This is my first Fiona Palmer novel and I can see why she is so popular - interesting characters, a fabulous location and believable storyline made for an enjoyable novel. It's the sort of thing you'd read when you want to take a break from heavier fiction - comfort food for the soul.

I read an uncorrected proof which was full of errors, so I hope it went past a good proof-reader before it was published.

Tiny White Lies by Aussie author Fiona Palmer was a captivating read which I found really hard to put down. This story cover so many topics such as bullying, mental illness, family, love and friendship.

A well written story which I have no hesitation in highly recommending to anyone looking for their next book to read.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.

I really enjoyed this predictable romance. Whilst I guessed all along what the outcome would be, it also had messages and twists that gave this book depth

Tiny White Lies is a heartwarming story of friendship and the white lies they have been keeping from everyone. Nikki is a mother of two teenagers, works in a clothing store and seems to have the perfect marriage. Ashley is a widowed mother who loses her job and finds out her daughter is being cyber bullied on the same day. The two women have a beautiful close friendship and decide to take the families to a coastal retreat in WA where they won't have any mobile reception or Internet so they can just get back to the simpler things in life. On this holiday the women must reassess how they are coping with the issues in their life and the secrets they are keeping from the ones they love.
At times this book is heartbreaking but it's really well written and I loved the coastal rural setting.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Hachette Australia for my complimentary eARC copy.

Fiona Palmer's latest novel, Tiny White Lies, tackles some difficult issues such as cyber bullying, mental illness and poor body image. When best friends Nikki and Ashley take their families away for a beach escape neither of them quite know what's in store for them all. During the three week holiday the women discover secrets about each other and realize that it's OK to ask for support when things get tough. Thanks to NetGalley for my digital copy.

This is a gentle story about family, love and friendship. Unfortunately, I found much of it extremely miserable, and I am not keen on reading sad stories at the moment! It is ultimately heartwarming, though, and the desciptions of the Australian countryside are beautifully done.

Nikki and Ashley have been friends for years, and have always shared their troubles. However, they have both been through such hard times that this has become difficult. They also have problems with their children. Can a holiday in the country help?

Here, Ashley recalibrates her feelings towards her late husband Owen, who struggled with his mental health and finds herself attracted to Luke. Nikki wonders whether her handsome husband is having an affair. The children are bored, and long for their usual activities...

I will read more books by Fiona Palmer. Hopefully, they will be happier!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

EXCERPT: 'This is amazing,' said Ash, her head turning to watch the bushes that went past her window. Hard waxy leaves of all shapes and sizes, made to endure the coastal winds and Aussie summers.

They started to climb up, bouncing through large holes in the track until they finally hit the summit. Micky pulled up next to Luke where the track had widened for a small passing lane or a parking spot.

'Oh, wow.'

Ash gaped and so did Nikki even though she had seen this view a long time ago. In front of them the green shades of vegetation fell away until it hit the ocean edge and then for miles all nothing but the dark blue of water to the horizon.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Ashley has recently lost her husband. Daughter Emily is being bullied online.

Best friend Nikki is holding a huge secret. And why is husband, Chris, receiving so many text messages lately?

Their teenage children are glued to technology, be it PlayStation, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat . . .

The two women hatch a plan: for three weeks, both families will stay in a rustic, remote coastal camp with no phone reception. While the teenagers struggle to embrace this new world of self-entertaining in the rugged bushland, the adults are trying to maintain a certain facade. Soon, around the flames of the camp fire, their tiny white lies might just begin to be exposed.

MY THOUGHTS: Tiny White Lies delivered so much more than I expected. Palmer paints a portrait of deep friendship between two women. Yet, despite this bond, there are things, secrets and fears, that they are keeping to themselves. Things that they paper over with tiny white lies...

Palmer doesn't back away from the difficulties of ordinary life, she tackles her subjects head on, but with great empathy. Ash's husband committed suicide and, because of this, his insurance policy won't pay out. She is struggling to make ends meet with a mortgage, a teenage daughter, and an unfulfilling job. Then, on a random check of her daughter's social media, she discovers Em is being bullied....'If you died, no one would care.', and 'Just kill yourself already u know u want to just like your daddy!!!' And then Ash is told that she is being made redundant. How much can one woman take?

Best friend Nikki has problems that she is not about to share with anyone. What she will share though is that she believes her husband, Chris, is having an affair. Her teenage children are glued to technology. Chloe has no ambition in life other than to be an 'influencer.' Josh will play video games all night. Desperate for some time to think, and to give their children some new and real experiences, the two families head to a wilderness retreat at Bremer Bay in southwestern Australia. No internet, no phones, no pressure.

