Book Review: The Freedom Circus by Sue Smethurst

March 5, 2021 Amanda BarrettLeave a comment

Title: The Freedom Circus Author: Sue Smethurst Published: November 3rd 2020 Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Pages: 320 Genres: Non Fiction, Memoir RRP: $34.99 Rating: 4 stars A remarkable true story of one family’s daring escape from Poland during the Second World War. ‘A story of extraordinary bravery, resilience and love that needed to be told.’ Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz Written… Continue reading Book Review: The Freedom Circus by Sue Smethurst

#aww2020 · 2020 Reviews · biography · history · memoir · new release · World War II

New Release Book Review: The Other Side of Absence by Betty O’Neill

December 23, 2020 Amanda Barrett2 Comments

Title: The Other Side of Absence Author: Betty O’Neill Published: August 5th 2020 Publisher: Ventura Press Pages: 352 Genres: Non-Fiction, Historical, Memoir RRP: $32.99 Rating: 4 stars Betty O’Neill grew up knowing very little about her father, Antoni. She knew that he had fled Poland after World War Two, that he had disappeared overnight when she was just an infant, and that his… Continue reading New Release Book Review: The Other Side of Absence by Betty O’Neill

2020 International Male Author Challenge · 2020 Reviews · memoir

POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2020: Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

July 28, 2020 Amanda Barrett2 Comments

Today I am marking off my twenty seventh #27th checkpoint category for the POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2020 with: More from everyone’s favourite misanthropic antiquarian bookseller. ‘Do you have a list of your books, or do I just have to stare at them?’ Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. With more… Continue reading POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2020: Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

#aww2019 · 2019 Reviews · biography · book bingo · memoir

#Book Bingo 2019 Round 25: ‘Prize Winning Book’- Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales

December 6, 2019 Amanda Barrett6 Comments

Book Bingo 2019 is a collaboration challenge I am completing with my favourite bloggers, Theresa Smith Writes and The Book Muse. Each Saturday, on a fortnightly basis, beginning on Saturday 5th January 2019, Ashleigh, Theresa and I will complete a book review post, outlining our respective bingo card entries. The Book Bingo 2019 card contains a total of 30… Continue reading #Book Bingo 2019 Round 25: ‘Prize Winning Book’- Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales

#aww2019 · 2019 Reviews · biography · book bingo · memoir · non-fiction

#Book Bingo 2019 Round 22 BONUS ROUND: ‘Non fiction book about an event’- The Girls by Chloe Higgins

October 25, 2019 Amanda Barrett6 Comments

Book Bingo 2019 is a collaboration challenge I am completing with my favourite bloggers, Theresa Smith Writes and The Book Muse. Each Saturday, on a fortnightly basis, beginning on Saturday 5th January 2019, Ashleigh, Theresa and I will complete a book review post, outlining our respective bingo card entries. The Book Bingo 2019 card contains a total of 30… Continue reading #Book Bingo 2019 Round 22 BONUS ROUND: ‘Non fiction book about an event’- The Girls by Chloe Higgins

#aww2019 · Australian · book bingo · memoir

#Book Bingo 2019 Round 11: ‘Memoir About a Non-Famous Person’ – Apple Island Wife by Fiona Stocker

May 24, 2019 Amanda Barrett7 Comments

Book Bingo 2019 is a collaboration challenge I am completing with my favourite bloggers, Theresa Smith Writes and The Book Muse. Each Saturday, on a fortnightly basis, beginning on Saturday 5th January 2019, Ashleigh, Theresa and I will complete a book review post, outlining our respective bingo card entries. The Book Bingo 2019 card contains a total of 30… Continue reading #Book Bingo 2019 Round 11: ‘Memoir About a Non-Famous Person’ – Apple Island Wife by Fiona Stocker

#aww2019 · 2019 Reviews · Australian · memoir · new release

New Release Book Review: Alice to Prague by Tanya Heaslip

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 Amanda Barrett3 Comments

Title: Alice to Prague Author: Tanya Heaslip Published: May 6th 2019 Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pages: 352 Genres: Memoir RRP: $29.99 Rating: 4 stars In 1994, with a battered copy of Let’s Go Europe stuffed in her backpack, Tanya Heaslip left her safe life as a lawyer in outback Australia and travelled to the post-communist Czech Republic. Dismissing concerns from family and friends that her safety… Continue reading New Release Book Review: Alice to Prague by Tanya Heaslip

#aww2019 · 2019 Reviews · Australian · Beauty and Lace review · biography · memoir · non-fiction

Beauty & Lace Book Review: A Diamond in the Dust by Frauke Bolten-Boshammer with Sue Smethurst

January 13, 2019January 13, 2019 Amanda Barrett5 Comments

Title: A Diamond in the Dust Author: Frauke Bolten-Boshammer Published: November 1st 2018 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pages: 400 Genres: Non Fiction, Biography, Memoir RRP: $32.99 Rating: 4 stars The powerful true story of how one woman turned outback dust into a diamond empire Within minutes of landing in Kununurra, Frauke Bolten had made up her mind to get on a plane… Continue reading Beauty & Lace Book Review: A Diamond in the Dust by Frauke Bolten-Boshammer with Sue Smethurst

#aww2018 · 2018 Reviews · Australian · biography · history · memoir · non-fiction

Book Review: Kathleen O’Connor of Paris by Amanda Curtain

December 31, 2018January 1, 2019 Amanda Barrett2 Comments

Title: Kathleen O’Connor of Paris Author: Amanda Curtain Published: 29th October 2018 Publisher: Fremantle Press Pages: 320 Genres: Non Fiction, Biography, Memoir RRP: $29.99 Rating: 4.5 stars What does it mean to live a life in pursuit of art? In 1906, Kathleen O’Connor left conservative Perth, where her famous father’s life had ended in tragedy. She had her sights set on a career… Continue reading Book Review: Kathleen O’Connor of Paris by Amanda Curtain

#aww2018 · 2018 Reviews · biography · memoir · non-fiction · Throwback Thursday · true crime · Uncategorized

Throwback Thursday Book Review: Behind Closed Doors by Katherine X and Sue Smethurst

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 Amanda Barrett1 Comment

Welcome to a weekly post, Throwback Thursday. This weekly book review post is a way to share some old favourites, books that were published over a year ago and most importantly those books that have been languishing on the to be read pile for far too long! Four children by her father. Thirty years of… Continue reading Throwback Thursday Book Review: Behind Closed Doors by Katherine X and Sue Smethurst

Mrs B's Book Reviews

Book reviews and recommendations from a self confessed book geek

Category: memoir