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  The Proxy Bride

  Zoe Boccabella

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  In 1939, Giacinta sets sail from Italy to Australia. Decades later, a granddaughter discovers the true story of her family. 
  Imagine marrying someone you've never met ... 
   
  When Sofie comes to stay with her grandmother in Stanthorpe, she knows little of Nonna Gia's past. In the heat of that 1984 summer, the two clash over Gia's strict Italian ways and superstitions, her chilli-laden spaghetti and the evasive silence surrounding Sofie's father, who died before she was born. Then Sofie learns Gia had an arranged marriage. From there, the past begins to reveal why no-one will talk of her father. 
   
  As Nonna Gia cooks, furtively adding a little more chilli each time, she also begins feeding Sofie her stories. How she came to Australia on a 'bride ship', among many proxy brides, knowing little about the husbands they had married from afar. Most arriving to find someone much different than described. 
   
  Then, as World War II takes over the nation, and in the face of the growing animosity towards Italians that sees their husbands interned, Gia and her friends are left alone. Impoverished. Desperate. To keep their farms going, their only hope is banding together, along with Edie, a reclusive artist on the neighbouring farm and two Women's Land Army workers. But the venture is made near-impossible by the hatred towards the women held by the local publican and an illicit love between Gia and an Australian, Keith. 
   
  The summer burns on and the truth that unfolds is nothing like what Sofie expected ... 
   
  The author of Mezza Italiana brings to life a unique point of migrant women's untold experience, in a resonant novel of family, food and love.  
   
  'A deeply engrossing and authentic story, with such passionate realism you must keep reading.' - JACKIE FRENCH 
   
  'An authentic and heartfelt read that examines the connections we make when faced with hardship ... It's an inspiring look at women coming together to form their own community.' - BETTER READING

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  Facing the Flame (The Matilda...

  Anonymous

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  'Gripping, emotional and moving' 
  -- New Idea 
    
    
  There have been fires before, but not like this. 
    
  In 1978, as the hot wind howls and the grass dries, all who live at Gibber's Creek know their land can burn. But when you love your land, you fight for it. 
    
  For Jed Kelly, an even more menacing danger looms: a man from her past determined to destroy her. Finding herself alone, trapped and desperate to save her unborn child, Jed's only choice is to flee - into the flames. 
    
  Heartbreaking and powerful, Facing the Flame celebrates the triumph of courage and community, and a love for the land so deep that not even bushfire can erode it.PRAISE 
  'The perfect read for anyone who loves immersing themselves in Australian fiction. Gripping, emotional and moving, Facing the Flame is a great book to curl up with on a warm spring night.' -- New Idea

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  A Dance with Her Forbidden Officer

  Lauri Robinson

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  A forbidden romance set during WWIIHe danced her off her feet…now she can’t stop fallingNurse Wendy Smith promised her mother she’d see the world, starting with beautiful Hawaii. Her promise to herself—to never depend on a man—is harder to keep when navy officer K.T. McAllister jitterbugs into her life. Then Pearl Harbor is attacked and, as Wendy nurses an injured K.T., she learns he too has promises to people back home. Yet as K.T. grows stronger, so do her feelings, and her longing for the forbidden… From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.

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  Lessons in Chemistry: Cooking Up...

  Bonnie Garmus

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  In Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus introduces us to Elizabeth Zott, a fiercely intelligent chemist in 1960s America — where women weren’t expected to work in labs, let alone lead them. 
  But when she’s pushed out of the scientific world, Elizabeth unexpectedly becomes the star of a hit cooking show. Her secret? She’s not just teaching recipes — she’s teaching science, self-respect, and resistance to millions of housewives trapped in societal expectations. 
  This novel is witty, bold, and deeply empowering — a story about breaking barriers, rewriting roles, and proving that revolution sometimes starts at the dinner table. 
  Perfect for listeners who love smart female leads, social commentary, and stories where chemistry is both literal and metaphorical.

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  Olga - A Novel

  Anonymous

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  “Two world wars and the passage of more than a century do not overshadow [Bernhard Schlink’s] story of lovers who never fully belong to each other, just as they never fully belonged to the world.”—Booklist 
  “A brilliant novel about history and the nature of memory.”—Evening Standard 
  A sweeping novel of love and passion from author of the international bestseller The Reader about a woman out of step with her time, whose life is witness to some of the most tumultuous events of modern age. 
  Abandoned by her parents, young Olga is raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village in the early years of the twentieth century. Smart and precocious, endearing but uncompromising, she fights against ingrained chauvinism to find her place in a world run by lesser men. 
  When Olga falls in love with her neighbor, Herbert, the son of a local aristocrat, her life is irremediably changed. While Herbert indulges his thirst for exploration and adventure, Olga is limited by her gender and circumstance. Her love for Herbert goes against all odds and encounters many obstacles, but even when they are separated, it endures 
  Unfolding across decades—from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century—and across continents—from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west—Olga is an epic romance, and a wrenching tale of a woman’s devotion to a restless man in an age of constant change. Though Olga exists in the shadows of others, she pursues life to the fullest and her magnetic presence shines—revealing a woman complex, fascinating, and unforgettable. 
   Told in three distinct parts, brilliantly shifting from different points of view and narrative formats, Bernhard Schlink’s magnificent novel is a rich, full portrait of a singular woman and her world. 
  Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins 

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  A Class Liberated - A sweeping...

  Susie Murphy

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  Freedom may be within their grasp… 
  As the devastation of the potato blight continues, Cormac and Bridget grapple with their dual roles at Bewley Hall in England and Oakleigh Manor in Ireland. In their quest to alleviate the suffering of the Irish people, their charitable endeavours face both success and violence. 
  Meanwhile, tensions mount within their own family when Cormac’s nephew, Patrick, struggles with a shocking revelation. In the midst of his anguish, he lashes out, setting off a chain of events that will have far-reaching consequences. 
  As the family navigate personal and collective challenges, can Cormac and Bridget guide them through the turmoil? And will they finally secure the freedom they’ve longed for? 
  A Class Liberated is the seventh book in Susie Murphy’s historical fiction series A Matter of Class. The story continues in the eighth book, A Class Divided. 
  Find out more at www.susiemurphywrites.com.

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