Burnt Out is a witty, intriguing, heartwarming and promising debut novel by Victoria Brookman.

Our main character is Calida, an author. To say she's having a bad week is an understatement. She's passed her deadline, her husband has left her and she has to shelter due to bushfires ripping through her town and home. When her climate change rant goes viral, things start to turn around. But when her life becomes built on lies, it only takes a small spark to send it tumbling down.

Brookman expertly balances lighthearted and laugh-out-loud moments with social commentary on more serious issues like climate change. I found the book to have just the right amount of tension and suspense (mixed with Calida's sometimes perplexing decisions) to keep me captivated until the end. If you're looking for a clever summer read set in sunny Australia, look no further.

A very enjoyable story about climate change, community, media manipulation, personal growth and a little romance thrown in for good measure.

Loving these Aussie stories right now!

What an outstanding debut novel, I read this one back in February and I have struggled to find the words that will do this book justice…

Cali Lyons was a beautifully flawed character, the book begins during a bad week, she has failed to meet a publishers deadline with a manuscript not written, he partner leaves, and then fires devastate the area where she lives.

She manages to use the fires to her advantage, accidentally becoming a voice for climate action… I like how this strong message was weaved through out the story. I found this was done in a wonderful way and even though the story was rather entertaining it didn’t take away from the important message.

The cast of characters around Cali were so complimentary to her in both a good and bad way. They each play a role in the rebuilding of her life.

This book was truely captivating, it was an entertaining read filled with some laugh out loud moments.

Victoria is an author to keep an eye out for, she definitely has a wonderful writing future ahead.

I wish to thank Harpercollins and Netgalley for the gifted e-copy.

To say Calida Lyons was having a bad week might be a bit of an understatement. Everything and anything that could go wrong was and Calida couldn’t see her life improving anytime soon. Her deadline for her unwritten second novel was well past its deadline, her husband had walked out on her and to top things off her Blue Mountains community was being threatened by dangerous bushfires.

Aussie author Victoria Brookman has written a wonderful debut novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed from the beginning to the last page. Highly recommended.

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

Burnt Out by Victoria Brookman
3 Stars.

Unfortunately, I can’t rate this more than a 3-star read. But that does feel partly my fault.
I went into this book because I was interested to read about a local area, and I was intrigued by the theatrical blurb.

Both of those things I got: beautiful descriptions of the Harbour, the Blue Mountains and many familiar spots I was able to point and exclaim “I know where that is!”, this made the book both more enjoyable and added an interesting element when the plot became a little stagnant.

The plot was overall deliciously dramatic and I appreciated the use of locations as well as conflicts.

However, I did begin to wane my enjoyment as Calida Lyons made bad decision after bad decision, I understand this could be an entertaining element for some but it just grew to be tiresome, especially when the character is shown to be both smart and headstrong when she wants to be – I just couldn’t understand why she kept skirting around issues rather than running headlong as she inevitably does to striking results.

Due to this, as well as new year businesses it took me a little over 2 months to finish this book – to the point where I actually began to resent it a little as it was stopping me from picking up new titles I was excited to read. Again, I acknowledge that this part is entirely my fault and in no way the fault of the author or the book.

I chose to persist having only a small percentage of the book left, however, I feel like the ending was somewhat of a disappointment. Without spoiling I feel like there was no closure. Only a couple of the many subplots are actually fulfilled and I was left wondering what the point of half the plot was.

I believe this was just in the wrong genre for me, I rarely read contemporary and less domestic fiction, but I wanted to pick it up anyway because I was interested in the story.

I hope to come back to this book later on and reread it with a new appreciation for the narrative.

In the meantime on to other books…

Contemporary fiction about bushfires and unexpected fame

I received a copy of this courtesy of the publisher.

“Burnt Out” by Victoria Brookman is a novel about a young woman called Cali who is on the brink. She is on the brink of losing her marriage, losing her publisher, losing her cat and losing her home to bushfires. When disaster strikes, Cali’s impassioned plea to the government to take action against climate change goes viral and she finds herself offered the chance of a lifetime: a writer’s retreat at a billionaire’s pool house right on Sydney Harbour. Her patron Arlo is as handsome as he is wealthy, and with a brand new book idea, it seems as though Cali has landed on her feet. However, soon her situation begins to feel like a gilded cage and Cali begins to second-guess her creative decisions and long for for the peace and friendship she left behind in the Blue Mountains.

