Join Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, in conversation with Karina May, to talk about their book Love Overdue, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore.

WHEN: Friday, 12th of September 2025. Please arrive at 6:45pm for a prompt 7pm start.

TICKETS:

Admission: $20.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission for one, a glass of wine upon arrival and nibbles on the evening.

Admission + Book: $35.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission for one, a glass of wine upon arrival, nibbles on the evening, and a copy of Love Overdue (RRP: $22.95).

Lauren Green thinks her first love story is shelved for good—until life decides to write a surprise chapter. A sexy, quirky rom-com for fans of Emily Henry.

About the Book

The last time Lauren Green saw Jamie Sultana, they were seventeen and he'd just shredded her heart.

Back then, Lauren was a frizzy-haired bookworm who dreamed of becoming the next Margaret Atwood. Jamie was the impossibly charming boy who thought Atwood was a type of cheese.

Twenty years later, Lauren is the vice principal of North Caulfield Primary. She's built a quiet, orderly life, burying her old heartache and writing aspirations under a stack of responsibilities.

So when she calls a meeting with notorious truant April Reidman's absent parents, the last person she expects to walk into her office is Jamie, still with those dazzling blue eyes. And as if things couldn't get any worse, he's acting like he has no idea who she is!

Steamy, funny and uplifting, Love Overdue is a bookish rom-com about first loves, second chances, and discovering how sometimes the best plot twists come along after you think the story's over.

'Love Overdue is a heartwarming rom com about the ink your first love leaves on your heart. Ali & Michelle are brilliant at creating cosy bookish worlds you don't want to leave and endearing love stories you don't want to end.' Steph Vizard, author of The Love Contract

About the Author

Ali and Michelle have been best friends for life. As ten year olds, they could be found ditching play time for writing club. They are the co-founders of Australian social initiative Books on the Rail, where they leave books on public transport for people to find. When they're not writing books, Ali is a copywriter and Michelle is a primary school teacher. They both live in Melbourne with their respective families and colour-coordinated bookshelves.

About the Host

Karina May is one of Australia's brightest new voices in women's commercial fiction. Her debut print novel, Duck a l'Orange for Breakfast (April 2023) was longlisted in the 2024 Indie Book Awards for Best Debut Fiction, with her second, Never Ever Forever (December 2023), hailed "a slickly written and highly entertaining summer read”. “That Island Feeling” was released in 2024

Karina, alongside her friend and author Clare Fletcher, is the founder and co-host of the successful That Rom Com Pod. When Karina's not writing or interviewing fellow authors for the pod, she can be found researching her next travel adventure or sipping champagne at bookish events - all in the name of research of course.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some homemade chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.

Join Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, in conversation with Karina May, to talk about their book Love Overdue, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore.

WHEN: Friday, 12th of September 2025. Please arrive at 6:45pm for a prompt 7pm start.

Lauren Green thinks her first love story is shelved for good—until life decides to write a surprise chapter. A sexy, quirky rom-com for fans of Emily Henry.

About the Book

'Love Overdue is a heartwarming rom com about the ink your first love leaves on your heart. Ali & Michelle are brilliant at creating cosy bookish worlds you don't want to leave and endearing love stories you don't want to end.' Steph Vizard, author of The Love Contract

'An absolute delight from start to finish.' Karina May, author of That Island Feeling