Joan's picks: Because All Fades and Only Say Good Things

Because All Fades by Freddie Gillies. NZ first time author. It’s a novel about Andrew and Jess who are New Zealanders living in London, and things are going a bit sour. Andrew’s best friend is Jaryd, who’s living in Paris with his girlfriend Olivia and running his own start up which seems to be going fabulously well. They all decide to head off on a road trip to Italy, during which their relationships are sorely tested, there’s a lot of drinking and a nasty accident which will haunt them all. Of course, they all have something to hide and when those revelations are brought to the surface there’s a major impact on all of them, and some things change forever.

Only Say Good Things by Crystal Hefner. The author was 21 when she found herself at a party at the Playboy mansion, where she quickly became a favourite of Hugh Hefner. In 2012 at the age of 25 they were married – he was in his 80s. Before he died, he made her promise she would only ever say good things about him and the mansion, but she’s finally lifted the lid on what it was really like. It was a world of misogyny, Hefner was in complete control and everyone bowed down to him. He exuded an atmosphere of being the big playboy but actually, his age and lifestyle had caught up with him some time before she got there and over time she came to see it as a place where beautiful, gullible young women were essentially imprisoned and she started to fight back. There are some extraordinary stories in it - not least about the wedding itself, which was foisted on her without ever being asked if she’d marry him. It’s the kind of book that makes you just shake your head that there was such madness in the world, but astonishing to read about.

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