I obviously did not read the description of this book closely enough because when I first started reading it, I thought it was a non-fiction book about burnout, chronic work-related stress that I can definitely relate to. I was, therefore, a bit surprised to find that it was a general fiction novel with a touch of romance. I went to the Blue Mountains last year to support my husband run an ultramarathon, and the year before to stay with a friend, and I thought that Brookman wrote beautifully and convincingly about the terror of having a bushfire at your doorstep. When I went to visit in winter 2020, it was pretty shocking seeing how close the fires got to my friend’s house and the slightly monstrous sight of gumtrees furred with new leaf growth all over their trunks and branches. I felt that Brookman really captured the altitude and the culture of the Blue Mountains and the juxtaposition between the alpine region and the city of Sydney so nearby.

However, this book didn’t have the hot romance of “The Dangers of Truffle Hunting” with its equally unrealistic creative opportunities or or the deep contemplation of “Hare’s Fur” also set in the Blue Mountains. While there were moments in the book that were powerful, I found myself frustrated with Cali’s character. I felt that she made some ethical decisions that I was just not on board with, and her slight guilt wasn’t enough to dissuade her and there ultimately were no consequences for her actions. My favourite character in the book was Cali’s neighbour Spike, but he really got the short end of the stick in my opinion and was way too cool about it. In fact, several of the people within Cali’s orbit got the short end of the stick except for Cali’s whose main talent appeared to be ranting about climate change (without any qualifications whatsoever) after being plied with a couple of glasses of champagne.

An easy to read novel centred on the hard-hitting topic of bushfires and climate change, but that was lacking the kind of morality and characters that I was hoping for.

Finding your truth features highly in this contemporary read that gives the reader a peek behind the scenes on pressures Authors have and the expectations.
Add in some narcissism, pretension and some wholesome refuge, the experiences of this author makes for an enlightened and entertaining expose’.

* Please note the format you provided the ARC was not able to be accessed for reading on a device so had to wait for the paperback to be released.

Cali has spent much of the summer evacuating her Blue Mountains home due to the threat of bushfires. What she hasn’t been doing is writing her second novel even though her agent is getting antsy.
After her husband announces that he’s leaving her, Cali wallows at home, not realising that a fire is roaring towards her. Rescued by the neighbour Spike, she shelters in place with him and an elderly French lady with an intriguing background.
Confronted by the loss of her home and cat – as well as the imaginary manuscript she told her agent she had already written - Cali appears on the TV news declaring that the rich and powerful must do something to address climate change.
When her emotional speech goes viral, she is offered a new publishing deal as well as a place to stay by a tech billionaire. But while things seem to be looking on the up for Cali, she knows she is living a lie.
This was a promising debut, joining a number of other Australian novels I’ve read with a bushfire at its core. It's a threat that unfortunately tinges every Australian summer, in fact while I was reading this, a fire was burning through nearby bushland.
Cali was a flawed protagonist, whose usual response was to lie straightaway to cover her tracks, so as a reader it was interesting to follow her journey to find her moral reckoning and see her strive to make a positive impact.

While this story captured my attention from the start, it then became a bit of a slow burn for me. The ‘fire’ picks up pace towards the end and then I found it hard to put down.
And what to say about the main character Calida Lyons? While I found some of her actions frustrating, ignoring things in the hopes they’d go away, I also know many people like this too. (And sure, I’ve let a call go to voicemail a times myself… that’s a tomorrow problem and all). And after losing everything, including those you’d once loved, who wouldn’t get a bit lost too?
It covers a few topical issues, including climate change, the mega-rich and their ‘good deeds’ that don’t reach too deep, and even the publishing world.
It is Australian without being ocker, easy to read and will have you satisfied when you turn the last page.

I put in a request for this book as I liked the sound of it but it unfortunately wasn't as good as I was hoping it to be.
I just couldn't warm to the main character, Calida Lyons, Whilst I sympathised with her situation of having her Blue Mountains home burn down and her husband leave for good, the choices she makes to get back on track were at times selfish and even unrealistic.
I appreciated that she was trying to start over after losing everything but felt that she went about it the wrong way. Also, some characters would make an appearance only to never be heard of again and left me wondering about them, so I am not sure if they added much to the story..
I did enjoy Cali's neighbours and would've loved to see them featured more in the story. The author did a good job of addressing topics such as climate change and bushfire awareness etc, so that was another thing I liked. Overall it was an ok read for me.

