Cirrus@Austlit

'THIRTY-FOUR year old Luke O’Brien has left the city to live a quiet, bookish life on the River Sullane in County Waterford. Alone in his big house, he turns to books—especially Ulysses—for solace and sublimation. One morning a young woman arrives at his door and enters his life, with profound consequences.

'A novel that pays glorious homage to Joyce, The River Capture tells of a man’s phenomenal descent into near madness when love is lost. It is about humanity’s capacity for good and evil, and what happens when Nature is thwarted. More than anything, it is a book about the life of the mind and the redemptive powers of art.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Academy Street is the heart-breaking and evocative story of one woman's life spanning six decades. Tess's childhood in 1940's rural Ireland is defined by the sudden death of her mother. Later, in New York, she encounters the ferocious power and calamity of love, and the effects of catastrophic fate. The novel resonates with the rhythms of memory and home as well as those of America's greatest city.

'This is an intimate story about unexpected gifts and unbearable losses, and the perpetual ache for belonging. It is exquisitely written and profoundly moving.' (Publication summary)

'Cassie Bowtell adores her idyllic life in the bush and after a chance encounter by the roadside, even her love life is looking up. So when a housing estate is planned right next door to Cassie's beautiful rural property, she vows to fight it with everything she has.

'Wealthy businessman Hart Huntingdon can't stop thinking about the mystery woman he met in the country. And then he discovers Cassie is the one of the people responsible for holding up his plans and doing her best to turn the locals against him.

'With both of them firmly believing they are in the right, Cassie and Hart are soon locked into battle, a battle every bit as fierce and passionate as their growing obsession with each other. But sometimes love has a way of bringing happiness where it's least expected…' (Publication summary)

'When model Merise Merrick is asked to star in a campaign for the Yarraside Football Club, she couldn't be less interested. As far as she's concerned, football players are all overpaid jocks with zero intelligence.

'AFL captain Cal McCoy is completely dedicated to the game. With a premiership firmly in his sights, he has no time for romantic distractions.The last thing he needs is an inconvenient attraction to the new 'face' of the club.

'But Cal soon discovers that staying focused is easier said than done, while Merise finds herself falling for the excitement and power of footy – and its biggest star.

'Glamour, sport and fame combine in this irresistible contemporary romance.' (Publication summary)