All Categories - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Papa-paparazzi

9/2/2026

All Your Wishes (Two Hearts #2)
by Laura Sieveking

Piper's parents are both movie stars and her life is the complete opposite of normal. But normal is exactly what she needs right now, so she's happy to be spending six months attending a regular high school while she stays with family friends who are keeping her identity a secret. Soon she's crushing on a popular boy who's supposed to be a bully, but she is sure there's a different side to him...

A tale as old as high school. There's nothing new here and it's a fairly average book, but these kinds of stories are always going to be popular, no matter the decade. The selling point for me is the fact that this series is aimed towards Australian tweens and written by Australian authors - cheers for that, Scholastic. Oh and how about those gorgeous sprayed edges? The target audience is going to love it.

Out With the Old

8/2/2026

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

Amane's origin as a child born of copulation marks her as abnormal in a world increasingly devoid of sex and love. Her mother's beliefs hark back to an older way of doing things. Amane knows it would be disgusting to have sex with her husband, since they are family, but she seems unable to let go of her sexual needs as others have. Will she become a reminder of a time long past?

One cannot read this book without immediately comparing it to Brave New World. There are similar themes, though Vanishing World is a more modern - and more disturbingly relevant - take on them. Murata's short story "A Clean Marriage" definitely laid the foundation here, though I think the book is more successful because the length allows her cover more ground. I will have to agree with others that the ending is... ick. And yet it works. But frankly, I would be more impressed by this book if Murata hadn't written the same type of story over and over again.

Kindness in the time of Covid

7/2/2026

The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon

Mrs Yeom loses a bag containing her wallet at Seoul station and returns to discover that Dokgo, who found it for her, is homeless and has no recollection of who he was before he came to Seoul. She hires Dokgo to cover the night shift at her convenience store - and never once does she regret it. Giving Dokgo a second chance will cause a ripple effect of second chances for others.

This book will make you believe that kindness can change the world - even if it starts as a simple, small act. I certainly believe. Dokgo was such a fascinating, mysterious character. I was almost disappointed to find out about his past towards the end, though it was handled so well. I have a keen interest in COVID-19 fiction and this certainly fits the bill, but I also admired the message about taking our kindness with us into such an uncertain global situation.

Nanami in Bookland

3/2/2026

The Cat Who Saved the Library (The Cat Who... #2)
by Sōsuke Natsukawa
Translated by Louise Heal Kawai

Nanami Kosaki lives a very limited life due to her asthma and the library has become her sanctuary. When books begin to go missing, she notices while others don't. Something terrible is going on in the world, with her beloved books at risk, and with the help of a grumpy cat she might just be able to put a stop to it. But she must keep hold of hope and courage lest all be lost.

I feel that the term "Ghibli-esque" is overused, but it definitely applies in this case. A girl and her love of books can save the day - which is a nice thought. I also related more to Nanami than I did Rintaro (though it was nice to see him again!). Unfortunately, just like in the previous book in this series, Natsukawa became bogged down in pontification, much to the detriment of plot and pacing.

They Mostly Come at Night

2/2/2026

Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada
Translated by Philip Gabriel

The Night Library is only open at night and has a very specific purpose: displaying and protecting the book collections once owned by deceased authors. The staff all have their own stories about how they came to be at the Night Library and all of them have secrets - but the greatest secret is the identity of the library's mysterious owner.

I think I was about fifty pages in when I realised that I absolutely adored this book. Dinner at the Night Library may not feature any magic or dream-like sequences, but it is still utterly magical and dreamy. Character development may seem non-existent at first, but then it creeps up on you at unexpected moments. The mystery surrounding the owner was handled in a similar way...teased for a while and then suddenly resolved in the most perfect way. I'm so fascinated by the Night Library and dearly wish I could visit it in real life!

False Advertising Strikes Again

24/1/2026

Snowed in at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop (The Wildest Dreams Bookshop #2)
by Gracie Page

Ivy was desperate to get out of Fox Bay and into art college, but her first term was a disaster. So she finds herself back home for the winter break, working in the Wildest Dreams Bookshop. Fox Bay can be pretty weird on its own, but the upstairs holidaymakers may even be weirder. Trip, one of said holidaymakers, is so infuriatingly optimistic. There's no way they can get along...or can they?

First of all, that's a very misleading title and it was so obviously an intentional ploy to hook a certain audience. I'm so tired of publishers pulling this shit. I seriously don't trust any of you anymore. Fast sales are apparently more important than building up reader loyalty... Ahem. Regardless, I enjoyed this sequel, which felt comfortably New Adult (unlike the first book, which had a weird vibe), and I connected with it on a personal level because I'd have related to Ivy if I was younger. It's a light, pleasantly entertaining read.

Remix and Repeat

22/1/2026

The Wildest Dreams Bookshop (The Wildest Dreams Bookshop #1)
by Gracie Page

Anna had her whole summer - and her whole future - mapped out, but she messed up her exams, her internship fell through and her boyfriend just dumped her. Now she's helping out her aunt in a bookshop in a small town in Cornwall, with the usual eccentric locals...and the so-called bad boy Jacob, who is unreliable and also not single. But maybe what Anna needs is a dash of the unexpected.

This is a fairly ordinary novel that wobbles uncomfortably on the fence between Young Adult and New Adult without actually managing to land in either camp (Anna's age is not the cause of this, I will point out). It also felt like the author gathered some recent trends and quickly weaved them together. The end result is a summer read that is a nice way to pass the time but is ultimately forgettable.

Comfort Food

17/1/2026

The Menu of Happiness (The Kamogawa Food Detectives #3)
by Hisashi Kashiwai
Translated by Jesse Kirkwood

Don't expect anything different in this book than in the two that precede it. I'm not saying this is entirely a bad thing, since Kashiwai's writing is a lot like comfort food (especially on a rainy day like today)... but it never quite reaches the same heights as other books in the healing fiction genre. I think his stories need a more tangible connection between them and Koishi especially needs more development beyond "could possibly have a thing with that guy but for some reason won't".

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

17/1/2026

The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor #5)
by Lauria Gilmore

Annie Andrews has made her bakery business in Dream Harbour into a success. She's exactly where she wants to be. So why did Mac Sullivan have to come back into town and ruin everything? Mac knows he broke Annie's heart, but he was young and stupid. He's spent three years trying to get through to her. Will a wintry wedding be the perfect setting for a shot at a second chance?

This book had soooo much setup in the previous instalments in the series. It was going to have to deliver BIG TIME in order to appease readers and... it mostly did that for me. A dual timeline in a romance can be a tricky thing to handle, but Gilmore succeeded with apparent ease. And it was easy to be Team Annie... Mac I never really warmed too, possibly because I can hold grudges worse than Annie lol. I'd like to have known more about what convinced him that Dream Harbour was his future.

Disaster Heterosexuals

14/1/2026

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House (Dream Harbour #4)
by Laurie Gilmore

Archer wants to be back in Paris, chasing Michelin stars - but he's just discovered that he's a father and Olive, his daughter, needs him in Dream Harbour. He takes over at the local diner and hires Iris as a nanny. Iris is something of a walking disaster when it comes to jobs and relationships. She barely knows anything about kids. But it's easy to fall in love with Olive...and maybe even her hot chef dad.

So I know that characters in books have to make bad decisions in order for the plot to be interesting, but wow...at times, I just couldn't think kindly of Archer and Iris. Other times, however, they were a delight together. I've always liked Regency romances involving governesses - I guess I could like the modern version too, if the characters weren't always this frustrating. Anyway, I was sighing happily by the time I reached that gorgeous ending.