Instagram story viewer> @onceuponatel> Tagged

Tel

@onceuponatel

2.4K

followers

1865

following

👩🏼‍🦱🇦🇺
📍Melbourne, Australia
👋🏻I’m Tel!
📕Book Reviews
🎶Live Music Reviews
🍫Snack Lover

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

🌻📚 Sunday Shoutouts 📚🌻

Now we have 8k followers which we are so very grateful for, we wanted to hop on here share the love and show off some of our besties we think you should be following too! Xoxo

(Consider this a series, many more posts to come as there are so many of you guys we want to celebrate!!!)

Love you all to bits, thanks to everyone for all the smiles, the support, amazing reviews, gorgeous pics, and generally beautiful content!! You are all superstars 🤩♥️ xx

#bookishcommunity #bookbesties #readersofig #welovebooks #bookfriendsarethebest

600

92

🔎 July Scavenger Hunt 🔍

Welcome to my second take on the same July Scavenger Hunt prompts - which were suggested by YOU guys this time! 🥰

Some info:
🔹️Use #scavengerroad26 and tag me! (Not mandatory, but it will be fun to see them all in one place and I don't want to miss any!)
🔹️ Message me if you would like the prompts sent to you for easy creating
🔹️ I'll tag some people, but if you see this, please consider yourself tagged
🔹️These challenges are for ANY GENRE!

July Scavenger Hunt:

🎄 Christmas in July theme (interpret how you wish)
🎄 Love Objects (red cover and spine)

❄️ Title begins with a letter in WINTER
❄️ Thank You Burnout by @hayleyhughesauthor

🔁 A book you have/might reread
🔁 Suddenly Silent and Still by @ninmokauthor

🔠 Author with an inital in their name
🔠 End of Story by A. J. Finn

⏳️A book that's been on your TBR since the start of the year
⏳️ The Fifth Letter

🔍 On the cover: sun, fireworks, or something you'd find at the beach
🔍 Rumour Has It (sun)

❓️ If you wrote a book, would you use your own name, your initials, or a pen name?

.
.
.
.
#julyscavengerhunt #bookscavengerhunt #bookstagramchallenge #julybookchallenge

412

68

A hot topic of discussion on #Booksta and while I usually hold off from reading a book during its hype I couldn’t stay away any longer

This book is the prime example of a book that sucks you, has you hooked, has you unsure if you are enjoying it or more just needing to know the ending

The characters get under your skin, the types of characters you loathe and make you angry but you are hooked on every word, wanting to know where they are going, what the ending will bring

And then there is a point in the book where you wonder if there will be an ending, that you are so confused by the dual timeline you can’t understand what is real or not or if you will be left on edge when you close the book

Isn’t this why we read books? To go on a journey through a story, and sometimes it has a really obvious destination and other times we have questions and we want to unpick and decipher it.

And after all that.. I still don’t know how I feel about, and I am ok with it! I know I enjoyed it, I was all in and couldn’t put it down

I absolutely loved chatting this with @anotherlittlebookshelf @onceuponatel and believe it is a perfect book club or buddy read book as is a big conversation starter and it will divide you!

Have you read it? Will you be picking it up?

#yesteryear #caroclaireburke #hypebook #aussiebooksta

248

122

This.

This is the moment I’ll always treasure 💕

What book/part of a book changed things for you?

PS. For anyone who loved chapter 33, check out @jesskbacon and her book I’m Just a Girl (@alexlight_ldn is also great too!)

303

70

When I started my bookstagram over 6 years ago I had no idea of the world it would open up for me.

Here are 3 things that surprised me:

1. The broadening of my reading tastes and how much my TBR would grow as a result
2. The connections I’ve made with other passionate readers both online and IRL
3. The incredible support within the Australian book community

❓ How long have you been on bookstagram and what’s something that has surprised you?

#bookstagrammer #bookcommunity #aussieauthorsupporter #readingismagic #thingsthatmakemehappy

286

88

📚#SundayShelfie 📚

How often do you change up your bookshelves?

It’s been about 6 weeks or so since my books have been in my bedroom - I had to move them (and everything else) out when my room got painted and it’s been a loooong road to move them back in!

My old wooden bookcase was moved next to my bed then set up then moved again back to where it originally was (oops) and now holds all my special editions, crocheted cuties by @nataliechung.writes and other books that just make me happy.

I also built two black bookshelves which I was um-ing and ah-ing about where to put, but decided I really liked this corner look! Perfect to make my rainbow spines pop too! Here’s hopping I built them correctly so they don’t collapse 😅

There’s still quite a bit of organising in my room to do.. plus more books to find a place to sit.. but for now I’m super happy with how these shelves turned out! Especially as it’s right in time for the @ChaptersForChangeAu readathon to start on the 1st July where I’m hoping to read 55 books!

Registrations are open now for the readathon - come join us!

Image Descriptions: The first photo shows a large 3 shelved bookcase with lots of beautiful books within and crocheted little friends hiding amongst them. The second and third photos show two bookcases with 6 shelves on each positioned in a corner with the book spines in rainbow gradient starting with green and finishing with yellow and then white/black. In all photos there is a deep green painted wall with cream trimmings.

#Shelfie #BookShelfie #ReadQueerAllYear #RainbowBooks

3

45

If @onceuponatel calls ‘Dove’ a top read, I am officially complimented 🥰 Jump over to her page for the full review!

#bookstagram
#booksbooksbooks
#booktok
#bookreview
#bookish

21

0

🍂 Autumn stack 🍂

"Autumn is for reading books in cozy little nooks."

