Hoods Landing

by Laura Vincent

Rita considered the dead. Shut her eyes. Rolled their names around her brain. Stacked each person in order like folded laundry, warm and crisp from the sun. She wondered how her name would sound amongst them.

In the rural reaches of Auckland, the women of the eclectic Gordon family gather for Christmas. They may push each other’s buttons, but know precisely when to offer tea (or a tipple). Rita, the 50-year-old baby of the family, is planning to tell them she has cancer. Drifting between past and present, she considers the lives of women in their community and reckons with what it all means for her future and her family.

Featuring elderly lesbians, twins who aren’t twins, and several dogs named Roger, Hoods Landing is about shoddy pasts, ambiguous futures and the imperfect bonds that tie family together.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2025

About the author

Laura Vincent (Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāpuhi) is an author whose work spans fiction, poetry, and food writing. She has written the food blog hungryandfrozen.com since 2007, and, in 2013, her debut cookbook was published by Penguin Random House. Laura’s poetry has appeared in anthologies published by Āporo Press, Auckland University Press, and Muswell Press. Born in Waiuku, Laura currently lives in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Hoods Landing is her first novel, published by Āporo Press.

Reviews

[Kate McLeod]

My best friend wrote this book, but even if she hadn’t I would give it 5 stars. When I finished it I wanted to weep that it was over and I’d have to leave the world of these characters! I’m excited to reread it over the holiday period because it’s a perfect summer book.

[Lynn Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

surely this will win the Ockham?!

[Devon Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is this a first novel?? it is so carefully crafted and beautifully written. I saved it for my christmas holiday, and it has been such a treat to read.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like "The Family Stone" but set in Aotearoa. This novel is rich in language, characters, description, and vocab that anchors you to New Zealand in such a way to ensure this book will become a piece of classic Kiwi literature.

A matriarchal, queer, enchanting novel. 10/10 recommend, 4.5 stars (.5 deducted because there are so many characters - which is fine you had to learn to go with the flow and not actually worry about keeping track of them - the important ones grew to stand out anyway)

[lucy black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family on family on family stacked up like the trifle on the trestle table. This multilayered family saga is a whole little world with its own sayings, cadences and inside jokes. Rita has found out she has cancer and it has got her thinking about her ancestors and her family and how will they react if she dies? She reflects on cancer deaths in her community as she tries to come clean with those who love her.

The story is told from Rita’s point of view but the reader also intimately gets to know her mother and grandmother, her stepmother and her sisters. There are men in the story but they don’t feature much. So many women! And they’re similar but different, they’re all brassy and bolshy, they’re queer in all ways and most of them are all chat.

My mum died of cancer one holiday season, some of the worry and heartache is familiar to me. Rita’s family are very different to mine but also very recognisable, they remind me of family friends and I think most readers will know people like the Gordon’s- annoying, hokey, witty, dorky, slightly mean, insecure, brave, loyal and deeply loving.

This is a brilliant debut, it’s so realised and packaged up, a complete vibe. It’s also the first novel for Āporo Press, so pretty and perfect. I can’t wait to see what Laura Vincent does next and what Āporo Press puts into the world in 2026.

[ab · Rating 4 out of 5]

so very nostalgic and perfectly regional new zealand. i felt like i knew each character! though, requires a bit of focus at the beginning because there are so many characters to keep track of - the family tree page will get a battering

[Francis Cooke]

I adore big messy families who love each other but also sometimes screw up their communication of that and have large unwieldy holiday gatherings at home with food and music and movies and arguments and moments of grace and understanding, which is why I loved this book very much

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoods Landing is a wonderfully layered family saga. It is a novel that is peopled with really unique, vibrant, characters who feel authentic and three dimensional. I found it hard to believe it is a debut, because the structure and layering is so carefully, and expertly crafted. Vincent balances the seriousness of her subject matter with a sprinkling of humour which feels so true to the way New Zealanders face challenges like this. I wasn't quite sure how it was all going to come together, but the final quarter is spectacular.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

charming and vivacious with characters that leap off the page and sights that blur under your eyelids and smells that start to surround you. the writing is so detailed and evocative, but more than that it’s so grounded in reality that every image can easily be conjured. the perfect balance of whimsical and weird and strange and beautiful and warm; i often felt overwhelmed at times by the chorus of voices because they were all there, blurring into each other the way voices blur together in a room—what an amazing feat of talent to pull off! i loved the inter-looping of past and present, these chapters marked by a death. so clever, so off-kilter in an endearing way. Perfect Xmas book!

[Rowena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally write reviews but this book deserves one. I bought this book on a trip to NZ with my best friend and read it while visiting my parents, sister and nieces for Christmas. It was the perfect setting to read such an incredibly moving book about family and togetherness. I felt all the emotions. I laughed, I cried, I rolled my eyes along with the characters that felt like friends. Thank you for writing this book. It will now be sent on to my mother and my sister to read, it's too good to sit on my shelf!

