Something New

Something #2

by Alex Sarkis

It was during July of 2019 when I finally decided to leave Sydney. My friend Yasmine – a successful and relatively famous fashion designer – had been insisting for a while that I join her overseas. The plan was a direct flight to Dubai where we’d spend about a fortnight managing her newest boutique and broadening my photography portfolio. But then, a day before I was due to return to home, as the two of us were sitting on her balcony watching the glittering lights of the Burj Khalifa, Yasmine suggested I move with her to London. ‘Sydney will always be waiting,’ she said. ‘All that baggage that you left behind. But we’ll only be this young and this free once.’
After a series of tragic events, Nicole leaves Sydney and her tight-knit immigrant family to build a new life for herself in London. Two years later though, when her visa is almost up, she heads back to her hometown, where everything is the same – but things are different.

Loved-up with a happy-go-lucky football coach and still planning on returning to London, Nicole reconnects with family, friends and more – and finds herself longing for what she once had.

Torn between continents and loyalties, Nicole has to decide what she truly wants for herself – a decision that will affect the rest of her life.

Home is where the heart is … but what if your heart is torn in two​?


PRAISE FOR SOMETHING BLUE :‘It’s clear Sarkis loves the place she comes every suburb, street, home and hair salon is written with affection for the people and culture it represents.’ –  The Conversation ‘Set in Sydney’s diverse Western suburbs, this tender coming-of-age story about love, loyalty and what home means also functions as a visceral love letter to the glorious, foliage-filled melting pot of its location … I rooted for Nicole and raced straight through to the end.’  – Daily Mail UK ‘hysterically funny … This is the chaotic love child of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bridget Jones’ Diary.’  – Glamour

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2026

Reviews

[Emilie (emiliesbookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicole is returning home to Sydney after two years living it up in London. She’s travelled, had some amazing career opportunities and met a wonderful guy.

And now Covid lockdowns have changed everything and Nic must return home to Australia while she waits for her visa to be renewed

Having left her family, friends and fled very tragic events she has almost blocked from her mind, it feels like she’s is returning to life right where she left off, albeit in a giant covid bubble

She plans on returning straight back to London and at first keeps her loved ones at bay, but memories return, and as she spends more time at home she finds her self longing for her past

Nicole is fierce, independent and loyal to a fault. Her London trip is the first time she truly puts herself first and watching her pulled between her past and newly built life is heartbreaking.

While this is a sequel, it can easily be read on its own. The story weaves through Nic’s past and present and transports you to Sydney.

I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you Ultimopress for my gifted review copy

[Mara (tailsandtales.streetlibrary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Ultimo Press for the ARC.

This is the first novel I’ve read that sits partially inside a traveller’s pandemic lockdown. Hard to believe it was six years ago already. That realisation alone gave me a kind of Covid-era nostalgia whiplash: empty Sydney streets, ever-changing rules, and the surreal moment when the full-contact chaos of the NRL was somehow declared “essential.”

The casual restriction-breaking didn’t sit comfortably with me. I know it happened, but as someone who was separated from a loved one in a nursing home and unable to visit, those moments hit harder than the book perhaps intended.

Like its predecessor this book absolutely nails is its sense of place. Sydney feels alive on the page:

“So, I take a subtle drag of Sydney instead: a mix of rain and petrol, with top notes of toast and coffee, and base notes of the sea.”

Even the commentary on the housing market lands perfectly:

“These days, a million-dollar view is more like the back of your neighbour’s granny flat.”

A small pop-culture touch made me smile too. “It’s that girl who always saves him. Harmonica.” A subtle Harry Potter wink.

For me, the Lebanon chapters felt more incidental than essential and slightly disrupted the otherwise tight pacing, and Jamie’s storyline seemed to wrap up more abruptly than I expected.

I also found the author’s acknowledgement of strong personal faith somewhat jarring alongside a storyline that often appears accepting of the lying, cheating, and murder depicted. That contrast felt a little strange to me and, at times, ethically contradictory.

