Book picks similar to
Mazarine by Charlotte Grimshaw
new-zealand
fiction
nz
the-australian-weekend-review
Sons for the Return Home
Albert Wendt - 1973
It is the story of a cross-racial romance between a Samoan student at Auckland University, the son of migrant parents, and the daughter of a wealthy palagi family. It was an instant bestseller and was later made into a successful movie.
Caroline's Journal
Katherine Stone - 2006
Now, finally, Caroline is pregnant. Both Caroline and Jeffrey are thrilled. And, wanting a lasting memory of the happiness she feels, Caroline decides to keep a pregnancy journal, writing to the baby she already loves.Caroline's pregnancy coincides with the trial of Jeffrey's career, the murder of a pregnant woman by her celebrity fianc�. For father-to-be Jeffrey, a man murdering his unborn child is as incomprehensible as it is painful.But there are other dangers for pregnant women and their babies, perils that lurk in silence amid the joy. For Caroline, such perils are medical. Her pregnancy is placing her health -- and even her life -- in jeopardy. But when it comes to a choice between her own life and her baby's, there's never, for Caroline, the slightest doubt.It's a decision of love -- for the baby she cherishes and the husband who loves Caroline more than she believed any man ever could. A man who deserves the chance to become the father he was meant to be.
Freeing Grace
Charity Norman - 2010
They're finally approved to adopt a baby, Grace, but there's one thing they can't plan for - the Harrisons, Grace's birth family. The family send the charming Jake Kelly on a quest that will force a confrontation.
The Elusive Language of Ducks
Judith White - 2013
They were well meaning, and it could have done the trick. However, Hannah's focus on the duck progressively alienates those around her. As the duck takes over her world, past secrets are exposed. Will Hannah's life unravel completely? This funny, moving and insightful novel contemplates the chemistry between one person and another: a man and another man's wife; a woman and a duck; a woman and her dead mother; a drug addict and his drug. Beautifully written, it is a penetrating and compassionate view of marriage, dependency, obsession, addiction, and love.
Screw You Dolores
Sarah-Kate Lynch - 2014
She started with great expectations by shopping for shoes in Paris, attempted to build her character by going solo, counted her friends on the fingers of both hands, remembered a dodgy handshake with Hugh Jackman, joined a laughing yoga group in Mumbai, drank too much rosé and ate too much salt.By the end of the year she was, much to her own surprise, in possession of a clean bill of health and the secret to happiness. No, not THE SECRET. That’s not even a secret anymore. Another one, which is also now no longer a secret because in the endearing, hilarious Screw You Dolores, she shares it with you.
Overkill
Vanda Symon - 2007
Action-packed, tension-filled and atmospheric police procedural set in rural New Zealand.When the body of a young mother is found washed up on the banks of the Mataura River, a small rural community is rocked by her tragic suicide. But all is not what it seems. Sam Shephard, sole-charge police constable in Mataura, soon discovers the death was no suicide and has to face the realisation that there is a killer in town. To complicate the situation, the murdered woman was the wife of her former lover. When Sam finds herself on the list of suspects and suspended from duty, she must cast said her personal feelings and take matters into her own hands. To find the murderer... and clear her name. A taut, atmospheric and pageturning thriller, Overkill marks the start of an unputdownable and unforgettable series from one of New Zealand s finest crime writers.
The Pōrangi Boy
Shilo Kino - 2020
The government wants to build a prison over the home of the taniwha, and Niko’s grandfather is busy protesting. People call him pōrangi, crazy, but when he dies, it’s up to Niko to convince his community that the taniwha is real and stop the prison from being built. With help from his friend Wai, Niko must unite his whānau, honour his grandfather and stand up to his childhood bully.
As the Earth Turns Silver
Alison Wong - 2009
It is the early 1900s and brothers Yung and Shun, immigrants from China, eke out a living as greengrocers in Wellington. The pair must support their families back home, but know they must adapt if they are to survive and prosper in their adopted home. Meanwhile, Katherine McKechnie struggles to raise her rebellious son and her daughter following the death of her husband, Donald. A strident right-wing newspaperman, Donald terrorized his family, though was idolized by his son. One day, Katherine comes to Yung's shop and is touched by the Chinaman's unexpected generosity. Over time a clandestine relationship develops between the immigrant and the widow, a relationship Katherine's son Robbie cannot abide ...During the First World War, as young men are swept up on a tide of macho patriotism, Robbie takes his family's honour into his own hands. In doing so, he places his mother at the heart of a tragedy that will affect everyone and everything she holds dear. Powerful, moving and utterly unforgettable, "As the Earth Turns Silver" announces the arrival of a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.
