Book your spot

Reserve a special place in the sun for that me time you deserve, then settle in for a sizzling summer read!

- Nicky Pellegrino

Nicky’s favourite 

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus (Penguin Random House, $37) 

Hands down my most-loved book of 2022, this funny and feminist sweet-revenge story is about a scientist who accidentally becomes a TV star. It’s set in the 1960s, a time when if you were a woman with a brilliant scientific mind, you were highly unlikely to be encouraged. Beautiful Elizabeth Zott is thwarted at every turn. When she finds herself unemployed, she becomes the reluctant host of a TV cooking show and does something entirely unexpected. Even though it gets her into trouble, Elizabeth treats her female viewers like intelligent people. Quirky and wise, uplifting and empowering, this one is ideal as a beach or rainy-day read.

Domestic drama 

THE GIFTED SON by Genevieve Gannon (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)

A Sydney family’s picture-perfect life is turned upside down in this absorbing tale. With two bright children, a beautiful home and a dependable husband, Lillian Hogarth has always considered herself blessed. But then on her son’s final day at school, he is felled by a coward’s punch and rushed to hospital. As Jamie’s fate hangs in the balance and Lillian struggles to find out who hurt him, her husband is hiding a secret that could destroy their marriage. Is this the end of Lillian’s good luck? Or might the worst day of her life end up being the making of her? A gritty and intriguing story.

Dark comedy