Category: Contemporary fiction

Heart The Lover – Lily King

Posted on June 5, 2026 by

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READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE In her final year of college, Jordan is drawn into the orbit of brilliant students Sam and Yash. What begins as friendship develops into a complicated relationship between the three, shaped by intellectual rivalry, attraction and secrets whose significance only… Continue Reading “Heart The Lover – Lily King”

Category: Coming of Age, Contemporary fiction, Literary fiction, Psychological, Romance, US fictionTags: ,

Kingfisher – Rozie Kelly

Posted on May 22, 2026 by

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READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE An unnamed creative writing academic becomes increasingly drawn to an older colleague, a poet he calls his kingfisher. Their attraction develops and disrupts his established life with his partner Michael. As he moves between these two worlds, illness affecting those… Continue Reading “Kingfisher – Rozie Kelly”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Literary fiction, Psychological, Queer, UK author, Women's PrizeTags: ,

The Correspondent – Virginia Evans

Posted on April 30, 2026 by

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READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Sybil Van Antwerp is an elderly former lawyer whose life is revealed through letters and emails to family, friends and acquaintances. When someone from her past reappears, Sybil is forced to revisit a painful period in her life. Through her… Continue Reading “The Correspondent – Virginia Evans”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Epistolary fiction, Family drama, Literary fiction, Psychological, Unreliable Narrator, US fiction, Women's PrizeTags: ,

How To Paint A Nude – Sam Mahon

Posted on April 22, 2026 by

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A local artist and a Belaruisan refugee meet regularly at a Christchurch cafe to discuss life, art and politics. A priest once told me that we fall in love with people with whom we have wounds in common, that in caring for them we’re… Continue Reading “How To Paint A Nude – Sam Mahon”

Category: Art, Contemporary fiction, Environmental fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Metafiction, NZ Book Awards, Philosophical, PoliticalTags: , ,

Hoods Landing – Laura Vincent

Posted on April 8, 2026 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS In the rural reaches of Auckland, the women of the eclectic Gordon family gather for Christmas. Rita, the 50-year-old baby of the family, is planning to tell them she has cancer. Drifting between past and present, she considers the… Continue Reading “Hoods Landing – Laura Vincent”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Female Experience, Gothic, Humour, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Māori Fiction, NZ Book Awards, QueerTags: , ,

Flesh – David Szalay

Posted on October 11, 2025 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON The story of István, a Hungarian teen who lives with his mother and is subjected to a traumatic event. From there we bear witness to a collection of intimate moments set over years, chronicling the demands of life for an everyday… Continue Reading “Flesh – David Szalay”

Category: Booker Prize, Coming of Age, Contemporary fiction, Cultural, Existentialist, Immigrant story, Literary fiction, Philosophical, Psychological, Realist, UK author, War storyTags: ,

The Rest Of Our Lives – Ben Markovits

Posted on September 30, 2025 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while taking her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact, and keeps driving West. This road… Continue Reading “The Rest Of Our Lives – Ben Markovits”

Category: Booker Prize, Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Literary fiction, Philosophical, Psychological, Realist, Road Trip, US fictionTags: ,

Hum – Helen Phillips

Posted on September 17, 2025 by

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READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel In a climate ravaged dystopian future where robots (Hums) take the every day jobs of humans and surveillance is at an all time high, a woman undergoes experiental facial surgery in order to pay her bills and treat her… Continue Reading “Hum – Helen Phillips”

Category: AI, Climate Fiction, Climate Fiction Prize, Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Dystopian, Environmental fiction, Family drama, Female Experience, Literary fiction, Political, Psychological, Realist, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Surreal, Thriller, US fictionTags:

Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout

Posted on June 23, 2025 by

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READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZEElizabeth Strout returns the reader to the town of Crosby, Maine, and finally brings together characters from her past fictional successes: Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge and Bob Burgess. There is a shocking crime committed, relationships examined and many stories told as… Continue Reading “Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Literary fiction, Mystery/Crime, Philosophical, Psychological, US fiction, Women's PrizeTags: ,

Good Girl – Aria Aber

Posted on June 10, 2025 by

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READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZEA coming of age about Nila, a girl born in Berlin to Afghan immigrants. For Nila there is a constant negotiation between her inherited grief and her desire to belong in a culture that doesn’t reflect her. As a result she… Continue Reading “Good Girl – Aria Aber”

Category: Art, Coming of Age, Contemporary fiction, Cultural, Female Experience, Immigrant story, Literary fiction, Political, Psychological, US fiction, Women's PrizeTags: ,

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