The Sky Called Her Home… to the Hearth Café
Gold Coast author B.J. Wilde launches her debut novel at The Hearth Café & Providore in Mudgeeraba
Like many Australian millennials, I grew up reading Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, The Hobbit, and Tomorrow When the War Began. When I wasn’t busy studying at the library or drinking at the uni bar, I was reading The Hunger Games, Eragon, and Divergent.
Then 10 years passed without opening a single page.
Enter A Court of Thorns and Roses. With subtle encouragement from my Instagram algorithm, my love of reading was reignited by a spicy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. After finishing all 16 Sarah J Maas books, I branched out further into the romance fantasy or ‘romantasy’ sub-genre and have discovered some delicious and epic tales.
Around the same time as my literary passion was reawakening, a gorgeous new café called ‘The Hearth’ opened just down the road. I was chatting with the owner about how the space would be perfect for events and Friday night drinks, and she mentioned that a friend and fellow Gold Coast local published a book and was having a book launch there. It was a brand-new epic fantasy romance named ‘The Sky Called Her Home’.
A romantasy book launch evening happening within walking distance of my house… SIGN ME UP!
I promptly obtained a copy of ‘The Sky Called Her Home’ for my kindle and devoured it in less than a week (I work and parent young children, so reading time is scarce and precious). I was completely sucked into the incredible world building, lyrical prose, humour, romance, and tension of Book 1 of the Song of Stars trilogy. Hard to believe that it’s author B.J. Wilde’s debut novel.
The romantasy sub-genre is so much more than just ‘faerie smut’. Being immersed in a fantasy world and emotionally transported into a story helps manage stress levels. Fantasy readers engage in layered geopolitical systems, ethical dilemmas, and societies that critique our own. We read about women and girls overcoming the odds, stepping into their power, and taking control of their own lives. It is pure joy sprinkled with occasional emotional damage.
Wilde has a background in applied neuroscience, which makes her characters and their reactions to different situations incredibly realistic. Her writing style is poetic and thought provoking. If you like themes of found family, consent, morally grey shadow daddies, political system upheaval, turning pain into power, and general female badassery, then ‘The Sky Called Her Home’ is for you. We are lucky to have such a talented author right here on the Gold Coast!
The book launch event was exactly what I’d hoped for. The Hearth turned it on with moody candle lighting, an enormous cheese board, plenty of champagne, and new book besties. Wilde was interviewed by fellow bestselling author and comedic genius Hollie Azzopardi, and all questions were answered- without spoilers of course.
It was such a magical experience at The Hearth. It you are looking to host an event, gathering, paint and sip, or book club, get in touch with Mikka and her team @thehearth_cafe. The Hearth is open Wednesday to Sunday 6am-1pm and sells excellent coffee, chai, brunch, pastries, cheese platter staples, wine, pasta, and food-related gifts.
The highly anticipated sequel to ‘The Sky Called Her Home’ is called ‘The Darkness Remembered Her Name’ and will be available from 15 December 2025. Check out B.J. Wilde’s Instagram for updates @bjwildewrites
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