Cirrus@Austlit

'The delightful new romantic comedy by the bestselling Australian author of The Other Bridget.

'When serial dater Winifred Darling – Fred – is asked to be the maid of honour at her mother’s sixth wedding, she’s determined to do everything in her power to stop it. As the author of a forthcoming book called 21 Rules for Not Catching Feelings, she knows better than most about the perils of falling in love.

'On arrival at the island wedding destination, Fred is delighted to discover that the groom’s hot muso son Leo is just as set against the wedding as she is. Together, they come up with ‘Operation Break-Up’ to prevent their parents from making what they believe will be a catastrophic mistake.

'But as Fred and Leo get to know each other better, their unexpected feelings for each other create further complications, and Fred is forced to rethink her own rigid rules about romance and family. Maybe not every relationship has to play by the book, and could Fred become the star in a romcom of her own?
A heart-warming friends-to-lovers romance about the magic and mayhem of weddings – and what happens when everything you thought you knew about love is turned upside down.' (Publication summary)
 

'Hair stylist Kit Cooper is at the top of her game. She does the shows in Milan and Paris, tends to pop stars and celebrities, and has styled enough campaigns and magazine covers to last a lifetime. But Kit is ambitious. Restless. She can't help asking: what's next?

'One day, frustrated she can't find the perfect product for a look, she wonders ... could she make it herself?

'THINGS WILL CALM DOWN SOON takes Kit from idea to founder of a highly successful hair-care company. Amid spreadsheets, influencers, product launches and a parade of potential investors, Kit is juggling an eager young team, needy family members, a charismatic but unreliable romantic partner, single parenting and far too many school WhatsApp messages. She is certain, positive, things will calm down soon, because how can life possibly keep going at this pace?

'As the founder of Go-To Skincare, Zoë Foster Blake has learned a lot in her decade of business. THINGS WILL CALM DOWN SOON blends her love of fiction with the knowledge she has acquired in business, entrepreneurship, and mergers and acquisitions. Part entertainment, part founder insight, THINGS WILL CALM DOWN SOON is an entirely new breed of illuminating storytelling.' (Publication summary)

'Anna was never going to have an easy time at her best friend’s wedding. She’s the bridesmaid; her ex, Joel, is a groomsman. But she’s determined to get through the festivities with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that Joel is bringing his new partner, Bianca. Despite the fact she’s stuck sharing a house with the newly in-love couple. And despite the fact Anna has just turned thirty and her life is not exactly where she thought it would be by now. Anna has all her feelings completely under control—right up until the moment Joel drops a bombshell that rocks her to her core.

'She needs a distraction, and Patrick, the wedding photographer, just might be the solution. Everyone has decided he is perfect for her. He is perfect for her. But the arrival of Mac, a not-quite-famous actor who has flown in from New York, complicates everything.

'Much-loved YA author Nina Kenwood hits the spot with her first novel for adults. Laugh-out-loud funny with chemistry that jumps off the page, The Wedding Forecast will be the feel-good romcom of the summer.' (Publication summary)

'A gripping, haunting work about the reverberations of a serial killer's crimes in the lives of everyday people.

'In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged with a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims' families, but its impact travels even further - into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes.

'Highway 13 takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more: through the investigation of the aftermath of this violence across time and place, from the killer's home town in country Australia to the tropical Far North, and to Texas and Rome, McFarlane presents an unforgettable, entrancing exploration of the way stories are told and spread, and at what cost.

'What damages, big and small, do these crimes incur? How do communities make sense of such atrocities? How does the mourning of families sit alongside the public fascination with terrible crimes? And can we tell true crime stories without putting the killers at the centre of the story?

'From the acclaimed author of The Sun Walks Down and The Night Guest comes a captivating account of loss and fear, and its extended echoes in individual lives.' (Publication summary)

'Katy Sweeney is determined to find her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, free-spirited Phoebe vanished without a trace on Western Australia’s remote and achingly beautiful Coral Coast. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up.

'Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy starts to retrace her steps, searching for the clues that the police have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and what danger did they pose? Was she as happy as her sun-bleached, lens-flared photos seem to suggest?

'Then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, a young woman on the run from her own dark past—and very recent present. And as Katy realizes that Beth might be her best and only chance of finding the truth, the two women form an uneasy alliance to venture forth into increasingly wild territory to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this breathtaking but maybe deadly place, and how her fate connects them all.

'Anna Downes takes us on a twist-filled journey into the dark side of solo female travel, in this gripping novel that explores what drives us to keep searching for those we have lost, the family bonds that can make or break us, and the deception of memory.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'An epic romantic adventure of love and courage that pays tribute to our brave Gallipoli heroes of World War One.

''Fans of Natasha Lester and Victoria Purman will adore...' Better Reading

'1914- Brothers Thom and Archie Hogan are the best of friends who love nothing more than tinkering with their father's old bi-plane, with shared dreams of soaring over the wheatfields after a hard day at work on the land. But matters of the heart come between them when Molly James arrives in town.

'Beautiful and headstrong, Molly captures the attention of the two young men, both of whom compete valiantly for her affections. However when war strikes and the brothers rush to enlist, and Molly answers the call to nurse in London, nothing is a game any more.

