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Table of Contents
About The Book
Abbey came to Hawaii to get over her ex—not fall in love again.
Between a growing business, a painful breakup, and the endless demands of family life, Abbey desperately needs a break. So when her two lifelong best friends suggest swapping their annual girls’ trip for a Hawaiian escape, she says yes without hesitation.
Their plan is simple: cocktails, sunsets, laughter, and training for a half marathon.
No drama. No complications. Definitely no men.
But paradise has other ideas.
When Abbey meets the charismatic Kaleo, she finds herself feeling something she thought she'd left behind. As sparks fly beneath Hawaiian sunsets and her confidence begins to return, Abbey must decide whether this unexpected connection is simply a holiday romance—or the start of a whole new chapter.
Because sooner or later, every vacation comes to an end.
And when reality comes calling, Abbey will have to choose between the life she left behind and the future she never saw coming.
A heartwarming story of friendship, fresh starts, and finding love when you least expect it from bestselling author Anita Heiss.
Between a growing business, a painful breakup, and the endless demands of family life, Abbey desperately needs a break. So when her two lifelong best friends suggest swapping their annual girls’ trip for a Hawaiian escape, she says yes without hesitation.
Their plan is simple: cocktails, sunsets, laughter, and training for a half marathon.
No drama. No complications. Definitely no men.
But paradise has other ideas.
When Abbey meets the charismatic Kaleo, she finds herself feeling something she thought she'd left behind. As sparks fly beneath Hawaiian sunsets and her confidence begins to return, Abbey must decide whether this unexpected connection is simply a holiday romance—or the start of a whole new chapter.
Because sooner or later, every vacation comes to an end.
And when reality comes calling, Abbey will have to choose between the life she left behind and the future she never saw coming.
A heartwarming story of friendship, fresh starts, and finding love when you least expect it from bestselling author Anita Heiss.
About The Author
Photograph © Jesse Dittmar
Dr Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of over 20 books; non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction and children’s novels. She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Anita is also the Publisher at Large of Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster cultivating First Nations talent. As an artist in residence at La Boite Theatre, she adapted her novel Tiddas for the stage. It premiered at the 2022 Brisbane Festival and was produced by Belvoir St for the Sydney Festival in 2024. Her novel, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, about the Great Flood of Gundagai, won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writers' Prize and was shortlisted for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize and the 2022 ABIA Awards. Anita’s first children’s picture book is Bidhi Galing (Big Rain), also about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita released Dirrayawadha (Rise Up) in about the frontier war in Bathurst in 2024. Her most recent novel is The Paradise Pact.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (March 31, 2026)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781761428128
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Raves and Reviews
‘The Paradise Pact is a funny, heartwarming, honest and life-affirming celebration of friendship and being true to yourself. This book proves it’s never too late to try something new and that a girls’ trip to Hawaii is a good idea no matter your age. Written in Heiss’s signature effortless and entertaining prose, it captures the wit, warmth and heart that have made her one of Australia's most beloved novelists. I smiled the whole way through!’
– Rachael Johns, author of The Patterson Girls
‘Instantly recognisable First Nations voices shine through this every-woman story of challenges, sisterhood and the great journey of self-love. I feel I’ve known these characters all my life – in the strong women demonstrating black excellence in every profession, those who start the race and finish it, and the women who carry their culture with ease and fierce pride.’
– Leeanne Enoch MP
‘A “Blakcellent”, heartwarming and deadly funny race for love and luaus. Spread the aloha – the sistas are doin’ it for themselves!’
– Hsu-Ming Teo, author of Love and Vertigo
'Joyful and quietly radical, The Paradise Pact is a novel about choosing yourself and choosing friendship, told with Anita Heiss’s trademark warmth and intelligence.'
– Saman Shad, author of The Sex Lives of Married Women
'Anita Heiss writes with a warmth and clarity that makes space for complexity without losing lightness. The humour, the longing, the ache of reality knocking at paradise’s door – it all feels lived-in and real.
This novel celebrates women in all their phases: mothers, grandmothers, friends, lovers, runners, dreamers. It honours the richness of sisterhood and the quiet power of choosing yourself without abandoning those you love.
Heartbreak may be out. Holidays may be in. But what lingers long after the final page is something deeper: the affirmation that friendship, culture and self-belief can carry us anywhere – even back to ourselves.'
– Mindy Woods, chef and author of Karkalla at Home
'Another bright, sparkling jewel of a book by the queen of Australian rom-com, Anita Heiss. No one captures the joys of female friendship and the challenges of mid-life dating quite like her – with wit, verve and intelligence.'
– Nicole Abadee
Resources and Downloads
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Book Cover Image (jpg): The Paradise Pact
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Author Photo (jpg): Anita Heiss Photograph © Jesse Dittmar(0.1 MB)
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