Top Ten Tuesday: Last 10 Author Events I Have Been To!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie. It took me a little while to think of something, but I got there in the end.

I am very lucky and yes, thankful, to live in a city with a very active book scene. There are always events on. Some times they are big named authors who attract a crowd of thousands, and sometimes it is a small event at a local library with just a handful of people. Then there are multiple festivals in various country towns and suburban areas. Sometimes I know lots of people in the room and other times not. One thing you do know when you go to an author event is that if nothing else you can talk about books! 

My post this week is the last ten author events I have been too. Usually if I attend an event I will buy the book and get it signed. Sometimes there are goodies, sometimes tasty treats, but the events are always fun!

Holly Brunbauuer - Just last week Bree from All the Books I Can Read went to our local library to hear this author talk about her debut novel, What Did I Miss? It was a very interactive session!

Rachael Johns (twice) - A couple of weeks ago I went to see Rachael Johns talk about The Lucky Sisters (my review) both at my even localler local library and then to a Books in Bars events in a regional city about an hour away from me.

Helen Goh - This was an event in the city where we not only got to listen to the conversation but also got to try some of the recipes from her latest cookbook, Baking and the Meaning of Life.

Steph Vizard - It was standing room only at this event which was the launch of her latest book,  A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances. 

January Gilchrist - By contrast, this was a very intimate conversation about January Gilchrist's debut novel,  The Final Chapter, which was held in what is in effect a sales office at a new residential development. This night was so much fun because it was such a small gathering! I took a friend with me who had never been to an author event before.

Madeleine Cleary and Anne Freeman - This was a fun night where these two authors spoke about their two books which both feature sex workers. One was set in 1850s Melbourne, The Butterfly Women (my review) and the other is a modern story about an online sex worker, Me That You See.

Emma Mugglestone - This launch for In the Long Run was held in a bar around half an hour or so away from me. There was even a delicious cocktail!

Alli Sinclair - This was a drive up the highway for an hour or so to an event in Ballarat to hear Alli Sinclair talk about her new book, A Woman's Voice.

Joanne Miller (The Eights), Chloe Adams (The Occupation) and Michelle See-Toh (Jade and Emerald) - This was an event held in a library about half an hour away from me, and featured three debut authors from Penguin. 

Alli Parker - This was a fun launch for Until the Red Leave Fall. It was held in a super cool bar. The mood was set with 1950s music and the crowd was buzzing! And there were these super cute cupcakes

Wow, that has surprised me. That only takes me back to the end of July this year. Oh, and I just realised I missed one too! Sorry Christine Newel! I suspect that there will be only one more event this year which I am going to on Thursday, but bring on next year, when it will start all over again!

Six Degrees of Separation: I Want Everything to Dear Mrs Bird

 Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.

This month the starting point in Dominic Amerena’s novel about authors and publishing, I Want Everything. I must confess I found this book a bit difficult to find links from, which isn't normal for me. I tried a couple of different option but couldn't make them work through to the end. This was my third attempt. 

I love reading books set in places that I know. For example, I Want Everything is set in Melbourne and so I am choosing the last book I read set in Melbourne which is The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary (my review). This book tells the story of women living in goldrush Melbourne and working in a fancy brothel.

Another book with a goldrush connection which I read years ago was Mr Chen's Emporium by Deborah O'Brien. (my review) 

There aren't that many books with the word emporium in the title. I have read a number of books by Jojo Moyes but haven't yet read The Peacock Emporium, despite having owned it for years.

I have read and loved The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell

It feels as though I end up with bird related books pretty regularly so was looking through my list of books read for one that I haven't used before too many times which lead me to Liar Bird by Lisa Walker

And sticking to the bird theme I am finishing the chain with Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce, which is a book I currently have out of the library.

Using that library link I could now go in multiple directions but that's it for this month!

Next month, the starting point is We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson


Will you be joining us?

Top Ten Tuesday: Aussie August 2025

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Non-bookish Freebie (The sky is the limit here. Make a top ten list on any topic of your choosing, bookish or not!)