'Archie and Thom are sent to the Middle East and Europe where war takes to the skies for the first time. There they battle against legendary foes, including the Red Baron, in a desperate quest for survival even as a battle of hearts wages below. Tension between the trio looks set to implode...and at the going down of the sun, who will return home safely to claim Molly's heart?

'Based on a true story of the author's grandfather's wartime experiences,_x202F_At the Going Down of the Sun_x202F_explores the intense bond between soldiers and brothers fighting in war, and a love with the power to tear them apart.' (Production summary)

'Sometimes you must shine a light on the dark places to see what was always there​.

'‘Nancy won’t be coming home.’

'And there it is: that pip of a moment. That instant. That fraction of a second. That weightless stillness at the very top of a ball’s bounce, between its going up and falling down.

'My brother and I held hands, suspended somewhere in between the life we’d led as Nancy’s children, and the one we were destined to live thereafter.

'Winter Robins is a happy enough child, growing up in the north of England, with parents who love her and the constant companion of a twin brother, but a cold wind blows through when her mother dies. Her father turns to the bottle, her grandmother struggles to cope, and she and her brother are sent to live in Western Australia with family their mother had never mentioned.

'Although Winter quickly settles in Australia and comes to love her life and the people in it, she notices strange happenings in the shadows of her new home. When a news story prompts her to look back as her past, she begins to wonder whether things were as idyllic as she had thought at the time.

'As she uncovers secret after secret, she realises a much darker narrative may have been – and perhaps still is – playing out ...'  (Publication summary)

'1917: America’s declaration of war against Germany gives Grace Winter, a keen-eyed New York Times investigative reporter, a much sought after opportunity to make her mark on the Western Front, albeit in ways she had never expected. But by 1918 the gruesome reality of trench warfare has set in, and an invisible new enemy – The Spanish Flu – is killing allied soldiers in their droves.

'Father Jude is no ordinary priest. He’s proven himself as fearless on the battlefield as any soldier, and as compassionate as any man of the cloth. He is willing to put himself in the line of fire to save the souls of young men on both sides of the barbed wire. But things get complicated when he renders assistance to the sharp-witted war correspondent, Grace.

'As their mission to filter secrets back through enemy lines become increasingly perilous, so too does their attraction. And when Grace catches the priest taking an obsessive interest in a tiny silver music box gifted to her by an unknown soldier, she suspects the good Father may be keeping a devastating secret. Grace must trust her instincts and make an impossible choice, between the life of one man and the lives of many men.

'Set against the backdrop of World War One and spanning three continents, this is a heart- stopping story of forbidden love and courage that explores the nature of faith, the quest for redemption and the true meaning of grace.' (Publication summary)

'A serial killer is roaming the outback roads of Australia's top end in Kerry McGinnis's new rural mystery

'‘There’s a killer roaming the roads and you're out here on your own, picking up strangers …’

'When Emily’s beautiful cousin Aspen goes missing somewhere in the Outback, no one seems to take it seriously, not even the police. After all, Aspen has a history of drug use and a string of broken relationships to her name. Emily knows that her disappearance is totally out of character, even for the family’s wild child, so she books a flight to the Northern Territory to find her.

'Emily’s search takes her south of Darwin to every road stop and tourist trap she can find, but the only person who turns up is the last person she expected to see, her ex-husband Ben. But there is a violent killer on the loose, a man the media have dubbed ‘The Outback Killer’ – and after two brazen attempts on Emily’s life, it soon becomes clear that someone wants Emily gone too, someone who is willing to do anything to stop her following Aspen’s tracks.

'Set in the bustling streets of Darwin and in an alternative-lifestyle commune outside of Tennant Creek, and told with McGinnis’s trademark colourful and poetic style, this is a gripping tale of the danger and lawlessness of Australia’s wild and remote places.' (Publication summary) 

'Rebecca meets Fleabag in a sharp and funny debut novel about dating in the internet age.

'After fleeing to Melbourne in the wake of a breakup, all Ana has to show for herself is an unfulfilling job at an overly enthusiastic tech start-up and one particularly questionable dating app experience. Then she meets Evan. Charming, kind and financially responsible, Evan is a complete aberration from her usual type, and Ana feels like she has finally awoken from a long dating nightmare.

'As much as she tries to let their burgeoning relationship unfold IRL, Ana can't resist the urge to find Evan online. When she discovers that his previous girlfriend, Emily, died unexpectedly in a hit-and-run less than a year ago, Ana begins to worry she's living in the shadow of his lost love. Soon she's obsessively comparing herself to Emily, trawling through her dormant social media accounts in the hope of understanding her better. Online Evan and Emily's life together looked perfect, but just how perfect was it? And why won't he talk about it?

'Search History is a sharply funny debut novel about identity, obsession and desire in the internet age from one of the most perceptive and original new voices in Australian fiction.' (Publication summary)

'When her parents announce their impending separation, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day—in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed and nothing is quite making sense.

'Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.

