A family Christmas is always going to be stressful, but add in an ex-alcoholic father, a father reappearing after a lengthy absence, a father flying the coop when he realises his child isn't his, and a father with sad, secret news - then the stress becomes practically stratospheric! Gaby and Jack are so run off their feet with the pub that they haven't any presents for their daughter. Can this Christmas be merry at all?

So I'm writing this nearly a day after finishing the book because MY EMOTIONS. Baird made me love all these people and seeing them go through so much makes me want to hug them all (...even Zac). Evie and Tamar were a delight, especially in scenes together! And Dylan finally shed his cardboard cutout identity and became a well-rounded character. I'm sad that this seems to be the end, but also happy to see off Lochalshie and its people when they're in a relatively good place.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Olive, Elsie and Bree move their growing wellness centre into a larger place and must navigate the ensuing changes and challenges in their lives. For Olive, it's her secret past surfacing in the form of the wellness centre's new masseuse. For Elsie, it's her role as stepmother and soon-to-be mother. For Bree, it's the sister who blows in and out of her life and causes trouble wherever she goes. Achieving wellness will be harder than any of them ever realised.

I'm always hungry for a novel that explores the varied and fascinating relationships between women and this certainly delivered. Olive, Elsie and Bree felt like real people to me. I could easily picture running into them on the street. May has a history of making me ugly cry (see her previous novel, The One!) and All We Have is Now was no exception. Definitely park yourself beside a box of tissues when you pick up this book. A thoroughly satisfying read.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heiress Indigo-Daisy-Violet-Amber Hasluck-Royce-Jones-Bombberg (*draws breath*) married a man who was supposed to be her boring, reliable "Bran Muffin". But after her clumsiness inadvertently leads to his death in an explosion, she begins to unravel her Bran Muffin's secrets - and must somehow clear her name by venturing out into a world she has been sheltered from.

This was a somewhat amusing romp and I'm rather impressed that McCourt made someone who should have been unlikeable into a main character who I might follow into the sequel. You'll have to suspend disbelief a lot with this book and you really need to be in the mood for a vapid MC in the midst of a vapid plot (there are definitely times for this!). I'm not sure I liked how achingly obvious this book was as a setup for a series. It felt a little unfinished because of that. But I am like a moth to the Heiress on Fire and will probably pick up a sequel if there is one.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

​Hope's twin sister, Jackie, is getting married this week, but she's a wedding planner with another wedding to sort out first. She asks the unthinkable of Hope - take her place and pretend to be her, just until she arrives. It'll only be a day, tops! Hope knows it's all wrong, but she really wants her sister to be happy - and then she starts to fall for Brent and his family...

This was a fun and fresh take on the "marriage of convenience" trope (with twins thrown in for good measure!) and I enjoyed every minute of it. Brent and Hope were written well together, so clearly meant-to-be. You can throw characters together, but you've got to make sure they have chemistry - and boy, do they! I suppose the premise is slightly on the ridiculous side and sometimes I felt as frustrated as Hope as things continued to worsen for her. Still a great read, however.

 Angie McIntyre and Rob Jones have finally found the perfect fixer-upper for their small family, but soon after buying it the cons seem to outweigh the pros. Spiralling costs, an overbearing mother-in-law next door, a twin brother who Rob would rather never see again, and miscommunications may just be the end of what Angie and Rob have been trying to build together.

Well, this must be the first time anyone's ever managed to make me feel sympathy for an overbearing MIL! But that's what I like about Linnell's characters - they're complex and realistic and even the worst of them aren't reduced to caricatures. Another excellent piece of rural fiction. It's so easy to fall into the rhythm of the country towns that Linnell creates for us and it's always so hard to leave them after the last page is turned.

(PS: I'm still tickled pink by my review of Wildflower Ridge being quoted in the front of Bottlebrush Creek! I could say that I bought a paperback over an ebook for another reason, but I'd be lying...)

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

​Sun, the heir to the queen-marshal of Chaonia, is a hero in her own right - but her passage to power will not be easy. Her collection of Companions and "cee-cees" will prove invaluable as she fights to stay alive, darts through political intrigue, uncovers awful truths AND saves the Republic of Chaonia.

There are some good bones to this story and the world-building has resulted in an intriguing setting that I enjoyed falling into - once the awkward, confusing start was over and done with, that is. The first 20% of this book feels superfluous and we're constantly introduced to new POVs without any seamless transition (and only one of them is in first person, for some reason). It's slow going. I nearly DNFed. But as soon as thing get going, they REALLY get going. I had a blast following Sun and co. from peril to peril. What a ride.

I found this book entertaining at times, though it's not without problems - the most major one being that Sun and her POV just aren't very interesting and she's supposed to be the main character! However, the other characters - Persephone especially!!! I love her - do make up for this.