Wish You Were Here

 Wish You Were Here

Bernadette Eden

Reviewed by Helen

This is a fabulous debut, a beautifully written story about life and secrets, love and family and what can happen when you lose your husband and years later secrets are unveiled.

Sally Jenkins is widowed with two young children, Ned and Clem she is still living and running the caravan park that they bought not long after they married in Mark’s small home of Mount Mirabella, Mark had downhill bike tracks built and they became very popular and the town grew as well but when Mark died on one of the tracks Sally closed them down and this has caused a decline in the people arriving at the caravan park and the town, it appears that the town is slowly dying and Sally is struggling to make ends meet.

Things get worse when a resort is opening fairly close by and her talented eleven year son Ned is offered a position at an elite private school and Sally needs to find money to get him there, her daughter Clem is always on the go and never stops and Sally is struggling and wondering where it will all end.

Then Mark’s best friend Jagger arrives back in town and he is pushing her buttons but does she really understand why he does that and then there are secrets old family secrets that are coming out, will these secrets break things more or will they ensure a happy future for all?

I loved this one Sally has been through so much and is finding it hard to keep her head above water and her children need so much and the author has taken on issues that play a big part in today’s world depression, suicide and how the people who are left behind cope with life after and done a fabulous job with it, there are so many fabulous characters in this story, all who add to the story, this is one that I would highly recommend, it is moving and emotional, witty at times it made me smile and cry, congratulations MS Eden on a wonderful debut, I look forward to more stories.

My thanks to the publisher HQ Fiction for my ARC to read and review.

4 stars

December 1, 2026 by HQ Fiction AU

Johno

 Johno

Kathleen O'Reilly Johnston

Reviewed by Helen

This is a heart-wrenching and heart-breaking story, the story of Norman Johnston who comes to be known as Johno, during World War two as a baby he is sent to an orphanage in Aberdeen Scotland and then after the war at seven years of age he is sent to Australia to live in homes run by the Catholic church, the brothers who run these home are not the type of people you would think would run a home for children.

Johno is expecting a lot more than he discovered when he arrived after his long trip on a ship with many other young boys, the land of sunshine, fruit trees and kangaroos that he was expecting never eventuated and what he found was a life of cruelty and abuse, not just physical but mental abuse as well, not much food and they are worked to the bone, but throughout these years Johno did his best to keep his head down until the day he was sent to a farm to work as a farmhand and although not quite as bad as the boys home it was not much better, until eventually he found his way to a home in Perth and lived with a couple and their children and he learnt what life should be about but the damage over the years had left its mark on his mind.

As Johno got older he joined the Australian army was sent to Vietnam married and became a father himself but his life was never what it should have been, but over the years he did a lot to help fight for justice for the children who were sent to Australia after WW2 the ones who were supposedly orphaned but many were not.

This is not the easiest of stories to read but it is well written with empathy and heart as we get to know Johno and see him grow into an adult, it will open the reader’s eyes to events that happened and yes I did know about these things happening but they still shock as you read and if true stories are for you then this is one that I would recommend.