What they are about to learn is that you can't run away from your problems. Wherever you go, they come along with you. And those secrets and tiny white lies might not be quite so easy to conceal at close quarters.

I picked Tiny White Lies for two reasons. One, I was in need of a little Australiana. I got it in spades. From the beautifully depicted landscapes, to the dialect and slang, the food, right down to my favourite Australian movie 'Red Dog,' it was there. I think the only thing I missed was prawns on the barbie - my absolute favourite! And the movie Red Dog? If you ever get the chance, watch it. Tissues mandatory. Even my husband cries at this one. The second reason was the astonishing amount of excellent fiction currently coming from Australian authors, and Palmer definitely doesn't disappoint there either. I will be reading more from this author.

The storyline is honest and emotional, the characters realistic and engaging. Tiny White Lies is a wonderful domestic drama/romance that I read in one sitting in between naps.

😍😍😍😍.4 Highly recommended.

#TinyWhiteLies #NetGalley

'I don't like it. It's like having a night sky with no stars.'

THE ARMCHAIR TRAVELLER: Perth, Western Australia https://www.australia.com/en/places/p...
and Bremer Bay https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attract...

Fiona Palmer mentions several of the features and attractions of both Perth and Bremer Bay in Tiny White Lies.

THE AUTHOR: Before becoming an author, Fiona Palmer was a speedway driver for seven years and now spends her days writing both women's and young adult fiction, working as a farmhand and caring for her two children in the tiny rural community of Pingaring, 350 km from Perth, Western Australia.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Tiny White Lies for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

Tiny White Lies is an engaging contemporary tale from best selling Western Australian author Fiona Palmer.

When Ashley discovers her fifteen year old daughter is the subject of bullying both at school and online from her classmates, she is heartbroken. Already struggling to cope in the aftermath of her husband’s recent suicide, she suggests that they escape for the school holidays in the hopes of at least temporarily leaving bad memories behind.

After a difficult year that has left her feeling disconnected from herself, her husband and her device-obsessed teenage children, Nikki, inspired by her best friend’s idea for a vacation, suggests Ash and Emily join them at her husband’s cousins farm near Bremer Bay on the southern coast of W.A.

Ash and Nikki are delighted as their children adjust to a new tech-free routine, enjoying the ocean, bushland and farm activities Luke’s farm provides, but for the adults the lack of distractions becomes uncomfortable as the little white lies they have told one another, and themselves, cast a pall over their vacation.

A story of relationships, secrets, lies and love, there is plenty of high emotion, drama and even romance on offer in Tiny White Lies. Palmer briefly examines a raft of serious issues including mental illness, suicide, bullying, cancer, marriage difficulties, and body-image but its strongest focus is on the theme of disconnection.

I found Ash and Nikki to be likeable and sympathetic characters, though I don’t have much in common with either of them, I still felt they were relatable. As a mother of teenagers their concerns about their children, particularly in relation to electronic media use, are familiar, as are their children’s attitudes.

I loved the setting, having spent plenty of school holidays in southern Western Australia, and in both Albany and Esperance, which are west and east, along the coast, of Bremer Bay respectively. Palmer evokes the wild beauty of the area with its dense bushland and gorgeous white sand beaches, spending a few weeks at Luke’s farm would definitely be no hardship.

Written with warmth and insight into the challenges faced by modern families, I enjoyed reading Tiny Little Lies, as I’m sure all fans of Australian rural contemporary fiction will.

It's funny when you go back through your archives and find posts that you had completely forgotten about. In this case, I followed my tag for Fiona Palmer and found a post from 2012 where I interviewed three authors about the rise of rural fiction as a genre. The other two authors that were included in that post were Karly Lane and Fleur McDonald. The irony is that, despite my best intentions at the time, I still hadn't read any of their books. Until now.



Tiny White Lies is the story of two best friends, who share everything. Or do they? They became friends when their daughters started high school but whilst the girl's friendship doesn't seem to have survived, Ashley and Nikki are very close.



Ashley has reached breaking point. She is recently widowed, her daughter Emily is being cyber bullied and now she has been let go from the job that she needs in order to survive financially. But that's something she can't tell anyone just yet.



