Book: Heads You Die (Young Bond)

Summary: James's Cuban holiday has become a nightmare mission to save an old friend from a villain who has perfected 1,000 ways to kill. With corrupt cops and hired assassins hot on his heels, James must travel through Havana and brave Caribbean waters to stop a countdown to mass murder. Fates will be decided with the flip of a coin. Heads or tails. Live or die. What I Thought: Enjoyable. Always far fetched. Love Hugo!

Book: Dark Emu

Summary: Dark Emu argues for a reconsideration of the 'hunter-gatherer' tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia's past is required. What I Thought: This has been on my TBR pile for years. Nicwe to tick it off. I really enjoyed it. I'm aware of the controversary surrounding it so will read some more about that as[ect too. But I currently walk away thinking that we definitely have nbot given credit where credit was due (but I felt this was anyway so not sure it has impacted me much)

Book: The Survivors

Summary: Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home. Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea, that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away... What I Thought: Enjoyable but not as good as her others. Very slow going to begin with.

Book: The Snake Trap

Summary: Following a death-defying escape from the hands of a criminal overlord, young PI Travis Delaney thinks he might finally be getting closer to finding out who killed his parents, and why. But things are about to get a whole lot more deadly . . . One moment Travis is trapped in an armed face-off in the offices of Delaney & Co, private investigators. The next terrorists have stormed the building and he's been abducted. Kept captive alongside Winston, the rogue security officer who Travis believes is responsible for his parents' death, Travis is quickly plagued by more questions than answers. As the truth begins to emerge, Travis is faced with the ultimate dilemma: how do you choose between saving your own life or saving the life of someone you love? What I Thought: A nice final book in the series. Enjoyed these and will seek out more from the author.

Book: Boy from the Mish

Summary: It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and he's hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson's Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city - but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them... As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret - a secret he thought he'd locked away for good. What I Thought: I enjoyed this - explored lots of issues.

Book: Take Me Home

Summary: It was a straightforward request. Take her gran home to her beloved Scotland. In the space of a few days, Elle loses her job and her home and faces moving back in with her parents-where she knows she'll hear a lot about how she is wasting her life, unlike her three siblings . . . Then Gran's will is read and everything changes. It seems simple: a road trip across Scotland, a country Gran loved, to locate the family castle; meet some long lost cousins; oh, and work out what she wants to do with the rest of her life before returning home. Not a problem. That is unless the family castle is a ruin that has pretty much been lost in time; the family Elle has never met seem to be hiding a mysterious secret; her over-achieving parents are breathing down her neck, and she's running out of time to make a decision about her future. What I Thought: Really enjoyed this - lovely read.

Book: Sanctuary

Summary: On a barren island off the coast of Western Australia, a rickety wooden dinghy runs aground. Aboard are nine people who have no idea where they are. Strangers before the violent storm that tore their vessel apart, the instinct to survive has seen them bond during their days adrift on a vast and merciless ocean. Fate has cast them ashore with only one thing in common . . . fear. Rassen the doctor, Massoud the student, the child Hamid and the others all fear for their lives. But in their midst is Jalila, who appears to fear nothing. The beautiful young Yazidi woman is a mystery to them all. While they remain undiscovered on the deserted island, they dare to dream of a new life . . . But forty kilometres away on the mainland lies the tiny fishing port of Shoalhaven. Here everyone knows everyone, and everyone has their place. In Shoalhaven things never change. Until now . . . What I Thought: Wow - blown away by this book. So well done. Such an incredible setting and a harrowing story.

Book: Emma (Outback Brides of Wirralong)

Summary: Lady Emmaline Lewellyn Grayson has never felt at home in her stuffy, aristocratic world. She might look the part of a Lady and play it to perfection, but a wilder world has always beckoned. A world where people say what they mean and keep their promises. A world where, if a man says "I love you," the next word isn’t “but…” Liam McNair is a rough and tumble cattleman with a station to run and no time to babysit a fragile English rose. But if Lady Em needs a keeper for the short time she’ll be in Australia, it might as well be him. He’ll show her the Outback, keep her out of trouble, maybe have a little fun and at the end of her stay he’ll gladly wave her on her way. What I Thought: Another enjoyable easy read.