When we have had this kind of theme before I have come up with something but this time I am going rogue. August is Aussie August 2025 on Instagram which is a chance to celebrate Australian authors. So this week I am going to share the last 10 books I have read by Aussie authors. To be transparent, I have read two books by Amanda Hampson so I only included one in my list! One of my goals for this year was to review all of the historical fiction and Aussie author books I read, and from this list I am pleased that I have reviewed all of them except for two. For one, the review will be up tomorrow and the other is the book I only finished a couple of days ago. I will be reviewing that one soon because it was so good!

The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks - I am kicking myself that I have not previously read Karen Brooks. I own several of her books and now that I enjoyed this one so much I am going to have to move this one up the list!

One Hundred Years of Betty by Debra Oswald - This one featured a really interesting main character that I won't forget for a while! My review will be up tomorrow for this book!

Waves of Change in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - I find this author's books really relaxing! I have read a lot of them now! (My review)

Your Friend and Mine by Jessica Dettman - This one featured a fun almost treasure hunt like quest across London! (My review)

Eat Your Heart Out by Victoria Brownlee - A foodie romance set predominantly in the south of France? Yes please! (My review)

The Deadly Dispute by Amanda Hampson - I read all three books in this series this year and loved them all. Looking forward to the next one. (My review)

The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn - I have read both of this author's books so far over the last couple of month. Really enjoyable. (My review)

The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary - This novel is set in Melbourne during the gold rush and features four women all connected with the brothels in an area called Little Lon. (My review)

The Girl from Normandy by Rachel Sweasey - WWII France is a setting I will always be attracted to! (My review)

Half-Truth by Nadia Mahjouri - This is a semi-autobiographical story about a woman who heads to Morocco with her young child to find her family. So good! (My review)

So there we have the last ten Aussie authors I have read in honour of #aussieaugust2025

This week....

I'm reading

After last week's post where I lamented the challenges I am facing in keeping up with library and blog post due dates in my reading, this week I would like to add one more layer of complexity into the mix. Normally my book club is read upon a theme, but this month we decided that we would follow the more traditional approach of all reading the same book. The book club meeting is on Saturday and no, I haven't even started reading the book yet. I don't think I will get it read in time but we will see. I would like to finish it this month as it will count for Women in Translation month.

I did finish a few books this week. I finished reading The Midnight Bakery by Emma Davies. I liked this one and will review it at some point in the near future as a Weekend Cooking post. 

I also finished reading The Florence Sisters by Tessa Harris. This was my first book by this author and I will keep an eye out for me. I plan to review this in a couple of weeks.

I did read The Girl from the War Room by Catherine Law, which I am on a blog tour for this week. I also am due to review The Friendship List by Beth Miller this week. I have started it but still need to finish it.

I also started The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks which is a library book that is due back and I can't extend. I have read a bit of this and so far really like it. I am not sure why I haven't read Karen Brooks before as I own several of her books.

I did also go to two author events this week. The first was to hear Anne Freeman and Madeleine Cleary talk about Women of Ill Repute. Madeleine Cleary's debut novel is The Butterfly Women and it is set in a brothel in 1850's Melbourne. Anne Freeman's latest book, Me That You See, is about contemporary online sex workers. The conversation was wide ranging and covered topics like what has and hasn't changed for those who make their living in this way. It was really interesting. I reviewed The Butterfly Women here.

The second event was a launch for a book called In the Long Run by Emma Mugglestone which is a romance novel where the characters are members of a running club, which apparently is a great place to meet people these days. It would never have worked for me because I don't think I could run even if I was being chased by lions! Coincidentally, Anne Freeman was the interviewer at this event so I got to meet her twice in just a few days.

The launch was lots of fun! There was a great vibe, great conversation, a cocktail, cake and so much more!

I'm watching

Last week was the final of Masterchef Australia. Now we have to work out what to watch every night! We have Bake Off one night but not sure what else!

