Book: The Crossroads

Summary: One family. Three women. Will the lies they tell and the secrets they hide lead to more heartache, or will fate bring them together before it's too late?

Rosie O'Shea dreams of seeing the world. But right now, the outback hotel she inherited from her husband is falling down around her ears, her bank account is empty and family duty means she's staying put.

The only thing keeping Stephanie Bailey sane are the rides she takes on their sprawling property, even if the earth is red and barren as far as her eye can see. Drought has forced the sale of almost all their cattle and her husband is getting more and more distant. The last thing she needs is the complications her brother-in-law brings.

Sydney girl Faith Montgomery is single, out of work and at the age of 31 has just discovered she is adopted. Furious at being lied to for her entire life, she lands a job at the Crossroads Hotel so she can track down her biological mother without revealing who she is. When Cameron Bailey walks into the bar his curious blend of country charm and city savvy has her falling hard.

What I Thought: Loved this - hooked from the beginning.

Book: The House on Burra Burra Lane

Summary: Just ten days after her fresh start in the isolated Snowy Mountains, Samantha Walker trips over a three hundred pound pig and lands in the arms of Dr. Ethan Granger — and the firing line for gossip. It was hardly a ‘date’ but sparks of the sensual kind are difficult to smother in a community of only 87 people. Now there’s a bet running on how long she’ll stay and what she’ll get up to while she’s in town.

Ethan has his own issues — Sammy’s presence in his childhood home brings with it painful recollections of family scandals and a bad boy youth. When the gossip around them heightens, his life is suddenly a deck of cards spread on the table for all to see. Then Sammy's past catches up with her... and it looks like all bets are off.




What I thought: This was ok. I really really struggled with the writing style. Will read the next one in the series to see if it is better as I have loved a different book of hers.

Book: When the snow gums dance

Summary: Set against the steamy tropical north of Papua New Guinea and Australia's Snowy Mountains, the winter playground of the mega-rich, is the story of Kylie Harris, a woman with a thirst for adventure. When glamour and fun turn to tragedy, Kylie is forced to reassess her life, and she chooses to help others. As an aid worker she falls in love with Danno O'Keefe, the man of her dreams and her soul mate. Not everyone, however, can be trusted, and happiness is an elusive gift. Tragedy returns and Kylie must rebuild her life in the face of enormous pain and loss. Heartbroken, Kylie is convinced she will never again love so deeply or so passionately.
She becomes determined, however, to move forward. But can she find the courage to let go of her past?


What I Thought: I enjoyed this one. Bit more of a saga over many years and split into parts with different characters etc. but enjoyable still.

Book: The Horseman

Summary: Craig Munroe is the kind of man legends are written about. It's been eleven years since Dr Peta Woodward, born into a horse-breeding dynasty, fled the family stud in the wake of a deadly tragedy that split her family apart. Carrying wounds that have never truly healed, Peta has focused on helping others. But when an injury during a solo trip through the Australian high country leaves her stranded, the man who comes to her rescue is Craig Munroe, a born and bred high-country horseman, and the kind of man legends are written about.

Stuck in the tiny town of Yarraman Falls while she recovers, Peta is surrounded by prying eyes and heartbreaking reminders of all she has lost. But while she resolves to leave as soon as she can, fate has other ideas . . .

What I Thought: Loved this one - hooked from the first page! I'd also been up this way at Chrsitmas so the area was fresh in my mind!

Bookgroup: Death Comes to Pemberley

Summary: In their six years of marriage, Elizabeth and Darcy have forged a peaceful, happy life for their family at Pemberley, Darcy’s impressive estate. Her father is a regular visitor; her sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; the marriage prospects for Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, are favorable. And preparations for their annual autumn ball are proceeding apace. But on the eve of the ball, chaos descends. Lydia Wickham, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister who, with her husband, has been barred from the estate, arrives in a hysterical state—shrieking that Wickham has been murdered.  Plunged into frightening mystery and a lurid murder trial, the lives of Pemberley’s owners and servants alike may never be the same.


What I thought: It was ok - nice to revisit characters and see how the future may lay for them.  Still a few loose ends that weren't tied up for me in this book though. Oh well!

Book: Runaway Lies

Summary:  Darcy Montgomery is on the run. She must hide until she can testify in a shocking court case involving her former employer, but so far the witness protection program has only brought more danger. Any hopes of keeping a low profile are dashed when she saves the two children of wealthy property developer, Dominic St. James, from a sinking car driven by his ex-wife.
Dominic St. James learns the car crash was no accident and his ex-wife is still missing, presumed dead. He is determined to keep his children, as well as their mysterious rescuer, safe until the threat is neutralised. Fighting his enemies and a growing attraction, he discovers that Darcy is much more than she seems.
The danger to Darcy, Dominic and his family grows as their security is eroded and they face not one but two adversaries who have deadly intent. Who ultimately can trust who?


What I Thought: Loved this one - saw it on the shelf at the library and I wasn't disappointed.