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Into the Fire
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
8 posts | 5 read | 41 to read
A year after her best friend died in a house fire, Lara cant come to terms with the loss. Logic says there was no more she could have done to save the mercurial and unhappy Alice, but Lara cant escape the feeling that she is somehow to blame for the tragedy. She spends a weekend at the rebuilt house with Alices charismatic widower, Crow, and his three young children. Rummaging through the remains of their shared past, Lara reveals a friendship with Alice that was as troubled as it was intense. But beneath the surface is a darker, more unsettling secret waiting to be exposed. Through exquisite prose and searing insight, Into the Fire explores the many ways, small and large, we betray one another and our ideals. Its a compelling story about power, guilt and womanhood from an outstanding voice in Australian fiction.
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review
Centique
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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Pickpick

Finally! @CarolynM thank you so much for gifting me this book a few years ago. I really enjoyed it. Spent half a day gardening in the sun and then sat in the shade and devoured this in one sitting. There is a mystery here as to what happened to two friends who were so close in University, that now, years later one feels some sense of guilt about the others death. The feel of University life from the early 90s was wonderful nostalgia for me ⬇️

Centique Some great stuff to dig into about relationships from friendship to romance and marriage and whether we live up to our youthful ideals. 2y
TrishB I enjoyed this one too 👍🏻 2y
squirrelbrain Sounds great - stacked! 2y
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Yes! Sounds fantastic. 2y
Centique @squirrelbrain @Ruthiella I think you guys will enjoy this 😊 2y
Cathythoughts Loving the sound of this one. Stacked. 2y
CarolynM So glad you enjoyed😀 As you say, there‘s a lot in there. It would make a great book club read. (edited) 2y
Rissreads I‘ve had this sitting in my shelf for years! Must get to it! 2y
61 likes4 stack adds8 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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Pickpick

This book is so good! Set in Australia, the other end of the world for me, it felt incredible relatable. Maybe because we grew up in the same time, but the friendship between Lara and Alice hit me hard. They grow from students into adults and life turns out not to be what they dreamt of.
I myself am a ‘Lara‘ but man, my heart goes out to Alice. What a plot! Thank you so much for sending me this book, Carolyn ❤️!

(Pic: Wadi Bin Khalif, Oman)

Crazeedi Sounds good 5y
Megabooks Love the pic!! 5y
TrishB I loved it too 👍🏻 5y
See All 8 Comments
BarbaraBB @TrishB I remember your review about female friendships was the one that made me stack it! 5y
BarbaraBB @Megabooks Thanks, it is such a beautiful country! This is a real oasis in the middle of the desert. (edited) 5y
CarolynM I have to thank @JennyM for recommending it in the first place🙂 I'm glad you liked it too. You look like you are having a wonderful trip. I love seeing your travel pictures😘 5y
JennyM @CarolynM @barbarabb - it‘s a real gem of a book. So glad you enjoyed it x 5y
youneverarrived I was about to stack it but I already have 😆 sounds great! 5y
99 likes6 stack adds8 comments
blurb
Centique
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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A super sunny December day and a super interesting Christmas gift has arrived from @CarolynM I‘m excited to read this, it looks fascinating and a new to me Australian author 😊 Thank you so much Carolyn 😘🎅🤶🎄

Hooked_on_books I love the cover. Simple but effective. 5y
CarolynM You're very welcome 😘 There's another book and a little package headed your way, but they may not make it for Christmas. 5y
Centique @CarolynM aww that‘s so nice! It‘s just as much a treat to get something in the calmer post-Christmas days I reckon 😍 5y
Centique @Hooked_on_books it‘s very striking isn‘t it? 5y
67 likes4 comments
review
TrishB
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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Pickpick

A great read and what a lot there is packed into 270 pages! My feelings for the two friends went back and forth and I didn‘t really know who I liked or didn‘t! Lots to think about female friendship in this, we all struggle sometimes and we all need to lend a hand sometimes and we‘re not always saints!
Thanks Jenny, I read with a York bookmark too, my daughter just brought me back after staying with her brother 😘