5 stars

September 9, 2026 by Hawkeye Publishing

The Paradise Hotel

 The Paradise Hotel

Tricia Stringer

Reviewed by Helen

Tricia Stringer has again taken me on a fabulous journey this time to a resort in the Kimberly’s and we meet up with Kathleen and Omar and meet some new characters, woman who are strong and caring come along and take a break with Kathleen, Beatrice and Nelda and the other fabulous characters.
Nelda is the manager of a luxury Kimberly resort and things have been a bit hard for a while now and she is a bit stressed and it can show in her mannerisms with the staff, she does have a lot on her plate and then when wealthy philanthropist, Beatrice Foreston arrives and her boss the owner Gerrard impresses upon her to ensure Beatrice is very well looked after this adds to her problems then Gerrard hires a new temporary assistant manager Kathleen and her partner Omar as a maintenance worker who Nelda is convinced will not work out and Gerrard has also dropped the bombshell that he is selling the resort and that a spy will be there checking the resort out for a potential buyer, that is the worse thought because Nelda’s secret could be uncovered and destroy the resort that she has worked at since it opened, can things get any worse for her?
As the days go by Kathleen is working out better than Nelda thought but she has big doubts about Omar when medical assistance is needed, and could Beatrice be the spy and when she thinks Kathleen is uncovering things Nelda must open up and Beatrice is there to hear all, this gives Beatrice a chance to help and get her mojo back after all she has been through and Kathleen as well is putting her past behind her and the three woman soon are making things right and bring this group of workers who really become family back together is such a lovely way.
I loved this one from start to finish, the setting, the characters and the story all come together with emotion and lots of ups and downs, I loved Kathleen and Omar in The Road Trip and I am so glad to have caught up with them again, Beatrice and Nelda both are woman who go out there and do what is needed, I do highly recommend this one another one for the keeper shelf.
My thanks to HQ Fiction and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

September 29, 2026 by HQ Fiction

The Cairo Bridal Shop

 The Cairo Bridal Shop

Tess Woods

Reviewed by Helen

This one took me a bit to get into at first, but it wasn’t long before I was getting to know the three sisters of The Albi Bridal Boutique set at the base of the pyramids in Cairo, Sarah, Aya and Lola and how their lives would change so drastically, the story is told by Sohiela the woman who has been with firstly their grandmother then mother and then them, come along for a trip to Egypt.

Mariam Albi the mother of three beautiful girls has designed six wedding dresses named for the female pharaoh kings but when she is killed tragically the running of the shop is taken over by Sarah the eldest daughter with the help of seamstress Sohiela, life is not easy for Sarah with her husband and his mother but still the shop keeps going and does well.

Aya is a political journalist and that can be a very dangerous position in Egypt these days but she is writing a story that is sure to make a name for her in the world of journalism but when one of her co-workers the Egyptian born/Australian Gamal is arrested after piece he has written Aya will risk her life to save the man she loves.

Lola is an arts student at university the youngest of the girls who has been keeping a secret and she is trying to find herself and when she start to find that person she also now finds herself in grave danger, will she lose the people she loves the most?

This story is written from the heart of the author who is Egyptian born herself, I don’t understand a lot of the Egyptian ways or language but was pulled into the story and there are some awesome characters in this book that I really felt for that being the girls and Sohiela but there are some not to snice people in this book who show that the world needs to change, I did very much enjoy this story and the emotions that come from the story telling that is so very good. I would recommend this one to anyone who loves a book that digs deep into family and love and loves a bit of history about the pyramids and the pharaohs.

4 stars

September 1, 2026 by Penguin Books Australia

The Frock Shop

 The Frock Shop

Sophie Green

Reviewed by Helen

This is another brilliant story from Sophie Green who I think has such and awesome voice for bringing her characters to life on the pages, the women in this story are all linked in some way to the local charity frock shop in the harbourside suburb of Mosman and I loved it from start to finish, come along and meet Daphne, Adelaide, Christina, Margot and Lucy these woman are different ages and have different backgrounds but friendship will bring them together and help them all find who they are.

Daphne is seventy one and has worked at this shop since it began as a frock shop many years ago, she is married to Hector has two adult children Noel and Janet and has always had a flare for knowing what woman should and should not wear, she also keeps her a few secrets.

Adelaide is a close friend to Daphne she is also a cellist who has been overseas for many years and travelling with orchestras but is home now and volunteering in the charity frock shop, there was a reason that had Adelaide fleeing Australia many years ago will it come back to cause problems now?

Christina grew up around here but has been in Hollywood for a few years now and is a well known actor but when she is forced to flee Los Angeles to her childhood home she finds herself volunteering in the frock shop and making a strong friendship with Daphne.

