Book picks similar to
Summers With Juliette by Emily Madden


aussie-authors
fiction
reading-between-the-wines
australian

Ache


Eliza Henry-Jones - 2017
    Annie fled back to the city, but the mountain continues to haunt her. Now, drawn by a call for help from her uncle, she's going back to the place she loves most in the world, to try to heal herself, her marriage, her daughter and her mother. A heart-wrenching, tender and lovely novel about loss, grief and regeneration, Ache is not only a story of how we can be broken, but how we can put ourselves back together.

The Long Shadow


Anne Buist - 2020
    Isabel, mostly occupied with her toddler, will run a mother–baby therapy group. But on the first day she gets an anonymous note from one of the mothers: The baby killer is going to strike again. Soon.Then a series of small harassments begins.Is it an attempt to warn Dean off? Or could the threat be serious? A child was murdered in Riley once before.As Isabel discovers more about the mothers in her group, she begins to believe the twenty-five-year-old mystery of a baby’s death may be the key to preventing another tragedy.

Frankie


Shivaun Plozza - 2016
    Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend, or her aunt who's tired of giving second chances.When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie's half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn't want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes, a criminal record, and secrets of his own.Frankie's search for the truth could change her life, or cost her everything.

The Truth About Her


Jacqueline Maley - 2021
    Suzy is horrified by this news but copes in the only way she knows how - through work, mothering, and carrying on with her ill-advised, tandem affairs.The consequences of her actions catch up with Suzy over the course of a sticky Sydney summer. She starts receiving anonymous vindictive letters and is pursued by Tracey's mother wanting her, as a kind of rough justice, to tell Tracey's story, but this time, the right way.A tender, absorbing, intelligent and moving exploration of guilt, shame, female anger, and, in particular, mothering, with all its trouble and treasure, The Truth About Her is mostly though a story about the nature of stories - who owns them, who gets to tell them, and why we need them. An entirely striking, stylish and contemporary novel, from a talented new writer.

The Railwayman's Wife


Ashley Hay - 2013
    But in Thirroul, in 1948, she’s not the only person trying to chase dreams through books. There’s Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, but who has now lost his words and his hope. There’s Frank Draper, trapped by the guilt of those his medical treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle to find their own peace, and their own new story.But along with the firming of this triangle of friendship and a sense of lives inching towards renewal come other extremities—and misunderstandings. In the end, love and freedom can have unexpected ways of expressing themselves.The Railwayman’s Wife explores the power of beginnings and endings, and how hard it can sometimes be to tell them apart. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, and the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself.

Two Heartbeats


Rhonda Forrest - 2018
    Despite having no knowledge of country life, she finds herself loving the isolation and local people who she lives with. All she has to do is keep her head down and work hard to create a better life for herself and Johnno, the only person she has ever truly cared about. As relationships develop and change, Jess discovers the caring warmth of a welcoming family and a circle of friends who look out for her. She begins to feel that maybe for once, her life is heading in the right direction. However, problems arise when her temper and stubborn nature collide with her new boss Daniel, who is suspicious of her background story. Has Jess told him everything, or is there a hidden secret to justify his earlier distrust of her?With a cast of eclectic characters, set amidst the rugged outback of Australia, Two Heartbeats is a story of friendship, resilience and the hope that ultimately loving relationships may triumph over obstacles defined by the past.

To The Sea


Christine Dibley - 2016
    Surrounded by family and calm waters, seventeen-year-old Zoe Kennett has inexplicably vanished.Four storytellers share their version of what has led to this moment, weaving tales which span centuries and continents. But Tony needs facts, not fiction: how will such fables lead him to Zoe and to the truth?As Tony's investigation deepens, he is drawn into a world where myth and history blur, and where women who risk all for love must pay the price through every generation.

The Women in Black


Madeleine St. John - 1993
    On the second floor of the famous F.G. Goode department store, in Ladies' Cocktail Frocks, the women in black are girding themselves for the Christmas rush. Lisa is the new Sales Assistant (Temporary). Across the floor and beyond the arch, she is about to meet the glamorous Continental refugee, Magda, guardian of the rose-pink cave of Model Gowns.With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St. John conjures a vanished summer of innocence. The Women in Black is a classic.