We did watch the first episode The Casketeers: Life and Death Around the World. The Casketeers is a show that we have watched previously and it follows a funeral company as they prepare those who have passed for their final farewell. It is very tender and funny, and now the couple visits various places around the world to learn more about the funerary traditions. The first place that they visited was Tonga. It doesn't sound like it would be particularly amusing, but it is funny and compassionate, and ultimately is uplifting TV

Life

We went and had afternoon tea with some friends at the Ritz Carlton in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon. The dining area and reception are on the 80th floor, and the views are exceptional! The afternoon tea itself was good, although I was a bit disappointed in the scones. The hit for me were the savoury items, which is a bit unusual for me. Normally I am all about the sweet treats. I'll post more about this soon.

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Books I read in August over the last 11 years
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Blog Tour: Will You Stay Another Day? by Samantha Tonge
The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn
Weekend Cooking: The Deadly Dispute by Amanda Hampson
Spell the Month in Books: August


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

20 Books of Winter - June

 

We are already a month through the 20 Books of Summer/Winter event! Can you believe how quickly that has gone?

Our hosts, Emma from Words and Peace and Annabel from Annabookbel have come up with some fun questions for our end of month recaps.

I am pretty happy with my progress so far. I read 7 of the books that I nominated on my original lists which puts me on track to finish the list. I did read 19 books in total in June so I do have some opportunities for swaps should I need them later. 

Here's my full list. The ones in bold are the titles I have read.

20 Books of Winter

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - Review

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan

Over the Seas to Skye by Sue Moorcroft - Review

Three Juliets by Minnie Darke

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont

The Midnight Bakery by Emma Davies

Half Truth by Nadia Mahjouri - Review

The Village Cafe in the Loire by Gillian Harvey

The Storytellers by Sue Heath

The Story Collector by Evie Woods

French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain

The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary - Review

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina

Emily Wildes Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

If your #20BooksofSummer25 TBR were a beach, what’s the most surprising thing you’ve unearthed so far – a hidden gem, a total shipwreck, or something unexpectedly delightful?

I think the book that surprised me was The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary mainly because of the light it shone of the hidden or forgotten history of Melbourne!

Imagine your reading progress as a summer road trip. Which book has been the scenic route, which has been the highway, and is there a rest stop book you’re looking forward to?

The book which was the scenic route was Over the Seas to Skye by Sue Moorcroft because it took us to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and was the final book in the trilogy, so we got the opportunity for all three stories to be wrapped up. 

The highway was The Storyteller by Sue Heath, because once I started it, I just could not put it down!

The rest stop book that I am looking forward to is The Village Cafe in the Loire by Gillian Harvey which I am reading soon. I really love her books and have high hopes for this one. It will also bring back memories of our visit to the Loire a couple of years ago.

Thinking about the books I have read collectively, it has been quite the road trip so far. I have visited the Ukraine and US, Scotland, Paris (twice), Morocco, Britain and historical Melbourne.  

If one of the books you’ve read this month was turned into an ice cream flavor, what ingredients would it have, and what would it be called?

I would turn Half Truth by Nadia Mahjouri into a pistachio and saffron ice cream. The colour of the pistachio could represent the green and gold of Australia and the saffron the flavours and cultures of Morocco. I feel like an ice cream would be very welcome in the heat of Morocco. 

If you could swap places with a character from one of the books you’ve read this month, purely for the summer, who would it be and what items would you absolutely take with you?

My answer to this one will surprise no one I am sure. If I could swap places with a character from one of the books I read it will be Charlotte from A Secret Garden in Paris. Why specifically Charlotte and not one of the other characters. She is staying rent free in her aunt's house in Paris! And the item I would take with me would be the hand drawn map of the garden tour that Emma's grandmother Mattie drew so that I can wander all over the city finding hidden and lesser known gardens.

“Plot twist!”: If your summer reading challenge were a book, what unexpected event just happened to shake things up? Or did life get in the way of your reading plans?

