5 Winter Must-Reads

As the weather turns colder it is always nice to curl up with a good book when you get the chance. We have 5 new release novels that will make you laugh, cry and wish you could write fiction like these fabulous women.


Overseas, by Beatriz Williams. Published by Allen and Unwin RRP $29.99
When twenty-something Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson attracts the notice of the legendary Julian Laurence at a business meeting, no one's more surprised than she. Julian's relentless energy and his extraordinary intellect electrify her, but she's baffled by his sudden interest. Why would this handsome British billionaire -- Manhattan's most eligible bachelor -- pursue a pretty but bookish young banker who hasn't had a boyfriend since college?

The answer is beyond imagining . . . at least at first. Kate and Julian's story may have begun not in the moneyed world of twenty-first-century Manhattan but in France during World War I, when a mysterious American woman emerged from the shadows of the Western Front to save the life of Captain Julian Laurence Ashford, a celebrated war poet and infantry officer. Now, in modern-day New York, Kate and Julian must protect themselves from the secrets of the past, and trust in a true love that transcends time and space.

'History meets romance meets suspense! Compelling, original and wildly romantic, Beatriz Williams' prose is stunning and the plot edge-of-your-seat gripping. Overseas is an absolute triumph - I loved every page.' Tilly Bagshawe, New York Times bestselling author.


Friends Forever, by Danielle Steel. Published by Bantam Press RRP $32.95
Five young children - two girls and three boys - all with strikingly different looks and talents, meet at the elite Atwood school. There is Billy, with a full head of curly red hair, who refuses to go anywhere without his toy football. And Sean, a dark-haired boy with striking blue eyes, who hopes to one day be sheriff. Petite Gabrielle is already a blonde bombshell, while her counterpart Izzie keeps her brown hair pulled back in braids and her outfits neat and business-like. And finally, there's well-mannered, blond Andy, with a serious demeanour beyond his years.

Together, these children become an inseparable group - known to outsiders as 'The Big Five'. They lean on one another through all of the bumps and bends of their childhood years, including parental divorce, drinking, drugs, and even death. But when the tight-knit group parts ways after their graduation, their lives veer off in different directions.

Tragedy hits when they are separated, and some of the friends are lost forever...The ones who remain will have to deal with the fallout, because 'The Big Five' - which they thought would always stay strong - is no longer. While some of the friends are crushed by this Stark new reality, others will be surprised to find love and hope where they least expect it...


Summer at Willow Lake, by Susan Wiggs. Published By Mira RRP $19.99
Olivia Bellamy has traded her trendy Manhattan life for a summer renovating her family's crumbling holiday resort. Tempted by the hazy, nostalgic memories of summers past - childhood innocence and the romance and rivalries of her teens - it's the perfect place for Olivia to flee after her broken engagement. But what began as an escape may just be a new beginning.

As Olivia uncovers secrets buried thick with dust, one by one her family return, their lives as frayed at the edges as the resort. Her father and the mystery woman in the tatty black and white photograph. Uncle John, who's trying to be a father again to his teenage kids. Connor Davis, the first love she never forgot. Laughter is ringing around Willow Lake once more. This could be Olivia's summer of a lifetime!


Archipelago, by Monique Roffey. Published By Simon and Schuster RRP $29.99
When a flood destroys Gavin Weald's home, tearing apart his family and his way of life, he doesn't know how to continue. A year later, he returns to his rebuilt home and tries to start again, but when the new rainy season arrives, so do his daughter's nightmares about the torrents, and life there becomes unbearable. So father and daughter - and their dog - embark upon a voyage to make peace with the waters. Their journey will take them far from their Caribbean island home, into other unknown harbours and eventually across a massive ocean. They will sail through archipelagos, encounter the grandeur of the sea, meet with the challenges and surprises of the natural world. A miraculous future lies ahead of them, unknown territories await to be discovered. But it will take more than an ocean to put the memory of the flood behind them…

What are you reading right now?