Autumn is my favourite season ... cooling down from the heat of summer, but not quite the bitter cold of winter.

🤎 Until It Fades
🤎 Jasper Vale
🧡 In The Weeds
🧡 Set On You
💛 The Unhoneymooners
🤍 Twisted Hate
🩷 Mixed Signals
🩷 Seven Year Itch
🩷 Wildfire
❤️ Beg, Borrow or Steal
❤️ Garnet Flats
🖤 The Tradwife's Secret
🖤 The Night Circus

Thank you to @bmichie31 and @tash.r.f.books for tagging me to create an autumn colours stack. Tagging some to join in if you want!

❓️ What do you like about autumn?

Leaves crocheted by my daughter 🥰

#autumnbookstack #autumncoloursstack #bookstackchallenge #readersofinstagram #bookishlove

422

90

🔎 May Scavenger Hunt 🔍

Welcome to my second take on the same May prompts! I love challenging myself to use different genres and find different books for the same prompts.

Some info:
🔹️Use #scavengerroad26 (Not mandatory, but it will be fun to see them all in one place!)
🔹️ Tag me! (Also not mandatory, but I always love to see them!)
🔹️ Message me if you would like the prompts sent to you for easy creating
🔹️ I'll tag some people, but if you see this, please consider yourself tagged
🔹️These challenges are for ANY GENRE!

May:
⭐️ A book that MAY be 5 stars
⭐️ When Lemons Give You Life

🖼 A cover you could frame
🖼 The Lucky Sisters

5️⃣ A title with 5 words, or a word with 5 letters
5️⃣ I'll Leave You With This

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 A book with a side character who deserves their own book
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Three Juliets (many great side characters)

💖 A pink book
💖 Seed

🔍 On the cover: something beginning with M
🔍 The Heart Is A Star (moth and mushrooms)

❓️ What star rating do you think you'll give your current read?
Or
❓️ Tell me why you picked up your current/last read?

#mayscavengerhunt #mondaystacks #booksiwanttoread #tbrbooks Photo shared by My Reading Road 🐨🇦🇺 on May 18, 2026 tagging @kelly_hunsaker_reads, @whatkreads, @aplace_inthesun, @bookbug_40, @herbookishheart_, @onceuponatel, @read_a_book_with_bec, @kdiddlyreads, @shazza_yoyo_reads, @pixelspaperink, @bookswithbernie, and @jaysread. May be an image of book and text.

424

65

I am still on cloud nine after the delectable launch of WHEN LEMONS GIVE YOU LIFE on Thursday night! 🍋

Thank you to the wonderful Katherine Collette for an engaging interview, the terrific staff at Readings Emporium for your warm hospitality, my amazing team at Penguin and to the one hundred people who came along to support, including my beautiful friends and family! I am so grateful! 💛

#whenlemonsgiveyoulife #booklaunch #author #bookstagram #newbook

91

11

𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝(𝚜) - 𝙲𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚢 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚝

Last Thursday night I headed to @readingsbooks Hawthorn to celebrate the launch of Five Stages of Grace by @caseywritesstories hosted by @shannon.kelly.white and to see Casey’s new launch boots.

I’ve already raved about this book because, quite frankly, it’s fabulous. It certainly brought out all the emotions as I was reading it so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that the book launch would be exactly the same. So much laughter, so many tears and just an amazing amount of love and support in the room for a truly talented author and a truly beautiful person. Casey is a special soul 🩷

I had so much fun (other than the crying part) that I backed it up with another Casey talk - how could I not when the delightful @annefreemanwrites was hosting this event at @portphilliplibraries on Saturday afternoon?

Of course there was more laughter, more tears and once again, a room filled with love and support for Casey!

Anne and Casey were hilarious. I’m now reading an ARC of Anne’s new book, The Time After Now. It’s also fabulous but the exciting part about Anne having a new release coming soon is knowing we will get to listen to these two ladies again soon. (Not going to lie Anne, I keep thinking about you and the “five minute breaks” IYKYK) 🤣

As always it was great to catch up with so many of my booksta friends and to meet a few new ones. Also lovely to catch up with Casey’s Mum, Michelle and listen to her invaluable advice which may just save my husband’s life - she may have a cure for snoring 😴 🤞🤞🤞

❓How was your weekend - did you get up to anything fun?

#authorevents
#booklover #readersofinstagram #whatimreading #bookreviewer

379

71

🚀BOOK LAUNCH🚀

Thursday night was full of laughter, tears and a lot of talk of enemas and that was just from Casey as we celebrated the launch of her second book Five Stages of Grace. In conversation with the fabulous Shannon Kelly-White, Casey had us in stitches with her dry wit but also brought us to tears with the story behind this novel. The Melbourne book community was out in force to support Casey and it was fabulous to see so many familiar faces including @fhclibrary @lou_b_reads @onceuponatel @bookwormdownunder @kdiddlyreads @the.brooke.library @emiliesbookshelf @mads_bookclub @happyvalley_booksread @kylieorr_writer @kellysgroi.author @leearna.shaw.author @emma.mugglestone @holly_cardamone_author @hollybrunnbauer @chrissiebellbrae @brookecrawford_writer @kylie.ladd Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.

Five Stages of Grace is beautifully authentic and full of emotion and heart. It was a big five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. Keep an eye out for my full review next week.

❓ If you had to change your first name, what name would you choose?

I’ve always loved the name Lily.

@hawkeyepublishing @readingsbooks #fivestagesofgrace #booklaunch #bookcommunity #melbournebookstagrammers #fivestarread

227

41