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The Boyfriend Clause by @bridieblake was so much fun, but also really got me in the feels in terms of Sabrina needing to back herself in life and stick up to her family. I really loved that she and Adam properly disliked each other for quite a while, and I also loved the 3rd act breakup - yes, I'm a BIG fan - it was realistic and well developed and well resolved. There was a great amount of spice, and I was totally rooting for these two by the end. An amazing debut and I can't wait to read what else Bridie puts out 😍

The beautiful background painting is by @juliaockert. I chose this one because it reminds me of musk lollies and pink lemonade and made me think of the sweet shop that features in this book.

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Would you love to put your best friend in a novel? Debut rom-com author and AWC grad Bridie Blake (@bridieblake) had the opportunity to do just that in her book, 'The Boyfriend Clause' – out now with Text Publishing (@text_publishing). In this episode, she shares her experience chasing the publishing dream for years and the writing courses that helped her find her perfect genre and land a book deal. ⁠
⁠
Listen now! Follow the link in bio.

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Sisterhood out in force at @dandyrangeslitfest to see @sallyhepworth in conversation with @kerrynmayneauthor
Such a brilliant chat under very bright lights about Mad Mabel, getting away with murder and the value of female friendship 🌸

#sisterhood #sallyhepworth #dandenongrangesliteraryfestival2026

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I am in book heaven atm ❣️ The Boyfriend Clause by Bridie Blake was 😚, Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent is 😋 and I am 🤗 for Last Shot by Emma Pignatiello!
👇 Have you read any of these? If not, what are you currently reading?

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Announcing our October debut crew!!
(Yes a day early again, but I am too excited for these upcoming releases) 👏👏🎉🎉

Congrats to:

📒 BENEATH THE EDELWEISS by @elizabethnoelauthor

&

📒 CRIMINALLY BAD by @clairekoolkat

Ways you can support our debut crew:

📚 Buy or borrow our books
⭐️ Write a review so others can find and enjoy them too!
👋 Come say hi at an event (we would love to meet you)
🤗 Share this post
🤳 Follow us

Every bit helps 🫶*

*just like these fabulous slides, again made possible by legend, @sophie.e.stern 🥰

🙏 we so appreciate your continued support ☺️💛

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👉 Tell me something you did on Saturday!

I stepped in dog poo, weeded the garden, wrote, read, watched Freo just lose the grand final 😭, dreamt about my second book's protagonists 🥰 Great day!

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“A good book is an event in my life.” - Stendhal

All of these books have been wonderful events in my life this year:

✨Side Character Energy @oliviatolich
✨The Last Resort @amandahewittwrites
✨The Cursed Road @lauramccluskey__
✨The Gambler @jppomare
✨The Boyfriend Clause @bridieblake
✨When Lemons Give You Life @annajohnstonauthor
✨Like Follow Die @akalagianblunt
✨Every Time She Wakes @petronellamcgovern_author
✨A Farm in Golden Clouds @leearna.shaw.author
✨Tenderfoot @toni_jordan_writer
✨The Couples Retreat @mercedes.mercier.writes
✨The Society of Literary Marauders @sashawasley_author
✨Redbelly Crossing @candicefoxauthor
✨Three Reasons For Revenge @dervlamctiernan
✨Five Stages of Grace @caseywritesstories
✨A Little Unwell @drkerryjewell
✨The Bookshop of Buried Pasts @sarahmclutton
✨Yeah The Boys @holdensheppard
✨The Second Wife @ali_lowe_author
✨Solo Mum by Choice @lorenaotes
✨Time Travel For Beginners @jaclynmoriarty
✨The Picasso Ransom @atprewett
✨Dark Desert Road @ayliffetim
✨An Ocean and a Day @hannahrichell
✨The Time After Now @annefreemanwrites

❓ How many of these have you read? 10 points if you’ve read it and 5 points if it’s on your TBR. How many points did you score out of a possible 250?

#agoodbook #agoodbookisallineed #readerlife #booksaremyhappyplace #aussieauthors

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unfortunately, I do LOVE a SLOW, ANGST-FILLED BURN😭📚
Because why would I want them to fall in love quickly when they could spend 400 pages fighting their feelings instead? 😂

Give me the stolen glances.
The accidental touches.
The tension you could cut with a knife.
The “we absolutely should not do this” moments.
The almost kisses.
The denial.
The pining.
The emotional suffering.
The ONE BED that finally pushes them over the edge🫠

I want to spend the entire book wondering:
WHEN ARE THEY FINALLY GOING TO KISS?!

