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Tess Woods

@tesswoods_author

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followers

796

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Author:
The Venice Hotel
The Cairo Bridal Shop
@penguinbooksaus
Creative Director of Perth’s
@festivaloffiction
Also a physio
Here for the goss

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So it might surprise you, but I don’t actually have any cat books 😱 I used to have a large collection of wildlife and photography books but we’ve popped most of them in storage at the moment, so the best I could conjure up for today’s #peacetoberbookstackchallenge is a photo of Astrid with some of my random book collection - thank you @thereadingquest for the wonderful suggestion. Astrid always steals the show anyway, so here are a few snaps of her looking sassy and a video at the end which is so cute.

Fun fact about Astrid: she loves clean sheets. She literally is obsessed with them, but not once they’ve been slept on for the third day. We popped some freshly washed sheets on the bed today and she found a section of the bed where the clean sheets are exposed, and she plopped down on it immediately. Thank you for spreading your floof on every available surface in our house Astrid, especially our newly cleaned sheets 🤣😫😻

For every #bookstackchallenge post we share for this challenge, a $1 donation is given to our beloved Iyas’s family. So if you’re a book lover or you also just have random books lying around that you can share, please do. It’s super simple and easy to create a bookstack ♥️

#bookvibes #sassycat

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Thank You beautiful Big Sky festival organisers and all the legendary writers who brought their stories as well as the readers without whom we wouldn’t exist💕💃💕#bookclub #australianfiction #newfiction #writing

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It’s Book Buzz time! 📚

From the bustling streets of Cairo to the wild landscapes of rural Australia, this month’s reads explore family secrets, fresh starts, buried pasts, gripping mysteries and the challenges of finding your place in the world.

Step inside an iconic bridal shop where three sisters challenge tradition and fight for their futures, escape city life for a fresh start in rural Australia, uncover a buried past that threatens to unravel a seemingly charmed life, follow a team of researchers stranded on a remote island in search of a mysterious plane wreck, and head to Abu Dhabi, where three expats navigate power, class and survival in a city on the brink of crisis.

Head to the link in our bio, scroll down to ‘Browse, Borrow & Return’, then click on ‘This month’s Book Buzz – Reserve your copy!’ to borrow your next great read! 📚

[Image description: Book covers of ‘The Cairo Bridal Shop’ by @tesswoods_author, ‘Where the Wattles Bloom’ by @amyandrewsbooks, ‘The World Beneath Her Feet’ by @hollygoeslightly, ‘The Wreck’ by @rileyjamesauthor, and ‘Out of Place’ by @norabordewrites.]

#BrimbankLibrariesBookBuzz

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I love the way Tess weaves real life issues into compelling fiction with fabulous characters and interesting locations. It really was eye opening to read of the complexities that women face in many places in this world. So much that we take for granted is just not possible and bringing this to our attention through fiction jolts awareness. I loved all the wonderful women portrayed in this book. It is a fabulous story. #tesswoodsauthor #books #thecairobridalshop #amnesty

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My latest issue of Sally Recommends is now with my lovely substack subscribers! Each monthly issue is free and gives me a proper chance to gush about what I’ve loved reading, watching, buying and thinking about lately. ❤️
Signup at the link in my bio!

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Here are this month’s book reviews from our Keilor Library Book Club:
- The Things We Never Say by @lizstroutauthor
- The Venice Hotel by @tesswoods_author
- With Winter Comes Darkness by Robbi Neal
- The Long Night by Christian White

Browse our catalogue to download or borrow a copy today. Link in bio.

Interested in joining one of our book groups? Come along to any of our sessions. All are welcome!

Deer Park Library – 1st Monday of each month, 2–3pm
Keilor Library – 1st Thursday of each month, 2–3pm
Sydenham Library – Last Tuesday of each month, 2.30–3.30pm

#KeilorLibraryBookClub #BookReviews #BookClub #BrimbankLibrariesBookGroups #BrimbankLibraries

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#BookRecommendation

💒🪡 The Cairo Bridal Shop by Tess Woods 🪡💒

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some books draw you in with their beautiful storytelling, and others leave you feeling so much more because of the stories they tell. The Cairo Bridal Shop was definitely one of those books for me.

Tess has written such a beautiful, compelling and thought-provoking story. I was completely hooked, following the lives of the Albi sisters throughout the novel, becoming invested in their journeys and wanting to know where their stories would lead. The writing was wonderful, drawing me into their worlds and making it so easy to become emotionally connected to the characters.

There was one particular section that I found incredibly difficult to read, not because it wasn’t beautifully written, but because I knew it was rooted in truth. Knowing that real people have experienced what was being described made it all the more heartbreaking and confronting. It’s a powerful reminder of how important it is that these stories are told, even when they’re difficult to hear.

This is a book that will make you feel, make you think, and stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. I loved following the Albi sisters lives and the way Tess has woven their stories together into such a moving and memorable read.

A beautifully written, powerful story that deserves to be read.

Thank you, Tess, for such a wonderful reading experience, and to wonderful team at @penguinbooksaus for this #gifted copy ~ The Cairo Bridal Shop is out now.

✨ Have you read a book recently that touched your heart but also challenged you emotionally?