Her best friend Nikki has what appears to be the perfect life. She has a handsome, attentive husband who would do anything for her, she has a son and daughter. Really she's living the dream. But her son Josh is stuck in his room playing computer games all day every day, and she can't connect with her daughter Chloe at all. And that attentive husband, well, she just feels completely and utterly smothered, and she can't bear to be touched by Chris. But to Nikki, it is important to maintain the facade of the perfect life.



Chris has a cousin who has a property on the beach in southern Western Australia. Luke is a single parent to his son Mickey, and has been since his wife left. He's a farmer but he had a plan to set up some holiday camp with shacks to help supplement his income. When it is suggested that the two families could do with some time away, Chris offers up his property, despite the fact that the facilities are somewhat rustic. And what the kids don't know until they get there is that there is no internet coverage. Not even one bar! For Chloe this is particularly bad news. How can she keep up with Snapchat and post to Instagram with no coverage!



As the two families travel south, Nikki discovers something that changes everything for her. The kids are sullen, Nikki is upset and Chris doesn't know what is wrong. It doesn't bode well for three weeks at the beach in winter.



Gradually as they settle into their new environment, the families begin to reconnect, but the only way to do that is for the truth to come out. For Ash, this means gaining the courage to talk about her husband and his death and give Emily the chance to so too. For Nikki, it means being honest with herself as much as anyone about her role in how she feels about her husband. Nikki has been dealing with body issues her whole life, and over the last year she has been hiding something from her entire family. And for all of the kids, it means putting down their screens and getting back to simple forms of entertainment, like playing board games, watching sheep be born or heading to the beach.





In the opening part of this book, I could totally relate to Nikki and her frustrations with the fact that her son spent all of his time playing video games. My son is the same and it drives me mad. There are days that I would happily put a screwdriver through the Xbox. It was, however, Ash who I related to more. I spent many years as a single parent, and the worry about what is the best thing to do is constant. There were times that I was frustrated with Nikki in particular, but I guess I did understand why she had closed herself off so much.



I mentioned before that I interviewed Fiona about rural romance. This is not strictly rural romance although there is some aspects of this in the story. It is more contemporary fiction with it's focus on issues like grief, bullying, parenthood and body image issues, but it does have a rural setting. I love the idea of staying down by the beach in winter, although I think I would prefer more creature comforts than were on offer on Luke's farm.



So it's taken me 8 years to read a Fiona Palmer book. The question is will I read more, and the answer is yes, I do believe I will. This was an enjoyable enough read. Maybe I will finally read one of her rural romances.



Rating 3.5/5

I can’t say enough good things about Tiny White Lies, Fiona Palmer’s latest novel. This book is superbly written, extremely well researched, empathetic on the sensitive subjects of mental health and self image, and yet it also manages to be a page turning story. Central characters Ashley and Nikki and the issues each is facing while pretending all is well drive the story, making it a compelling read from start to finish.
Ash has had a tough time dealing with her husband’s suicide though that is just the beginning of her story. Her daughter has been bullied at school, her finances are fairly grim, she’s just been sacked and to top it all off she’s doing all she can to try to appear cool, calm and collected to her friends and her daughter. Keeping it all together is something she has learned to do as part of living with a husband with bipolar disorder. Fiona Palmer is insightful in her description of life with a mentally ill partner, something that Ash has had trouble revealing to anybody until she meets Luke, “Wondering, trying to guess his mood so I can accommodate it and not set him off, tiptoeing around as if I’m on egg shells, trying to protect Emily and then save Owen from himself. Some days are very hard.”
Nikki looks so put together—beautiful, slim, effortlessly stylish—but inside she is falling apart. Her breasts have been the bane of her existence, firstly because one was markedly smaller than the other leading to breast augmentation surgery, which boosted her self confidence and body image immeasurably until the day her husband Chris discovered a tiny lump. A double mastectomy has her fearful that Chris will be put off by her breasts and as a result she resists him touching her, even for a cuddle or a hug. Chris is the perfect husband, doing everything for her and loving her to bits even when she pushes him away. Nikki and Chris have two teenage children, both of whom are addicted to their technology to the exclusion of all else.
When Nikki, Chris, Ash and their children decide to take a farm stay and beach holiday at Chris’s cousin Luke’s farm at Bremer Bay their motivation is to get their children’s lives back on track but life has a funny way of twisting things and before long Ash and Nikki find themselves facing their inner turmoil, opening up about their problems and healing not only themselves but their family relationships. It turns out that sometimes telling the truth is so much better than telling tiny white lies.

The lies we tell or rather the things we do not tell – tiny white lies that form a film, a gauze that covers our wounds, hurts, failures… Does it protect us? Does it really?

