A Snowy River Summer by Stella Quinn

 

What does a small town mechanic have in common with a hot shot lawyer from the city? At first glance, probably not much, but some times fate knows better, no matter how much we try to fight it.

Kylie Summers is trying to get her business up and running in the small town of Hanrahan in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains. She knows that her mother isn't happy with her choice of career. Mum would much rather her be working in a much more feminine career, at least up until she gets married and starts having kids. The thing is, Kylie knows what she is looking for when it comes to love. She wants a farmer type, and she wants to stay in the country. She also knows that there is no one in the surrounding area who fits the bill. Whoever she ends up meeting will also need to know that there is a special place in her heart for her tractor, Trev! She has many deep and meaningful conversations with Trev!

When Damon Johns rocks into town, it's obvious that he has no plans to stick around. Damon is a very successful lawyer in the city. What his friends and colleagues can see, but he cannot, is that he is dangerously close to burning out. After a run in with a judge about his behaviour, and then getting picked up for drink driving, Damon does a runner. 

He ends up in Hanrahan because his mother has inherited a property from a relative that her sons did not know about. Mum has an aversion to reading her emails and so when Damon arrives at the property he is not prepared for the frustraton induced anger that is directed towards him. The property has  a contract to provide afternoon tea for tourists. The idea is that they catch a paddle steamer across the lake, have scones, jam and cream, and then head back to town. It sounds like my kind of activity. Suddenly, Damon finds himself serving hungry tourists alone knowing that he is the one who needs to make the scones until such time as he sells the property. 

Damon needs a driver and Kylie needs some cash and so they start spending time together. Damon also needs help sorting out the property ready for sale. When she finds a shed full of old tractors and machinery on the farm, Kylie is very excited. Tractors help her maintain an emotional link to her dead father. What Damon doesn't need is to be attracted to Kylie as he isn't going to be sticking around. He also doesn't need  his estranged brother to turn up to complicate matters even more.

I loved Kylie's determination. She is being bullied by another mechanic who operates outside of town, so she starts to come up with ideas on how she can differentiate herself and keep herself afloat. Along the way, she brings together other women who run businesses in the town so that they can support each other, and then this also extends to community wide activities that involve everyone in town 

Damon is pretty arrogant when he first arrives, but gradually he begins to see that maybe he isn't okay, and that he does need to look at his life and make some changes. Could that include living in the country in the future? 

Oh, and I can't forget to mention Alfie the Labrador who steals everyone's hearts.

This book is not labelled as being a series but there were clearly other stories that had been set in Hanrahan and I am curious now to go back at some point and read some of them. Stella Quinn was one of the authors at the book club retreat I went to a few weeks ago. She did mention that the next time she writes another story set in Hanrahan it is likely to feature Damon's brother which should be fun. Stella was hilarious at the retreat, and stole the show at the final debate. You can see this humour in this story too.

I don't read that much rural romance any more.  I am not really sure why as I enjoy them when I do read them. It might be because many of the authors who I read regularly have transitioned into other genres and I have followed them. I am definitely curious to read more of the Hanrahan series at some point. 

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. 

Rating 4/5

Outback Brides of Wirralong

Outback Brides of Wirralong is the third quartet of books set in the fictitious town of Wirralong in country Victoria. I originally read the first quartet when they came out because ....hello ....Kelly Hunter. Over the years I have read and enjoyed many Kelly Hunter books so I was always going to read that initial series. It didn't hurt that the author of the second book in that original quartet was written by Victoria Purman who, at the time, I had just read my first book by and loved. 

What kept me reading each of the subsequent books has been the sense of community, the friendships and yes, the romance in each book. I have also really enjoyed watching the town be slowly rejuvenated thanks to the wedding business that was established in the first series. Since then the town has grown with beauticians, hairdressers, beauticians and more taking their place amongst the farmers, medical staff and police that normally populate small towns.

Along the way I have been introduced to several new to me Australian authors including Cathryn Hein, Fiona McArthur and Barbara Hannay.  One of things that has been impressive about this series is how consistently good the books have been. And right now, they are perfect feel good reads - comfort reads if you like.

Given that this series started with Kelly Hunter I knew I was going to order it, but I had completely forgotten that I had pre-ordered the whole series, so it was something of a surprise  to me when the second and third books dropped on my Kindle. I had, however, figured it out by the time the fourth book arrived.

What I found reading this year's quartet is that I found myself wanting to visit the general area where the books are set. Whilst the town is fictional, there are enough references to know roughly where it is. Of course, reading and Google are the only way that we are actually able to travel right now given that we are still in lockdown.

