Review: The Butterfly Women

Title: The Butterfly Women

Author: Madeleine Cleary

Publisher: 29th April 2025 by Simon & Schuster (Australia) | Affirm Press

Pages: 400 pages

Genre:  General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers

Synopsis:

It's 1863, and Melbourne is transitioning from a fledgling colony to a thriving, gold-fuelled metropolis. But behind its shiny new façade, the real Melbourne can be found in the notorious red-light district of Little Lon, full of brothels where rich and poor alike can revel all night. The most glamorous among them is Papillon, home to the most alluring women in the city.

For poor Irishwoman Johanna Callaghan, a job at Papillon could be her ticket to success, but in a time when women's lives are cheap, it also brings great danger. Meanwhile, for respectable women like journalist Harriett Gardiner, Papillon is strictly off-limits, but when a murderer begins stalking the streets of Little Lon, she becomes determined to visit it and find the truth.

As both women are drawn into the hunt for the killer, a long-hidden side of old Melbourne is revealed. Lush, dark and meticulously researched, The Butterfly Women weaves romance and mystery into an unforgettable tale of Australian history, and the women so often erased from it.

My Thoughts

Madeleine's debut novel, The Butterfly Women is a sure-fire winner - I loved it. Melbourne in 1863 is growing exponentially thanks to the discovery of gold, however, all that glitters is not gold. This shiny new façade conceals the real Melbourne where the notorious red-light district of Little Lon is found.  Brothels are attended by rich and poor alike and the most glamorous among them is Papillon, home to the most alluring women in the city. A murderer is stalking the streets of Little Lon, including the Butterfly women, and it must be stopped. 

‘We may resemble pretty little butterflies, Captain, but we have been in more fights and know these streets better than your men.’

Reading about the Melbourne of this era was absolutely fascinating. Combine that with memorable women and a page turning murder mystery and I couldn’t put it down. The story is told through the voices of four women: Johanna an Irish ‘dressed’ woman, Catherine the brothel owner, Mary who police patrols the streets in her husband's uniform and Harriet a respected journalist. All these women’s lives interconnect as together they work towards trying to get by in a man’s world. It was so engrossing to read about my city from a time long past. A stunning debut filled with twists and turns told through a feminist lens. 

‘For while John and many of the town’s men failed to find their fortunes on the goldfields, Catherine and the women they’d left behind found theirs in the boarding houses and brothels of this dusty town.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: Rise and Shine

Title: Rise and Shine

Author: Kimberley Allsopp

Publisher: 4th June 2025 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Pages: 383 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women's Fiction

Synopsis:

Charming, talky, wryly funny, poignant and original - Rise and Shine is a love story, yes, but it's a love story that happens ten years into a marriage, when somebody wants out.

This is a story about marriage. It is also a story about life and love and happiness and the absence of happiness and what we need to do to find it again.

It's a story about hope, baking, making music, lemon trees, painting, love, divorce, dogs, the families we create for ourselves, and the heat of the Brisbane sun.

It's a story about August and Noah.

It begins at the end.

Rise and Shine is an utterly surprising delight, a break-up tale that is also a love story; endearing, astringent, talky, wry, wise, uplifting and so original.

My Thoughts 

Kimberley Allsopp has a most unique style of writing. Her debut novel in 2022, Love and Other Puzzles, blew me away - I adored it. It was full of wit and charm, refreshing, never dull with a perfect combination of humour and hindsight. Kimberley has carried some of this over into her next book, Rise and Shine where once more she challenges her readers by asking the question, when you realise that life is not what you want or wish it to be … how does one change?

‘She had a good life. She had to stop worrying about it and trying to stretch it into a shape that she thought it needed to be when this was a good shape.’

This is a story about life, love and what happens when, after ten years of marriage, someone wants out. What makes us happy, what makes us unhappy and what can we do about it. It’s a story that gets you thinking, presented in Kimberley’s witty, quirky and uplifting way. 

‘She had to fold this moment up and put it in her pocket so she could bring it out when her love for this man felt worn out and thin.'

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Beach Vibes

Title: Beach Vibes

Author: Susan Mallory

Publisher: 30th April 2025 by HQ Fiction

Pages: 368 pages

Genre:  General Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Romance

Synopsis:

What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend?

While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she’s even prouder of her charismatic brother, Rick, who rose from foster care all the way through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Things take a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana’s handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth’s days...and nights.

But when she catches Rick with another woman — like, with with — her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend.

Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we’ll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop.

My Thoughts

My first Susan Mallory book and I really enjoyed it - good quality escapism. It does not have much to do with ‘beach vibes’ to be honest, but it has a highly engaging family drama which both intrigued and grabbed me. 

