Just as there are many talented local writers, so too are there artists who each capture the landscapes they see in their own uniquely creative frames. Today I'm interviewing Julia Abbey, whose works celebrate the unique flora and birdlife that call our great country home.  Native flowers and birds feature in most of your works, what is it about these elements that make them a focus? Having grown up in Europe, I was stunned when I first visited Australia, by the beauty of Australian native birds and flowers. I had never witnessed flocks of parrots flying overhead before and was in awe ..read more

The Edge of Limits by Susanne Gervay Released: 1 November 2022 Published by: Flying Elephants Media Genre: YA Contemporary Pages: 305 Booktopia | QBD | Susanne Gervay Website When Sam, 17, treks into the wilderness on the school survival camp, he misses his girlfriend Laura with her belly-button ring. The gruelling physical challenges are hard, sometimes hilarious, sometimes cruel as he treks deeper into unknown territory forced to confront the underbelly of real mateship, sexual consent and the dangers of guys like Watts. Ultimately, the camp winds to the final place of initi ..read more

  The Rabbits by Sophie Overett Released: 2 July 2021 Published by: Penguin Australia Genre: Australian Contemporary/Magical Realism Source: Purchased Pages: 336 Rating: 4 of 5 stars Booktopia | QBD | Goodreads From the winner of the Penguin Literary Prize and the Kathleen Mitchell Award. A multigenerational family story with a dose of magical realism. It is about family secrets, art, very mild superpowers, loneliness and the strange connections we make in the places we least expect. How do you make sense of the loss of those you love most? Delia Rabbit has asked he ..read more

The Golden Book by Kate Ryan Released: 3 August 2021 Published by: Scribe Publications Genre: Australian Contemporary Source: Purchased Pages: 244 Rating: 3 of 5 stars Booktopia | Angus & Robertson | Goodreads Jessie had said they should go at midnight. 'It’s the gods’ time,' she said, narrowing her eyes dramatically. 'Anything could happen.’ It’s the 1980s, and in their small coastal town, Ali and her best friend, Jessie, are on the cusp. With ‘The Golden Book’, a journal of incantation and risk taking as their record, they begin to chafe at the restrictions put on them b ..read more

Brainwaves by Ziggy Alberts Released: 3 February 2021 Published by: Commonfolk Publishing Genre: Poetry Pages: 88 Booktopia | Angus&Robertson | Ziggy Alberts Website A debut collection of poetry from platinum ARIA accredited artist Ziggy Alberts, 'brainwaves', explores life's experiences and emotions, inwards and out. Deeply personal, frank, insightful yet relatable, Alberts uncovers his introspective thoughts and lessons learned in conscious and intentional living. Differentiating from his lyrical work, readers can discover some of Alberts' most personal realisations ..read more

Wonder: 175 Years of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria by Sophie Cunningham and Peter Wilmoth Released: 29 September 2021 Published by: Hardie Grant Books Genre: Non-fiction, Gardening Pages: 264 Booktopia | QBD | Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria They sit in the physical and emotional heart of our city, and have done so for 175 years. Most of us have spent time there, and they mean different things to each of us. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne have been a place of calm, a site for reflection, creative inspiration, discovery, romance and even refuge. Anyone who has vis ..read more

Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green Released: 28 July 2021 Published by: Hachette Australia Genre: Australian Contemporary Source: Publisher Pages: 410 Rating: 4 of 5 stars QBD | Booktopia | Goodreads From the author of beloved Top Ten bestsellers The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club and The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle comes a delightful new novel about friendship, love and finding yourself. Far North Queensland, 1993: At 74, former cane farmer Grace Maud is feeling her age, and her isolation, and thinks the best of life may be behind ..read more

Catch Us the Foxes by Nicola West Released: 7 July 2021 Published by: Simon and Schuster Australia Genre: Crime thriller Pages: 384 Booktopia | QBD | Goodreads The hotly contested novel about a small town's killer cult secret by a debut author destined to become Australia's next thriller-writing superstar. Ambitious young journalist Marlowe ‘Lo’ Robertson would do anything to escape the suffocating confines of her small home town. While begrudgingly covering the annual show for the local paper, Lo is horrified to discover the mutilated corpse of Lily Williams, the reigni ..read more

The Unflinching Ash by Angela Armstrong Released: 12 July 2021 Published by: Norsou Books Genre: YA Fantasy Pages: 353 Amazon | Author Website | Goodreads In a world like ours, Mystics once ruled the night. Well, so long as they were men. On Ash’s day of naming, she chose the Mystic path nonetheless. The same illusions that garner gasps of awe from the lamp-lit crowds earn her scorn from the basilica. There is only one way forward: a perilous quest – earn the Queen’s Seal, a badge of honour, and immunity. She’ll simply have to avoid being hanged, burned or drowned first ..read more

Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker Released: 1 March 2021 Published by: Allen and Unwin Genre: YA Science Fiction Source: Publisher Pages: 396 Rating: 5 of 5 stars QBD | Booktopia | Goodreads What if Juliet Capulet met someone who made her doubt true love? What if Wuthering Heights was a message to a time traveller? A cosmic reimagining of Romeo and Juliet and homage to two literary classics in a compelling novel about fate, love and time travel from an award-winning author. YEAR: 2083. LOCATION: LONDON. MISSION: WAKE ROMEO. It's the end of the world. Literally. Time travel ..read more