    

Outback Brides - series 1

Outback Brides of Wirralong - series 2

I thought I would give a brief overview of the books in this current quartet which is called the Outback Brides Return to Wirralong.

Matilda Next Door by Kelly Hunter 

Kelly Hunter is a guaranteed good read for me.

Tilly is a self taught baker who is now running a successful catering business in Wirralong, When she is offered the chance to stay in a fancy London flat she grabs it. After all, her school friend Henry Church has lived in London for years. Now they are swapping. Tilly is going to do some touristy things and some fancy cooking classes while she is there and Henry is going to spend some time with his aging grandparents. It doesn't, however, quite go to plan. Tilly misses the wide open spaces of home, and it really isn't easy to do the tourist thing when you suddenly left looking after a baby that apparently is Henry's. Henry needs to figure out how to look after a baby and how to deal with his long buried feelings for Matilda.

Maeve's Baby by Fiona McArthur

When Maeve, a midwife, moves to Wirralong permanently, the one thing that she is definitely not interested in is  a relationship. She has left that behind, and she is not going to be taken for granted again. Jace is a doctor who is here for a short term contract, along with his young daughter, Jemima. 

Yes, they have to work together, and there is chemistry, but Maeve had been burned in her last relationship, and Jace is leaving.

Serenity's Song by Cathryn Hein

Jesse Hargreaves has a reputation for being a bad boy. He's come back to Wirralong to lie low for a while after another scrape with the law. He doesn't make the best impression on Serenity Strachan when he nearly runs her over as she crosses the street during a downpour. Serenity is a beauty therapist who shares a retail space with Jesse's soon to be sister in law. 

Serenity is smart and funny and tends to have a song for every occasion - which I loved!

Jesse does seem to get in the habit of getting into trouble when it comes to Serenity, not least of which when he encourages her to explore some tunnels which collapse. Can Jesse overcome his trust issues, or will he make yet another mistake.

 

A Nanny Called Alice by Barbara Hannay

Alice has been living a very safe life until she decides that it is time for adventure and she comes to Australia. Unfortunately, her adventure gets off to a rough start when her hire car breaks down and then she is mugged, her car is stolen . Luckily, she is picked up by Tom Brayden. 

Tom returned to Wirralong to look after his two nieces after his brother and his wife were killed. Tom is trying hard to look after the girls, look after the farm and still run his successful business in Sydney. Something has to give.

Tom and Alice come to a short term arrangement. She can help care for the girls while her passport replaced and insurance sorted out. Alice is also determined to continue her trip. After all, she can just stop in the first town she comes to, can she?


I hope that there are more books set in Wirralong!

As an aside.....do you have words that you can never type correctly the first time. For me, bride is one of those words. I always type bridge and have to go back and correct it.

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast by Danielle Hawkins

When I was trying to come up with a D topic for my Alphabet post this week, one of the options that I was considering was D for Danielle Hawkins given that I have read two of her books (this one and When It All Went to Custard) over the last couple of months.  I ended up going with an Anzac Day tribute instead, but it can't hurt to still try and write a review can it? Since I started blogging again this year, reviews are possibly the hardest thing to get back in the habit of writing for me.

About 3 years ago Bree from All The Books I Can Read and I met up for a coffee and then we went on a bit of a drive around the local area. As is normal for all book lovers (right?) one of the stops was at a newly opened community library. During the course of that drive and library visit, she recommended this book to me, amongst others (which I know because I mentioned it on a Litsy post at the time). Three years later, I am happy to confirm that she was indeed correct. This was a great book as evidenced by the fact that I started it at 3am one night when I couldn't sleep and finished it at 1.30am the next night because I couldn't put it down, and therefore didn't sleep.

Helen McNeil is a vet in a small town in New Zealand. She's done the almost obligatory trip to live in the UK with her former partner, but now she is home, trying to reestablish her career. She came back to the small town she grew up in, to the people who know her best including her extended family nearby.

One night she reluctantly goes to a party. In the course of trying to get away from an annoying person she literally trips over the legs of a man. Helen is oblivious as to his identity so she is a bit shocked learn that he is Mark Tipene, world famous rugby player and All Blacks star. When Mark turns up at her workplace the next day to ask her on a date, Helen is a bit reluctant but agrees, warning him that the date might get interrupted because she is on call.

What follows is one of the more unusual scenes I've read where Helen gets called out and has to remove a dead calf from inside a cow. Danielle Hawkins is a vet when she is not writing, and both in this first date scene and a couple of other scenes in the book, she is not afraid to share the details of what it is she does.  I had NO idea that vets did that kind of thing in the services they provide. If assisting with that kind of procedure doesn't scare Mark off, then really not much will.

