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 :)