8 Books to Provide an Escape During Lockdown

If you’re stuck in a COVID lockdown at the moment, we are right there with you. Whether you live alone or with others, it’s a hard time, and it’s so important to find moments of reprieve and escape. As book lovers, reading allows us to escape to a number of destinations, such as warmer climates and times gone by.

We’ve put together this list of eight great books that will instantly transport you elsewhere. These reads all make great remedies for stuck-at-home boredom. So pour yourself a cuppa, put your feet up, and escape with one of these fabulous books.

Two Steps Onward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

From bestselling authors Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist comes this wise, witty and wine-filled follow-up to Two Steps Forward. It’s about helping the people you love and knowing when to let go. Figuring out what you really want in life. And seizing your chances, before it’s too late. This time, Zoe and Martin won’t be walking the famous Camino de Santiago to north-west Spain but the less-travelled Chemin d’Assise and Via Francigena to Rome, along the mountainous paths from rural France.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

If you are in need of some arm-chair travel, look no further than Sarah Winman’s latest novel, Still Life. Moving from the Tuscan Hills to the smog of London’s East End, Still Life is a sweeping, joyful novel about beauty, love, family, and fate. The setting of Still Life took me right back to the charming streets of Florence, to its winding river and alleyways, the grand Duomo and the Uffizi Gallery filled with the works of Renaissance masters. Sit back and enjoy.

The Bride of Almond Tree by Robert Hillman

Robert Hillman’s latest novel, The Bride of Almond Tree, is a cross-continental story of love, loss, and finding something, or someone, to believe in. World War II is over, and Hiroshima lies in a heap of poisoned rubble when young Quaker Wesley returns home to Almond Tree in rural Victoria. He intends to build beautiful houses and to marry, having fallen in love with his neighbour’s daughter, Beth. But Beth, an ardent young Communist, has other plans that take her all the way to Moscow…

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

The Road Trip follows ex-partners Addie and Dylan as they’re forced to embark on a road trip to a friend’s wedding in Scotland, after his car crashes into hers. Piece by piece, O’Leary slowly reveals what came between these two ex-lovebirds, charting their relationship from its starry-eyed beginning to its tumultuous end. This is one hilarious romantic comedy you won’t want to miss.

Those Hamilton Sisters by Averil Kenny

Beautiful, irrepressible Esther Hamilton had a reputation in the small Queensland town of Noah Vale. That was until she ran away, twenty years ago, under a cloud of shame. It’s now 1955 and following their mother’s death, the three Hamilton sisters, Sonnet, Fable and little Novella Plum, have returned to Noah Vale to live near their aunt and uncle. The far North Queensland setting provides a stunning, lush escape in this wonderful story about family, love and secrets.

The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey

In November 1921, Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, arrives in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and India’s only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, isn’t surprised when local unrest spirals into riots. Before long, Perveen finds herself investigating an accident, which she thinks looks more like murder…

The Vet from Snowy River by Stella Quinn

A hot vet. A rebellious teenager. And meddling but well-meaning townsfolk. Vera gets more than she bargains for when she runs off to a new life in the country. The Vet from Snowy River is a fresh and funny rural romance, perfect for readers of Alissa Callen and Rachael Johns. This is a juicy escape from reality.

Lovebirds by Amanda Hampson

In their youth, lovebirds Elizabeth and Ray had to fight to be together, but a twist of fate changed their lives forever. Now in her sixties, Elizabeth is desperately lonely. When her grandson, Zach, gets into trouble with the police, she decides to take him on a road trip into the wilds of the northern NSW hinterland to find his grandfather, her lost love Ray. What they discover along the way has the power to transform them all. In trying to save Zach, Elizabeth might just save herself.