I do not even know whom I liked the best, Nikki or Ashley. Both heroines are likeable. Both can become my girlfriends anytime they like.

Moreover, both of them were close to my heart. Nikki survived cancer and Ashley survived mental illness of her husband. Those women spoke my language, my pain and my victories. That is why I found this book especially interesting.

Not telling, hiding, covering, avoiding, soldering on – we have all been there and done that. Tiny White Lies we tell our loved ones and ourselves. Lies we tell to protect our families to maintain order and outside picture of perfect life… They are a dangerous bunch… if you do not have good friends around you…

I loved the setting – rural and seaside. What more could you want? The colours, sounds, smells and possibilities. A very romantic setting indeed.

The dynamic of the narration was quite suspenseful. My own preconceptions and experiences were expecting this or that development only to be thrown off course. It was nice to be disappointed in so many places.

Tiny White Lies has a bit of everything – it has a bit of everyday life in every page. That is what makes this book readable in one day. It is very easy to read. The characters are very easy to love. \

And the story stays with you making you hope against hope that there is some good in people if there are people like Nikki, Ashley and their families.

Another note worthy of mention is angst of teenagers and their parents. The main characters are trying their best to survive their kids high school: from school bullying to constant phone hugging, make up and boys, killing games and bad snacks. Having survived my daughter’s high school not so long ago, this part was especially close to my heart and fun (to look back on to).

I gave this book 5 stars.

Oh the tiny white lie and its potential to turn into an avalanche is laid out in this engaging read.

Two families, the recently widowed Ash with her daughter Emily, and Nikki and Chris, married parents of Chloe and Josh, escape their day-to-day lives to holiday at a remote coastal/farm stay retreat run by Chris's cousin Luke and his son Micky. Each of these families has their collection of tiny white lies that they are telling each other, ans well as themselves, and sometimes being away from distractions can free the mind and loosen lips.

The families each deal with the tiny white lies they have told about bullying, grief, adultery, inferiority, illness, abandonment, tech addiction, and otherwise dissatisfaction with their circumstances in a believable way and this is a credit to Fiona Palmer's writing.

This is a great easy read. I felt connected to each and every character and wanted them to succeed and have better.

‘Was everyone hiding some sort of secret?’

I have enjoyed all the books Fiona has written and this one is no different. Tiny White Lies is a contemporary tale that, like her ‘Sisters and Brothers’ book, looks at modern families with all its complexities and messiness. For a variety of reasons, families are not what they used to be! Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that this is not just one story, but in fact a number of stories.

The focus here is very much on relationships - family and friends - and some of the little ‘white lies’ we tell often through a desire to protect those we love but, in fact, have the opposite effect. There are marital, parental, sibling and close friends relationships - sure to be something for readers to identify with. Particularly pertinent is Fiona shining a light on the tug of war between parents and their children over the use of technology and the seemingly insurmountable challenges that our digital world presents.

A definite highlight is the setting of this book in the remote outback of Western Australia. Fiona’s familiarity with these locales was clearly evident from hinterland to beachside. From lookouts with ocean vistas to cosy camp fires, Fiona invites you to feel a part of the retreat and escape from the chaos. The experience of this farmstay was very appealing and highlighted how nature can be the balm we humans often unknowingly crave for.

‘Should they pack up and go home? When Nikki reached the summit along the track she paused
to catch her breath and take in the small private beach in the shape of an easy smile. It was then that she had her answer. They would stay. This trip was mainly for the kids and she could use this view to get through the murky waters ahead. Taking a lungful of salty air, she smiled. At least here she had places to escape to. Invigorating places. If they went home they would all be stuck in the house together while anger and resentment festered and the kids went nuts.’

Within the various relationships presented in this story, themes from bullying, mental illness, marital affairs and cancer are covered. That’s a lot! Maybe just a tad too many for any of them to be fleshed out with real depth of meaning. I would have loved for Fiona to take the bullying issue, for instance, and really investigated thoroughly the impact this can have on young ones today. There were the obvious happy endings but perhaps, this is what we signed up for.

With that in mind, Fiona makes her readers aware of some heartbreaking issues and peoples vulnerabilities through the range of relationship storylines. However, ultimately she gives us a feel good story that demonstrates that we all really need to make the most of each and every day.