Victoria Brookman’s debut novel Burnt Out is an intriguing combination of contemporary romance and at times darkly humourous social commentary. Some may class the latter element satire, but on reflection, I actually felt this story is a more authentic depiction of the real-world situation than many would like to admit. Which is wonderfully apt because, while this novel serves as a compelling reminder about the need for climate change action, underlying that is a simple but nonetheless stirring battle cry for living authentic lives.

Burnt Out‘s leading lady Calida Lyons is not wholly endearing. If like me, you find self-sabotagists downright infuriating, then you will not warm to her at the outset. But, you will warm to, or at least the very least feel sympathy for some of the very genuine characters trying to help her. And, I immediately engaged with Brookman’s writing style that oozes a knowing, yet understated intelligence.

Continue reading my review at BookloverBookReviews.com

I really enjoyed Burnt Out by Victoria Brookman- a relatable read about a serious topic, bushfires, climate change, politics - but also, at the heart of it, about a woman starting again after losing everything. A woman struggling through writing her second book, the new fame of losing everything in the fires, and putting one foot in front of the other. Definitely an easy read - a page turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cali Lyons is a best-selling author living in the Blue Mountains with her husband and cat. She has been trying to write a second book for the past three years. When her husband leaves her and a bushfire ravages her home Cali delivers an emotional speech to lingering TV journalists. Cali gives the nation’s rich population a serve and asks them to DO SOMETHING about climate change.
Her outburst goes viral and she quickly becomes a famous face of the climate movement. She then finds herself living harbourside, supported by one of the nation’s richest. Arlo Richard offers her accommodation and food while she ‘rewrites’ her next book. Cali starts mixing in Arlo’s circles and becomes quite the household name. While she gets wrapped up in the glamour and Arlo’s ambition for helping the climate movement, in the back of her mind she continuously questions Arlo’s intentions and observes the many social inequities apparent in our society. Is he really putting his money where his mouth is?
A serious topic explored through a fun ‘rom-com’ style narrative, Burnt Out highlights the real and scary inaction from our government in relation to climate change.
This book has all the feels – beautiful characters, love, friendship, romance, deception, environmental activism, power and courage. It’s a great book by debut author Victoria Brookman - I read it a couple of days! Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Victoria Brookham's debut novel Burnt Out is set in the Blue Mountains around the Black Summer period. 

"How do you start again when your life is a smoking ruin?"

Cali loses her home, car, pet and her "fake" manuscript. After suffering with her loss, she speaks out about the politicians and "billionaires" who donate money to charities to help those who have suffered, instead of actually stepping in and actually "f**king do something". 

Arlo Richard, a billionaire, offers Cali a boathouse while she can work on her new manuscript. With this all going on, can she figure out what she wants, who she trusts and can she find within herself to be the person who she always wanted to be? 

This was exactly what I was hoping it would be, it was emotional, funny, romantic, and inspiring. It also hit home for me, as I had fires up my way and I had to evacuate because of them. I felt sympathy towards Cali because I could somewhat understand what she went through.

I really loved that it talked about the two main controversial topics in the world today; climate change and global warming. Now while I don't know alot about these two topics, it was a bit of an eye opener and made me want to learn more about them.

I liked the additional story within this story, of  Cali writing another book. However, now I do wish I could read a copy of her fictional book Mon Amie and learn about the character Dominique Bassot.

I think this book will go far and it would be the perfect summer read for 2022.

Congratulations to Victoria Brookham.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harpercollins for the gifted eARC of this book.

" … things have been quite hectic. I’m actually just evacuating. Right now.’
‘’Evacuating? Oh pet, you poor thing. Are you all right?’
‘Well, this is the third time in the past six weeks, so I don't really know what to think anymore ...’
'Of course, of course. I don’t know how you put up with the trauma of it all.’