Still, despite these qualms, I genuinely enjoyed the ride. This isn’t your typical rom-com. It is fast-paced, gritty, and unmistakably Sydney, a compelling follow-up to Something Blue. I’m not entirely sure how it would translate beyond Australia, but for local readers it will feel strikingly close to home

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty much read this in one sitting! Could not stop!

Nicole leaves Sydney and builds a new life in London. She’s living her best life, meets a wonderful man and tries to move on from all the sadness and heartbreak back home. After 2 years, it’s time to return home, where most things are much the same.

I was so emotional reading this story. Imagine leaving your best life and coming home, it would feel like that was all just a dream. It would be so hard to adjust. Back in the Lebanese community in Western Sydney, the family expectations are still there, strong cultural influences remain, and all the pain that was left behind is also still here.

I loved the grandma the most, she had me giggling! I also loved Nicole’s relationship with her dad and the Sydney setting.

The past is really strong throughout this story and Nicole can’t leave it behind. Your heart chooses what the heart chooses no matter how good other things might be! It was so relatable, it was fun but also heartbreaking.

I highly recommend reading Something Blue before this one so that you get a full understanding of Nicole’s past.

Thank you so much @ultimopress and @alex_sarkis for my copy.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely flew through this book; read it in a day.
It’s 2021- so Covid!! Brace yourself for the spicy cough.
Nicole is returning home from London after a two year hiatus. She’s coming back stronger - she has a focus for her photography career and is in a serious, stable relationship with the very dependable Jamie.
Back home to the Sydney Western suburbs and she is embraced by her chaotic family. She also has to face the still unresolved grief of losing her beloved cousin.
And the discovery that her last love, who was strictly off the table, may be back in play.
Nicole has to decide who she is and what she wants - in life and in love.
🥰🥰
Agh Covid, you saucy minx. All the feels reliving that peculiar hellscape.
Although Nicole and her family were slightly more liberal with restrictions than we were down in Melbourne 🫠
I really just loved the flowing references to Lebanese food, language and culture.
This book came from a place of love and family and that is reflected in these vividly colourful characters. Layla and Dave and Tayta and Adonis were brilliant 😂

[nina.reads.books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read and absolutely loved Alex Sarkis’s debut novel Something Blue which released in 2022. It was uniquely set in the suburbs of Western Sydney in a cultural world far away from my own but I loved it and found it moving and emotional as well as funny.

I was therefore so exited to see that there was a follow up novel Something New set a couple of years after the end of the first book. The main character Nicole Najim is returning home from London where she moved after the series of tragedies at the end last book. Her visa is up but she is in a relationship with a former footballer and has every intention of returning to London with him. But when she comes home and reconnects with her family and friends, she finds herself pulled between a different future and a comforting past.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find that this novel lived up to my admittedly high expectations. Due to the timing of the ending of the first novel, Something New had to be set in 2021 in the middle of the COVID lockdowns in Sydney. This then had to form part of the fabric of the story and the author chose to portray the characters as very anti lockdowns and with most actively flaunting the rules at the time. I am very sure this was happening at the time but I just didn’t enjoy reading about it at such length. In the first book there was also a criminal element which felt necessary to the book but in the second the extent of the shady characters just didn’t sit well with me.

So it really pains me to say I didn’t enjoy the book at all. In many ways it was a good continuation of the story – the setting and families felt vibrant and the way Nicole feels torn between her new and former loves was relatable but I couldn’t get past the issues I mentioned above.

I’ve sat on this review not being sure what to write but I’ll end with highly recommending you give her first novel Something Blue a go for a unique take on a contemporary coming of age story.

Thank you @ultimopress for my #gifted copy. Sorry it wasn't for me!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Something New, I cannot wait to read more of Alex's work! I spent a good number of yesrs caring for my Abuela in Chester Hill, a suburb close to all the places Nic and her family and friends live and frequent in this book which is a awesome read about a woman who finds herself torn between what she thinks she wants, what she actually wants and what she thinks is right. It's funny, its challenging and its just a cracking read!

[Kate Reeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy page turner but the plot and characters made me squirm. I’m sure others will love it, but I feel a bit depressed after this one.