Book: The Country Practice

Summary:  After working in a London hospital emergency room, a month as a GP in rural South Australia can't be that hard – or can it?

Meghan Kimble is taking control of her life. Newly single, she's returned to Australia to follow her dream of working as a GP. Her first stop is a month-long locum in the colourful community of Magpie Creek.
It's been ages since the town has had a permanent doctor and Meghan is generating more than her fair share of attention, especially from forthright farmer Sean Ashby. A handsome man with a difficult past, Sean isn't shy about making his intentions known to the redheaded medico.
Against her better judgement, Meghan finds herself charmed by the enigmatic Sean. But time is against her and when love threatens to derail her career plans, she is forced to reassess her priorities in ways she never imagined. Is Meghan ready to fall for all that life in Magpie Creek has to offer?

What I thought: Another new fab author. Love a medical style romance. Too many authors now to keep up with all the rural romances though!

Book: Discovering Stella

Summary: Stella Walker is twenty-six years old and hiding from a past that haunts her on a daily basis. In a desperate attempt to escape the torment of her memories, she tries to rebuild her life and move on.
She seeks the seclusion of a rural town and tracks down a distant relative who Stella knows will give help, but who is unaware of the past she is trying to flee.
What Stella doesn’t anticipate, is meeting Lawson Drake.

Lawson Drake is twenty-nine years old, a mechanic who owns an auto service and smash repairs shop. When he comes across a broken-down car by the side of the road, he is intrigued by its owner — a caramel-eyed brunette who clearly has a score to settle, not only with her defective vehicle, but with anyone who tries to get too close. The thing is, Lawson wants close. He wants more than close. He wants as close as he can possibly get.

Will Lawson discover who the real Stella is? Or will her defences prove to be too strong?
 
What I thought: Loved this! Raunchier than I normally read but I was well and truly hooked! Give me more! LOL

Book: Emerald Springs

Summary: When suspicions are wrongly aimed at Amelia following the theft of proceeds from the local rodeo after a crash and grab, she must work with a skeptical rural detective to clear her name - and that of the man she loves. Mystery and romance abound in the new novel from the bestselling author of Crimson Dawn.

After finishing university, Amelia Bennett returns to Jervois and promptly falls in love with the wonderful - if broke and slightly stubborn - Paul Barnes. Now she's determined to lose her old reputation for being scatty and unreliable by proving herself as the treasurer of the local rodeo committee and making the forthcoming rodeo a huge success.

Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the town's history, Amelia is driving the record proceeds into town when she becomes the victim of a terrifying crash and grab. Injured and distraught after her ordeal, she's even more devastated when she later finds out that she and Paul are the objects of gossip and suspicion in town.

To prove her innocence and that of the man she loves, Amelia must convince a sceptical rural detective that her account of what happened does add up and that he must help her track down the real culprits...



What I thought: Another good rural read - not as good as her others but I was still hooked.

Book: Poster Girl

Summary: Beccy Cole has country music in her blood. Daughter of a country music star, Carole Sturtzel, she is one of the most popular country singer-songwriters in Australia today. This is the story of her life - in her own words.

At fourteen, Beccy was performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats. By her late teens, Beccy had teamed up with the Dead Ringer Band - Kasey Chambers' family band - and had attracted the attention of the country music world by winning the Star Maker quest: the same award that started the careers of Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, James Blundell and Gina Jeffreys. It was just the first of many awards and accolades for this multitalented woman with a big heart.

With refreshing candour, Beccy shares her story: leaving everything she knew to pursue her dream, making a name for herself with her own band; her marriage and motherhood; her subsequent divorce, becoming a single mother and maintaining the nurturing love of family. Performing for the Australian troops in Afghanistan. Coming out, and what it has meant for her and her fans. Taking control of her own life - and finding love.

What I thought: I enjoyed this especially as it was narrated by the author. She showed us that she is just like us and makes mistakes like the rest of us. A good read. 

Book: Country at Heart

Summary: The Army and his dearly beloved explosive detection dog Indy are Dean’s life – he can’t imagine doing anything else. Although physically and emotionally tested by the death of his mother in a recent accident, and by his father’s wish to have him home, he is still determined to fulfil his lifelong dream of protecting the country he loves. But life has other plans for Dean when he and Indy are wounded in action in Afghanistan and sent home to heal.

