All of Holly Wainwright's books in one place.

He Would Never

Released April 29, 2025.

He Would Never by Holly Wainwright. Image: Supplied.

Five families. One long weekend. Fifteen years of friendship. A campsite full of secrets.

Welcome to Green River, where a long-bonded group of friends have been coming to camp for many years. Their friendships have survived a great deal — the early years of parenthood, divorces and illnesses and breakdowns and lockdowns — but can they survive Lachy Short, the man who's been the perpetual grit in their oyster for years? He Would Never explores narcissistic men, the power and limitations of female friendship, and what happens when little kids grow into big ones.

Holly says: "This is my most ambitious book by a mile. I think I went a little bit nuts writing it, but am so proud of how it turned out. I'm dying to know what everyone thinks of Lachy, Liss, Dani and Sadie, so if you read it, please let me know."

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READ: The first chapter of 'He Would Never', by Holly Wainwright.

The Couple Upstairs

Published: August 2022.

The Couple Upstairs by Holly Wainwright. Image: Supplied.

Five months after Mel told her husband to leave, a ghost moved in upstairs.

A young man who reminds her, with eerie intensity, of a past lover, someone who changed Mel's life and then vanished.

When the man's travelling girlfriend joins him, Mel's obsession with the couple upstairs builds and the boundaries between the two homes begin to blur, with devastating consequences.The Couple Upstairs is about one strange summer of dazzling, curdling infatuation. It's about love, regret, whether you can stop history repeating, and whether or not you should.

Holly says: "I wanted to explore the kinds of relationships that consume us and leave us changed. It wasn't always easy diving back into some parts of my past that informed this book, but in the end I hope I managed some lightness and humour too."

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I Give My Marriage A Year

Published: August 2020.

I Give My Marriage A Year by Holly Wainwright. Image: Supplied.

Lou and Josh have been together for 14 years. They share two kids, a mortgage, careers and plenty of history. Now, after a particularly fraught Christmas, Lou is ready to ask herself: is this marriage worth hanging on to? She decides to give it a year.

I Give my Marriage a Year paints a sharply accurate, often hilarious picture of a modern Australian marriage. Lou and Josh are a couple on the edge, and their efforts to bring their relationship back from the brink will resonate with anyone who has ever asked themselves: is this enough?

Holly says: "This is the book that changed everything for me and because of that it's my favourite. I loved the 'are you team Josh or team Lou?' conversations almost as much as I enjoyed creating those characters."

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How To Be Perfect

Published: September 2018.

How To Be Perfect by Holly Wainwright. Image: Supplied.

In the rolling green hills of Australia's hippest hinterland, a new guru is blogging about her breakfast.

Elle Campbell is holed up in an exclusive retreat where women pay thousands to mimic her extreme lifestyle, or die trying.

Abi Black just wants to marry her true love under a tree in the garden on New Year's Eve. But her ex-husband is building a financial cult in the shed and her teenage daughter's YouTube channel is gaining followers for all the wrong reasons.

Frances Graham has a colicky newborn, an absent husband and a WhatsApp mothers' group that's giving her anxiety. But she's certain that if she can just be more like those fitmums on Instagram, things can only get better.

Through a world of fake gurus, green smoothies and bad influencers, The Mummy Bloggers' sequel How to Be Perfect follows Elle, Abi and Frankie into the cult of self-improvement that's taking over your phone… and your breakfast.

Holly says: "This is the book I thought about the most when I was watching Apple Cider Vinegar this year, because it's set in exactly that world which I was obsessed with when I was writing it. I think it has the most biting satire of Internet culture of any of my books, and it was a blast to write."

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The Mummy Bloggers

Published: August 2017.

The Mummy Bloggers by Holly Wainwright. Image: Supplied.

Meet three women writing on the Internet — each of them followed, idolised, imitated, taunted and trolled online. Each of them labelled a "mummy blogger".

Elle Campbell is a glossy, lycra-clad mum with washboard abs, a ten-year plan and a secret past. Abi Black has quit sugar, moved to the country and is homeschooling her kids. Leisel Adams slogs away at her office job each day before rushing home, steeped in guilt, to spend precious moments with her kids before bedtime.

When all three women are nominated for a prestigious blogging award with a hefty cash prize, the scene is set for a brutal and often hilarious battle for hearts, minds-and clicks. As the awards night gets closer, their lies get bigger, their stunts get crazier — and some mistakes from the past become harder and harder to hide.

Holly says: "My first baby, and the one that made me realise… I could do it. I was inspired to write this by my first years of working at Mamamia and watching how women writing on the Internet were idolised, demonised and trolled in equal measure. It was like the wild west of blogging, and there was so much humour right there for the taking. I'm still so proud of this little book."

Buy here.

Read more from Holly:

• 'I spent a day on a dairy farm. It wasn't just a pretty place to work.'

• Yes, your friends are talking about you. And other lessons from the 'White Lotus Three'.

• HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: 'How you feel about Meghan's new "shop" tells me one thing about you.'

Feature image: Supplied/Instagram @wainwrightholly.