Whilst I did think a lot about what books to include in my original list, only two from the original list were from my list of committed blog tours, and I also didn't really take into consideration all of the books that I already had out from the library. This means that I have several reading lists going with due dates looming! That could become a problem over the next couple of months.

And now, onto July!

This week...

I'm reading

It's been a busy reading and reviewing week!

 I started the week by finishing The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey, which I really enjoyed. This is Rachel's third book and I now own the other two. Hopefully I can fit them in soon! My review is here.

I then read a book called The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary which is set in 1860s Melbourne. There is always something so special about reading a book set in the place you live, where you can recognise the locations mentioned! My review is here.

One of the bonuses of not being able to sleep due to coughing and waking myself up is I picked up The Cruise Club by Caroline James and got through it pretty quickly. Got to look for the silver linings wherever you can find them right. 

I then looked at my review books where I don't have a blog tour date allocated and thought I would just pick one. I was intrigued by The Lost Story of Sophia Costello by Siobhan Curham right from the prologue. I have read a few books by this author now and this might be her best yet. Both this book and The Girl From Normandy count for my read on a theme book club where the theme this month is war. I think I have four books for far, which they are all going to laugh at and call me an over achiever! Oh well! It was always going to be an easy theme for me.

I then started Beartown by Fredrik Backman. It's one of my Twenty Books of Winter and it feels like a dense read so I wanted to give myself time to read it.

However, I got a notification from the library that The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson could not be renewed so it needs to be returned, so I had to drop Beartown and pick up The Cryptic Clue! It's so much fun! I'll get back to Beartown shortly.

Get ready for lots of posts this month as Paris in July starts tomorrow. I have been busy in the background getting some posts prepared in advance ready for the event. 



I'm watching


We watched a few of the things that we had started previously in the last week, but the only thing that we finished was Welcome to Wrexham. We didn't really start anything new.


Life


I am still sick so the only times I left the house in the last week were to go to the doctors and the vet. This is week 3 so I am a bit over it.


Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025
A Snowy River Summer by Stella Quinn
Half Truth by Nadia Mahjouri
Blog Tour: Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering
Blog Tour: The Girl from Normandy by Rachel Sweasey
The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz

The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary

 

Around 10 years ago now (or maybe longer), I did a walking tour of Melbourne which focussed on the lane ways of Melbourne. The lane ways are something that Melbourne prides itself on, and there are all sorts of different worlds down these lanes, from gigantic living walls to huge murals, graffiti walls, and plenty of signs of history. During the tour we were shown how if you look up, you can often see the history. It may be in the form of the pulley arms that are still present where goods were hauled up into warehouses, or an ornate ceiling that has been protected in an old arcade that where the other shops have been modernised. Looking down, you might see the beams on the side of buildings which are there to protect the walls from a horse and carriage bumping into it, or a water trough that has been there for many, many years.

Sometimes, though, you need to look harder to find the hidden history of the city, and The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary is a book which brings this hidden or forgotten history to life. Set in 1863, this book shines a light on the dark corners of the area around Little Lon. This is an area where the poorest of the poor lived, where women in particular have to do anything they can to make ends meet. It is also the area where the high class brothels are, where the dressed girls provide entertainment to the great and good of society, behind the closed doors of establishments like Papillon. This era is a very interesting time historically. After being founded in 1835, the city of Melbourne grew exponentially when gold was found in surrounding regions in the early 1850s. It was very rapid growth, and undoubtedly came with some growing pains.

The story is predominantly told through the voices of four fascinating women. Johanna Callaghan is an Irish woman who is found in a terrible condition after being beaten. The woman who found her is Mary Jenkins, who dresses in her husband's police uniform and patrols the streets around Little Lon. And then there is Madam Catherine Laurent who owns Papillon. She knows many secrets of her clients, men are publicly respectable who would rather not have the public know the truth, but who can be useful to Madam Laurent when she needs them. The final voice is that of Harriet Gardiner. She is a refined upstanding woman who has no reason to get involved with the goings on at Papillon, but she is driven by curiosity and the desire for truth. As a journalist she wants to do more than write stories about fashion and society events. She wants to tell meaningful stories about those in society who do not have a voice.