Freespirit Sounds intriguing 😊 5y
Kalalalatja Great review! 5y
JennyM Glad you enjoyed, Trish. Both me and @CarolynM were fans. And yey to the York bookmark. Hope your daughter is enjoying life post-exams. Now the wait to hear the result, which is probably worse than the exams. Xx 5y
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JennyM @Freespirit it‘s a wonderful piece of #ozfiction. I think you‘d really enjoy, Sally x (edited) 5y
Freespirit Thanks @JennyM 😘 5y
TrishB @Freespirit I second @JennyM 👍🏻 5y
TrishB @Kalalalatja thank you 😘 5y
TrishB @JennyM 15 August is d-day!! Not much we can do now 🤞🏻🤞🏻 5y
Cathythoughts Nice review... I see I have it stacked already 👍🏻♥️ 5y
CarolynM Glad you liked it Trish. This is another one that deserves more attention @JennyM @Freespirit 5y
Freespirit It‘s on my radar now thanks @CarolynM @TrishB @JennyM ❤️ 5y
TrishB @CarolynM you can‘t even get it on amazon U.K.! I will lend my copy to the friend I was going to buy it for. 5y
CarolynM I'm not surprised, Affirm is a tiny publishing house, I think they sell rights internationally but not actual books. Let me know if you want another copy - I really would be happy to buy another one to send you. Affirm needs the support and the author deserves to sell more copies. 5y
TrishB @CarolynM that would be awesome! But I‘m sending you something off your tbr too- is it up to date? Is there something I can get you U.K. wise in return? 5y
CarolynM All of my TBR is unread, I do own a few of the earliest things on it, the more recent ones I don't own, except for a couple on kindle but if you really want to send me something what I would most like is Kendall Mint Cake. We can't get it here and my entire family is mad about it🙂 5y
TrishB @CarolynM 😂😂 that‘s made me laugh! I‘ll get that sorted. Can‘t stand the stuff myself!! 5y
126 likes9 stack adds16 comments
blurb
TrishB
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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What a fantastic #bookmail day today from my friends from far off places 📚
Thank you Jessie, Jenny and Carolyn 😘😘 looking forward to reading these!!
Carolyn - yours will travel again after I‘ve read 👍🏻

Kalalalatja Lovely! 5y
Cathythoughts Lovely gifts 👍🏻♥️ 5y
CarolynM Glad to see Boy has reached you, I'll be very interested in your reaction to it. I loved Into the Fire, I think it's by far the better book. 5y
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erzascarletbookgasm Happy reading! 😘❤️ 5y
TrishB @Kalalalatja @Cathythoughts they certainly are ❤️ 5y
TrishB @CarolynM looking forward to trying both! 5y
TrishB @erzascarletbookgasm thank you friend 💜 5y
JennyM Look at all that goodness. Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts when you get to them. 😘😘😘 5y
TrishB @JennyM 😘😘 always the important point! 5y
Cinfhen So wonderful to see books traveling all over the world 🌍 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen this one is travelling onto you when I‘ve read 👍🏻 5y
Cinfhen Awwww!! You‘re the best xx and thanks @CarolynM for starting this lovely book chain 😍 5y
106 likes12 comments
blurb
Rissreads
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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@MrsMalaprop @Jeg I went into ‘Rabble books‘ for one and walked out with two! 😆

Jeg Wonderful. We go to the chiropractor down that way once a month. I always come out with a book!! Have you tried the Vinnys next door. Last time I got some good books there. 5y
MrsMalaprop 🙌😂📚 5y
Rissreads @Jeg I usually do but ran out of time! 5y
See All 6 Comments
CarolynM Enjoy! 5y
Rissreads @CarolynM @JennyM Your reviews made me do it! 😉 5y
JennyM @Rissreads I can‘t wait to hear your thoughts. Enjoy 😘 5y
34 likes6 comments
review
CarolynM
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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Pickpick

This is a brilliant novel. I am really struggling to find the words to adequately describe it. At its core it is about the friendship between two women, but it is also about friendship more broadly, the consequences of disfunctional families and toxic relationships between men and women. Presented in the form of an intriguing mystery and cleverly laced with ideas from psychological and feminist theory, I couldn't put it down. #ozfiction