[Venice White · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such an utter delight, in spite of the frequently heavy subject matter (a multitude of cancer stories) it felt like being embraced by the Gordon family, which is filled with a dazzling array of characters across four generations. set in the lead up to Christmas in an unnamed small town maybe an hour or two drive south of Auckland, the family has come together for the holiday season and to unknowingly bear witness to news of Rita's diagnosis. combined with the plethora of stories of other people from the village I did often have to flick back to the family tree at the beginning for a while, until I clocked how much I was being reminded of the four March sisters and then it fell into place. there were exquisitely written lines and observations throughout and the characters were deftly crafted (I easily fell in love with Rita and Stevie, Judy can put a sock in it but I know just what it is to be in the room with her) and I was surprised in the best way with every twist in the story. it felt like the perfect story to read right now, what with two family members having recently (ish...) returned to the country and the teasing and the accents and the reassimilation – it's nice we all have the same life to an extent. I'd even go to a church service if Avery was leading the charge. but most of all I love love love the notion that we are all living in the best way we know how and the reminder of how differently love is experienced but just because it doesn't follow convention it doesn't mean the relationships have any less depth. you can find home in so many surprising ways.

[Zachary Ngow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

First of all, the cover image is perfect.

The third chapter is where I became drawn in, with the feeling Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood (maybe because of the sleepy sort of atmosphere and long list of characters) and strong images (from the ominous: an indoor wasp nest and cloud of herbicide to festive: balloons and replenishing German shepherds). As the book went on the tone (atleast in my interpretation) changed from sinister to warm, with the interspersed chapters recollective rather than threatening, perhaps as Rita came to terms with her situation.

Interactions between family members felt very genuine (except an argument later on which I found a bit soapy) and reminded me of my strange family members (of which a branch can be traced to Waiuku). I think this is the strongest/my favourite part. I could listen to their conversations endlessly (with a cup of tea).

It felt like a play, and would be easily adapted to one, even a radioplay (may need a voice actor who can do dog noises). If it is a play they should serve the audience some of the meals (you can tell it was written by a food writer)!

Why not have a celebration of life, not a funeral... even if the balloons are deflated.

[MacKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book at a little book shop in Wanaka during our NZ trip - as thought it would be good to read a book by a kiwi author while traveling through NZ! A really sweet novel about family, and particularly, female relationships within a family.

For a first novel, this is incredibly well written and once you figure out who is who in the family, the personalities of each character really shine through. 4 ⭐️ from me! 📖

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is brilliant. I know I'm going to re-read this to see how it all comes together. Each character is so well done. Highly recommend.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! The story, the writing, the language. I hope Rita will be okay. Will there be a sequel? I want to spend more time with these lovely characters.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Laura Vincent's writing. Her food blog Hungry and Frozen has the most delicious descriptions of food I've ever read. Her first novel Hoods Landing is a gorgeous ode to New Zealand life.

[Maggie Walch · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a beautiful account of family and small town New Zealand life. Laura has some absolutely cracking one-liners, full of meaning and depth and wit. The characters felt so human and relatable, I was fascinated by the mundanity of their lives, and how they coexisted and revolved around the rest of the family. My pick for the Ockham!!

[Bianca Dubois · Rating 4 out of 5]

passed the bechdel test with flying colours

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful but bittersweet story of love and family. highly recommend

[Joan Druett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every American recovering from a Thanksgiving Dinner will relate to this ...

Anyone could've told you with their eyes shut what food they'd eat: Marlon's potato dish, a roast chicken and Bufty's bread, its cosy scent reaching out to greet you; Judy's rice salad; Rita's tabbouleh, flecked with mint and parsley from the garden; splintered wedges of Sissy's spinach and mushroom filo pie; minted new potatoes; sliced cucumbers in white vinegar; tomato wedges, red as the approaching sunset.

This is not America. It is New Zealand in the Spring, not the Fall, and this is Hood's Landing by Laura Vincent, a writer who is creating waves Downunder.

The setting is a festival dinner, arranged and organized by the family matriarch, a ritual that is going to reveal hidden secrets as plates are removed and more food set out on the table. The family is relaxed ... except for one, who is bracing herself to confide her diagnosis of cancer. Thus, while she waits, the idle chat and lazy debates turn into something more meaningful. Gradually, as the story evolves, much is revealed. In Hood's Landing shoddy pasts, ambiguous futures and the imperfect bonds that tie family together come to light, sometimes with shock effect, other times with humor.

There is much about food, which for me was an outstanding feature of the book. Laura Vincent is a very popular food blogger, and the author of a book, Hungry and Frozen, that features most grabbable recipes. (All of them have ingredients translated into the American version, if that helps!) Hood's Landing is her debut novel, and is reaping rave reviews in her home country.

Well worth a read. Laura Vincent loves her words, and casts them at her readers like a shower of rose petals. Enjoy.

[Lhizz Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this novel. At first I found it slow to read as I got used to the author's writing style, some of the descriptions were like taking a mouthful of a new food and I had to chew them carefully, but once I warmed to it, I was really drawn into the world of the Gordons, et al. I liked the interstices of tales of community members lost to various cancers, and the way the history of the clan unravelled as the book progressed. When it was finished, I felt bereft and I really wanted to stay on in Irene's cottage, or the twins' bar, for a little longer. If you like family drama, and dramatic families, I'm sure you will enjoy reading this.

[Julie Daymond-King · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading a review I thought I wouldn't like this book but it was better than expected. I did get lost amongst the characters somewhat, so the family tree was probably necessary. It will likely get the best 1st novel award at the Ockhams.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, it was poetic and queer and kiwi. Perfect read for this time of year.

[Anna Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get what was trying to happen here, but maybe because I'm an only child from a family that doesn't see much of each other, I didn't quite feel it

[Hannah Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters were so endearing I want to read more about all of them! Amazing work Laura (bartending, book writing, badass - she can do it all!) 🫶

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

notgood/10

This better not win the Ockham award.