‘Luke reached for the wine bottle and topped up Nikki’s glass, shooting her a supportive smile while Chris remained quiet but attentive. ‘It’s been nearly six months.’ ‘Shit, you know how to keep a secret,’ said Ash taking a sip of her wine. ‘How did you manage that?’ ‘Same as you, I guess,’ said Chris. ‘Lots of white lies.’



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Set in Western Australia around Perth and Bremer Bay this is a delightful story that was easy as well as enjoyable to read. Two women friends organise to escape the rat race to a farm near Bremer Bay taking their families with them. The characters are both interesting and well developed.

There were a lot of dramas, intrigue, secrets (tiny white lies) and romance. Even though it was a fun and light novel to read it did raise serious issues such as bullying, both face-to-face and cyber; how family members cope with someone in their family having a mental illness and the effects it has on them; interpersonal relationships both between parents and with their children and the obsession with technology and digital devices

Although the story was a little predictable it was still a pleasure to read. I would recommend Tiny White Lies are an excellent, relaxing read.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Hachette Australia for a copy to read and review.

4.5★s

Ash was shocked when she saw that her daughter Emily was being bullied at school and at first had no idea what to do about it. Em hadn’t told her mother, but gradually they talked about it and worked out what they could do. Ash had lost her husband Owen eight months previously, so as a now single mother, she was finding it hard. Her best friend Nikki worked in a dress shop in the shopping centre where the pharmacy was that Ash worked at, and they often had lunch together. With the upcoming school holidays close, they decided that both families should go to the farm Nikki’s husband Chris’ cousin Luke owned and ran with his son Micky.

The rustic environment at the farm - around six hours from Perth - with the little wooden cottages for guests, nestled near the edge of the vast Indian Ocean, captivated the two families. Nikki and Chris with their daughter Chloe and son Josh hadn’t holidayed in a long time – this would do them good. Especially the technology addicted kids with no internet on the farm. While Ash and Em would find ways to be honest with each other and themselves. Nikki was lacking in self confidence after a series of bad experiences – but would this holiday help her?

Tiny White Lies by Aussie author Fiona Palmer was an easy read, heartbreaking at times, fun at others. I enjoyed their experiences at the farmstay, with their campfires, cooking, the beach, learning to surf. The story encompassed some hard truths which were handled well by the author, and I found the friendship between Ash and Nikki a heartwarming one. Luke and Micky were great characters; the difference between Micky and Josh – country and city – easy to see. Tiny White Lies was a great read which I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hachette AU for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was a beach read for me, I have been a fan of Fiona’s previous novels but I’m afraid that even though the story line showed promise in the beginning it didn’t measure up as the book went on and became fairly predictable.
First we have Nikki and Chris and their two children who are addicted to technology and their daughter has a serious problem with self-image. Nikki also has self-image issues and Chris is receiving text messages from an unknown person.
Single mother and widow Ashley has just lost her job and her daughter Emily is being bullied online.
Nikki & Ashley decide to get their families away from it all and retreat to a beach holiday spot that is owned by Chris’s cousin with no luxuries, no WiFi and no phone reception to try to get back to basics and get their families back together again.
There were so many opportunities to explore some issues that were brought up early in the novel – suicide, bullying, self-image to name a few, but alas these were really only a passing mention. Instead the book drifted into a beach read which became very predictable and I was expecting more.
It will not stop me reading more of Ms Palmer’s novels, however I feel her strength lies in her rural fiction titles where she writes what she knows.
Thank you to Hachette Australia and Net Galley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

On the whole I enjoyed this novel. It is a good holiday read or a novel for when you don't want to have to think too much and just escape. It is predictable in parts which is what causes my reservations to give hit 4 stars.

This novel is a snapshot of family relationships. Marriage, divorce, step parents/children and the emotional rollercoaster that is associated with all of these issues. Featuring a family of four Chris, Nikki, Chloe and Josh. A mother and daughter; Em and Ash whose lives have been thrown into turmoil after a tragic incident. A father Luke and Son Miicky. These lives all collide on a getaway down south of Western Australia.

Relationships will be tested, emotions will run high, but at the core of the novel is the reality of families and how complicated they can be.

For me the highlight of the novel was the fact it was based in Western Australia. I was born in Perth and still live here and it was so refreshing to hear familiar towns being mentioned. This is an easy read and would be particularly enjoyed on a holiday.

Tiny White Lies by Fiona Palmer was a feel good read with multiple storylines. Gripping scenes and heartbreaking elements kept the pages turning. Wonderful characters who showed their vulnerabilities and strengths and the fragility of human existence.
Review copy received from Hachette Australia via Netgalley