The truth is that the streetwalkers of Little Lon are being murdered, one by one. Despite the fact that there have been several deaths, the police aren't interested and the newspapers are not reporting the story. So it is up to the four women to try and find out what is going on and to catch up a murderer. Eventually the police are forced to acknowledge that their is a serial killer in their midst. The newspapers start sharing the story through articles from someone known only as The Vagabond. Could The Vagabond be the murderer? He certainly seems to know a lot. 

There is so much going on in this book. Beyond the obvious murder mystery, we also see what the lives of women were like, from the poorest of the poor to the protected upper classes. 

Johanna begins working as a servant at Papillon, but she knows that this is never going to bring her enough money to become respectable and so she wants to started working within the pleasure house, no matter what the cost may be. Here she builds friendships with the women who support each other despite their varying backgrounds. It almost seems strange that someone would aspire to become a high class prostitute but it is a way out of desperate poverty that is open to her.

We also see racism again Irish with the No Irish Need Apply signs that are hung in businesses and against Chinese who are feared because they are different and are seen to be taking gold and jobs. The indigenous treatment is also very clear due to their very minimal presence on the page. Most of the indigenous people were moved out of the city to reserves away from society. The racism and sexism was also seen when people who had information that could help with the investigation were ignored because they were prostitutes, or women, or of a different ethnicity. 

Many of the place names mentioned like Lonsdale Street are very familiar to modern Melburnians. We also get to see some of the events which continue to play a role in Melbourne now. For example, at one point, Johanna attends the third running of an annual horse race at Flemington racecourse. That race, the Melbourne Cup, is still running today and is a major event in Melbourne.

At it's heart this is a historical mystery, but don't make the mistake of thinking it is a cozy little mystery, because it is dark and gritty. So the question is does it work as a mystery? The answer for me was a resounding yes. There were a few red herrings along the way, but when the case is finally solved I was able to see how the clues had been there all along. It also worked as a strong piece of historical fiction set in the city I call home. I found this to be a very intriguing and engrossing read and I am pleased that I read it. 

This story is made all the more interesting given that the author's own family history includes a brothel owner. The family made every effort to become gentrified over the years so the fact that this was in the history was only discovered relatively recently.  I am going to an author event soon and I am looking forward to hearing more about this.

Next time I am in the part of the city where this book is set, I will be certainly looking at it differently.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge that I host. This was also one of the books I nominated to read as part of 20 Books of Winter. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.

Rating 4/5

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Winter 2025 to-read list

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on My Summer Winter 2025 to-Read List.

A couple of weeks ago I shared the first 10 of my 20 books that I plan to read for the 20 Books of Winter event hosted by Emma from Words and Peace and Annabel from Annabookbel. Today I am sharing the rest of the books I plan to read. 

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey - I loved Pictures of You when I read it earlier this year so I am really looking forward to this one. 

The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina - This sounds like such a lovely read. 

Emily Wildes Encyclopeadia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - I have been not so gently encouraged to read this book for a while!

The Storytellers by Sue Heath - I am so excited for this book. The Secret Ingredient was one of my favourite books last year. 

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - I have had this on my Kindle for 3 years. I actually already read and reviewed this one.  (My review)

Over the Sea to Skye by Sue Moorcroft  - I have already read and reviewed this one too. (My review)

Butter by Asako Yuzuki  - Every now and again my read on a theme book club reads the same book. This is the book we are going to read for our August meeting.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. I recently read her latest book. Having read and love both her first and latest books I had to read the one in the middle that I haven't read yet.

DallerGut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-Ye - Can't remember where I heard about this book but I currently have it out of the library, along with a few others that I didn't include on this list. Not sure when I will read those!

The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary - I am going to an author event for this book soon so will definitely want to read it after hearing the author talk

So now I have put my 20 Books of Winter out into the world. Now to read them all!

Do you have any of these books on your list this week?