There is Beth proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches and her brother who she has always supported and is now a surgeon. Then there is Beth’s best friend, Jana and her brother who is a widow and father to three children. The four hit it off and all look to be heading to a rosy future …. until it isn’t. I don’t want to give away much as the angst surrounding the colliding of love and loyalty are certainly front and centre in this tale. 

A super engaging and complex family drama making readers consider,  “what would you do?” A story of family dynamics, loyalty, friendship, romance and most definitely, betrayal. It is certainly a bittersweet read and more than just a romance. I recommend giving it a go. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: Wild Dark Shore

Title: Wild Dark Shore

Author: Charlotte McConaghy

Publisher: 4th March 2025 by Penguin Random House Australia | Penguin eBooks 

Pages: 389 pages

Genre: Mystery | Thriller

Synopsis:

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, 18 and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, 17, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; 9-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back towards the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place. 

Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realises Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together. 

A novel of heartstopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending.

My Thoughts

There has been much hype about this book and let me state from the outset, I understand why. It packs a punch in so many ways, terrific reading and I highly recommend it. Evocative and atmospheric, immersive and heartbreaking.

‘Is this how it will feel when the world starts to crumble? Like you can’t see where you’re going, and at any moment you could lose your people and be left to wander alone?’

Let’s see .... 

• classic mystery/thriller with loads of twists and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final pages

• the haunting locale - harsh, remote, inaccessible

• the characters - rare but true and so identifiable - exquisitely crafted

• it’s statement on the environment, climate change and rising sea levels

• the wildlife, the island, the risks to save the seed bank for future generations

• how it captures grief and parenting

• the way the author captures the sense of place - you will feel cold just reading it!

• the climactic ending that leaves you breathless

One hundred percent compelling - one hundred percent unmissable. Do yourself a favour.

‘... maybe none of us will be, because we have, all of us humans, decided what to save, and that is ourselves.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review:Where the Birds Call Her Name

Title: Where the Birds Call Her Name

Author: Claire van Ryn

Publisher: 4th March 2025 by Penguin Random House Australia

Pages: 400 pages

Genre: General Fiction | Family | Women’s Fiction

Synopsis:

Broome 2023: When Saskia’s free-spirited mother leaves her a caravan in her will, it doesn’t make sense. Saskia is a schoolteacher, tied to plans and schedules, even if they are beginning to feel restrictive. Then she finds clues in the van about her mother’s mysterious past, setting her on a journey to Tasmania with her young daughter Anouk, who shares her late grandmother’s fascination with birds.

In 1968, teenager Greta De Winter seeks solace in the Stanley wetlands, a swamp that attracts all manner of wildlife. Her father is the local councillor and her mother a taxidermist, working to create bird dioramas for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. But while the De Winter household seems harmless from the outside, a dark secret hides within.

When Saskia and Anouk arrive in Stanley, they search for the missing pieces to the puzzle of Greta’s tragic childhood. In the process of uncovering her family history, Saskia realises that her mother’s final act might also enable her to rediscover who she really is, and what she is truly capable of.

Set in the breathtaking landscape of Tasmania’s majestic north-west, this is a moving and highly evocative novel of family bonds and betrayals, by the bestselling author of The Secrets of the Huon Wren.

My Thoughts

Where the Birds Call Her Name is a dual timeline story set between Broome, Western Australia in 2023 and Stanley, Tasmania in 1968. Claire has seamlessly blended fact and fiction to pen a moving and heartfelt story. 

‘Saskia stood up and walked to the window, stretching her neck, her back, stretching the questions playing on repeat in her head and agitating every fibre of her: Why, Mum? Why give me your caravan?’

Saskia's mother left her a caravan and a ticket on the Spirit of Tasmania in her will.  Within the caravan, Saskia finds her mother's journal which hints at a life Saskia knew nothing about. Feeling unsettled with her life in Broome - hectic life of being a teacher and her seemingly distant husband - Saskia decides to make use of the van. Packing up her life, taking a break from her marriage and job, she takes herself and her daughter in the van heading off on a journey across the country.  Together they travel to Stanley, Tasmania where Saskia slowly unravels the story of her mother Greta 'Kiki' De Winter and what had been her unhappy childhood. It is a wonderful story of four generations of women who are connected by not only family but by the secrets that they carry. The descriptions of the unique Australian birds are both interesting and serve as metaphors within the story itself. Each chapter showcases a particular bird whose attributes are then revealed through the chapter theme - maybe resilience or strength, for examples. 

‘Kiki’s death has given me a wake-up call,’ Saskia spoke with more conviction than she’d had in a long time. ‘I want to feel again, for my life to have meaning and joy.’

Where the Birds Call Her Name is a remarkable story. How understanding the past can lead to self discovery, along with the strong bonds that exist in both families and with nature. Recommended for readers of generational tales who enjoy fabulous storytelling and lyrical prose 

‘The stillness broke and their hearts drank from the place where the birds would always call her name.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.