CarolynM @JennyM Thank you for pointing me towards this one. I loved it. I'm going to add some more in a spoiler. 5y
batsy Sounds so good! Stacked :) 5y
BooknerdsLife Wow! That‘s sounds terrific 👍🏼😍 5y
See All 14 Comments
CarolynM Crow was quite a piece of work! I like that she didn't shy away from addressing Lara's attachment to him as well as to Alice. I also like the way Christian was so different from Crow in so many ways, but ultimately his treatment of Lara was so similar to Crow's treatment of Alice. I have a friend who endured the same kind of treatment - this all rang very true. @JennyM (edited) 5y
JennyM @CarolynM it‘s fantastic isn‘t it!!! I was so impressed with it, and am surprised that‘s it not had more praise here in Aus. I thought it was a great book club read. 😘 5y
JennyM @CarolynM it was very real in its telling. She definitely took on the big issues. 5y
CarolynM @JennyM There are some great novels from the small publishing houses that don't get anything like the attention they deserve. Another one I loved 5y
JennyM @CarolynM such a shame. I‘ll put this one on my list 😊 5y
LeeRHarry I have this one in my TBR pile after @JennyM gave it thumbs up and now I will stack the other one you suggested @CarolynM 😊 5y
ElishaLovesBooks Sounds great! Stacked! 5y
Cathythoughts Sounds brilliant! Stacked 5y
JaclynW Great review! I'm intrigued. 5y
Centique What a great review! Sounds fantastic 😍🙌 5y
Rissreads I loved Relatively Famous, so I‘ve stacked this one too! 5y
90 likes12 stack adds14 comments
review
JennyM
Into the Fire | Sonia Orchard
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Pickpick

Lara‘s best friend, Alice, dies in an unexplained house fire and she feels that, somehow, she played a part in the tragedy. There‘s a solid story, and a little twist at the end, which I enjoyed. But really this was an examination of womanhood, female friendships, and feminism, that was told with some thought-provoking political and psychological threads. I think this would make a great book club pick. Great piece of #ozfiction

JennyM If you guys have read, I would love to hear your thoughts. It‘s set in Melbourne. @CarolynM @MrsMalaprop @Rissreads 6y
CarolynM I haven't seen this one around, but it sounds good. I'll look out for it. Thanks for the tip😂 6y
JennyM @CarolynM it‘s times like this I wish I belonged to a book club - I want to talk about it with someone! I think you‘d enjoy, particularly all the Melb references. 6y
See All 19 Comments
Kalalalatja That is a pretty cover! 6y
Kalalalatja Also, Stacked! 6y
CarolynM That emoji was meant to be 😘, 😂 doesn't make much sense 😂(now it does) 6y
JennyM @CarolynM 😜 I‘ll happily take a 😂 or a 😘 6y
JennyM @Kalalalatja 😘😘😘 6y
Rissreads @JennyM I haven‘t heard of this one either. I think you should start your own bookclub! I did 3 and a half years ago. Best thing ever! It‘s the highlight on my social calendar now! (edited) 6y
LeeRHarry Screenshot taken to put in my ‘reads for next year‘s bookclub longlist‘ folder 😊 and set in Melbourne, even better 😊 (edited) 6y
MrsMalaprop @Rissreads @CarolynM Not heard of this one. A Melbourne setting will make me all nostalgic. Stacked 😊 6y
Tanisha_A Sounds very interesting. Super review! 💛 6y
JennyM @LeeRHarry I‘m sorry lovely, I should have tagged you 🤦🏽‍♀️ 6y
JennyM @MrsMalaprop I kept thinking of you as I was reading - lots of things, as a psych, I think you‘d find interesting. 6y
JennyM @Rissreads now you‘ve planted a seed 🌱😉 6y
JennyM @Tanisha_A I really enjoyed it 👍 6y
Rissreads What is the background? I love the zebras 🦓 ❤️ 6y
JennyM @Rissreads it‘s our zebra cushion - my 6 year old‘s choice to brighten up the sofa 😊🦓 6y
Cinfhen Great review!! And love the cushion!!!! #stacked 6y
75 likes9 stack adds19 comments