Free-spirited Summer has never wanted for anything, with her successful father aiming high for her future at any cost. Much to her father’s dismay, instead of pursuing the career he’s planned for her she intends to open her own yoga school and meditation centre. But she has agreed to spend one last summer with her parents, at their luxurious beachfront holiday home.
It’s here that life takes an unexpected turn when Summer and Dean meet, and discover that love at first sight truly exists.
But can they overcome the very real challenges of coming from very different sides of the tracks? And when Summer has to face the unpleasant truth about an old friend, as well as come to terms with the after-effects of a bewildering assault, she has to make a heartbreaking decision about their relationship.
But Dean refuses to let go of Summer, fighting with everything he has to win her back. With a little help from his wounded war dog, he finally proves to Summer that she should give him a second chance.



What I thought: Another good rural romance. I enjoyed this one :)

Book: Gray Mountain

Summary: The Great Recession of 2008 left many young professionals out of work. Promising careers were suddenly ended as banks, hedge funds, and law firms engaged in mass lay-offs and brutal belt tightening. Samantha Kofer was a third year associate at Scully & Pershing, New York City's largest law firm. Two weeks after Lehman Brothers collapsed, she lost her job, her security, and her future. A week later she was working as an unpaid intern in a legal aid clinic deep in small town Appalachia. There, for the first time in her career, she was confronted with real clients with real problems. She also stumbled across secrets that should have remained buried deep in the mountains forever.


What I thought: Loved this! Great to read another Grisham. A bit different to normal though and the character was a bit of a fence sitter and there wasn't great court drama etc. but it was a great story that sucked me right in!

Bookgroup: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Summary: It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease.

What I thought: This is rather different from what I expected. All I knew about this was the Audrey Hepburn film which I am yet to watch. An easy read but it didn't grab me - off to watch the movie I think!  

Book: We of the Never Never

Summary: In 1902, newly-married Jeannie Gunn (Mrs Aeneas Gunn) left the security and comfort of her Melbourne home to travel to the depths of the Northern Territory, where her husband had been appointed manager of ‘The Elsey', a large cattle station. One of the very few white women in the area, she was at first resented by people on and around the station, till her warmth and spirit won their affection and respect.She had an unerring ear and eye for the sounds and sights of the country; and this is her moving and simple account of her life amidst the beauty and cruelty of the land, and the isolation and loneliness - together with the comradeship and kindness of those around her.

What I thought: A classic I had wanted to read for ages. Great book - so vastly different from life today.

Book: Saddler Boys

Summary: Schoolteacher Natalie has always been a city girl. She has a handsome boyfriend and a family who give her only the best. But she craves her own space, and her own classroom, before settling down into the life she is expected to lead.

When Nat takes up a posting at a tiny school in remote Western Australia, it proves quite the culture shock, but she is soon welcomed by the inquisitive locals, particularly young student Billy and his intriguing single father, Drew.
As Nat's school comes under threat of closure, and Billy's estranged mother turns up out of the blue, Nat finds herself fighting for the township and battling with her heart. Torn between her society life in Perth and the rural community that needs her, Nat must risk losing it all to find out what she's really made of – and where she truly belongs.

What I thought: Loved this one - she is definitely one of my fav writers :)

Book: The Homestead Girls

Summary: Moving to the outback to join the Flying Doctors will change Billie's life forever.

After her teenage daughter Mia falls in with the wrong crowd, Dr Billie Green decides it's time to leave the city and return home to far western NSW. When an opportunity to pursue her childhood dream of joining the Flying Doctor Service comes along, she jumps at the chance. Flight nurse Daphne Prince – who is thrilled to have another woman join the otherwise male crew – and their handsome new boss, Morgan Blake, instantly make her feel welcome.
Just out of town, drought-stricken grazier Soretta Byrnes has been struggling to make ends meet and has opened her homestead to boarders. Tempted by its faded splendour and beautiful outback setting, Billie, Mia and Daphne decide to move in and the four of them are soon joined by eccentric eighty-year-old Lorna Lamerton.
The unlikely housemates are cautious at first, but soon they are offering each other frank advice and staunch support as they tackle medical emergencies, romantic adventures and the challenges of growing up and getting older. But when one of their lives is threatened, the strong friendship they have forged will face the ultimate test . . .