#TheCairoBridalShop #FiveStarRead #BooksThatStayWithYou

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9⭐ /10⭐
(Współpraca reklamowa z @wydawnictwobukowylas)
Dobry wieczór w niedzielę. Od jutra powrót do pracy po urlopie. Coś czuję, że czeka mnie ciężki dzień zanim znów się odnajdę we wszystkim.
A jak wasze nastawienie na kolejny tydzień października?
#hotelwwenecji autorstwa #Tesswoods to mocno emocjonalna historia, która splata w sobie relacje, życie kilkunastu osób w jednym z weneckich hoteli.
Główną przyczyną tej opowieści jest mistrzyni włoskiej kuchni, Loretta Bianchi, która lata temu wybrała życie i boku mężczyzny, który zapewnił jej stabilizację i kochającą rodzinę. Porzuciła namiętność, ale ona wraca wraz z pojawieniem się pewnej osoby ze swojej przeszłości. Robi wszystko by nie oddać się temu co może sprowadzić ją i jej rodzinę do upadku.
W tym samym czasie gdy w jej życiu prywatnym dzieją się przeróżne zawirowania do jej hotelu przyjeżdża Sophie. Kobieta jest az z Australii i przyjechała w jednym celu, by poznać kuchnię Loretty. Jednak spotka ją tu też coś innego, coś czego w ogóle się nie spodziewała.
Sophie wraz z rodzinna Bianchi i innymi gośćmi niespodziewanie zostanie wplata w życie Eleny, prawniczki, która pragnie uciec z własnego małżeństwa. Kobieta zrobi wszystko by tego dokonać...
W tle tych wszystkich wydarzeń dzieją się w Wenecji rzeczy, które pokazują w jakim stanie jest miasto.
Tess Woods w tym przepięknym mieście osadziła historię kilku postaci, która porusza w czytelniku wiele emocji. I tych pozytywnych i negatywnych, przez które cała powieść "Hotel w Wenecji" jest przepiękna, wartościową i mocną opowieścią o tym, że przeszłość zawsze nas dogoni i nasze wybory mają wpływ na nasze życie.
Jeśli kiedyś będę miała przyjemność przeczytać powieści autorki to zrobię to z przyjemnością.
#współpracareklamowa#wydawnictwobukowylas #bookstagrampl

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In Broome… with my head still in Cairo.💙

Blame Tess Woods and The Cairo Bridal Shop.

Three sisters, impossible choices, and plenty at stake. This novel tackles some powerful issues.. and the bond between the sisters really struck a cord with me. I’d be lost without mine. 🫶

Loved it.

#TheCairoBridalShop #TessWoods #AustralianFiction #BookstagramAustralia #Broome

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📚Book 33 of 2026
The Cairo Bridal Shop
Tess Woods
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you think The Cairo Bridal Shop is simply a story about wedding gowns and brides, think again. Set against the vibrant, chaotic and deeply fascinating backdrop of Cairo, Tess Woods has crafted a beautifully layered novel that weaves together the stories of three sisters, a family legacy, the history of Egypt’s female pharaohs, and the contemporary challenges facing women and minority groups in modern Egypt. I loved how seamlessly the historical and modern storylines intertwined, exploring themes of courage, identity, family, love, grief, resilience and the power of speaking out against injustice.
The recurring bridal gown designs are a particularly clever device, mirroring one of the novel’s central ideas: that while eras change, many of the experiences, struggles and triumphs of women echo across generations. Just as the same dress patterns are worn by different women over time, the novel explores how certain human stories continue to repeat themselves:
“You see, what people don’t understand is that we don’t just live one life. We live again and again through our descendants, and we have done so since the time of the Pharaohs. I’ve shown you through the stories of the gowns and the brides who wear them how we keep living the same lives. The circumstances differ through the ages, but the patterns are the same. The same stories have been repeating themselves for time eternal, and that’s why none of us ever really die….
We are eternal, my dear. If you don’t remember anything else I tell you, remember that.”

This was ultimately a story about the legacies we inherit, the stories we pass on, and the connections that endure across generations. Having loved Woods’ previous novel The Venice Hotel, I appreciated a brief blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to that book and its characters. A nice nod for returning readers. Thought-provoking, beautifully researched and emotionally resonant, The Cairo Bridal Shop offered far more than I expected and was an entertaining five-star read.

#bookstagram #goodreads #reading #bookclub #books

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Thank you @tesswoods_author @penguinbooksaus @dymocksbooks @dymockshayst @melvillecityartsandevents for an illuminating evening 💜 #australianwomenwriters #aussiereaders #2026 #authortalk #librarylife

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A big thank you to Libro.fm @librofm for providing me with an ALC of The Cairo Bridal Shop back in September. It’s taken me a little while to get around to reading it 🙈.

I really enjoyed my read of The Cairo Bridal Shop by Tess Woods @tesswoods_author. Egyptian mythology and the stories of ancient female pharaohs are woven into the family story through the shop’s bridal gowns. The gowns honour six female pharaohs, linking the sisters’ modern struggles with the lives and legacies of powerful women from Egypt’s past.

Without going into details or giving away any spoilers - the sisters (Sarah, Aya, and Lola) each have their own stories but they aren’t isolated stories. The sisters’ experiences reflect different ways women can be constrained by family expectations, cultural traditions and the political environment around them.

The three pyramids also provide a powerful symbolic backdrop to the sisters’ lives. Against this landscape of ancient history, Sarah, Aya and Lola are each trying to determine what their own futures will look like.

💬 Are you tempted to read The Cairo Bridal Shop? The audiobook, narrated by Kristy Best, Lucia Mastrantone, Safinat Arain, Tess Woods, and Violette Ayad, was excellent.
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#thecairobridalshop #tesswoods #librofm #advancedlistenercopy #audiobooks
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🏷️ The Cairo Bridal Shop, Tess Woods, Egypt, Egyptian mythology, literary fiction, audiobooks, audiobook narrators, books, reading, bookstagram, booksta, read more books, 2026 reads, current reads, October reads

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