Despite Helen's demanding work schedule during a busy time of the year and Mark's hectic rugby and sponsorship appearances, they start a fledgling relationship. Helen is very conscious of the fact that she is not the typical WAG type that Mark has been associated with in the past and there were times when these insecurities started to get in the way. Then things change, and it is more her stubborness and independent streak that cause some issues. Of course, Mark has his own baggage too.

Don't be put off by the rugby part of this story. While there are mentions of Helen having to gain a sudden interest in the game and of matches being played, you won't be too lost if you don't know much about rugby. I know enough to watch a game and some basic understanding but don't ask me to explain anything.

I wanted to give a shout out to the secondary characters in this book. The town is populated by an interesting set of characters, from the grumpy farmers to Helen's workmates. I did love the friendships portrayed in this book including Helen's cousin, her best friend and Mark's team captain and his wife. I also loved Helen's relationship with her stepmother and much younger stepsisters who were adorable.

I have read many Aussie rural romances over the years,but these two books by Danielle Hawkins are the only ones I recall having read that are set in New Zealand. And they do feel different. There's not so much red dust for starters! I do find Hawkins a very easy to read author. There is something in her author voice that is very comforting. There's humour, emotion and depth. I am very much looking forward to reading her next book and working my way through her remaining backlist.

And a word about the title! A long time ago I shared a post about one memorable occasion when I had chocolate cake for breakfast. I am not going to suggest that is the ONLY time I've ever had chocolate cake for breakfast because yum!!! That wouldn't be true but it certainly was a noteworthy occasion!

Rating 4.5/5

Description from Goodreads

Helen McNeil is a vet in the small rural town of Broadview. While taking evasive action from a dull girl at a party one night she falls over - and fails to recognise - national sporting hero, Mark Tipene. For some mysterious reason Helen never really grasps, Mark finds this charming and appears the next day at the front counter of the vet clinic to ask her out.
A whirlwind romance follows and everything is going swimmingly until one little hiccup changes everything...
Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the funny and heart-warming story of the pros and cons of dating a man whose shirtless picture adorns a wall in every second lunchroom in the country, of calving cows and crazy cat ladies, and of doing your best when life takes an unexpected turn.

The Chalk Hill trilogy by Lily Malone

Recently I got an email telling me that the second book in the Chalk Hill series was on sale so I thought why not, especially seeing as I already had the first book on my Kindle, albeit unread.

When I was deciding what to read next, I decided it was time to actually read the first book, what I didn't realise is that it was apparently time to read all three books in the trilogy in succession.

Water Under the Bridge

Ella Davenport has just moved to the small town of Chalk Hill with her son Sam. She needs a new start, having recently separated from her husband. Not only is she moving to a new town, she is also trying to get her new career as a real estate agent off the ground.

Ella used to be almost kind of famous.  Many years before she was a rising swimming star, so close to going to the Beijing Olympics, until circumstances and scandal put an end to her swimming dream. She married her swim coach and together they were an advertisers dream, but now that part of her life is over. She has a new look and has changed her name back so that she can start her new life without any hangover from her previous life. And Chalk Hill is the perfect place. Not a swimming pool in site!

Her first listing to sell is a beautiful old home overlooking the Chalk Hill bridge. She needs this sale for her confidence, to establish her place in the family owned real estate agency she is working in, and for some income.  If only the seller would return her calls.

Jake Honeychurch really does not want to sell his late grandmother's house but his brother Abe most definitely does want to sell. Jake knows that Abe is in some kind of money trouble, but he has no idea what kind, so he has priced the property so high that no one will want to buy the place while he figures out what is going on. He also is sabotaging the open house viewings much to Ella's frustration.

I enjoyed the interactions between Jake and Ella and felt that they were a good match. Jake was also good with Ella's 10 year old son Sam who was struggling with all the changes in his life, and especially missing Erik, his mum's former swim coach/husband.

I have to say, I loved Erik, the one armed German swim coach who had been, and continued to be, Ella's' best friend and biggest supporter.

This was a fun, easy read filled with interesting characters and a fictional town that would be lovely to visit.

The Cafe by the Bridge

The second book in the trilogy is where we finally found out more about Abe's big secret. He has been scammed by a con woman and it has cost him everything. He has had to sell his successful restaurants and move back to the home town he left many years ago because he felt like he never really fitted in.

When Taylor Woods rolls into town, she is there for one reason and one reason alone - to find Abel Honeychurch. Her brother Will has been scammed by the same woman, and is now not doing well at all emotionally or financially. But how can Abe help someone else when he can't even help himself.

