Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
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The Charleston Scandal
Pamela Hart, $32.99
London, 1920s: Kit Scott, a privileged Australian aiming to become a star, arrives to find the Jazz Age in full swing. Cast in a West End play opposite another young hopeful, Canadian Zeke Gardiner, she dances into the heady lifestyle of English high society, from Noel Coward to Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele. When Kit is photographed dancing the Charleston alongside the Prince of Wales, she finds herself at the centre of a major scandal, sending the Palace into damage control and Kit to her aristocratic English relatives. Both Zeke and Kit are faced with temptations – and make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever.
HOLLOW EMPIRE
Sam Hawke, $32.99
It started with poison and rebellion in City of Lies. Now, two years after a devastating siege tore the country apart, Silasta has recovered. But to the frustration of poisontaster siblings Jovan and Kalina, sworn to protect the Chancellor, the city has grown complacent. And now, amid the celebrations of the largest carnival the continent has ever seen, it seems a mysterious enemy has returned. Assassins, witches and dangerous criminals are all closing in.
WHEN THE APRICOTS BLOOM
Gina Wilkinson, $32.99
In Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, has been ordered by the secret police to befriend Ally, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Rania, an artist, is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. All three must protect their families.
THE LAST THING TO BURN
Will Dean, $29.99
He is her husband. She is his captive. Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name. She lives in a small farm cottage on huge open fields. But she is trapped. No one knows how she got to the UK, no one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm and if they do, she is never seen. Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished. For a long time, escape seemed impossible. But now, something has changed. She has a reason to live and a reason to fight. Now, she is watching him, and waiting.