An island in a bleak harbour; an isolated quarantine station where a group of nurses works tirelessly to care for sailors and immigrants recovering from the effects of the long sea voyage to the new land. Kahu swims ashore, searching for a woman. Young nurse Liesel, caught in a passionate triangle, is faced with choices both harrowing and intoxicating. Martha, who oversees the hospital and guides the community, is making a kind of experiment with life. Some on the island are too sick to live. Others flame with life. The island is cradle and crucible. Penelope Todd's first novel for adults is full of brilliantly drawn characters and a narrative which sweeps the reader along with its power. This is literary fiction of the highest quality, and an intensely romantic page-turner.

I'm a lucky woman, thinks Susanna Greenfield. And why wouldn't she? Her handsome, successful husband is a loving father to their two teenage children. Her mother, Jean, is her dearest friend. Her scatty but adored younger sister, Angie, seems to have finally found some stability in her life. Susanna has a solid career as an art teacher and if, as she's recently discovered, there's a hole inside her where her creative spirit used to be—is that really such a big price to pay?

But beneath the carefully maintained surface, seismic forces are at work. Fault lines are forming, not only within Susanna, but in each beloved member of her family. In a single, tragically Ill-judged moment, the fabric it has taken a lifetime to construct can be torn apart.

In the mission era in the remote north of Australia, it was a battle between saving souls and saving traditional culture. Every Secret Thing offers a rough, tough and uncompromising portrayal of the Bush Mob and the Mission Mob, and the hapless clergy who were attempting to convert them. Woven through these engaging fictional stories are the more serious themes of social and cultural dominance, religious and not-so-religious agendas. Every Secret Thing will challenge established views of the mission era and surprise with its irreverent wit. When culture and faith collide, sometimes humour is the only refuge.

A poignant and absolutely charming novel of finding love, home and family. David, the vicar of an inner-city London parish, and Leila, his Nigerian-born wife are unable to have children and are desperate for a family of their own. When they finally hear they've been approved to adopt a young baby, Grace, they are giddy with delight. There's just one problem: Grace's birth family—the enigmatic, charismatic Harrisons—have changed their minds and decided they won't give her up without a fight. They only want what's best for Grace—but who can say exactly what that is? A warm, absorbing read with real emotion that is guaranteed to pull at the heartstrings. Freeing Grace is reminiscent of the work of Joanna Trollope or Monica McInerney.

Charity Norman was born in Uganda and raised in the UK. She specialised in crime and family law as a barrister, before moving with her family to New Zealand to write.