Family Saga Reviews

Love Lessons at the Seaside Salon

Sophie Green

Reviewed by Helen

Set in the 1980’s in the small seaside town of Terrigal on the Central Coast of NSW, Sophie Green brings to life four woman working at or connected to The Seaside Salon all different ages and all in different stages of their lives, come along to meet them all and journey through four months of their lives, will they find what they want?

Trudy is 57 and she owns the salon and has done for years, she is a beautiful person and has a knack of making people feel loved and beautiful but for Trudy she feels down at times since the loss of her husband Laurie he was the love of her life and is struggling at times without him.

Anna is 42 married to Gary and they have two young children, Troy and Renee, she is a stay at home mum who takes in sewing and also spends time with her mother Ingrid, Gary is a solicitor and has his own firm and he works long, long hours and is hardly ever home so she kicks him out, is it time to start looking after herself instead of putting everyone else first, maybe a visit to the Seaside Salon with her mother might help.

Evie is 33, a single mum to young Billy and one of the hairdressers at the salon, although she has a son and is friends with his father she has never felt that buzz of real love and when a new hairdresser Sam starts at the salon, Evie feels that he is the one that starts the buzzing for her he is so lovely and good to her but is there a chance of a relationship with Sam?

Josie is 19 and starts as an apprentice at the salon, her mother is very controlling and Evie wants so much to become independent with her own car now and the job this is her first step and then when she meets a young man Brett who loves surfing and he seems very interested in her as she is in him but she knows her parents will not be happy, is there a chance for Evie and Brett?

This is another beautiful story from MS Green, it is moving and emotional and will pull you in as you get to know these woman, feel their emotions, the setting is fabulous not too far from me and it is one that I highly recommend to any lover of a good heart-warming story.

4 stars

July 30, 2025 by Hachette Australia

The Midnight Estate

Kelly Rimmer

Reviewed by Helen

In 2010 Fiona Winslow an historical architect has just purchased the house she grew up in from her cousin Jon she is hoping that this will help her get over the past year which really hasn’t been a good one but moving back to Forbes and Wurimbirra House built in 1860 is well known to be haunted might just open up a lot more than she was thinking.

Cleaning the house is going to be hard it has been locked up since the wake ten years ago of her beloved Uncle Tad a well-known writer, she finds a box of books that have been there since the wake unopened, curious she opens it and finds twelve copies of a book called The Midnight Estate by Charity Wilkes she has never heard of this author but thinks she might be a friend of her uncles she starts to read it and what she discovers is a mystery story that seems to be set around Wurimbirra has she uncovered a past that her family has kept secret since 1960 is it really about her family?

This story had me captivated with the book within the book, it is such a well told story and takes in three timelines across two countries so many wonderful characters and not so nice character, the relationship between Fiona and her mother is a very strained one and gets worse but will it finally be what they both want when the secrets are uncovered?

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I highly recommend it, another fabulous read from Kelly Rimmer

5 stars

July 30, 2025 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand

The Watervale Ladies' Writing & Firefighting Society

Mette Menzies

Reviewed by Helen

This is a beautiful and moving story about starting over in Watervale Downs a small country town in the heart of wine country in South Australia, four woman all so very different take up a course for writing that changes their lives, come along and meet them.

Matilda “Tilly” Marr is an international lawyer doing her best to make partner in her father’s firm she travels the world but when she is told by her father to drop the case she is working on and make her way to Watervale Downs to convince a local to sell her property for billions she is not happy at all but arrives in this small town and is soon known at the new solicitor and instead of a week is there for a month.

Bev Jackson matriarch of the town her huge property has been in her family for one hundred and fifty years and when a smart young lawyer arrives to do her best to convince her to sell, Bev sets Tilly a task stay for a month then she will discuss her offer.

Jane Robertson, the local librarian grew up in Watervale Downs her and her husband Tom who is a journalist have wanted a family of their own but sadly that has not happened and Jane is heartbroken but carries on as if all is good but she also has dreams of writing a book.

Fenna De Vries Fallen TV star she used to have her own gardening show but that has been cancelled and she has also walked away from a terrible marriage and has made her home on a property in Watervale Downs but making friends for Fenna is very hard.

These four woman come together at a writing course run by Viv who pulls them in to learning all about firefighting as well but this course brings them together in so many ways they are all soon confronting things from their past for Bev it is a secret that has been kept for sixty years, will Fenna decide that staying here and becoming part of the community is what she wants and Jane must now really think about her future and look to a different one and Tilly is the high flying lawyer is this the job she really wants or is it to live in Watervale Downs with the gorgeous barista the life that is best for her?

This is such a moving story, one that pulled me in getting to know these woman was fabulous, I felt their emotions the story is so well written, this story made me smile and cry it is heartfelt and uplifting and one I highly recommend, to any lover of a good story, it is truly a gorgeous story,

My thanks to the author and Harper Collins for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

September 1, 2025 by HarperCollins AU

The Lost Girl of Seahaven

Temple River #5

Phillipa Nefri Clark

Reviewed by Helen

MS Nefri Clark tells the most beautiful stories, they are moving and filled with emotion, and this one is no different, a beautifully told story from the heart, a story of a little lost girl who went missing many years ago, I felt connected to the characters as I turned the pages, come along for a trip to Temple River and find out what happened all those years ago.