From the turn of the first page, Burnt Out captures your attention and keeps a tight grip. Anyone who has lived through bushfires (particularly Australia’s catastrophic Black Summer fires of 2019-2020) cannot help but become immersed in the opening chapters of Victoria’s book. As the sky alights and smoke makes breathing near impossible, Victoria takes you to that moment in time when fire erupts all around. Scary, confronting and unforgettable.

The fallout from these catastrophic fires is felt across many levels. Burnt Out is multidimensional and cleverly crafted as Victoria breaks down for readers how Australian’s are confronting a number of issues. First up, and a logical follow on from the opening chapters, is climate change and global warming. Victoria offers viewpoints from social media, to government, to the rich and powerful and it's all done so engagingly without the reader drowning in the politics of it all.

‘Once upon a time, it felt like having political opinions had been her entire identity.
But at some point, she’d taken that identity off, like a coat carefully hung on a hook by the door and never worn again. It had never been her plan. It had just happened like that.’

However, there is much more to this tale than meets the eye. Yes, it’s about the environment and exploitation, truth versus fallacy in what the public is told. Yet, running parallel to this overarching story, is that of a woman who lost everything - literally and figuratively - on that eventful day. Victoria gives her readers a contemporary tale about a woman who is facing a crisis on many fronts (pardon the fire pun) from her relationship to her career.

‘I don’t know ... I feel like I get up there and say all the stuff people want to hear, and then I go home to the same old me: scared, anxious, alone and fully expecting my star to wane, for it all to be over soon.’

At its heart, this is a story of a young woman who, having lost everything, didn’t know where to turn or who to trust. Yet through her passion she begins to remove the untruths to discover her own truth and make her own way in life. It’s about how people can make decisions that can have a positive impact by just being themselves. At times Cali is hard to like and cheer for but that just demonstrates her humanness I guess.

Congratulations Victoria on a splendid debut that is sure to generate much discussion. It’s contemporary, it's current and it offers readers much food for thought on issues, both broad and personal, that affect us all.











This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the main character and the range of events she went through and different relationships that she had. Having a main setting initially being about traumatic loss because of bushfire will be familiar to a lot of people and seeing just what can happen as a result of one press interview and social media when going through such trauma will bring back memories for some readers as well.

Overall a fast moving story that was great to read.

This book will be available on January 5, 2022.

You might think that losing everything in a bush fire would feel like the end of the world. Cali Lyons, successful author suffering from Second Book Syndrome, certainly thinks so, at first. But her angry words about the lack of action by the Government and big business, who she believes caused the devastation, are recorded by a TV news crew and go viral, sending Cali on a trajectory which will change her life.

There are a lot of references to real occurrences in Australia in the Summer of 2019/2020 and some of the characters are very thinly disguised references to actual people (Prime Minister Brock Peterson, anyone?). But this is really a story about Cali losing all her possessions, but then finding herself, and realising that she can have a positive impact on the people and places around her, simply by being true to herself and not worrying so much about what other people think.

Thoroughly enjoyable - take this to the beach with you and enjoy it over your summer holidays.

My mind is blown by Burnt Out! Compellingly readable from the beginning. I was rooting for Cali the whole time and so suspicious that there was a plot working against her. Masterfully written! Other than one thing that strained credulity near the end, this book is a home run.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This book has ‘summer read’ written all over it.

Victoria Brookman is a Blue Mountains-based author and I loved seeing mentions of suburbs and places from my own community. Cali’s bushfire certainly brought back memories of some previous fires in our community, especially the 2013 fires.

Guaranteed to get you riled up about dismal climate change inaction from our government and class inequities, Burnt Out gives readers an insight into politics, climate change, the uber-rich and the media hamster wheel without deep diving enough to hurt your head. On the surface, it’s a contemporary novel about a woman who loses everything while in the midst of a relationship & career crisis. But underneath, there are a few wry observations about current-day Australia and some calls to action individuals.

Cali’s lies set up an interesting plot and while I didn’t always trust her judgement, waiting for her deceptions to unravel kept me rapidly turning the pages.

An interesting & modern premise, cleverly told. This is a solid debut by Victoria Brookman!

I really enjoyed this book. It would be devastating to lose everything in a bush fire but Cali eventually finds her way through it with a few hiccups along the way. I especially liked Spike and Lady G, what great neighbours they would make!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.