Media Bites October 2023_

Dark Ride LOU BERNEY Sometimes the person you least expect is just the hero you need. Twenty-one-year-old Hardy “Hardly” Reed – good-natured, easygoing, usually stoned – is drifting through life. A minimum-wage scare actor at an amusement park, he avoids unnecessary effort and unrealistic ambitions. Then one day he notices two children, around six or seven, sitting all alone on a bench. Hardly checks if they’re okay and sees injuries on both children. Someone is hurting these kids. He reports the incident to Child Protective Service. That should be the end of it. After all, Hardly’s not even good at looking out for himself so the last thing he wants to do is look

A Holly Jolly Ever After JULIE MURPHY & SIERRA SIMONE “Saints love to hate sinners, and sinners love knowing that the saints are all secretly sinning too.” Kallum Lieberman is an ex-boyband member now known exclusively for hooking up with bridesmaids at weddings. He’s even considered a lucky charm: he’s such a fail-safe one-before you-find-the-one that people have started seeking him out. Winnie Baker’s reputation is the exact opposite: she married her childhood

Sun of Blood and Ruin MARIELY LARES Mexican history and Mesoamerican mythology meet in this thrilling historical fantasy with magic, intrigue, treachery, romance, and adventure. The empire of Montezuma II has long fallen, a city raised on the bones of Tenochtitlan. None dare whisper the names of their gods- or speak of the magic that once graced the land, of the witches who hunted as jaguars, the warriors who soared as eagles. Until a new name emerges- a curse on the lips of the Spanish, a hero in the hearts of the people. A masked vigilante, a sorceress with a blade. Pantera

Back on Track TRICIA STRINGER

Ketty Clift’s couture dressmaking business is thriving but the same can’t be said for her staff. Lately, cracks have appeared in the team’s harmony, testing relationships and causing issues with customers. Worse, the rumour that Ketty has lost her touch is circulating. So when Ketty’s old friend Carlos suggests a holiday by train - on the iconic Ghan, no less - Ketty decides to take her surprised staff with her in the hope of fixing what ails them. But it’s not turning out to be the cure all Ketty had hoped for. Her protective second-in-command, Judith, doubts Carlos’s intentions and sows suspicion

sweetheart and became a star of many popular – although very

reserved – Hope Channel movies, while still avoiding the downfalls of adolescent fame.

But that is not her only name. To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin is a glittering jewel of court, promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would sooner be caught dead than wield a sword… even against a dauntless thief with a cutting smile. No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are one and the same. Leonora has fooled them all, and, with magic of her ancestors running through her veins, she is nearly invincible- until an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens, and she is forced to decide: surrender the mask or her life. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her. Released: 04/10/23 TPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $35.00 Imprint: Voyager

out for anyone else. But he’s haunted by the two kids, his heart breaking for them. And the more research he does the less he trusts that Child Protective Services – understaffed and overworked – will do anything about it. That leaves… Hardly. He is probably the last person you’d ever want to count on. But those two kids have nobody else but him. Hardly has to do what’s right and help them. Gradually, with assistance from unexpected allies, he develops investigative skills and discovers he’s smarter and more capable than he ever imagined. But Hardly also discovers that the situation is more dangerous than he ever expected. The abusive father who has been hurting these children isn’t just a lawyer – he also runs a violent drug-dealing operation. The mother claims she wants to escape with the kids – but Hardly isn’t sure he can trust her. Faced with a different version of himself than he has ever known, Hardly refuses to give up. But his commitment to saving these kids from further harm might end up getting the kids, and Hardly himself, killed.

in Ketty’s mind. Her younger staff members, Birgit and Lacey, are beset by relationship disasters and financial worries, whereas invaluable employee Ning is under pressure from her family to retire, and seamstress Tien is terrified of everything outside her comfort zone - especially the outback. Each new stop on the way, and the surprising behaviour of some of the other passengers, affects the group and reveals something more about each of them. As the train pulls deeper into the mesmerising outback, matters seem set to come to a disturbing crescendo.

Except neither of them want these lives anymore. And what better way to change their reputations and bring them both back into the spotlight than to star in a steamier-than-steamy Christmas movie, filming in none other than Christmas Notch, the cute, cosy town where it’s Christmas everyday? But Winnie can’t act a pleasure on screen she’s never experienced in real life. When she decides some pleasure ‘research’ – purely for science and artistic authenticity, of course – is the only course of action, she realises there’s no better research partner than every bridesmaid’s favourite, Kallum himself. But suddenly Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface, and he’s struggling to keep this ‘research’ purely professional… They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up? Released: 04/10/23 BPB | 400pp www.imjuliemurphy.com

Ketty must sidestep the drama, reunite her troubled workers and save her business and relationships. But will her transformative magic work to bring them all back on track?

www.louberney.com

Released: 04/10/23 TPB | 256pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

AU $22.99 NZ $25.00 Imprint: HarperCollins

triciastringer.com.au

Released: 04/10/2023 BPB |464pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

www.thesierrasimone.com

FICTION

FICTION