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A queer romance set in a space-faring future where humans have developed telepathic abilities. Two telepaths are thrown together by political expediency, and despite initial incompatibility (they are both very different sorts of neurodiverse) they build a strong partnership, and eventually love. The two protagonists are well portrayed, and very likeable despite their foibles.

A series of cloyingly moralistic tales from Jo's school of wayward boys, where love & kindness are all that's needed to create fine upstanding gentlemen.

Through the tragedy of Cyprus, explores the intergenerational trauma of civil war & exile. How the opportunity for a new life is unmoored from culture and weighed down by grief & guilt. I liked the fig tree as narrator.

An autistic woman decides she needs to learn how to have good sex, and falls big time for the escort she arranges to teach her. All a bit silly & obvious but reasonably well done, and the sex is explicit & steamy without being ridiculous. I do wonder if autistic traits can be magically turned off by Mr Right, though ....

A cynical take on the deep power of finance & capitalism in an age of rapid industrialisation. Numerous players (pawns) strive for 'power' with varying degrees of cunning & strategy. Provides his usual hefty dose of backstabbing and dry wit, and a touch less graphic violence.

A woman struggles for wholeness after her son commits an unspeakable crime. She finds it through building a labyrinth, and relationships with those that help. Very readable and engaging, but its deeper purpose evaded me.

A line of women connected by their suffering at the hands of psychopathic men, and their uncanny affinity for the natural world. Witchcraft wins.

(2 stars = it was okay)

The invasion of Ethiopia by Italy under Mussolini. Brutal violence and horrific use of modern weaponry against poorly armed but committed defenders. Operatic & impressionist, oft-times too much.

A period fantasy set in Victorian England - with dragons! Excellent characters who are all very nice to each other and share some fine adventures. A good easy comfort read.

The extraordinariness of whales, what they mean to us, and their immense connections across the globe and beyond. Beautifully written, but occasionally lapses into flowery waffle and an overload of metaphor. Chapter on plastic is particularly painful.

A teenage girl in 1970s Uganda comes to terms with patriarchy, family & sisterhood. A bit slow without much emotional connection, but the detailed dive into Ugandan culture & history is fascinating.

More with our other favourite (but much less violent) rogue AI. Perhaps too much time spent on emotional intricacies rather than plot. The alien Translator and the Ship/Station AIs are quite pleasing though.

The life & career of an Indigenous police woman. Her upbringing is burdened by no end of horrific substance-fuelled abuse - it's a wonder she came out so functional. Time in Queensland police force in the 2000s is less devastating, but affects her more, with the institutionalised racism and corruption on top of the job's nature giving her PTSD. (refer Peter Dutton)

A straightforward but damning account of the patriarchy in modern Korea. An unusual mix of fictionalised autobiography and footnoted essay.