Margot is in all sorts of bother living in her big childhood home with only her elderly aunt although she is thirty six she has never worked and now her life is very different from what she thought it would be, could things turn around for her?

Lucy is a young teenager in her last years of school she works in her parent’s dry-cleaning business after school but is pulled towards the materials and the way clothes are made and she visits the frock shop and makes friends with Daphne and is learning a lot from her and she feels a lot safer here than she does at home or the family shop, will her dreams come true?

This story brings these woman together and the clothes play a big part in this story, Sophie Green never disappoints and this one is just so very good, I loved all of the woman in this story as I got to know them and was sad when the book finished I could have stayed with them for longer, I do highly recommend this one it is a must read.

5 stars

July 28, 2026 by Hachette Australia

A Far-Flung Life

 A Far-Flung Life

M L Stedman

Reviewed by Helen

This story was WOW for me, beautifully written it tells the story of the McBride Family, a family who have lived for generations on a million acres of land in the red dirt of Western Australia raising sheep, it is 1958 and we meet Phil and Lorna and their three children Warren, Rose and Matt and what happens to them after a devastating accident shatters their lives

The McBride Station is close to the small town of Wanderrie Creek and while Phil is driving his two sons towards town firstly to drop young Matt of at a young pastoralists meeting a kangaroo will change their lives for evermore, those left behind will do all they can to ensure they continue on the McBride family way looking after the station the sheep and the other people who live there, but it is not easy for any of them.

During the years that follow that accident many things will happen and change will come to the station in the form of mining and this brings new people to the station, relationships are made, more friendships but will they ever come to anything and change the direction that they are moving in?

This story is told in three parts and starts in 1958 and continues on till 2000 and brings more sadness to the family, it is a story of secrets and how people react when things have been done that shouldn’t have been do they find reasons for this, open up about them or do they bury secrets deep never to be told? The characters are wonderful and so real and I felt for them all, the author has dug deep into these characters and bought them all to life.

This is a story of resilience, love, and family and one that I loved very much and do highly recommend to any reader who loves a family saga that digs deep into emotions and what makes families who they are, a must read.

My thanks to Penguin AU for my ARC to read and review.

5 stars

March 3, 2026 by Penguin

The Drowning

 The Drowning

Fiona Lowe

Reviewed by Helen

What a fabulous one this is, wow I could barely put it down MS Lowe knows how to bring families to a head and she does this so well with her newest, come along and meet this family get to know the beach front house known as The Shack.

CC Cilento is a doctor, still single, she is an only child with Italian heritage she was privileged to have spent the summer and Easter holidays with her cousins James, Ollie, Lily and Felix Friend those days were some of the happiest of her life she loved the family and felt so close to them like siblings there was so much fun surfing, swimming running through the dunes, the older Friend family have since passed but still they normally spend the summer together when they can and now some with children of their own.

When CC is invited by Ollie for a special weekend at the Shack and the wills of Bert and Leo Friend are bought up and The Shack has been left to the four siblings but there is now a fifth share as CC has been included, CC is thrilled about this it makes her feel even closer to her cousins but maybe they are all not so happy about this will. James is a lawyer and executor of the wills and puts strict rules in place with how they can use The Shack and with a couple of them wanting to change things totally and some wanting to keep it as Bert Friend had built it originally for his wife Rosa and their family this of course leads to disharmony and CC is starting to wonder who she can trust.

Then a secret is revealed and this just hypes up the tension in the family tempers are flaring things are being said and CC really doesn’t know who to turn to and when a body washes up on the shore and this is going to change everything.

This is a story of family dynamics, trust, and power and is a page turner in my opinion how on earth will it all work out, what will happen to The Shack and how will CC go forward?
I do highly recommend this mystery, it had me on the edge of my seat so many twists and turns, don’t miss this one, thank you MS Lowe for another brilliant story.

My thanks to HQ Fiction for my ARC to read and review.

5 stars

February 24, 2026 by HQ Fiction