Knapp, Florence (2025) The Names. Phoenix.
Does your name foretell who you will become? This is a story of three names and the impact of that name decision. Cora sets out with her nine-year old daughter to register the name of her new born son. Her husband wants the baby to be called after him – after generations of controlling men. Cora hesitates. But there will be consequences. Should the child be named Bear her daughter’s choice, or her own choice of Julian, or Gordon as dictated by her husband? Over the years we follow the infinite possibilities of the three names and the impact of each decision on one family. The premise is original but the unremitting domestic violence turned me off this title. Left me asking what was all the hype about?
Rating: 3/5
Reymer, Lisette (2025) No, I Don’t Get Danger Money: Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent. Allen & Unwin.
A frank account on being a European correspondent for NewsHub (ThreeNow) during an extraordinary time in our recent history. Waikato farm girl Lisette Reymer found herself, in her later twenties, reporting from the frontline – from the conflict zones in Ukraine and Gaza to natural and human disasters, and the Queen’s funeral and King’s coronation. Her storytelling skills bring her perilous missions and surreal moments to life with heart, and she reminds us that bringing the news to our living rooms requires a deal of bravado in often hazardous situations. Absorbing read.
Rating: 4/5
King, Lily (2025) Heart the Lover. Canongate.
In her senior college year our narrator meets Sam and Yash the stars of her 17th century literature paper. As they challenge her intellectually she falls for each boy in turn. They nickname her Jordan. She soon finds herself at the centre of an unpredictable yet passionate triangle. Decades later when Jordan is married, with children of her own, these past relationships resurface and she must confront her decisions as she sits at the bedside of a dying Yash. An intense life affirming tale of love, loss and hope. Beautiful.
Rating: 5/5
Clarke, Lucy (2025) The Surf House. HarperCollins.
After a fatal encounter in Marrakesh Bea arrives at the coastal sanctuary of The Surf House where life is all sunshine, sea and surf. But there is the mystery of a missing girl. Savannah had disappeared without a trace a year ago. Somewhere at The Surf House is a clue to her disappearance which may, or may not, involve her new friends. As Bea sets out to solve the mystery she puts herself at risk. This book has got it all – murder, blackmail, obsessive friendship, romance and plenty of waves. Escapist destination thriller.
Rating: 3/5
Chang, Jung (2025) Fly, Wild Swans. HarperCollins.
A followup to the epic Wild Swans (1991); a personal narrative on the making of modern China through the stories of three generations of women in the author’s family. A half-century on China has risen to a global power and Jung Chang’s books remain banned in China. In this sequel she returns with an account of how her homeland has changed, picking up from when she left China in 1978. She reminisces on past events with new details, and describes her life since leaving China, pays tribute to her mother, and outlines the path taken to research her latter biographies on Mao, Empress Dowager Cixi and the Soong sisters. Chang was able to visit her ageing mother (now deceased) each year until recent changes in political direction put her personal safety at risk. There has been a cost to her fame. A compelling voice on China’s history. Excellent.
Rating: 5/5
Arielli, Nir (2025) The Dead Sea: A 10,000-Year History. Yale UP.
In this panoramic history the Dead Sea is explored from the earliest Neolithic settlements through to the present day. The Dead Sea’s history has been pieced together from a plethora of sources from its sediments and scrolls, to its human history. At the heart of the Arab and Jewish worlds the Dead Sea has, over the centuries, drawn farmers, explorers, conquerors, biblical personages, healing, conflict, and tourism. This inland body of water, a terminal lake with unique properties, trapped by an active geological rift, surrounded by desert and reliant on flows from the Jordan River, is now facing an environmental crisis. The lake is receding largely as a result of the land and water management in the Dead Sea’s catchment area. Arielli argues this unique lake needs to be saved. Informative although academic in approach.
Rating: 4/5
7:30 Bookclub 