This is book one of the Bride Quartet by prolific writer Nora Roberts. Childhood friends, Mackenzie, Parker, Laurel and Emmaline enjoyed playing Wedding day when they were eight years old and now they are all grown up and have created a successful wedding planning business called Vows. Set in the beautiful Brown Estate where they also all live together, this novel is full of flowers, food and friends. Unfortunately these four women are yet to discover their own true love. Mac is the main character in this book and she is the wedding photographer who has to fight the demons of her parent’s failed marriage when she finds herself falling for Carter Maguire. A light and entertaining read.
Tsiolkas has written a uniquely middle class Australian tale that exposes the domestic life of a group of family and friends in everyday suburbia. He explores the consequences when a man slaps a friend’s child at a family barbeque. The story slips seamlessly between opposing viewpoints and reveals the strain this puts on all the people involved. An intriguing look behind the curtains of our lives with an emphasis on the racial differences simmering in our suburbs. It reminded me of the the social realism of the Melbourne novel "Monkey Grip" by Helen Garner.
