Title: The Last Bookwanderer (Pages and Co #6) Author: Anna James Genre: Fantasy Publisher: HarperCollins Australia Published: 20th March 2024 Format: Hardcover Pages: 416 Price: $19.99 Synopsis: The final new thrilling adventure in the bestselling bookwandering series for readers aged eight to twelve The Pages and Co. series comes to a thrilling end in this perfect final instalment. When Tilly, Oskar, Milo and Alessia venture into King Arthur’s realm in search of the wizard Merlin, they discover that the magic of bookwandering is not at all what they thought. Together, they must journey into ..read more

Title: Princess of Thieves (Twisted Tales #17) Author: Mari Mancusi Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Scholastic Australia Published: 1st April 2024 Format: Paperback Pages: 384 Price: $17.99 Synopsis: Returning from an extended trip abroad, Maid Marian finds that not much about her beloved England remains the same. Her best friend, Robin, has been banished; her beloved uncle, King Richard, is dead; and the village of Nottingham and its citizens have been impoverished by taxes. With the help of her lady’s maid, Lady Kluck, Marian decides to take matters into her own paws. She is determined to help al ..read more

Title: Deep is the Fen Author: Lili Wilkinson Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Allen and Unwin Published: 16th April 2024 Format: Paperback Pages: 416 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: A bewitching journey behind the closed doors of a secret society, featuring sinister toadmen, resistance witches and a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, from the acclaimed author of A Hunger of Thorns. Merriwether Morgan doesn’t need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble. But Merry’s best friend ..read more

Hi Lili, and welcome to the Book Muse For those who haven’t read it yet, what is Deep is the Fen about? It’s a rivals to lovers fantasy about Merry Morgan, a girl who has to team up with her nemesis in order to infiltrate an evil toad cult and save her best friend. There are resistance witches, swamp monsters and prize winning chickens. 2. When you imagined Candlecott and Merry’s world, did you imagine it was like a country or place that people might recognise? It draws from a lot of UK folklore, especially from Scotland and Wales. I wanted Candlecott to be very cosy and recognisable for th ..read more

Title: Seven Wherewithal Way: Over the Mountains and Through the Desert Author: Samantha-Ellen Bound Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Affirm Press Published: 26th March 2024 Format: Paperback Pages: 416 Price: $18.99 Synopsis: Celeste Barden is about to face her biggest challenge yet.Celeste, Esme, Logan and Ferd are summoned to the Realm of Mountains to answer for the part they’ve played in the growing rebellion, and Celeste soon finds herself in a brand-new kind of trouble. Separated from her cousin and forced to work with the trickster Pan, Celeste must navigate the wild landscape, dodge dangerou ..read more

Title: Urban Legend Hunters: The Dreaded Mr Snipe Author: Joel McKerrow Genre: Horror Publisher: Larrikin House Published: 1st April 2024 Format: Paperback Graphic novel Pages: 200 Price: $16.99 Synopsis: There is something sinister stirring in the town of Shadow Grove. It’s a problem that requires the talent, training and dedication of professional urban legend (aka monster) hunters. It’s a shame there are none of these in this graphic novel … Meet Jeremy Jubaya who loves telling tales that make your blood curdle, fearless Samantha Small who takes no nonsense and Bad Boris, who is, well … an ..read more

In March, I read 25 books, some quite ahead of time for review in my attempt to stay on track of things. I completed the first part of the Dymocks Reading Challenge and made good progress on my other reading challenges. One book had a male and a female author, so it was able to fit across multiple categories, as were many other books. Some challenges I am finding books as I go and slotting them in when I get to them. I have also updated my Dymocks Challenge for the next lot of prompts. Reading Goal: 78/150   Dymocks: 8/18             ..read more

The Stella Prize Shortlist has just been announced – this morning, and features a diverse mix of novels, memoir, and essays, with three works by debut authors. This means that fresh voices in Australian literature are showcased amongst the established authors who make up the rest of this list. The 2024 Stella Prize shortlist (in alphabetical order by surname) is: The Swift Dark Tide by Katia Ariel (Gazebo Books) Body Friend by Katherine Brabon (Ultimo Press) Feast by Emily O’Grady (Allen & Unwin) Hospital by Sanya Rushdi, translated ..read more

Title: Let’s Never Speak of This Again Author: Megan Williams Genre: Contemporary Publisher: Text Publishing Published: 29th August 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 224 Price: $24.99 Synopsis:  Winner, Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing, 2022  Shortlisted, Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2024  Commended, Book of the Year for Older Readers, Children’s Book Council of Australia Notables List, 2024 Ella and I have been best friends since grade one. We can spend hours talking about everything and nothing. We know each other’s greatest ..read more

We’re a quarter of the way through the year, which means a new set of prompts for the Dymocks Reading Challenge tasting menu! This time, it is mains with ten prompts to check out. Again, these are general prompts with creative titles to give readers space to find the book that works for them – no need to read specific titles just to tick something off! Always tough when that is the case, especially if the book is not easy to find. I’m looking forward to these prompts and seeing what I can use to fit into each one. Prompts: Top Shelf (Choose a Book from Our 2024 Top 101 list as voted by our Bo ..read more