'It Sounded Better in My Head is a tender, funny and joyful novel about longing, confusion, feeling left out and finding out what really matters—from an exciting new voice in Australian YA writing.' (Publication summary)

'Jessie Else disappeared the summer the Lambs came to Magpie Beach. Not that the two events were connected at all, in reality; only in my own head, in my own world. They marked for me the end of a certain quiet time and the start of a more complicated living.

'Magpie Beach is a quiet seaside town, full of small-town prejudices and small-town cliques. Meg, Rosemary and Lily are all outsiders. Meg and Lily because they came to Magpie Beach to escape their former lives, Rosemary because her upbringing was the subject of much local gossip and upturned noses. The three women come together as friends, partly because their homes are so close together on the outskirts of town—and partly because their neighbours treat them with such suspicion.

'When Jessie Else, all of 9 years old, goes missing—it’s easy to see why this small band of outcasts are first on the list of suspects—but what they didn't realise is that Jessie’s disappearance is only the beginning of their troubles. Soon all those secrets they’ve been trying to hide are going to be uncovered—and nothing will ever be the same again.'  (Publication summary)

'Fall in love with this feel-good romance about the first messy, chaotic steps into adulthood, from the author of It Sounded Better in My Head

'From the author of the much-loved It Sounded Better It My Head comes a deliciously entertaining new rom-com, set in a run-down student share house in Melbourne.

'Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone's birthdays, but also organises the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She's the helper, the doer, the guarder-of-drinks, the minder-of-bags, the maker-of-spreadsheets. She's the responsible one who always follows the rules-and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of university.

'Her new share house only has one rule- 'no unnecessary drama'. Which means no fights, tension, or romance between housemates. When one of her housemates turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is nervously confident she can handle it. They'll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other's way. But it turns out Jesse isn't so easy to ignore...

'Channelling the screwball comedy of New Girl with an enemies-to-lovers twist, Unnecessary Drama is a joyful story about leaving home, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.' (Publication summary)

'An uncompromising and compelling feminist Western for readers of The Natural Way of Things.

'In Darkwater, being female doesn't amount to much. But Chelsea's luckier than most. She's the young lover of the town's feared leader, which she keeps telling herself is a good thing, what with food getting scarce and the wells drying up. She's secure and safe and can almost believe she's happy.

'But when a stranger rides into town, gun on one hip, whip on the other, Chelsea can't look away. Especially when it turns out this stranger is a woman.

'Nobody can say what the stranger is there for. But she brings talk of an outside perhaps no longer so chaotic, no longer something to hide away from - and she knows far too much about dark choices made in the town when the world outside was falling apart.

'As the rumours fly about Darkwater's bloodied past and the murder of a woman twenty years earlier, Chelsea finds herself being drawn into someone else's terrifying quest for justice. Or is it merely deadly revenge?

'In a place ruled by fear, Chelsea's going to have to decide whose side she's really on, and how far she's prepared to go to uncover the town's dirty secrets before more blood soaks the ground of Darkwater - this time, perhaps her own.

'Original, unflinching, gritty and visionary, The Stranger is a stunning feminist Western for our times.'  (Publication summary)

'… most nights I find myself trying to combine with someone else to become this two-headed thing with flailing limbs, chomping teeth, and tangled hair. This new animal. I am medicated by another body. Drunk on warm skin. Dumbly high on the damp friction between them and me.

'It's not easy getting close to people. Amelia's meeting a lot of men but once she gets the sex she wants from them, that's it for her; she can't connect further. A terrible thing happened to Daniel last year and it's stuck inside Amelia ever since, making her stuck too.

'Maybe being a cosmetician at her family's mortuary business isn't the best job for a young woman. It's not helping her social life. She loves her job, but she's not great at much else. Especially emotion.

'And then something happens to her mum and suddenly Amelia's got too many feelings and the only thing that makes any sense to her is running away.

'It takes the intervention of her two fathers and some hilariously wrong encounters with other broken people in a struggling Tasmanian BDSM club to help her accept the truth she has been hiding from. And in a final, cataclysmic scene, we learn along with Amelia that you need to feel another person's weight before you can feel your own.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Noni Blake knows she wants more: more adventures, more joy, more romance, more orgasms, more pleasure…more everything. Now she just has to figure out how to get it.

'Noni didn’t expect to be starting over again at the age of thirty-six. But eighteen months after the end of her long-term relationship, she knows it’s time to find out what’s next.

'While an encounter with a sexy blonde firefighter is a welcome entry back into the dating world, Noni soon realises she’s looking for more than just a series of brief—if pleasurable—encounters. She’s looking for more pleasure in, well, everything.

'That’s how she finds herself travelling to Europe to track down the one that got away: the alluring, elusive Molly. But Europe may have other surprises in store…' (Publication summary)

'Lotti Coates lives in the shadow of a genius: her father George is a brilliant and celebrated Australian painter.

'When Lotti meets the outcast waif Kyla at a suburban Canberra school, two worlds are set to collide. Slowly Kyla is drawn into the orbit of the Coates family. Or is it the other way around?

'As Lotti and Kyla navigate their way towards adulthood, dark secrets start to unravel, with devastating consequences …

'We Were Never Friends is a story of friendship, the pursuit of a creative life and the legacies we leave behind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.