It’s a mix of genres this month in the Mixed Bag, which includes Deborah Locke’s memoir—a must-read for fans of Underbelly.

Don’t Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries (School For Heiresses #5)

Dont Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries (School For Heiresses, Book 5)

When Lucy Seton discovers that famous magician Diego Montalvo plans to build a pleasure garden next door to Charlotte Harris’s finishing, she’s determined to thwart his plans. But he’s sneaky and charming and continually makes Lucy forget her vow to be the paragon of propriety. Diego has ulterior motives, however. He intends to return Lucy to her long-lost grandfather even if he has to kidnap her.

Don’t Bargain With The Devil is the kind of book I might have enjoyed when I was just discovering historical romance, with its over-the-top dashing hero and the heroine who tries to be a good girl but can’t help herself in the hero’s presence. But I’ve been reading historical romance for a long time, and this one didn’t stand out above the rest. I skimmed bits of it, and while Jeffries comes up with some good lines here and there, the most interesting bit about the book is the mystery of who the hero in the final book of the series will be. (more)

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Not to to be effusive or anything, but this is the book that began my love affair with Melina Marchetta’s books.

When I read fiction, regardless of genre, I automatically seek a sense of connection with the words on the page. Sometimes a scene will get me, or a character, or a turn of phrase. I long for these moments of empathy that can turn an otherwise forgettable book into a treasure in my bookshelf.

Saving Francesca gives me diamonds on every page.

Francesca Spinelli is one of thirty girls at St Sebastian’s, a previously ‘all-boys’ school that has opened its doors to girls in Year Eleven for the first time ever.’ She misses the feeling of belonging she had at her old school with her old friends:

St Sebastian’s pretends it’s co-ed by giving us our own toilet. The rest of the place is all male and I know what you’re thinking if you’re a girl. What a dream come true, right? Seven hundred and fifty boys and thirty girls? (more)

The Family Farm by Fiona Palmer

The Family Farm’s blurb shows promise, but a slow plot and lacklustre romance make for a rather dull read.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I’m always on the lookout for good outback romances and at first glance The Family Farm fits the bill.

Isabelle Simpson returns to the family farm, eager to help her parents and show her father that she’s more than capable of managing the farm. But her father is convinced that farm life is too harsh for his remaining daughter, and this causes some conflict between then. When her father is hospitalised indefinitely, Isabelle surreptitiously takes over managing the farm.

Her father thinks their neighbour, Will Timmins, is in charge. For years Isabelle has blamed Will for her sister’s death, but gradually she learns the truth behind her sister’s tragedy and she discovers that Will has changed from the skirt-chasing prankster she knew as a child. (more)

This month’s Mixed Bag features wildly different stories by Aussie authors, which have left me with…well, mixed reactions.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Micah Williams is a compulsive liar, and Liar is Michah’s attempt ‘to tell you my story…No lies, no omissions. That’s my promise.’ Zach, Micah’s friend, has gone missing and Micah’s story is a non-linear narration of events leading up to and following from Zach’s disappearance, interspersed with her family history.

You may have heard of this book due to the US cover controversy (a non-issue for Aussie readers because we got a different cover), but it’s  just as likely you’ve heard of it from the many great reviews it’s received. The praise is well deserved. Larbalestier has created an original and compelling if notoriously unreliable narrator in Micah—something the story depends on for its success.

If you know me at all, you know I almost always peek at a book’s ending. I have no problem with spoilers (more)

In which I continue my undignified squeeing over a fantastic Australian author.

Thanks to Adele at Persnickety Snark I discovered that this week is Author Appreciation Week. How perfect.

Everyone who follows me on Twitter is groaning, I’m sure. For the past few weeks most of my book conversations have revolved around—or eventually ended up with—Melina Marchetta.

I love her work. I want to marry her books and grow old with them.

When Looking For Alibrandi first came out, I was heavily into category romances and the last thing I wanted to read was an angsty teen novel set in Australia. It wasn’t until last year that I first picked up Marchetta’s work when I read her short story, Twelve Minutes, in last year’s Books Alive anthology. Even then I wasn’t sure I’d read the novel that the short story was based on, The Piper’s Son. (more)

Solace & Grief by Foz Meadows (The Rare, Book 1)

If you’ve ever wondered what Sydney would be like with paranormal beings lurking about, Foz Meadows’s debut YA novel pits vampires and psychics and a swan-obsessed cat in a medieval dungeon under Hyde Park.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Read on for a chance to win a signed copy of Solace & Grief. Ends Wednesday, March 24 AEST.