It feels a bit strange to say that I enjoyed Abe's story seeing as he had suffered so much at the hands of the scammer, but he's trying very hard to build his for now life. It's not where he necessarily wants to be, but it is where he needs to be for now. He's trying to build up a cafe in his grandmother's house, so there are plenty of food related passages that had me licking my lips.

Taylor was a little bit harder for me. She was a psychologist, specialising in children's psychology, but there were times in this story where she skirted the line ethically. She found out details about Amanda, the scammer, by using her dog to tempt Amanda's young daughter to talk to her so she was basically stalking people in order to get what she needed. I get that she wanted to help her brother to recover but she was a bit of a bull in the china shop and there were times when she was dismissive of Abe's feelings in her quest.

Having said that, she was good for Abe in lots of ways. She recognised his depression and encouraged him to ask for help, both in relation to what happened and also in relation to his somewhat estranged relationship with his father.

Last Bridge Before Home

Whilst I very much enjoyed the first two books in the series, I would say that it was the final book in the trilogy that really had me on the edge of my seat.

Jaydah Tully and Braxton (Brix) Honeychurch have been circling around each other for years and there is a very strong attraction between them..Brix has long been willing to make it public between them but Jaydah has always resisted for reasons he could never really understand mainly because Jaydah has never given him any reasons. They had to remain a secret, despite the fact that everyone can see that there is something between them.

Brix has come back to town because his family needs him,  but when it turns out that Jaydah needs him more he is immediately there for her. Little can he know just how much his life is going to change, because with Jaydah he doesn't only get her. Her mother and sister come as part of the whole package deal. Jaydah is absolutely determined to get all of the Tully women out from under the roof of the family home, which is a bit difficult because no one in town knows that her sister even exists.

The secrets that people keep are a theme in these books. Even in a small town, where everyone appears to know everyone else's business, it is possible for people to keep their deepest secrets if they really need to. Even within a seemingly close family, there are secrets that are suddenly revealed, sometimes in the worst of times.

Jaydah is a strong character, who does whatever she can to protect her mother and sister, often at her own expense, and it is she that comes up with the escape plan and who puts the wheels in motion. Brix is also a fantastic character. He is a one woman man. He loves Jaydah, and once he finds out about Jaydah's home life, he wants to immediately spring to defend her but after the initial shock, he does respect that this needs to be done Jaydah's way. And when she springs her second surprise on him, he takes it all in his stride.

It is not unusual for romance authors to use the canvas of their books to examine the relationships between the characters, but also to look at bigger issues. In this book, it is the issues of domestic violence and the rights of people with mental disability. As such, it is darker than the other two books, but it is so well done.There were times when I was reading this book where my stomach was roiling as I read the page, knowing that of course everything was going to work out (this is a romance after all) but worried about how difficult the journey was going to be for all involved. The relief when the characters situation change was palpable for me, almost as though I could finally release my long held in breath.

I have read four books by Lily Malone now, and I definitely intend to read the remaining books in her backlist, as well a keeping an eye out for what comes next from her.

As I mentioned previously, we actually visited the area that this book was set in a couple of months ago, which helped me imagine the area in a vague sense. Reading these books also made me want to go back. We were only down in the south west of Western Australia for a few days, and there is still plenty to see and do in the area.

Hope's Road by Margareta Osborn

When Margareta Osborn's first book, Bella's Run, came out she came and visited my local bookstore. Bree and I went to the signing and chatted with Margareta for ages. I duly bought the book, which Margareta signed, and that was that. I never actually got around to reading the book.  Now, having read Hope's Road, I am pretty sure that I am the one who has missed out by not having read Bella's Run and I will be rectifying that as soon as I can! I feel like I should apologise profusely to Margareta! Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Hope's Road focuses on three people who live on three properties near each other that are connected by Hope's Road in the Gippsland region of Victoria. There is curmudgeonly old Joe, his estranged grand niece Tammy and neighbour Travis Hunter who lives with his young son Billy. All three of them are used to living pretty much alone and always self reliant. While for Joe and Travis this is pretty much a lifestyle choice, for Tammy this has come about as a result of being in an emotionally and, more recently, physically abusive marriage all the while trying to keep the family farm going.

Tammy was married to Shon Murphy for years. While her grandparents were alive, he helped around the farm, but once they died and the property was specifically left to Tammy only he became resentful and that resentment only kept on growing. Now, he has moved on to someone else and he wants a divorce straight away. The fact that the farm is Tammy's and has been part of her family for generations is no concern to him. He wants a payout and if the only way for him to get it is for Tammy to sell up, then so be it. One of the few things I wasn't sure about in this book was the way that the divorce, and in particular the property settlement, had to happen so quickly. It is a minor qualm though.