Wife on the Run


Fiona Higgins - 2014
    One involves the public shaming of her teenage daughter, the other is a discovery about her husband that shocks her to her core. With her world unraveling around her, Paula does the only thing that makes any sense to her: she runs away from it all.She pulls her children out of school and takes off on a trip across Australia with her elderly father and his caravan. The only rule is No Technology - no phones, no Facebook, no Instagram, no tablets, games or computers. It's time to get back to basics and learn how to be a family again.It all sounds so simple - and for a while, it is. But along the way Paula will meet new, exciting complications, and realise that running away is only a temporary solution. The past has to be faced before the future can begin.A thrilling, tender and hugely entertaining story of loss, love and discovery from the bestselling author of The Mothers' Group.

Relativity


Antonia Hayes - 2015
    Claire, a former professional ballerina, has been a wonderful parent to Ethan, but he’s becoming increasingly curious about his father’s absence in his life. Claire is fiercely protective of her talented, vulnerable son—and of her own feelings. But when Ethan falls ill, tied to a tragic event that occurred during his infancy, her tightly-held world is split open. Thousands of miles away on the western coast of Australia, Mark is trying to forget about the events that tore his family apart, but an unexpected call forces him to confront his past and return home. When Ethan secretly intercepts a letter from Mark to Claire, he unleashes long-suppressed forces that—like gravity—pull the three together again, testing the limits of love and forgiveness. Told from the alternating points of view of Ethan and each of his parents, Relativity is a poetic and soul-searing exploration of unbreakable bonds, irreversible acts, the limits of science, and the magnitude of love.

Night Beach


Kirsty Eagar - 2012
    You crave them in a way that's not rational, not right, and you're becoming somebody you don't recognise, and certainly don't respect, but you don't even care. And this person you like is unattainable. Except for one thing... He lives downstairs.Abbie has three obsessions. Art. The ocean. And Kane.But since Kane's been back, he's changed. There's a darkness shadowing him that only Abbie can see. And it wants her in its world.A gothic story about the very dark things that feed the creative process.

What Matters Most


Dianne Maguire - 2015
    Confronting, amusing and compelling, this is a story about choices and how they shape who we become.Paediatrician Mia Sandhurst and teenager, Rachel Hooper come together as doctor and patient, both hostages to people they love.Mia comes to terms with her husband's cheating, while Rachel is deliberately shielding someone who deserves to be named and shamed.Tim Hooper has his suspicions about his sister's persistent silence and, together with Mia's clinical know-how, sets out to uncover the truth, but the truth is more complex than either of them might have imagined.Set on the coast of the magical Fleurieu Peninsula, What Matters Most is a frank portrayal of self-discovery in middle age coupled with an unvarnished depiction of the mysteries of child abuse.

The Storyteller's Muse


Traci Harding - 2016
    Peter is a young nurse and aspiring author whose professional dreams have come true - a patient in his care, Penelope, needs someone to transcribe her final story. Revolving around four friends sharing an apartment where they hone their artistic and musical skills, Peter soon realises there is more to the story - another presence is lurking in the building, an intriguing, creative, temperamental force that goes by the name Em Jewel. When tragedy strikes, Peter and his charming co-worker Gabrielle must finish Penelope's story before it ruins both their lives. With the help of a motley group of authors, Peter and Gabrielle are swept up into a world of art, intrigue and deception. They must choose whether to follow their heads or their hearts - with life-altering consequences.

Angel's Share


Kayte Nunn - 2017
    But after a freak skiing accident leaves her with serious injuries, a broken heart and a job she can no longer do, moving back to Australia to recuperate at her brother Mark’s winery in the Shingle Valley seems like the only option.Meanwhile, Mark is preoccupied with a catastrophic threat to the future of the valley and his partner, Rose, is juggling the demands of her burgeoning restaurant and being a stepmother, all the while secretly longing for a child of her own.As Mattie’s injuries heal, she begins to wonder where her future might lie, especially when she finds herself struggling with her growing feelings for winemaker Charlie Drummond – who happens to be engaged to someone.Featuring the cherished cast of characters from Rose’s Vintage, this new tale of life and love in the spectacular Shingle Valley is set to charm and delight.