MEET THE WARDS
The real-life owners of independent bookshop Wardini Books and the bestselling writing duo behind The Bookshop Detectives series!
These two met at police training college in the UK and spent years as coppers before trading handcuffs for bookshelves in the sunny cultural centre of the universe (their words), Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Gareth is an award-winning, bestselling author in his own right, and Louise is a familiar voice on the RNZ airwaves, where she regularly reviews books. If they’re not writing or bookselling, they can be found obsessing over their rescue dog, Stevie, and avoiding all things housework and gardening.
All this to say—they know a good book when they see one. Keep scrolling to hear directly from them about which books are at the top of their recommendation lists!
LOUISE RECOMMENDS
My TBR pile is teetering even more than usual but the Kiwi authors have risen to the top. One Day a Taniwha by Tīhema Baker (out 11th August) is an astounding and deeply affecting novel of finding yourself a stranger in your own life. It’s raw and honest and deft in the way its protagonist, new father Hohepa, finds himself butting against a culture that has been forced upon him.
I’m a little late to the party but A Runner’s Guide to Rakiura by Jessica Howland Kany is so much fun, a tale as rich and twisty as the trails of the island itself. The star of the show is Maudie, a young trail running, heavy drinking American who immerses herself deeply in the mysteries of island life. You can taste the kina and smell the ocean. The sequel, Parrot Heaven, is just out.
Night Ma by Elizabeth Knox is a remarkable piece of writing chronicling the deepest hurts in the life of the author and her family. Abuse, murder and complex family dynamics make for a compelling account but it’s Elizabeth’s commitment to narrate and make sense of it all that is so accomplished.
GARETH RECOMMENDS
We recently read The Will of the Many by James Islington for our Sci-Fi and Fantasy book club and it’s an absolute belter. This mighty tome nearly fell foul of my rule to never read a book that is thicker than my own head. So many twists and turns and it didn’t go where I thought it would, which is always a pleasure. I am destined to read the sequel, The Strength of the Few, although it will have to be a holiday read as it is another brick of a book.
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow is another awesome read. There are soooo many levels to this book, from the manipulation of a population by narrative disinformation in the re-writing of history, to a wonderful love story between a jaded historian and a kick-ass heroine. And who couldn’t love a book that has a completely psychopathic horse that saves the day with a well delivered hoof to the head!