Angie Fairlie has returned home after a divorce that has changed her, but she is determined to make her future better and returning to her grandfather and the home she knew for many years, Seahaven, her grandfather is moving into the assisted living community and has asked Angie to clean up her author grandmothers writing room who passed away fifteen years ago, what she discovers in a box will have Angie taking over the search for a little girl lost especially after reading the book, The Loneliest Girl by the Sea that was there, she is sure this holds many keys to the search for the little girl lost back in 1952.

With the help of her neighbour Jack, who is getting back on track himself they find many clues and are feeling very close to getting answers but what Angie didn’t realise is the pain and memories that this will bring out in not only herself but other people as well, what are the answers, who was the little lost girl, you really need to read this one, it is a beautiful and brilliant story.

I highly recommend this one, it is heartfelt and heart-warming in so many ways, beautifully written with awesome characters, MS Nefri Clark just makes each story better, there were many tears from me for so many emotions, don’t miss this one.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

July 28, 2025 by Storm Publishing

Just a Regular Boy

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Reviewed by Helen

This is the second book that I have read by this author and another five star read for me, I love the way the author brings to life her characters and the caring she shows with them, this is a heart-wrenching story but also heart-warming.

When five year old Remy Blake, who lost his mother eighteen months ago is taken to live in the wilderness with his father, his life would turn upside down when his father Roy Blake is determined to show his son about living a survivalist life, they need to hunt and fish for their food life is very strange and hard for Remy, he has no idea how long they have been living there he doesn’t even remember his age and then one day when Roy does not return to the cabin, Remy just knows he is on his own, Remy has no idea how long he was on his own but now he is starving, thirsty and scared and wanders into a small town.

Anne is a loving woman who fosters children her and her husband have two adopted children that they had fostered and when she hears about the wild boy living it the woods she is determined to find him and take him in, this child needs someone to love and care for him.

He is badly injured and just about feral and mute by the time Anne gets to him but there is a bond forming between them from their first meeting and over time Anne and her family learn a lot about young Remy and what happened to him but Remy also helps them learn more about themselves, he is one very special regular boy.

This is a story that I would highly recommend broke my heart and put it back together.

My thanks to Negalley and the publisher for my copy

5 stars

May 2, 2023 by Lake Union Publishing

Second Chance Family

Barbara Hannay

Reviewed by Helen

What another fabulous story from Barbara Hannay, written with love and heart-felt emotion, this beautiful story brings to life Callie Madden and her three children fourteen year old identical twins Jenna and Grace and six year old Joey, Callie has been a widow for five years now after her husband Mitch died suddenly of a heart attack, come along to meet them all.

Callie is a photographer and works hard keeping everything going, grief still shows up here and there but by the time she works and gets the kids to their different sports etc. there is never much time for herself and then out of the blue a letter arrives from a solicitor up in far north Queensland saying that he would like to meet her regarding her being a beneficiary in a will from a man she has never heard of, this takes Callie on a trip up the mountains to get answers.

What she discovers could cause a few problems in the family when she learns she has inherited half of a one hundred acre property, Hawkridge high up in the mountains the other beneficiary is a Scotsman Ben Gailbraith, who has been working the property and gotten to know the owner well and that they must not sell the property for one year.

After Ben shows Callie around the property she is left in sixes and sevens as to what will happen, her life is in Townsville with her children and family but this will be a legacy for her children and with Ben moving back to Scotland in one year they work on selling in twelve months and deciding to do renovations, but she will bring the children up for four weeks during the Christmas holidays and those four weeks will change how Callie thinks about her future.

Could there be a future for Callie, Ben and the children her on Hawkridge?

This is a beautiful story that I loved, the setting is just gorgeous and the descriptions from MS. Hannay had me sitting around that table in the yard watching the sunsets and sunrises with the family. Callie and Ben are just awesome characters as are the children I loved Joey and the twins, they made me smile and yes there were tears happy tears while I was reading this one, so many emotions, a true story of family and love.

I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good story.

My thanks to Penguin Random House AU and the Author for my ARC to read and review

5 stars

June 24, 2025 by Penguin

The Bogan Book Club

John Larkin

Reviewed by Helen

I read this one as part of a travelling book club that I have joined and I laughed and laughed while reading this one, there are so many emotions running through the story as we get to know James and the people who work in a factory in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, come along and meet them.

James was married and loving his job as a teacher but when he makes the decision to move from a prestige girl’s college and go out to the western suburbs so as he can help more kids learn, changes his life forever, a terrible single mistake sees him lose the life he knew and now having just been released from prison he is penniless, that is until his brother gets him a job at the factory where he is manager.

It is not long before James who is known as The Professor is fitting in well with the people who work there, who all have nick names and they start a book club James is shocked that these bogan's and Westies are actually knowledgeable in ways he never thought and that they care about each other and soon they all feel like family as they read and discuss some well know classics.

This book has so much going for it truly I laughed so much at times but there were times when I felt sad for some of these characters that I got to know their hearts are filled with caring the langue that is used was easy for me to understand even though I being a Westie do not speak like that there are people here in Australia who do LOL, I do recommend this one to any reader who wants to feel the emotions of these characters, who likes to cheer the underdog on and who loves a good laugh.

My thanks to Karren for staring this fabulous book club.

4 stars

December 1, 2024 by Larrikin House