In all my years at Sydney Uni, I’ve always wondered about this door. It’s hidden in a little garden between the Main Quad and the Pharmacy building. Every time I walked past it I wondered. So imagine my delight when I realised that Foz Meadows opens that door for me in Solace & Grief … and leads me to a world of magic, vampires and prophecies.

Solace Morgan walks out of her foster home the day she turns 17, convinced she’s a vampire and that she no longer belongs to her old life. She ends up at the Downstairs Club and meets a bunch of squatters, gets drunk, and before she knows it she’s living with her new set of best friends. (more)

Remastering Jerna by Ann Somerville

A BDSM book for readers who don’t read BDSM. Yes, it was that good.

[Edited because my previous intro was highly susceptible to misunderstanding.]

Australian author Ann Somerville has, at times, been a controversial figure in some of the online romance communities I hang out in. I mention this up front because I get the feeling that a lot of readers will want to dismiss her work based on preconceived notions.

All I can say is that they’d be missing out on one of my most unexpected keepers of 2009. (And I’m not the only one who thinks so.)

Yes, the book starts a little shakily as Somerville sets up the protagonist, Jerna Setiq, a devoted husband, teacher and father of two, whose contented life is decimated when he’s falsely convicted of child perversion. Once the stage is set for Jerna’s emotional journey, however, Somerville gets it just about perfect. (more)

Tallow by Karen Brooks (The Curse of the Bond Riders, Book 1)

As artisans, magic and prophecies meet politics and superstition, there’s enough to like in this new fantasy series set in Venice—but the first 200 pages are hit and miss.

I was prepared to be enchanted by Tallow. The title is the name of the book’s protagonist, a candlemaker’s apprentice whose candles have suddenly turned strange. Although perfectly shaped and crafted, as soon as Tallow’s candles are lit, ‘things would start to happen—intangible, eerie things.’ Like causing people to weep for no reason, or to feed cats, or to suffer from insomnia.

Tallow’s adoptive family consists of Pillar, the candlemaker, and his resentful mother, Quinn, whose response to Tallow’s unusual abilities is to try and beat it out of her. But we soon learn that there’s a deeper mystery behind Tallow’s presence. Why, for example, is she never allowed to look people in eye? And why must she pretend to be a boy?

When a stranger, a Bond Rider, comes looking for Tallow, (more)

Red Dust by Fleur McDonald

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Read on for a chance to win a signed copy of Red Dust. The contest ends midnight on Wednesday, December 23 AEST.

Fleur McDonald’s debut novel evokes the rugged beauty of the Australian outback through the eyes of a strong protagonist, but this might not be enough for genre readers.

If there’s one type of contemporary romance I’d like to see more of, it’s the good old outback romance. I don’t mean generic romances set in the outback where the hero is a land baron with money to spare. I mean romances set in the harsh landscape of rural Australia, where people struggle against the vagaries of nature, and where I can feel the hot dust on my tongue as I read the story.

If there’s one thing Red Dust does well, it’s capturing the beauty and roughness of outback Australia.

When Gemma Sinclair’s husband dies in a plane crash, she takes on the task of managing Billbinya, their 100,000-hectare sheep station. Although she’s managing to stay afloat (more)

Dark Country by Bronwyn Parry

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Read on for a chance to win a free copy of Dark Country. The contest ends midnight on Friday, December 11 AEST.

Bronwyn Parry’s second novel is a much more intricate thriller that balances romance and suspense in a way that should appeal to the broadest possible audience.

Dark Country opens with Morgan ‘Gil’ Gillespie’s return to Dungirri, hinting at his troubled past and discomfort at returning to a place that holds nothing but bad memories. He’d been involved in a fatal car accident that landed him in prison, so he’s not expecting a warm welcome from the town. Along the way, he meets police sergeant Kris Matthews. Gil is wary of cops, but an incident sparked by old grievances puts him under Kris’s care for the next 24 hours.

The next day, a dead woman is found in the boot of Gil’s car, and as violence escalates, Gil realises he’s endangering the people he cares about and that it may be impossible to walk away from the town this time around. (more)