What I Thought: Loved this one. So much good rural romance out there. 

Book: Being Bee

Summary: Since her mother died, it'd been just her, her dad and her guinea pigs, Lulu and Fifi. A perfect, non-nuclear family. Exactly how Bee liked it. Nothing stays the same forever though, and when Jazzi moves in, bringing with her a whole new way of looking at the world and a whole lot of secrets, Bee knows things are going to be completely different from now on.But change can be a scary thing, and when someone reaches out to you, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to take their hand.

What I Thought: A early teen novel. Explored some good issues.

Book: House Rules

Summary: When your son can't look you in the eye...does that mean he's guilty?
Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject - forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.
But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob's mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.
And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

What I Thought: Brilliant - great, great read. A good Picoult one as some of her's can be dodgy. This was excellent though.

Book: Down Outback Roads

Summary: Kree Garrett's younger brother Seth is all the family she has left, so when he goes missing while working in the Australian outback, she races from America to join in the search.

To everyone's relief, Seth is rescued by local volunteers and Kree finds, in an abandoned historic Cobb & Co Coach House, the opportunity to thank the community she's fallen in love with. But it isn't only the town she's fallen for.

Ewan Mackenzie has given up everything for his brother's family, but he can never give enough to assuage his guilt at what happened one dark night, years ago . . . Ewan knows he doesn't deserve happiness, however with Kree he finds it hard to keep his distance.

Can Kree and Ewan leave the tragedies of their pasts behind long enough to find a future together?

What I thought: Loved this one - hooked from page one.

Book: Leap of Faith

Summary: Jessica Harrington is a promising horse-rider who dreams of representing her country. But the recent death of her father – her coach and mentor – has left her doubting her ability to continue in the sport. When she fails at the Adelaide International Horse Trials her fears are confirmed – and her world begins to fall apart.
Unable to bear seeing her well-bred, highly trained horses languishing in the paddock, she makes the snap decision to sell. She’s broken her own heart, but can’t see any other way – now she will just have to focus on a life without them. Her husband Steve and best friend Tiffany, however, can see through her bravado.
Jessica is dismayed when Steve brings home a horse from a clearing sale, a horse so skinny and forlorn he just couldn’t leave it behind. Unwilling to be drawn back into the world of horses, she's reluctant to get involved. But when a summer thunderstorm brings on a life-or-death emergency, she finds she underestimated the heart of one little horse. Can Jessica put her trust in Faith?


What I thought: Not her best book. Character was way too stilted. I didn't feel anything for her at all. Didn't even warm to her that much at the end either.

Book: Outback Women's Stories

Summary: The word "amazon" generally conjures up images of wild and powerful warrior women, fighting off foes in some primitive matriarchal society where they rule over men. Outback Women's Stories is a compilation of significant Australian women of simple but important character traits - strength, fortitude and courage. Australia has grown from penal colony to modern nation and important player on the global stage. During this time there have been many women who have courageously taken on the multifarious and sometimes death-defying challenges the Aussie outback has thrown at them, often alongside the man they loved with a gaggle of children in tow. These women have faced their trials admirably, with rarely a word of complaint, and continue to do so to this day - they are our "Aussie Amazons".

What I thought: OK. The stories were way to short though to really learn much. 

Book: The Painted Sky

Summary: Nina never knew what happened to her father, the celebrated artist Jim Larkin. One minute he was her devoted dad, the next he'd disappeared without trace. Seventeen years later, she's still haunted by the mystery. Until a call from outback Wandalla changes everything. At first, Nina's inheritance of a waterless property and a farmhouse stuffed with junk seems more like a burden than a gift. But this was her father's childhood home – and possibly her last chance to discover the truth. So what is the local solicitor, Harrison Grey, not telling her as he hands over the keys? Why does the area's wealthiest resident, Hilary Flint, seem to hate her so much? What is the significance of the gold locket with cryptic engravings that Nina always wears? And why, on top of everything, is she inexplicably drawn to her soon-to-be-married neighbour, Heath Blackett?


What I thought: Loved this one. Can't believe it was written by 5 different women from a bookclub. Great concept and great end result. Bring on more.

Card Swap 2 2015

another lovely bunch

Card Swap 1 2015

Our first swap of the year. Lots of lovely cards :)