Travis Hunter has bought his mother back to her home town with his son Billy in tow. Travis is a feral dog trapper (the dogs being feral, not Travis), a solitary job for a solitary man. Trav is doing his best for his son, but to say they are just getting by is probably about all. He has no clue about creating the emotional connection to his son that Billy requires. There are a number of reasons for this, but one of those reasons is that when his wife walked away from the both of them when Billy was just a toddler, Travis left his son with his mother and continued to do his job, leaving her to practically raise her grandson. Now that his mother is no longer capable of being the main care giver, Travis has to work out how to go about that, and he needs to learn quickly.

Joe is an embittered old man who walked away from his family 60 years before because of a woman and never spoke to any of them again - not the woman, or his brother, or his niece or even his grand niece (unless you count yelling at her when she was a small girl to get off his land as talking). He can see the house that was once his home from his front verandah through his rifle scope and has a regular series of informants, so he usually knows what is going on at Montmorency Downs but that is as close as he wants to get to his grand niece. He is content to do what needs to be done on his own property and to sit on his verandah and watch the world go by.

Billy soon becomes the glue that starts to unite these three strangers. He often finds himself up at Joe's place or down at Tammy's house helping out and also using the computer because his father refuses to recognise that he needs one for his schooling. Tammy can see that Billy is desperate for his father's approval and she isn't shy about letting Travis know. In fact, Billy is desperate for any kind of family relationship, as evidenced by his hope when his mother turns up in town. I felt so much for Billy many times throughout this book. He was a great kid who just needed a bit of attention, not least of which to attend to an undiagnosed medical condition, and who was desperate for love where ever he could find it.

One day, Billy is up at Joe's place when there is an accident which leaves Joe with a broken hip. When the doctors tell him that he can not go home until he is healed and that he will have to live in the nursing home in the mean time, he is horrified and reacts badly. Both Travis and Tammy offer to help look after him. At first Joe refuses belligerently, pretty much because he is a stubborn old coot, but given the choice of the nursing home or the help of strangers, he relents.

Slowly but surely the relationship between the three of them grows. Tammy begins to get to know her Uncle Joe without actually knowing why it was that her only blood relative has always been a stranger. Joe and Travis begin to recognise that they share quite a lot of traits which can be seen as both good and bad. And for Tammy and Travis there is a strong attraction that is growing between them.  But with Tammy's divorce proving so difficult, Trav's ex-wife in town, a fragile trust growing between them all and Mother Nature determined to throw in a big curveball too, there are a lot of challenges for this group of people to deal with.

I really enjoyed Hope's Road. With three different backstories to include in the book, including establishing several peripheral characters, there were times at the beginning of the book where it felt a bit slow, but once it got going ... boy, it got going. I was trying to read this yesterday before I went out but I didn't quite make it, so I ended up taking it with me to the pool. It was boiling hot and I really needed to go for a swim but I couldn't do that before I knew exactly what was happening with these characters! I had to know!

I have a big list of jobs that I would never do. These include things like being a childcare worker or a nurse, a cop and more. After reading some of the things that Tammy had to do on her farm (bloat...ugh!), I am pretty sure that you could add farmer to that list.

The rural lit genre is one that seems to be growing and growing here in Australia. For the most part, I have been really pleased with the books I have read. They represent a side of life that I as a city dwelling Aussie wouldn't normally see as much but I can still find the characters relatable. They also often have a really strong sense of Australia in the humour and the language and this book is no exception!

Now, where did I put my copy of Bella's Run?

Rating 4/5


Blog Tour

I was invited to participate in a blog tour for this book by the publisher. Check out other stops in the tour including yesterday's stop at MrsMichelles and tomorrow's stop at Daystarz's Books.

You can see all the stops below. Click on the banner to make it bigger.

Banner created by Marcia from Book Muster Down Under

Synopsis

From the author of the bestselling Bella's Run comes another captivating rural romance set in the the rugged, beautiful high country of East Gippsland.

Hope's Road connects three very different properties, and three very different lives …

Sixty years ago, heartbroken and betrayed, old Joe McCauley turned his back on his family and their fifth-generation farm, Montmorency Downs. He now spends his days as a recluse, spying upon the land - and the granddaughter – that should by rights have been his.

For Tammy McCauley, Montmorency Downs is the last remaining tie to her family. But land can make or break you - and, with her husband's latest treachery, how long can she hold on to it?

Wild-dog trapper, Travis Hunter, is struggling as a single dad, unable to give his son, Billy, the thing he craves most. A complete family.

Then, out of the blue, a terrible event forces the three neighbours to confront each other - and the mistakes of their past …