). 

With a title like Swearwolves how could I possibly resist this new middle grade novel by Aussie author Steve Worland? Who cares if I'm a grown adult. I loved the idea of this, of a pre-teen girl who, after she moves to a new town, is bitten by a pack of wolves and then she finds herself completely unable to stop swearing. The concept is hilarious, original and just full of mischief. And comes complete with the tagline The book your parents probably don't want you to read.  (This is, of course, something of a contrast to Steve Worland's previous novel Paper Planes  an equally fantastic novel, but the kind of thing that parents and grandparents would very lovingly buy for their children.) This was a fun read. I enjoyed the twist on the plot of a the lonely new kid in town who finds her pack in the most unexpected of ways. When the novel opens, we meet Luna Wilkinson as a fairly typical kid. She's new in town, lonely and extremely keen to get a part in the school play whe...

The trial of Erin Patterson and the horrible, unthinkable crime that she was charged with and eventually convicted of, is one that both horrified and captivated many people, not just in Australia but across the globe. Why on earth would anyone invite their relatives for lunch and poison them? Particularly when there was no obvious motive? In The Mushroom Tapes  three Australian authors Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, follow this baffling crime. Each author is acclaimed for their narrative non-fiction, that offers a considerable amount of nuance and depth. Garner most notably with This House of Grief , Hooper with The Arsonist and Krasnostein with The Trauma Cleaner. The tapes form their discussions with each other about the crime. On what they focused on during the trial, what they made of Erin Patterson and how they made sense of it, if at all. The Mushroom Tapes is a very different take on true crime, focusing on the reactions of the three authors. They do n...

Tom Rob Smith's latest offering Twenty Years Together is beautifully told meditation on commitment and authenticity within a relationship. The year is 2012. Living in London and working as a nurse, Danny, an idealistic type who wears his heart on his sleeve, wonders if perhaps his relationship with Luis does not gain the respect or recognition by the people in their friendship groups. Danny blames this on the fact that when they first got together twenty years ago, relationships like theirs were often kept under a cloud of secrecy. But in 2012 things are changing for same sex couples, with civil partnerships now an option in England and same marriage legal in Luis' home country, Spain. Danny wonders if by getting married, their relationship will be solidified. Luis reluctantly agrees to Danny's proposal and initially readers are led to believe that Danny is the one who is acting idiotically. Then it turns out that calm, quiet Luis has his on insecurities and a past that he...

I bought a book. Groundbreaking, I know. An avid reader who writes book reviews going to her local Big W, finding a book with an intriguing blurb, buying it and bringing it home. What next? Maybe we'll find out the true identity of Banksy or the local amateur theatre company will do something daring like putting on a performance of The Importance of Being Ernest or ... Yeah, okay. I'm in a silly mood. Anyway, I bought a book. It was a fantasy romance, or romantasy as the genre is better known, it was titled Her Hidden Fire and it was authored by Cliodhna O'Sullivan. It had a pretty, gold foil cover. It was in the Young Adult section, but I'm perfectly comfortable with being an adult who occasionally reads books that are intended for children and young adults. And the blurb suggests that this one could be fun. It promises magic, a hint of romance and a female lead who has magical powers that she well, isn't supposed to have.  Then, when I arrived home, I noticed so...