Cirrus@Austlit

'A beautifully told and thought-provoking novel about a mix-up that leaves two children wondering who they really are and where they belong . . .

'What would you do if you found out you'd been raising another couple's child - and they've been raising yours?

'Fourteen years ago, Kelsey and Raf Maccioni left hospital with their newborn daughter, Ammy. Days later, Shona and Nathan James welcomed the birth of their son, Zac.

'The only thing the two couples have in common is the IVF clinic where their dreams came true. They are strangers to each other – for now.

'Fast forward to April 2024 . . . Ammy has grown into a rebellious young woman, and Zac is a kind but introverted teenager.

'Life may not be perfect for either family, but like everyone else they are muddling through.

'Until Ammy takes a DNA test for a school project. At first the results are puzzling. Then disturbing. Then earth-shattering - when the IVF clinic admits a terrible mistake.'  (Publication summary)

'It is not wise to anger the gods ... or to fall in love with one.

'Psykhe has always been different. Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, she is both shunned and revered.

'When she unwittingly provokes Venus, she and her sisters lose everything. Psykhe must find a way to make amends and support her family.

'Befriended by an old woman, Nokturna, Psykhe finds herself irresistibly drawn to her young friend, Ambrose. But neither is what they seem.

'For Psykhe has fallen in love with a man whose face she is forbidden to see. After disobeying this injunction, she must risk everything to try to save him, even if it means travelling down to the shadowy Underworld to face Proserpina, queen of the dead.

'The way to the realm of the dead is easy. A thrust of a sword, a sudden fall, a careless bite of toadstool, and the soul is sucked away. It is the return journey that is difficult ....

'The story of Psyche and Eros has been told for more than two-and-a-half thousand years. Kate Forsyth infuses it with new vigour as a life-affirming celebration of female strength, sexual desire, and empowerment.' (Publication summary)

'Beatrix is a loner. She has a love-hate relationship with her one friend, Ray, a hate-hate relationship with everyone else in her office and a genuine attachment to a stuffed canary named Horatio. She drinks alone far too much. Lately she’s been finding the edge of the railway platform dangerously seductive.

'Her life needs to change. Then she crosses paths with an old woman who seems to be stalking her, and that’s exactly what happens. Eighty-something Fred is smart, earthy, funny and not the harmless elderly lady she appears to be. She is, in fact, quite literally something else. But what?

'When something happens to Ray, Fred decides to reveal herself. And Beatrix realises she has some agonising choices to make.

'Beatrix and Fred is an off-kilter love story wrapped in a satisfying layer of moral complexity and tied up with a ribbon of sheer fun. Warm, witty, more than slightly weird—it takes the age-old question of what it is to be human beyond humanity itself.' (Publication summary)