AustLit

'A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction - the captivating new novel from Kimberley Freeman.

'1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No one could have predicted what would unfold. When the storm clears they must all keep the devastating secrets hidden.

'2014: After years of putting her sick brother's needs before her own, Lauren Beck leaves her home and takes a job at a Blue Mountains cafe, the first stage of the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations. There she meets Tomas, the Danish architect who is overseeing the project, and an attraction begins to grow. In a wing of the old hotel, Lauren finds a series of passionate love letters dated back to 1926, alluding to an affair - and a shocking secret.

'If she can unravel this long-ago mystery, will it make Lauren brave enough to take a risk and change everything in her own life?

'Inspired by elements of her grandmother's life, a rich and satisfying tale of intrigue, heartbreak and love from the author of the bestselling Lighthouse Bay and Wildflower Hill.' (Publication summary)

'From nineteenth-century England to present-day Australia - a riveting story of secrets and scandal.

'1891: Orphaned as a small child, Tilly Kirkland found a loving, safe home with her grandfather in Dorset. But nineteenth-century England is an unforgiving place for a young woman with limited means and as her grandfather's health fails, it seems perfect timing that she meets Jasper Dellafore. Yet her new husband is not all he seems. Alone in the Channel Islands, Tilly finds her dream of a loving marriage is turning into a nightmare.

'2012: Bestselling novelist Nina Jones is struggling with writer's block and her disappointing personal life. Nothing is quite working. After a storm damages Starwater, her house on Ember Island, she decides to stay for a while and oversee the repairs: it s a perfect excuse to leave her problems behind her on the mainland. Then Nina discovers diary pages hidden in the walls of the old home. And a mystery unravels that she is determined to solve.

'Though the two women are separated by years, Starwater House will alter the course of both their lives. Nina will find that secrets never stay buried and Tilly learns that what matters most is trusting your heart. '

'In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. But life is not about to follow the plan that Beattie had hoped for and fate will play her a cruel hand...

'In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate. But on arrival she is presented with some surprising news - her recently deceased and much-loved grandmother Beattie Blaxland has left her Tasmanian property to Lydia.

'Told through the eyes of a young Beattie Blaxland and a contemporary Lydia Blaxland-Hunter, this is an emotionally charged, seductive tale of self-discovery, secrets and surprises.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Joss Aaronson has two loves in her life: playing the blues and training to jump through time.

'Then Mavkel, the first alien student on Earth, selects her to be his time-travel partner and Joss’s life gets a lot more complicated. There’s an assassin on campus, an anti-alien lobby group chanting slogans, and Joss is constantly being tracked by the tight security around her new friend.

'Life with Mavkel is not all bad, though. Music-loving Joss is fascinated by him and his people, the Chorians, who communicate through song.

'But Mavkel is pining for his lost twin, and his will to live is draining away. Joss wants to help him, and that means going back to the petri dish where it all began. She’s playing with history, but if Mavkel doesn’t survive, then Joss could really be singing the blues …'

Source: Author's website.

'Cool, controlled Devi Greenheart's world is turned upside down when she discovers plans to destroy her beloved grove. Somehow, her boyfriend's power-mongering father is behind it all and, as she and the Circle desperately fight to save their sacred place, Devi becomes entangled in a dangerous web of intrigue and lies. Will she be strong enough to face the truth? Who is the enchanting boy Devi encounters in the forest and can he help her through the terrifying nightmare that sends her running for her life?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A strange hill. A hidden room. A book of spells. A gorgeous guy she cannot trust. When Jess travels to Glastonbury, she learns the secret her mother has been desperate to keep. But it doesn't end there. Someone is using dark magic to kill her grandmother. It is time for Jess to accept the power of the Gift...' (Publication summary)

'Ella sees herself as ugly and overweight, because that is what her shallow step-sisters tell her she is. She spends more and more time in front of the sinister mirror her step-mother gave her, its dark image giving her a distorted image of herself. Cruel teasing by a young guy triggers Ella into episodes of overeating and bulimia, and she becomes dangerously thin. Can Ella's friends in the Circle find a way to help? Or has Ella become so obsessed with her mirror world that she can no longer distinguish her true self from a false reflection?

'PRINCESS is a multi-layered retelling of the classic Cinderella tale of transformation, exploring issues of adolescent self-image, the beauty myth and the power of friendship.'

(Publication summary)

'The bonds of friendship. The possibilities of magic. The power of intuition. First the missing assignment, then the broken angel, and now the accident. Bad luck comes in threes, but Tara never suspected the third thing would be as horrendous as this ... When Troy Daniels, the guy Tara likes from school, is critically injured in a car crash, Tara needs help from her friends in the Circle. While Troy struggles for life, the girls draw on all their magic to try to turn the bad luck around. But when Tara's dreams start to become more real than waking life, she is forced to undertake a dangerous quest in the eerie realm of Gamova. Who is the imprisoned prince? How are Tara's dreams connected to Troy Daniels? And why is she too afraid to share them with the Circle? One thing becomes clear - to save the prince, Tara needs to understand a lot more about Troy's mysterious life ... ' (Publication summary)