PATRICK LENTON In Spite of You. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Patrick Lenton is known for his sharply observed non-fiction; now his first novel delivers a fresh and funny romcom. I have been following Patrick Lenton on social media for many years and I enjoy Nonsense, his Substack featuring queer news and culture. As a...
JENNIFER MILLS Salvage. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The new novel from the author of Dyschronia and The Airways is climate fiction focussed on human adaptability. There is plenty going on in Australia at the moment that reflects the impacts of climate change. Massive bushfires, years-long droughts, tropical cyclones...
KELL WOODS Upon A Starlit Tide. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Kell Woods blends history, folklore and fairytales in her second novel set on the French coast in eighteenth-century Saint Malo. I know what it is to cry and have no one but the sea there to listen. Lucinde de Leon has always loved the sea. Whenever she can, she...
STEVE MINON First Name, Second Name. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith
Winner of a Queensland Literary Award, Steve MinOn’s debut novel charts the lives – and afterlives – of a family of Chinese Australians. Queensland author Steve MinOn’s debut novel, First Name, Second Name, explores the complexities of family history and personal...
GEORGIA ROSE PHILLIPS The Bearcat. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
Phillips’ debut novel fictionalises the early life of Anne Hamilton Byrne, the real-life leader of the notorious Australian cult The Family. Anne Hamilton Byrne invented her own philosophy, attracted adherents, and wielded spiritual power over them. She claimed to be...
IRMA GOLD Shift. Reviewed by Naomi Manuell
Set in South Africa, the new novel from the author of The Breaking is both a family drama and deeply political. Irma Gold’s second novel explores the vital things we share through art and human connection. Arlie is a 30-something Melbourne photographer with a talent...
ANDREA GOLDSMITH The Buried Life. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Each of Andrea Goldsmith’s three protagonists faces a reckoning with the past in this novel of life and death and friendship. The Buried Life begins with characters whose fates seem predictable, but Andrea Goldsmith is too good a writer to rely on clichés. Adrian...
ALEXANDRA ALMOND Thoroughly Disenchanted. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Alexandra Almond’s cosy fantasy demonstrates why you really should be careful what you wish for. In Australian author Alexandra Almond’s debut fantasy novel, lovers Genevieve and Oliver spent a weekend in an enchanting old house – that may or may not be haunted...
SUN JUNG My Name is Gucci. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Gucci the Dalmatian narrates this novel of lives entwined from South Korea to Sydney over multiple lifetimes. I did not expect that a novel narrated by a dog would move and astound me so much. I was not prepared for the richness of My Name is Gucci by Sun Jung. I...
2025 Last Days of Summer Giveaway #3
This is the third and final of this series of summer giveaways. So get cracking and don’t miss out on a chance to win! To go into the draw to win all four of these titles, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘Summer 3′ in the subject line and...
2025 Last Days of Summer Giveaway #2
Yes! A second chance to win a great bundle of books in our big Last Days of Summer Giveaway! To go into the draw to win all four of these titles, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘Summer 2′ in the subject line and your name and address in the body...
Recent Posts
2025 Readers’ Favourites8 January 2026With the new year barely begun, take a look back at our top ten reviews of [ … ]
Tributes to Jean Bedford18 December 2025Writer and editor Jean Bedford died after a long illness on 11 December 2025. [ … ]
LYN DICKENS Salt Upon the Water. Reviewed by Ann Skea11 December 2025Lyn Dickens’s award-winning debut novel of an independent woman in colonial [ … ]
STUART EVERLY-WILSON The Maskeys. Reviewed by Catherine Pardey10 December 2025Set in a small Australian town dominated by a family of drug dealers, Stuart [ … ]