And when they finally do?
After all that buildup?
I AM UNWELL😭

Because apparently my toxic trait as a romance reader is that the longer you make me wait for the payoff, the more obsessed I become.

💬 What’s your favourite slow-burn romance that made you SUFFER for the payoff?

slow burn romance, angsty romance, slow burn romance books, angst romance, romance books, romance book recommendations, romance recs, romance readers, books with tension, romance books with pining, bookstagram Australia, Aussie Bookstagram

#BookstagramAustralia #AussieBookstagram #RomanceBooks #RomanceReaders #SlowBurnRomance

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✨Book Haul✨

Managed to pick up some little beauties at the op shops today! Even a couple of Melbourne authors in there so I just couldn’t leave them behind 🥰

And also very excited to pick up and start Burn of the Everflame and collect my shelf trophy of The Shadows that Listen! Happy release day @louisacarmodybooks and @authorpenncole

Have you picked up any favourites recently?

#newrelease #ThriftedBooks #burnoftheeverflame #theshadowsthatlisten

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🧁BOOK REVIEW: THE BOYFRIEND CLAUSE🖋️

Sabrina is in trouble. Her cafe is struggling and she’s single. Usually these two things would be unrelated, but thanks to her parents giving her a loan to start the cafe and including a ‘boyfriend clause’, which stipulates she must be in a committed relationship for the loan to be valid, these two things are very, annoyingly, entangled. Yeah, her mum is meddlesome, why do you ask?

Dating, of course, is hard enough on a good day, let alone when you’re trying to keep a whole business afloat. And after she vomits on the shoes of the hot new neighbour, Adam, she isn’t sure she ever wants to see any man again.

Instead, she tells her mum she is dating. They never have to meet, right? The boyfriend’s name? Er… Adam.

The imaginary boyfriend actually works in the beginning. But when her mum wins a family trip to the UK, she insists everyone in the family come. Including Adam.

The real Adam obviously hates Sabrina for ruining his shoes (and books). After Sabrina admits what she’s told her mother, Adam agrees to fake date her for show, although he won’t come to England. No way. But both of them weren’t expecting how meddlesome Sabrina’s mother is. And how convincing she can be, when she wants to get her way.

This was such a fun, silly, sweet romance. I’m a sucker for a fake dating trope and when there’s baked goods and books involved, that just combines so many of my favourite things. Cute banter, a bit of spice, a wild spread of zany supporting characters - what more would you like from your romantic comedies? Oh, the English countryside? No worries, that’s all in here too. An easy, breezy, light read, perfect for a spring reading session.

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Photos in from the Riverina Readers Fest and this was one of the most fun panels I’ve ever moderated. The Killers v Kissers debate was an absolute riot. We laughed so bloody hard 😆

Thanks to Ash Smith for the photos, and Mel Fattore and the team for making it such a glorious day ❤️

@melfattore_ @riverinareadersfestival @sularigentill @ayliffetim @zoegaet @bridieblake #literaryfestival #writinglife #writingcommunity #literarydebate

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It’s Spring tomorrow in Australia 🇦🇺 and September: the exciting month for these fabulous debuts of our 2026 debut crew!!!

Can’t wait and big congrats to:

📒 FOREIGN RETURN by @nehakale
📒 HATE YOU TO LOVE YOU by @joshhortinelawriter
📒EXCHANGE OF HEART by @katiebwriter
📒THE WALL WITHIN by @laura_morris_writer
📒THE BOND BETWEEN US by @ericalee_writes

+ belated congrats to:

📒THE FOLLOWERS by @maree_spratt

Ways to support us (in addition to buying or borrowing our books 📚):

⭐️ Write a review so others can find and enjoy our books too!
👋 Come say hi to us at our events (we would love that)
🤗 Share this post
🤳 Follow us
🙏 Thank you!!!

Every bit helps 🫶*

*just like these gorgeous slides, once again made possible by the always-so-wonderful @sophie.e.stern 🥰

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