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25.01.2022 Book Review: SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Sally Thorne About the Book Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa for six years, dedicating her entire adult life to caring for the Villa’s residents, maintaining the property (with an assist from DIY YouTube tutorials), and guarding the endangered tortoises that live in the Villa’s gardens. Somewhere along the way, she’s forgotten that she’s young and beautiful, and that there’s a worl...Continue reading
07.01.2022 Book Review: A MILLION THINGS by Emily Spurr About the Book A bursting, heartfelt, debut following fifty-five days in the life of ten-year-old Rae, who must look after herself and her dog when her mother disappears....Continue reading
06.01.2022 Book Review: BACK IN THE BURBS by Avery Flynn & Tracy Wolff About the Book Ever have one of those days where life just plain sucks? Welcome to my last three monthsever since I caught my can’t-be-soon-enough ex-husband cheating with his paralegal. I’m thirty-five years old, and I’ve lost my NYC apartment, my job, my money, and frankly, my dignity....Continue reading
02.01.2022 Book Review: THE LAST REUNION by Kayte Nunn About the Book Five women come together at a New Year's Eve's party after decades apart, in this thrilling story of desire, revenge and courage, based on a brave group of Australian and British WWII servicewomen... Burma, 1945. Bea, Plum, Bubbles, Joy and Lucy: five young women in search of adventure, attached to the Fourteenth Army, fighting a forgotten war in the jungle. Assigned to run a mobile canteen, navigating treacherous roads and dodging hostile gunfire, they become embroiled in life-threatening battles of their own. Battles that will haunt the women for the rest of their lives. Oxford, 1976. At the height of an impossibly hot English summer, a woman slips into a museum and steals several rare Japanese netsuke, including the famed fox-girl. Despite the offer of a considerable reward, these tiny, exquisitely detailed carvings are never seen again. London and Galway, 1999. On the eve of the new millennium, Olivia, assistant to an art dealer, meets Beatrix, an elderly widow who wishes to sell her late husband's collection of Japanese art. Concealing her own motives, Olivia travels with Beatrix to a New Year's Eve party, deep in the Irish countryside, where friendships will be tested as secrets kept for more than fifty years are spilled. Inspired by the heroic women who served in the 'forgotten war' in Burma, The Last Reunion is a heartbreaking love story and mystery by the international bestselling author of The Botanist's Daughter and The Silk House. It is also a tribute to the enduring power of female friendship. My Thoughts In a sea of WWII historical fiction novels, Kayte Nunn’s THE LAST REUNION immediately stands out in its depiction of the real life Women’s Auxiliary Service that aided the war effort during the Burma Campaign (modern day Myanmar). These women known as wasbies ran mobile canteens and provided much needed morale for troops in regions filled with danger and primitive conditions. The book starts in 1976 when a valuable netsuke (a small carved ornament) is stolen from a museum. Following this event, we get a dual timeline story that switches between WWII and 1999. The netsuke’s appearances and disappearances over 50-plus years is the tie that binds the characters and their story. The story culminates at a wasbie reunion in 1999. There is much reminiscing, friendships are re-forged, and long held, sometimes painful, secrets are revealed. I really enjoyed this book. It was engaging, educational, well written and thoughtfully plotted. This is only the second Kayte Nunn book I’ve read and once again, I am impressed. About the Author: Kayte Nunn Author Publication Day: 31 March 2021 Publisher: Hachette Australia Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.