Book: The Dark Dream

Summary: Winter 1852. Adam has just returned from the Californian goldfields and is heading for Bendigo in Victoria, the new El Dorado. He comes across Ella, injured, penniless and with only the clothes she is wearing. Adam is the son of a convict with the determination and intelligence to 'better' himself. Despite her current circumstances, it is obvious to him that Ella is a lady, and although Adam might believe himself as good as any man, the class divide remains. When Ella wakes beside an isolated lagoon, all she can remember are frightening and tantalizing pieces of a dream. Even her name isn't her own, but one given to her by Adam, who has agreed to her travelling with him while she struggles to discover the truth. As the days go by, and their journey northwards continues, Ella learns to adjust to the harsh realities of her new life and grows to like and admire her unlikely companion. Ella and Adam must find their way through old dangers and newfound love, to confront the shocking truth. A truth that will change their future forever. What I Thought: Enjoyable - not as good as her others.

Book: The Road to Karinya

Summary: Prue King is nineteen and lives on Karinya Station, one of seven girls. She and her friend Sally decide to go on the adventure of a live time—a road trip, right around Australia. Neither Prue nor Sally is in any hurry to settle down, unlike some girls their age. They want to see the country and prove their independence. When they meet brothers Dan and Steve on the Sunshine Coast Prue is stunned by her feelings for him, but her plans remain the same. She and Sally are determined to get to Perth where they will live for at least a few months and decide what their futures hold. When the girls leave the brothers behind though, a horrifying experience will change their plans and their lives, perhaps forever. The Road to Karinya also tells the story of Ellie, Prue’s mother. Ellie is a beautiful young woman living in wartime Adelaide when she meets Keith. It’s love at first sight for her, but she’s not sure how Keith feels, even after they marry. Karinya Station is his first love and Ellie will have to leave her family and her life in the city and contend with the loneliness of the outback. Ellie’s story begins in 1941 while Prue’s is set in the 70s. What I Thought: Loved this book. Purchased book 3 straight away!

Book: Marble Bar

Summary: Why is Gareth Ford being shadowed through the outback by a tattoo- faced man in a designer suit and his umbrella-toting mate? Gareth Ford, with a cloud still hanging over him because of his involvement in the Gwardar Gold Heist, has decided to make a new beginning in the iron mines of Newman. But when he returns home from the night shift and finds his flatmate has been murdered, suspicion quickly falls upon him. He, however, fears he himself was the real target and soon discovers he is being tailed. He summons his old ally from the Gold Squad, DC Rose Kavanagh, and soon they find themselves in Marble Bar, searching for the Gwardar Gold and being pursued by a variety of desperadoes, each with their own agendas What I Thought: Not as good as the first in series. Still enjoyed the main character though.

Book: Stony Creek

Summary: Laura Prescott is a city girl. She lives in Melbourne and enjoys the life of a single girl in 1970, with no intention of marrying any time soon, if at all. She has no desire to live the life she sees her mother has, with a house full of children. Things change suddenly after she loses her job and she finds herself faced with very different choices. She finds a new life in the outback, with a new kind of love and a new kind of pain. What I Thought: Loved this one. Already halfway through the next one!

Book: The Shearer's Wife

Summary: 1980: Rose and Ian Kelly arrive in the small South Australian town of Barker for supplies, before driving a further couple of hundred kilometres to begin shearing at Jacksonville Station. Rose, heavily pregnant with their first babies, worries that despite Ian's impending fatherhood he remains a drifter who dreams of the open road. 2020: When the Australian Federal Police swoop unheralded into Barker and make a shocking arrest for possession of narcotics, Detective Dave Burrows is certain there is more to the story than meets the eye. After many months of grief over her brother's illness and death, journalist Zara Ellison is finally ready to begin a new chapter of her life and make a commitment to her boyfriend, Senior Constable Jack Higgins. But when she's assigned to investigate the Barker arrest, Jack begins to believe that Zara is working against him. It takes a series of unconnected incidents in Zara's digging to reveal an almost forgotten thread of mystery as to how these two events, forty years apart, could be connected. What I Thought: Enjoyable. But not amazing.