The Insignificance of You
Tammy Robinson - 2015
“What?” I stammer, thrown. “No I’m not.” “Aren’t you?” “No!” “Are you sure about that?” “Yes.” “Weird,” he says. “You had that look on your face.” “What look?” “The same one I feel when I look at you.” After the death of her father when she was twelve years old, Skye Levene finds it easier to stick to her daily routine and keep her heart firmly closed against love. Without love, there is no possibility for hurt. At least so she thinks. However, when she falls off the edge of a cliff and is saved by the mysterious Tai, routine goes out the window and suddenly she’s feeling things she never even knew were possible. Tai, fascinating, funny and sexy as hell, has his own burdens to bear, the reason why he’s camping out in the old abandoned lighthouse on the top of the cliff. As snow falls and winter deepens, he introduces her to new experiences; card games, hot chocolate and the magic of stargazing. Most of all, he introduces her to love. But when his past catches up with them, Skye is left wondering whether love is worth risking your heart for after all.
Hand Me Down
Michelle Holman - 2011
April's spoilt-brat behaviour had never won her many friends, and her fast exit from town the night of her seventeenth birthday left more questions than answers. So it isn't too surprising that people get a kick out of seeing Daddy's little princess reduced to earning her keep as a kiss-o-gram girl in a red rubber dress. It seems everyone has a bone to pick with April, especially Tarn Elliott, whose reputation she unfairly ruined. Tarn has a score to settle. April has secrets she doesn't want to share. Can the good people of Pisa, and Tarn Elliott in particular, see beyond the petite wee blonde's wisecracks to the real April underneath?
Little Stones
Elizabeth Kuiper - 2019
Yet Hannah is lucky. She can afford to go to school, has never had to skip a meal, and lives in a big house with her mum and their Shona housekeeper. Hannah is wealthy, she is healthy, and she is white. But money can’t always keep you safe.As the political situation becomes increasingly unstable and tensions within Hannah’s family escalate, her sheltered life is threatened. She is forced to question all that she’s taken for granted, including where she belongs.
Bastards I Have Met
Barry Crump - 1971
Crump being Crump he immediately set out to remedy the matter, and the result was "Bastards I Have Met", an ABC of Bastardry which when published in 1971 took the country by storm. Now due to popular demand Crump's original twenty-six prize bastards are presented for public enjoyment once again, together with another eight unlikely bastards he met while working down on the Coast a few years back. A whole new generation will enjoy this fresh collection of Crump tales, which are as hilarious as they are perceptive of the many quirks and oddities in the Kiwi character.
Her Bohemian Husband (Marriages Made in India, #6)
Sundari Venkatraman - 2016
Yeah, he’s struck by wanderlust and can’t remain at home for more than a couple of weeks at one time. Avantika Kamath, the dusky beauty from Bengaluru, has chalked out a rocking career for herself as a dancer, heading her own troupe, as well as being a Bollywood choreographer. It is love at first sight for her when she sets eyes on Shatru at her best friend Dia’s wedding to his twin, Bharat. Shatru’s attracted to Avantika but fears the commitment as he leads a Bohemian life while her life’s grounded. Can the two ends meet? Will Avantika be able to juggle her career and the marriage she wants with Her Bohemian Husband?
The Godwits Fly
Robin Hyde - 1938
Strongly autobiographical, it vividly conveys the intensely felt worlds of the adolescent - love, poetry and England - and the enthralling but sometimes painful experience of growing up female; and its picture of family life in early-twentieth-century Wellington, in all its physical details, emotional tensions, muddle and variety, lingers in the mind.
Death in Ecstasy / Vintage Murder / Artists in Crime
Ngaio Marsh - 2009
Includes Death in Ecstasy (originally published: London: Geoffrey Bles, 1936), Vintage Murder (originally published: London: Geoffrey Bles, 1937), Artists in Crime (originally published: London: Geoffrey Bles), "Portrait of Troy" and "Death on the Air" (first published in Death on the air and other stories: HarperCollins, 1995.)