Media Bites 20220809_v5

The Proxy Bride ZOE BOCCAB E L L A

The Promise Of Home

N I COL A MARSH This dyed-in-the-wool country girl will do anything to protect the home she loves... A fast-paced, heartwarming rural romance from a USA Today bestselling Australian author.

In 1939, Giacinta sets sail from Italy to Australia. Decades later, a granddaughter discovers the true story of her family... A stunningly crafted novel of family, secrets and facing adversity, perfect for readers of Victoria Purman. When Sofie comes to stay with her grandmother in Stanthorpe, she knows little of Nonna Gia’s past. In the heat of that 1984 summer, the two clash over Gia’s strict Italian ways and superstitions, her chilli-laden spaghetti and the evasive silence surrounding Sofie’s father, who died before she was born. Then Sofie learns Gia had an arranged marriage. From there, the past begins to reveal why no-one will talk of her father. As Nonna Gia cooks, furtively adding a little more chilli each time, she also begins feeding Sofie her stories. How she came to Australia on a ‘bride ship’, among many proxy brides, knowing little about the husbands they had married from afar. Most arriving to find someone much different than described. The summer burns on and the truth that unfolds is nothing like what Sofie expected ... The author of Mezza Italiana brings to life a unique point of migrant women’s untold experience, in a resonant novel of family, food and love. Includes 12 traditional recipes.

Released: 07/09/22 TPB | 368pp AU $29.99 NZ $32.99 Imprint: HQ Fiction

nicolamarsh.com

Becoming Beth

zoeboccabella.com Released: 07/09/22 TPB | 448pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ Fiction

ME R E D I TH APPL E YARD

Beth has forgotten the core truth of her own life. In a cruel move, her dead mother is about to remind her. A deeply felt, acutely observed novel about mothers and children, about what people hide from themselves and each other, about the richness and difficulties of community, and about becoming your own person for readers of Tricia Stringer and Liz Byrski.

Released: 07/09/22 TPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ Fiction

meredithappleyard.com.au

F ICT ION