Book: The Crescendo

Summary: Recruited by the agency less than a year ago, Jaz has had her life turned upside down by a shocking revelation and the death of a friend. Now Ryan, the sexy, dangerous man who recruited and trained her, has gone MIA while out on an undercover mission. And on top of all this, she’s sitting exams and finishing school. With the help of her friends, Jaz is going to have to risk her own life to save Ryan, even if it means walking on the dark side. But can she work alongside the bad guys she’s been trying to take down if it means seeing Ryan again? What I Thought: I enjoyed this series. Nice to have a strong female lead.

Book: November (Conspiracy 365)

Summary: The December 31st deadline is fast approaching, and Cal's enemies are closing in on all sides. Even the notorious "Toe Cutter" Durham has emerged from the underworld to join the hunt. What I Thought: Loving this - one to go!

Book: Second Chance Christmas

Summary: Australian celebrity chef Jack Carter is determined to convince his estranged wife he’s not the smooth-talking workaholic she married six years ago. Olivia has invited him to Canada for Christmas, not for herself but for the sake of their three-year-old daughter Scarlett. Jack willingly agreed, hoping this is the second chance he’s been looking for. Olivia has been hurt too many times by her soon-to-be-ex-husband and she doesn't trust him anymore. But she has to deal with him for Scarlett's sake, because her child deserves to grow up with both parents. But when Jack joins them in Niagara-on-the-Lake for Christmas and asks Olivia to reconsider the divorce, she is shocked. And more than a little worried that a part of her wants to say yes. Jack promises he’ll give up everything for her and Scarlett, but Olivia is not convinced. Can he really turn his back on his high-flying television career in Australia and the lifestyle that comes with it? Will ten days over Christmas be enough time for Jack and Olivia to mend their broken hearts? Or will it take Jack’s career or an unexpected accident to rip them apart again? What I Thought: An enjoyable easy read.

Book: Feel the Fear (Ruby Redfort)

Summary: Ruby Redfort has a lot of reasons to feel confident. Undercover agent, code cracker, thirteen-year-old genius -- she's one fearless kid, buster. Unmasking an evil villain? Done. Honing her parkour skills by climbing skyscrapers and leaping across roofs? All in a day's work. Heeding the warning signs? Well, not so much. When a ghostly foe begins stealing from the highest buildings in Twinford, Ruby Redfort is ready to defy death one more time to capture the bandit. But fearlessness can lead to taking risks, which can land a person in very serious trouble. While Ruby may think she's invincible, there's truth to the saying that recklessness always comes before a fall. What I Thought: Another enjoyable read. Ruby is a great character for kids.

Book: Winter's Walk

Summary: Recovering from a personal trauma, IT geek, Jessica, stumbles into Heart Springs with one goal in mind. What she hadn’t planned on was clashing with the bantering, blue-eyed, hard-bodied, Brett. Shouldering his own emotional tragedy, Brett prefers the solitude of his farm. Until he discovers his new neighbour, the disagreeable yet desirable Jessica standing in his way. Over six long weeks of winter, these two torn souls somehow agree to work together. But do they dare act upon their mutual attraction, or will they walk away from each other for good? What I Thought: Enjoyable – not much deep to the characters as was a short read but I’ll try one of her longer books now.

Book: October (Conspiracy 365)

Summary: A gun shot rings out as Cal hides from his stalkers--two old bounty hunters and their savage dog, Sniffer. The hostile desert seems determined to become Cal's final resting place. Had Kelvin spared his life for nothing? What I Thought: Getting to the end – 2 left!

Book: Hostage (Bodyguard)

Summary: With the rise of teen stars, the intense media focus on celeb families and a new wave of billionaires, adults are no longer the only target for hostage-taking, blackmail and assassination - kids are too. That's why they need a young bodyguard like Connor Reeves to protect them. Recruited into the ranks of a covert young bodyguard squad, 14-year-old Connor Reeves embarks on a rigorous close protection course. Training in surveillance, anti-ambush exercises, hostage survival and unarmed combat, he's put through his paces and wonders if he will actually survive the course. But when the US President summons Connor to protect his impulsive teenage daughter, Connor's training is put to the ultimate test. For Connor discovers that the First Daughter, Alicia, doesn't want to be guarded. She just wants to have fun. And with no clue Connor is her bodyguard, Alicia tries to elude her Secret Service agents and lead Connor astray. But unknown to her, a terrorist sleeper cell has been activated. Its mission- to take the president's daughter HOSTAGE... What I Thought: Loved it – a new teen spy series for me to absorb!